Vostok-2M

Vostok-2M

Vostok-2M rocket
Function Carrier rocket
Manufacturer OKB-1
Country of origin  Soviet Union
Size
Stages Two
Capacity
Payload to SSO 3,800 kilograms (8,400 lb)
Associated rockets
Family R-7
Launch history
Status Retired
Launch sites Baikonur Site 31/6
Plesetsk Site 41/1 & 43
Total launches 93
Successes 92
Failures 1
First flight 28 August 1964
Last flight 29 August 1991
Notable payloads Meteor
Resurs
Tselina-D
Boosters
No. boosters 4
Engines 1 RD-107-8D74K
Thrust 995.3 kilonewtons (223,800 lbf)
Burn time 120 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX
First stage
Engines 1 RD-108-8D75K
Thrust 940.4 kilonewtons (211,400 lbf)
Burn time 305 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX
Second stage
Engines 1 RD-0109
Thrust 54.52 kilonewtons (12,260 lbf)
Burn time 400 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX

The Vostok-2M (Russian: Восток meaning "East"), GRAU index 8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch.[1] It was originally built as a specialised version of the earlier Vostok-2, for injecting lighter payloads into higher sun-synchronous orbits. It was a member of the R-7 family of rockets, and the last Vostok.

The Vostok-2M made its maiden flight on 28 August 1964, from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, successfully placing Kosmos 44, a Meteor weather satellite into orbit. Its only launch failure occurred on 1 February 1969, when the launch of a Meteor failed due to an upper stage problem.

At 16:01 GMT on 18 March 1980, a Vostok-2M exploded during fueling Plesetsk Site 43/4, ahead of the launch of a Tselina-D satellite, killing 48 people who were working on the rocket at the time. A filter in a hydrogen peroxide tank of the third stage had accidentally been soldered with tin-lead, the latter of which causes decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.[2] As a consequence, the H2O2 broke down, overheated, and melted the solder, causing pieces to fall into the H2O2 storage tank and cause a runaway chemical reaction. This led to a fire inside the third stage and eventual explosion which resulted in the complete destruction of the launch vehicle and severe pad damage (LC-43 did not host another launch for three years).

Vostok-2M launches occurred from Site 31/6 at Baikonur, and Sites 41/1 and 43 at Plesetsk. It is unclear if any were launched from Site 1/5 at Baikonur. The Vostok-2M was retired in 1991, in favour of standardisation on the Soyuz-U and U2 rockets. The final flight was conducted on 29 August, and carried the IRS-1B satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation.

References

  1. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Vostok 8A92M". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  2. ↑ Boris Yevseyevich Chertok (2006-06-01). "Rockets and People: Creating a rocket industry" (PDF). Government Printing Office: 636–640. ASIN B019NDFEHI. ISBN 9780160766725.
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