The Vostok programme (Russian: Восто́к, Orient or East) was a Soviet human spaceflight project that succeeded in putting a person into Earth's orbit for the first time. The programme developed the Vostok spacecraft from the Zenit spy satellite project and adapted the Vostok rocket from an existing ICBM design. "Vostok" was a classified word before the first release of the program's name to the press.
There were six manned spaceflights in the Vostok programme, all of which took place between 1961 and 1963. The programme preceded the Voskhod programme, which used modified Vostok capsules. By the late 1960s, those programmes were superseded by the Soyuz programme, which continues as of 2011.
Read more about Vostok Programme: Background, Cosmonaut Selection and Training, Missions
Famous quotes containing the word programme:
“Bolkenstein, a Minister, was speaking on the Dutch programme from London, and he said that they ought to make a collection of diaries and letters after the war. Of course, they all made a rush at my diary immediately. Just imagine how interesting it would be if I were to publish a romance of the “Secret Annexe.” The title alone would be enough to make people think it was a detective story.”
—Anne Frank (1929–1945)