Vostok Space Capsule

Vostok Space Capsule

Vostok 1 Space Capsule Cutaway

As the space race on Earth continued after the launch of various satellites by all the major factions, the Soviet Union took yet another major lead, the launching of the first human into Earth orbit. On April 12, 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Major Yuri Gagarin was strapped into Vostok 1 and hurled into space atop a mighty intercontinental ballistic missile. He stayed in orbit for 108 minutes, attaining a maximum altitude of 302 kilometers, revoloving once around the Earth, before returning.

The Vostok class of space capsule incorporated many features that would be used by all the major spacefarig countries for the next 20 years or so. The capsule consisted of two sections, a crew section and a service module. The crew section was a spherical compartment that was designed to seperate from the service module for reentry. Once in the atmosphere, the crew module would deploy a set of parachutes to slow its decent. Most Russian built space vehicles of the time were designed to touch down on land after their missions. Althought he landing was rough, Major Gagarin suffered no injuries upon reentry.

Specifications:

Length: 6.7 meters
Diameter: 4.3 Meters
Mass: 4734.5 kg
Propulsion: Chemical
Duration: 12 days
Crew: 1

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