![]() ![]() The only problem was that it was only capable of a purely ballistic re-entry, which means 8 G's for the occupant from earth orbit and 20 G's from the moon. If you throw such a weighted ball in the air (or re-enter the atmosphere with it) it will automatically swing around with the heavy end downward. The spherical design itself was ingenious - it had no maneuvering engines to orient it, since it was like a ball with the heavy weight concentrated at one end. The Vostok could not be used for circumlunar missions or earth missions with non-astronaut qualified crew due to the 'Sharik' reentry vehicle design. Later on maneuverable versions of the Vostok were developed as Zenit reconnaissance satellites. This would have been a maneuverable Vostok that would have made repetitive dockings with propulsion modules - a method of achieving a circumlunar mission using only the Soyuz booster. However Korolev, before being authorized to proceed with development of the Soyuz, did study the Vostok Zh. The main engine was used only at the end of the mission for the re-entry braking maneuver. Mercury, could not perform orbital maneuvers - they could only be translated around their axes. The Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft, like the U.S. There was no soft-landing system the pilot ejected for a separate landing under his own parachute. A single parachute allowed recovery of the capsule. Attitude control was by cold gas thrusters for on-orbit orientation passive control for the capsule during re-entry. The spacecraft had two windows: one above the cosmonaut's head in the entry hatch, one at his feet, equipped with the Vzor optical device for orientation of the spacecraft. The Vostok crew accommodation was for one cosmonaut, in a spacesuit, equipped with an ejection seat for launch aborts and for landing on the earth. These remained in service into the 21st Century. World's first manned spacecraft, it was developed into the later Voskhod, and numerous versions of recoverable unmanned satellites for reconnaissance (Zenit), materials, and biological research (Bion). ![]()
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