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Vostok 1

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Vostok 1
Model of the Vostok spacecraft
OperatorSoviet space program
Harvard designation1961 Mu 1
COSPAR ID1961-012A
SATCAT no.103
Mission duration1 hour, 48 minutes[1]
Orbits completed1
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftVostok-3KA No.3
ManufacturerExperimental Design Bureau OKB-1
Launch mass4,725 kg (10,417 lb)[1]
Landing mass2,400 kg (5,290 lb)
Dimensions2.30 m (7 ft 6.5 in) diameter
Crew
Crew size1
MembersYuri Gagarin
CallsignКедр (KedrSiberian pine)[2]
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 12, 1961, 06:07 (1961-04-12UTC06:07) UTC[3]
RocketVostok-K 8K72K
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
45°55′13″N 63°20′32″E / 45.920278°N 63.342222°E / 45.920278; 63.342222[4]
End of mission
Landing dateApril 12, 1961, 07:55 (1961-04-12UTC07:56) UTC
Landing site51°16′14″N 45°59′50″E / 51.270682°N 45.99727°E / 51.270682; 45.99727[5][6]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee169 km (91 nmi)[3]
Apogee327 km (177 nmi)[1]
Inclination64.95 degrees[3]
Period89.1 minutes
EpochApril 12, 1961

Yuri Gagarin in Sweden
Vostok programme
Manned flights
 

Vostok 1 (Russian: Восто́к, East or Orient 1) was the first flight to take a human into space. It used a Vostok 3KA spacecraft, and was launched on April 12, 1961.[7] It took into space Yuri Gagarin, a cosmonaut from the Soviet Union. The Vostok 1 mission was the first time a person went into outer space and the first time anyone had entered into orbit. The flight made one orbit and lasted for 1 hour, 48 minutes.[7]: 53  The Vostok 1 was launched by the Soviet space program and made by the Soviet rocket scientists Sergei Korolev and Kerim Kerimov.

The Vostok spacecraft weighed 4.73 t (10,400 lb), was 4.4 m (14 ft) long and 2.43 m (8.0 ft) in diameter.[7]: 52  The cosmonaut flew inside a spherical module. He sat on a seat which was also an ejection seat which allowed the cosmonaut to escape from the spacecraft in case of an emergency. The flight was simple, the cosmonaut was simply a passenger.[7]: 52  There were controls for use in an emergency.[8] The spacecraft had a food locker, radio, a cabinet with experiments inside, and two windows, one above the ejection seat and one to the right.. Gagarin ejected from the spacecraft after re-entry and landed by parachute.

There were six manned Vostok flights, the last one, Vostok 6, carried Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to go into space on June 16, 1963.[7]: 53 

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Aviation and Space World Records". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  2. Siddiqi, p.275
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Vostok 1 – NSSDC ID: 1961-012A". NASA. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  4. "Google Maps – Vostok 1 Launch Pad – Gagarin's Start photo". Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  5. "Google Maps – Vostok 1 Landing Site – Monument". Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  6. "Google Maps – Vostok 1 Landing Site – Monument Photo". Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Furniss, Tim (2001). The History of Space Vehicles. London: Grange Books. ISBN 1-84013-370-8.
  8. "Vostok 1". astronautix.com. 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2012.