R-7 Semyorka version
R-7 Semyorka Voskhod (11A57)
A Soviet medium-lift launcher derived from the R-7, with 5,900 kg to low Earth orbit. It flew three hundred times between 1963 and 1976 and strung together 86 consecutive successful launches.
- November 16, 1963
- First launch
- 5,900 kg
- LEO capacity
- No
- Reusable
History
A medium-lift R-7
Voskhod (GRAU index 11A57) was a medium-lift launch vehicle derived from the R-7 missile. It stood 30.84 m tall with a 2.99 m core diameter, weighed 298,400 kg at lift-off and placed 5,900 kg into low Earth orbit with three stages.
Core evolution
From 1966 the 11A57 adopted the standardised 11A511 core with more powerful 8D74M first-stage engines, although the Blok I stage kept the RD-0107 engine rather than the RD-0110. The newer 11A511U core arrived in 1973, but existing 11A57 stock took another three years to use up.
Reliability
Between 11 September 1967 and 9 July 1970 Voskhod flew 86 consecutive successful launches, one of the longest streaks in launch-vehicle history. Its full record runs to three hundred flights, from 16 November 1963 to 29 June 1976, with Voskhod spacecraft and Zenit satellites as its main payloads.