MISSION NAME
Vostok 5 5
Status
Success
DATE
14 JUN 1963
LAUNCH PROVIDER
Soviet Space Program
Launch Pad
1/5
Description
Vostok 5 was a joint mission with Vostok 6 which launched two days after Vostok 5. The capsule was piloted by Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky. The mission was intended to last 8 days, but the capsule returned to Earth just after 5 due to a lower then intended orbit and solar flare activity. The mission began on 14 June 1963, 11:58:58 UTC and ended on 19 June 1963, 11:06 UTC.
Vostok-K
Rocket Description
The Vostok-K was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union for thirteen launches between 1960 and 1964, six of which were manned. The Vostok-K made its maiden flight on 22 December 1960, three weeks after the retirement of the Vostok-L. The third stage engine failed 425 seconds after launch, and the payload, a Korabl-Sputnik spacecraft, failed to reach orbit. The spacecraft was recovered after landing, and the two dogs aboard the spacecraft survived the flight. On 12 April 1961, a Vostok-K rocket was used to launch Vostok 1, the first manned spaceflight, which made Yuri Gagarin the first human to fly in space.