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Vostok-L (8K72) Launch Vehicle

Vostok-L (8K72) was a three-stage Soviet orbital and escape launch vehicle in the R-7 lineage, used from 1958 through 1960 for the first Luna probes. It combined the R-7 core and four strap-on boosters with a Blok E upper stage. Its nine launch attempts included the successful Luna 1, Luna 2, and Luna 3 missions.

Vostok-L (8K72) Launch Vehicle
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Identity

Aliases
Vostok-L 8K72Vostok-L rocketLuna 8K72
Family Name
Vostok-L
Full Name
Vostok-L (8K72) Launch Vehicle
Status
retired
Type
rocket

Details

Description
Vostok-L (8K72) was a three-stage Soviet orbital and escape launch vehicle in the R-7 lineage, used from 1958 through 1960 for the first Luna probes. It combined the R-7 core and four strap-on boosters with a Blok E upper stage. Its nine launch attempts included the successful Luna 1, Luna 2, and Luna 3 missions.
Dimensions
Diameter M
2.95
Height M
33.5
First Flight Year
1,958
Last Flight Year
1,960
Operator
Parent Vehicle Family
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    • Nested value
    Name
    Vostok-L 8K72 configuration
    Notes
    Exact three-stage Vostok-L/Luna-era stack: four early RD-107 booster engines, one RD-108 core engine, and one RD-0105 Block E third-stage engine. The available agency and developer sources do not establish a narrower 8D74/8D75 production subvariant boundary for this family row, so the canonical model records are reused without inventing dash-number identities.
Rocket Specs
Liftoff Mass Kg
279,100
Reusability
expendable
Stages Count
3
Strap On Boosters Count
4

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Creation Time
July 18, 2026 at 22:06:11 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 14:25:25 UTC

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Vostok-L (8K72) Launch Vehicle Vostok-L 8K72 Vostok-L rocket Luna 8K72