Korabl-Sputnik 1 (also known as Sputnik 4) was the inaugural test flight of the Soviet Vostok program and the first Vostok spacecraft. It was launched on May 15, 1960. Although unmanned, Korabl-Sputnik 1 served as a precursor to the first human spaceflight, Vostok 1.
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| A Korabl-Sputnik 1 launch cover, postmarked in Kiev on May 15, 1960, marking the first test flight of the Soviet Vostok spacecraft. |
The spacecraft, the first in a series designed to explore the feasibility of manned space flight, was equipped with scientific instruments, a television system, and a self-sustaining biological cabin containing a mannequin. It aimed to study the performance of the life support system and the stresses experienced during flight. The spacecraft transmitted extensive telemetry data and prerecorded voice communications. After four days in flight, the retro rocket was ignited, and the descent module was detached from its equipment module. However, because the spacecraft was not in the correct flight attitude when the retro rocket fired, the descent module did not reenter the atmosphere as intended.
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| A First Day Cover for the Korabl-Sputnik 1 stamp. |
The descent module reentered the atmosphere on September 6, 1962, while the equipment module reentered on October 15, 1965. A 20-pound fragment of the descent module landed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in the northern United States.
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| Photo: On September 5, 1962, a piece of metal, thought to be from Sputnik 4, was discovered in the center of North 8th Street in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, located in the northern United States. |
(Reference from
Korabl-Sputnik 1)
