Vostok 4

Vostok 4 (Russian: Восток-4, Orient 4 or East 4) was a mission in the Soviet space program. It was launched in August 1962, a day after Vostok 3 with cosmonaut Pavel Popovich on board—the first time that more than one crewed spacecraft were in orbit at the same time. The two Vostok capsules came within 6.5 km (4.0 mi) of one another and ship-to-ship radio contact was established.[3]

Vostok 4
Model of the Vostok capsule with its upper stage
OperatorSoviet space program
Harvard designation1962 Alpha Nu 1
COSPAR ID1962-037A
SATCAT no.367
Mission duration2 days, 22 hours, 56 minutes
Orbits completed48
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftVostok-3KA No.6
ManufacturerExperimental Design Bureau OKB-1
Launch mass4,728 kilograms (10,423 lb)
Crew
Crew size1
MembersPavel Popovich
CallsignБеркут (Berkut - golden eagle)[1]
Start of mission
Launch dateAugust 12, 1962, 08:02:33 (1962-08-12UTC08:02:33Z) UTC
RocketVostok-K 8K72K
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5[2]
End of mission
Landing dateAugust 15, 1962, 06:59 (1962-08-15UTC07:00Z) UTC
Landing site48°9′N 71°51′E
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude159 kilometres (99 mi)
Apogee altitude211 kilometres (131 mi)
Inclination65.0 degrees
Period88.2 minutes
Vostok programme
Crewed flights
 

The cosmonauts of Vostok 3 and 4 did not attempt rendezvous. At one point the craft came within a few kilometers of each other and Popovich later reported at a news conference that he saw the other craft from orbit. Popovich is quoted as saying, "I saw it at once," referring to seeing Vostok 3 in orbit. "It looked like a very small moon in the distance."

The Vostok 3 and 4 spacecraft landed about 200 km apart, south of Karaganda, Kazakhstan.[4]

The mission went largely as planned, despite a malfunction with the Vostok's life-support systems that caused cabin temperature to drop to 10 °C (50 °F). The flight was terminated early after a misunderstanding by ground control, who believed that Popovich had given them a codeword asking to be brought back ahead of schedule.[5]

The re-entry capsule is now on display at the NPO Zvezda Museum in Moscow, but it has been modified to represent the Voskhod 2 capsule.

Crew
Position Cosmonaut
Pilot Pavel Popovich
First spaceflight

Backup crew
Position Cosmonaut
Pilot Vladimir M. Komarov

Reserve crew
Position Cosmonaut
Pilot Boris Volynov
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References
  1. Yenne, Bill (1988). The Pictorial History of World Spaceflight. Exeter. p. 23. ISBN 0-7917-0188-3.
  2. "Baikonur LC1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  3. Gatland, Kenneth (1976). Manned Spacecraft, Second Revision. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 117–118. ISBN 0-02-542820-9.
  4. "Soviet Spacemen Say No Try Made To 'Rendezvous'", TheMontreal Gazette newspaper, Aug 22, 1962
  5. "Joint flight of Vostok-3 and Vostok-4". Russian Space Web. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
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