View source for Vostok 5

{{Short description|1963 Soviet spaceflight}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = Vostok 5
| image                 = Vostok_spacecraft.jpg
| image_caption         = Model of the Vostok capsule with its upper stage
| insignia              =

| mission_type          = 
| operator              = [[Soviet space program]]
| COSPAR_ID             = 1963-020A
| SATCAT                = 591
| mission_duration      = 4&nbsp;days, 23&nbsp;hours, 7&nbsp;minutes
| orbits_completed      = 82

| spacecraft            = [[Vostok (spacecraft)|Vostok-3KA]] No.7
| manufacturer          = Experimental Design Bureau [[OKB-1]]
| launch_mass           = {{convert|4720|kg|lb}}
| landing_mass          =

| launch_date           = {{start-date|14 June 1963, 11:58:58|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC 
| launch_rocket         = [[Vostok-K]] 8K72K
| launch_site           = [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1|1/5]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.astronautix.com/sites/baiurlc1.htm |title=Baikonur LC1 |access-date=2009-03-30 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415160730/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/baiurlc1.htm |archive-date=2009-04-15 }}</ref>

| landing_date          = {{end-date|19 June 1963, 11:06|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC 
| landing_site          = {{coord|53.39777|N|67.60500|E}}<ref>{{cite web|url = https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=53.39777+N,+67.60500+E&sll=53.398211,67.605636&sspn=0.006295,0.017359&ie=UTF8&ll=53.397251,67.607889&spn=0.025179,0.069437&t=h&z=14|title = Google Maps - Vostok 5 Landing Site - Monument Location|access-date = 2010-12-29}}</ref>

| orbit_epoch           = 15 June 1963, 08:00:00&nbsp;UTC<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1963-020A|title=NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|access-date=2018-05-02}}</ref>
| orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]
| orbit_eccentricity    = 0.00358
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|162|km|mi}} 
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|209|km|mi}} 
| orbit_inclination     = 65&nbsp;degrees
| orbit_period          = 88.4&nbsp;minutes 
| apsis                 = gee

| crew_size             = 1
| crew_members          = [[Valery Bykovsky]]
| crew_callsign         = {{lang|ru|Ястреб}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Yastreb}} - "Hawk")<ref name="Yenne">{{cite book |last=Yenne |first=Bill |title=The Pictorial History of World Spaceflight |publisher=Exeter |year=1988 |isbn=0-7917-0188-3 |page=27}}</ref>
| crew_photo            = Valeri bykovsky.jpg
| crew_photo_caption    =

| previous_mission      = [[Vostok 3 and 4]]
| next_mission          = [[Vostok 6]]
| programme             = '''[[Vostok program]]'''
}}
'''Vostok 5''' ({{langx|ru|Восток-5||[[Orient]] 5' or '[[East]] 5}}) was a joint mission of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] space program together with [[Vostok 6]]; as with the previous pair of [[Vostok 3]] and [[Vostok 4]] the two [[Vostok spacecraft]] came close to one another in orbit and established a radio link.

Vostok 5 launched on 14 June 1963, and returned to Earth on 19 June, and was piloted by [[Valery Bykovsky]].

==Mission==
Several delays plagued the prelaunch preparations of Vostok 5, the biggest being concern over elevated [[solar flare]] activity. At this early phase, it was not well understood what effects this might have on the spacecraft and its passenger, so the planned launch date of 11 June was postponed a few days. On the 14th, Bykovsky was strapped into the capsule awaiting liftoff when further delays occurred. A [[gyroscope]] in the Blok E stage malfunctioned and needed to be replaced, but this would mean removing the propellants from the booster, taking it down from the pad back to the vehicle assembly building, and delaying the launch another several days. It was decided to take the calculated risk of simply doing the repair work on the fully fueled launch vehicle. A replacement gyroscope was quickly installed and liftoff took place at 2:59 PM Moscow time. One last minor problem popped up when a pad umbilical failed to disconnect, but as soon as the booster began lifting, it was yanked out. The launch proceeded without any difficulties, although the Blok E stage slightly underperformed and put the spacecraft into a lower-than-intended orbit at 108×137 miles (175×222 kilometers) versus the normal 112×146 miles (181×235 kilometers).

