The Model of the Vostok Rocket
The Vostok rocket has played a special role in the history of the Russian space programme. It was this very vehicle that launched the Vostok-1 spacecraft with Yuri Gagarin onboard into orbit on 12 April 1961, for the first manned flight into outer space.
The model of the Vostok rocket was installed at the All-Russian Exhibition Centre on 8 July 1967 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
The History of its Creation
The model of the Vostok rocket was manufactured at the Samara Rocket and Space Centre (now Progress RSC). It weighs 25 tonnes. The ready-to-launch original vehicle weighed 287 tons. The total length of the Vostok rocket is 38.4 metres (the height of a 16-storey building). The maximum transverse dimension is 10.3 metres. The maximum payload mass at launch into orbital was 4,730 kg.
The model of the Vostok rocket was installed at the All-Russian Exhibition Centre on 8 July 1967 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. It was decided to place it in the Square of Industry, where, in 1954, there was a big round bowl fountain (actually, a decorative pond). Before that, in 1938–1951, there was a giant, 25-meter-high monument to Stalin.
The model was placed directly above the bowl of water, with its pedestal positioned on the edge and the rocket exactly in the centre of the bowl. Initially, during the installation, the model was mounted horizontally. When the installation was completed, it was lifted onto the pedestal with a hoist that brought the model to an upright position. However, the bowl fountain eventually fell into decay and disrepair.