Vostok (rocket) facts for kids

The Vostok rocket was a powerful space vehicle.

The Vostok rocket was a very important rocket built by the Soviet Union. It was their main way to send things into space. This rocket was based on an earlier design called the R-7. The R-7 was a powerful missile designed by Sergei Korolev and first launched in 1957.

The R-7 rocket was actually used to launch Sputnik 1 into space on October 4, 1957. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth! The Vostok rocket was an improved version of the R-7. It had an extra top part, called Blok-E. This extra part would fire up after the main rocket stages used up their fuel. The Vostok rockets used a special mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel.

Vostok: Reaching New Heights in Space

The Vostok rocket was the first rocket strong enough to send things into orbit around the Sun. It did this with the Lunar 1 spacecraft, launched on January 2, 1959. This was a huge step in space exploration!

First Missions to the Moon

The Vostok rocket also helped us reach the Moon.

• Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to actually land on the Moon. It was launched on September 14, 1959.
• Luna 3, launched on October 4, 1959, was able to take the very first pictures of the far side of the Moon. This was a part of the Moon we had never seen before!

Sending Humans into Space

The Vostok rocket is most famous for carrying the first people into space.

• On April 12, 1961, a Vostok rocket launched the Vostok 1 spacecraft. Inside was Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person ever to go into space.
• Later, on June 16, 1963, the Vostok 6 mission carried Valentina Tereshkova. She made history as the first woman to travel into space.

Images for kids

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  A drawing of the Vostok rocket.

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  A stamp showing the Vostok rocket on its launch pad.

See also

In Spanish: Vostok (cohete) para niños