[[Astronaut|Cosmonaut]] [[Valery Bykovsky]] was originally intended to stay in orbit for eight days, but the mission details changed many times due to elevated levels of solar flare activity at the time and he was eventually ordered back after five days. This remains the record for solo crewed flight in Earth orbit. In addition, the low orbit of the spacecraft made it uncertain as to whether decay would not occur in under eight days. This combined with solar flare activity affecting the diameter of the Earth's atmosphere might potentially introduce drag that could not only cause premature reentry, but result in Vostok 5 landing almost anywhere on Earth.

Bykovsky performed a couple of simple scientific experiments in orbit and also practiced exercise and testing his body's reactions to weightlessness. In the postflight debriefing, he would say that the overall design of the spacecraft was good, but the clock was in a location that made it hard to see and the instrument panel was placed too far away. The first aid kit could not be reached at all without unstrapping from the seat. Like [[Valentina Tereshkova]], he noted that the helmet headset produced sharp, unpleasant noise. He described the food as generally of good quality, although it probably should not be eaten before launch.

A problem with the spacecraft's [[toilet|waste collection system]] is reported to have made conditions "unpleasant" in the capsule. The only other difficulty encountered was that, like on [[Vostok 1]] and [[Vostok 2]], the re-entry module failed to separate cleanly from the service module when it was time for Bykovsky to come home and he experienced several seconds of sharp vibrations following separations.

The Vostok 5 landing coordinates were {{coord|53.39777|N|67.60500|E}}, 2&nbsp;km northwest of Karatal, North Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan; and 550&nbsp;km northwest of Karagandy, Kazakhstan. A group of local farmers greeted Bykovsky prior to rescue crews arriving. At the landing location is a small fenced park with two monuments. One monument is a 10-meter tall silver rectangle with a small stone marker nearby listing the date of the landing. The second monument is an L-shaped sandy colored stone structure. One leg of the "L" is an observation deck with stairs leading to it. The other leg of the "L" has a space-themed mural carved into the stone face. The mural depicts a floating cosmonaut in a spacesuit surrounded by stars, telescopes, planets, and the Sun.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.399771,67.606623&spn=0.006294,0.017359&t=h&z=16&iwloc=lyrftr:com.panoramio.all,3829704584548780242,53.398326,67.605851&lci=com.panoramio.all|title = Google Maps - Vostok 5 Landing Site - Stone Monument Photo|access-date = 2010-12-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.398326,67.605851&spn=0,0.017359&t=h&z=16&lci=com.panoramio.all&layer=c&cbll=53.398326,67.605851&cbp=12,0,,0,5&photoid=po-32335660|title = Google Maps - Vostok 5 Landing Site - Stone Monument Photo - Closeup|access-date = 2010-12-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.398326,67.605851&spn=0,0.017359&t=h&z=16&lci=com.panoramio.all&layer=c&cbll=53.398326,67.605851&cbp=12,0,,0,5&photoid=po-32335670|title = Google Maps - Vostok 5 Landing Site - Metal Monument Photo|access-date = 2010-12-29}}</ref>

The re-entry capsule is on display at the [[Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics|Tsiolkovsky Museum]] in [[Kaluga]].

==Pilot==
{{Spaceflight crew
|position1       = Pilot
|crew1_up        = [[Valery Bykovsky]]
|flights1_up     = First
}}
=== Backup ===
{{Spaceflight crew
|position1       = Pilot
|crew1_up        = [[Boris Volynov]]
}}
=== Reserve ===
{{Spaceflight crew
|position1       = Pilot
|crew1_up        = [[Alexei Leonov]]
}}

==Mission parameters==
*'''[[Mass]]''' {{convert|4720|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
*'''[[Apogee]]:''' {{convert|235|km|mi|abbr=on}}
*'''[[Perigee]]:''' {{convert|181|km|mi|abbr=on}}
*'''[[Inclination]]:''' 64.9°
*'''[[Orbital period|Period]]:''' 88.4 minutes

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Portal|Spaceflight|Soviet Union}}
{{Vostok Programme}}
{{Orbital launches in 1963}}

[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1963]]
[[Category:Human spaceflights]]
[[Category:Vostok programme]]
[[Category:1963 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 1963]]
[[Category:June 1963]]