Vostok-2M

Vostok-2M

Vostok-2M rocket
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Size
Stages	Two
Capacity
Payload to SSO	3,800 kilograms (8,400 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	R-7
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Baikonur Site 31/6 Plesetsk Site 41/1 & 43
Total launches	93
Successes	92
Failures	1
First flight	28 August 1964
Last flight	29 August 1991
Notable payloads	Meteor Resurs Tselina-D
Boosters
No. boosters	4
Engines	1 RD-107-8D74K
Thrust	995.3 kilonewtons (223,800 lbf)
Burn time	120 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
First stage
Engines	1 RD-108-8D75K
Thrust	940.4 kilonewtons (211,400 lbf)
Burn time	305 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
Second stage
Engines	1 RD-0109
Thrust	54.52 kilonewtons (12,260 lbf)
Burn time	400 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX

The Vostok-2M (Russian: Восток meaning "East"), GRAU index 8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It was originally built as a specialised version of the earlier Vostok-2, for injecting lighter payloads into higher sun-synchronous orbits. It was a member of the R-7 family of rockets, and the last Vostok.

The Vostok-2M made its maiden flight on 28 August 1964, from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, successfully placing Kosmos 44, a Meteor weather satellite into orbit. Its only launch failure occurred on 1 February 1969, when the launch of a Meteor failed due to an upper stage problem.

At 16:01 GMT on 18 March 1980, a Vostok-2M exploded during fueling Plesetsk Site 43/4, ahead of the launch of a Tselina-D satellite, killing 48 people who were working on the rocket at the time. A filter in a hydrogen peroxide tank of the third stage had accidentally been soldered with tin-lead, the latter of which causes decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. As a consequence, the H2O2 broke down, overheated, and melted the solder, causing pieces to fall into the H2O2 storage tank and cause a runaway chemical reaction. This led to a fire inside the third stage and eventual explosion which resulted in the complete destruction of the launch vehicle and severe pad damage (LC-43 did not host another launch for three years).

Vostok-2M launches occurred from Site 31/6 at Baikonur, and Sites 41/1 and 43 at Plesetsk. It is unclear if any were launched from Site 1/5 at Baikonur. The Vostok-2M was retired in 1991, in favour of standardisation on the Soyuz-U and U2 rockets. The final flight was conducted on 29 August, and carried the IRS-1B satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation.