Vostok 3

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Vostok 3
Vostok spacecraft.jpg
Model of the Vostok capsule with its upper stage
Operator Soviet space program
Harvard designation 1962 Alpha Mu 1
SATCAT № 365
Mission duration 3 days, 22 hours, 28 minutes
Orbits completed 64
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Vostok-3KA No.5
Manufacturer Experimental Design Bureau OKB-1
Launch mass 4,722 kilograms (10,410 lb)[1]
Crew size 1
Members Andriyan Nikolayev
Callsign Сокол (Sokol - "Falcon")
Start of mission
Rocket Vostok-K 8K72K
Launch site Baikonur 1/5[2]
End of mission
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 166 kilometres (103 mi)
Apogee 218 kilometres (135 mi)[3]
Inclination 65.0 degrees
Period 88.5 minutes

Vostok 3 4 Mission Patch.svg Adrian G Nikolaiev.jpg

Vostok programme
Manned flights
← Vostok 2 Vostok 4




Position Cosmonaut
Pilot Andriyan Nikolayev
First spaceflight

Backup crew[edit]

Position Cosmonaut
Pilot Boris Volynov

Reserve crew[edit]

Position Cosmonaut
Pilot Valery Bykovsky

Mission parameters[edit]






The Vostok 3/4 flights were originally scheduled for November 1961, which would have had the propaganda value of the Soviet program having flown four men in space along with a dual mission in the same calendar year when the United States had yet to orbit a single man, but Korolev's plans were frustrated by the Zenit photo reconnaissance satellite program which needed to use the R-7 pads at Baikonour. He then suggested launching at the end of December or the start of January, but Chief of Cosmonaut Training Nikolai Kamanin and the State Planning Commission opposed launching in the wintertime due to harsh weather conditions and instead suggested waiting until March.

The first Zenit launch took place on 11 December, but the Blok E stage malfunctioned and the satellite was destroyed. Since this was the same model of booster used by the Vostok (8K72K), it was a concern for the program. While engineers attempted to resolve the problem, Vostok 3/4's mission was pushed back a month to April. However, further delays happened when the second Zenit satellite (Kosmos 4) experienced problems with its orientation system, necessitating another test and further delays.

On 1 June, an attempted launch of a Zenit photo reconnaissance satellite ended with the booster crashing near the pad. One of the strap-ons had also fallen back onto LC-1 and burned, resulting in extensive damage that took over a month to repair.[6] By mid-July, the pad had been restored to use, but another delay occurred when the United States carried out a high-altitude nuclear test on 9 July known as Starfish Prime. The radiation from the test had unexpected consequences in that it released high levels of radiation into the upper atmosphere and space, knocking out several satellites and making any manned space launch unsafe for at least a month. By the second week of August, radiation levels had diminished enough that the Vostok 3/4 mission could go ahead.[7]

The Zenit launch accident had occurred in a new, uprated version of the R-7 launch vehicle (the 8A92) while the Vostok used the older 8K72K booster, so it was not a direct concern for the program. However, just to be cautious, it was decided to fly an additional Zenit satellite to verify the reliability of the R-7. In addition, since the Zenit satellite was essentially a modified Vostok, the flight doubled as an engineering test of certain Vostok components. This was done successfully on July 28, after which preparations at LC-1 began for Vostok 3.

Mission highlights[edit]

See also: Vostok 4


Nikolayev's orbital companion Popovich was launched the next day aboard Vostok 4. The former adjusted his spacecraft's orientation to watch the launch, but failed to see anything despite reporting considerable details on the ground as he had passed over Turkey. Data on the two spacecraft's orbital parameters that were released periodically by Soviet news agency TASS seemed to indicate a change in Vostok 3's orbital trajectory within ten hours of Vostok 4's launch, leading to speculation that the former spacecraft modified its orbit to bring it closer to that of the latter.[8] The Vostok spacecraft is not believed to have had the ability to modify its orbit.[6] Plans were for the spacecraft to approach to 5 km (3.1 mi), but the closest distance achieved was 6.5 km (4.0 mi). At the start of Vostok 3's thirty-third orbit, this distance had diverged to 850 km (530 mi), and to 2,850 km (1,770 mi) at the start of the 64th.[4]


The mission led Western observers to speculate that the Soviets must already have spacecraft capable of in-orbit maneuvering. Official press releases naturally made no mention that the Vostok spacecraft lacked this ability or that the two Vostoks were able to attain such close approach due to their extremely precise launches.




