The Space Race
Comparisons between the Soviet Union's
Vostok program & the United States's Project Mercury are natural, inevitable, & entirely appropriate, as neither would have happened without the other. There were six
Vostok missions carrying six cosmonauts from April 1961-June 1963; there were six Mercury missions carrying six astronauts from May 1961-May 1963. All six of these
Vostok flights were orbital; two of the Mercury flights were suborbital (using the Redstone launch vehicle), while four were orbital (using the Atlas launch vehicle).
The Soviets continued to lead the Space Race, as they had since the launch of
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, in October 1957:
Vostok 1 was an orbital flight (April 1961), while the first orbital Mercury flight was the third, Mercury-Atlas 6 (February 1962).
Vostok 2 lasted a full day (August 1961), while the first Mercury flight to last a full day was the sixth & last, Mercury-Atlas 9 (May 1963). Some
Vostok achievements would never be equalled by Mercury, but only by the follow-on Gemini program.
Vostok 3 &
Vostok 4 was the first flight of two spacecraft (August 1962), a feat N.A.S.A. would not equal until Gemini VII & Gemini VI-A (December 1965).
Vostok 5 (June 1963) set an endurance record of five days that would not be surpassed until the eight days of Gemini V (August 1965);
Vostok 5's cosmonaut continues to hold the world record for longest solo spaceflight.
A critical difference between the Soviet & American space programs is that Mercury's successes & failures were conducted in public, while
Vostok's successes were carefully curated & its failures were hidden for decades,
e.g., the death of Valentin Bondarenko. The Soviets also exaggerated their accomplishments to the point of lying: The official
T.A.S.S. news agency reported that
Vostok 3 had changed its orbital trajectory to rendezvous with
Vostok 4, though the
Vostok capsule was not capable of such orbital maneuvers & the relatively close proximity of the two spacecraft was due to the precision of their launches.
All that said, the achievements of the
Vostok program cannot be denied—Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space—& should be celebrated by all Mankind.
The Wayback Machine Tour of the Vostok Program
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCX: The 60th Anniversary of
Vostok 1
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXXIV: The 60th Anniversary of
Vostok 2
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXCVIII: The 60th Anniversary of
Vostok 3 &
Vostok 4, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXCIX: The 60th Anniversary of
Vostok 3 &
Vostok 4, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLVII: The 60th Anniversary of
Vostok 5 &
Vostok 6, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLVIII: The 60th Anniversary of
Vostok 5 &
Vostok 6, Part II
