Vostok 5 (original) (raw)


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Vostok 5


Part of Vostok



Vostok Moscow 1981

Vostok Moscow 1981
Credit: © Mark Wade


Joint flight with Vostok 6. Record flight duration. Spacecraft ended up in a lower than planned orbit and quickly decayed - temperatures in the service module reached very high levels and the flight returned early.

AKA: Yastreb (Hawk). Launched: 1963-06-14. Returned: 1963-06-19. Number crew: 1 . Duration: 4.96 days. Location: Tsiolokovskiy Museum, Kaluga, Russia.

Joint flight with Vostok 6. The Soviet Union launched Vostok 5, piloted by Lt. Col. Valery F. Bykovsky. Two days later Lt. Valentina V. Tereshkova, the first spacewoman, followed in Vostok 6. On its first orbit, Vostok 6 came within about five km of Vostok 5, the closest distance achieved during the flight, and established radio contact. Both cosmonauts landed safely on June 19. The space spectacular featured television coverage of Bykovsky that was viewed in the West as well as in Russia. Unlike earlier missions, only a black and white film camera was carried. Photometric measurements of the earth's horizon were made.

Mission objectives were officially: further study of the effect of various space-flight factors in the human organism; extensive medico-biological experiments under conditions of prolonged flight; further elaboration and improvement of spaceship systems.

Vostok 5 was originally planned to go for a record eight days. The launch was delayed repeatedly due to high solar activity and technical problems. Finally the spacecraft ended up in a lower than planned orbit. Combined with increased atmospheric activity due to solar levels, Vostok 5 quickly decayed and temperatures in the service module reached very high levels.

Bykovsky also experienced an unspecified problem with his waste management system (a spill?) which made conditions in the cabin 'very uncomfortable'. He was finally ordered to return after only five days in space. To top it all off, once again the Vostok service module failed to separate cleanly from the reentry sphere. Wild gyrations ensued until the heat of reentry burned through the non-separating retraining strap. Recovered June 19, 1963 11:06 GMT. Landed 53:24 N 67:37 E.

Summary of Bykovsky's Post-Flight Debriefing

Launch took place at 14:59, but the spacecraft clock read 15:00. The engine noise of the launch vehicle was weak. I didn't notice cutoff of the first stage or feel the ignition of the third stage. When the spacecraft separated from the third stage there were a lot of frost particles. I tried to orient the spacecraft to see the third stage, but there were a lot of floating particles against the background of the earth. After ten minutes of wasteful attempts to orient the capsule to see the stage the air pressure in my orientation tanks was down to 10 atmospheres. The spacecraft moved very slowly under manual orientation. I needed to conserve 5 atmospheres of orientation tank pressure for retrofire. To turn the spacecraft perpendicular to the direction of motion, or towards a star or moon to check the orientation took eight minutes.

I couldn't see Volgograd, it was clouded over. I did finally see the third stage of my booster but couldn't see Vostok 6 despite many attempts. I could make out islands easily, and recognized Leningrad, the Nile, and Cairo. At sea I could see the wakes of ships and large barges. In Norway the fjords and mountain summits were easily made out.

At night, through the Vzor, I could see lightning flashes and cities over South America. I saw aircraft contrails over France. didn't exercise on the first day to avoid motion sickness. The binocular device for preventing motion sickness didn't have any effect. I looked at the earth through the lens of the film camera. There was no reading on the dosimeter. I tried to see the solar corona using various filters, but saw nothing. Attempts to see the polar lights or airglow were also unsuccessful.

In the first floating session I did not completely release myself from the seat at first. Then I floated through the air a bit; it was very pleasant. However the fan to the suit air supply would cut off whenever I released myself from the seat - a real problem. In the second floating session I looked out through the porthole. I could see the ship's antenna and a piece of dangling cable. Floating pleased me a great deal.

All the instruments in the cabin were easy to use and accurate except for the clock. I checked the position of the Globus instrument once per orbit and it remained accurate. The suit ventilation was adequate; I turned the fan off at night. The temperature in the cabin ranged from 30 deg C to 15 deg C on the first day, and was down to 10 deg C by third day. When I was told to return to earth on the 82nd orbit, I received conflicting messages via the telegraph. Finally Gagarin confirmed that I should return that day.

The solar orientation for retrofire worked correctly and the TDU braking engine fired for 39 seconds. Immediately after shut down of the engine the capsule separated from the service module. There were no big G forces during reentry. There was a powerful explosion when the cabin hatch blew off, and I was ejected from the capsule in my seat two seconds later. I landed between two trees in a steppe-like region. I was first approached by a man on a horse, then an auto drove up. The local people helped me out of my suit. Soon over a hundred spectators had gathered. Then An-2 and Il-14 search planes flew overhead. I couldn't reach them on the radio. I was driven in a Volga automobile to the spacecraft, which had landed 1.5 to 2.0 km away from me.


More at: Vostok 5.


Family: Manned spaceflight. People: Bykovsky. Country: Russia. Spacecraft: Vostok. Launch Sites: Baikonur. Agency: Korolev bureau.


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Bykovsky BykovskyBykovsky aboard Vostok 5.Credit: RKK Energia



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1963 June 14 - . 11:58 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC1. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Vostok 8K72K.


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