# Vostok-1K No.1
**Wikidata**: [Q4438262](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4438262)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/vostok-1k-no-1

## Summary
Vostok-1K No.1 was a 4.7-ton Soviet prototype crewed spacecraft that failed to reach orbit on 28 July 1960. Also known as Korabl'-Sputnik, it was the first test of the Vostok design that would later carry Yuri Gagarin into space.

## Key Facts
- Launch mass: 4,700 kg
- Launch date: 28 July 1960 at 09:31 UTC
- Launch site: Gagarin's Start (Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1)
- Launch vehicle: Vostok-L rocket, serial L1-10
- Operator: Academy of Sciences of the USSR
- Outcome: Launch failure; spacecraft did not achieve orbit
- Alternative names: Vostok-1 No.1, Korabl'-Sputnik
- Instance of: artificial satellite of the Earth (former), prototype crewed spacecraft

## FAQs
### Q: What went wrong with Vostok-1K No.1?
A: The Vostok-L booster malfunctioned shortly after liftoff, preventing the spacecraft from reaching orbital velocity. The exact failure mode is not specified in the source material.

### Q: Was Vostok-1K No.1 intended to carry a human?
A: The source does not state whether this flight was planned as uncrewed or crewed; it is classified as a prototype spacecraft.

### Q: How does Vostok-1K No.1 relate to Gagarin's flight?
A: It was the first flight test of the Vostok spacecraft design that, after several iterations, successfully placed Yuri Gagarin in orbit on 12 April 1961.

## Why It Matters
Vostok-1K No.1 marks the opening chapter of the Soviet human-spaceflight programme. Although the launch failed, the 4.7-ton spacecraft validated the basic Vostok architecture—life-support, re-entry capsule, and service module—that would soon become the world's first crewed orbital vehicle. The data gathered from this failure directly informed the rapid succession of Vostok test flights throughout 1960-61, culminating in Gagarin's historic mission. Because the USSR published so little real-time information, each surviving government document or Wikidata entry for these early prototypes is a critical puzzle piece for historians tracking how the Soviets leap-frogged the United States in the race to put a human in orbit.

## Notable For
- First flight test of the Vostok spacecraft design
- Heaviest Soviet spacecraft attempted to orbit up to that date (4,700 kg)
- Launched from the same pad (Gagarin's Start) later used for Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1 crewed flight
- One of the earliest launch failures officially recorded for the Soviet crewed programme

## Body
### Background
The Soviet Union approved the Vostok programme in 1958 to develop a human-rated orbital vehicle. Vostok-1K No.1 was the initial prototype, designated to prove the spacecraft's structural and flight characteristics.

### Spacecraft Architecture
No detailed schematics are provided in the source, but the 4,700 kg mass implies a multi-module design: a spherical descent module for cosmonaut return and an instrument compartment for propulsion and power.

### Launch Attempt
On 28 July 1960 the Vostok-L rocket, serial L1-10, lifted off from Site 1 at Baikonur. The vehicle failed before reaching orbit; the spacecraft was lost.

### Aftermath
The failure accelerated ground testing and led to at least two more uncrewed Vostok-1K flights in 1960 before the first successful orbital mission, Korabl'-Sputnik 2, carried dogs Belka and Strelka on 19 August 1960.

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report