Vostok 4

Vostok 4

Spacecraft· OKB-1 (USSR)inactive

Vostok 4 — Pavel Popovich (August 1962), launched to join Vostok 3 in the first group flight; the two craft passed within about 6.5 km and exchanged the first ship-to-ship radio calls in space.

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Key facts

Distance from Sun
1.01 AU
Status
Completed
Launched
1962

Mission & specifications

Mission

Operator
OKB-1 (USSR)
Launched
August 12, 1962
Status
Completed

Trajectory

Distance from the Sun
1.01 AU
Distance from Earth
14,059 km
Distance from Venus
0.563 AU

Mission

Vostok 4 was the second half of the first 'group flight'. Pavel Popovich launched on 12 August 1962, a day after Nikolayev's Vostok 3, into a nearly matching orbit — and for a brief while the two capsules flew within about 6.5 km of one another, exchanging the first ship-to-ship radio calls between crewed spacecraft. The pairing was carefully stage-managed to suggest a Soviet mastery of orbital rendezvous that did not yet exist: the Vostok had no engine to close the distance, and once orbital mechanics pulled the craft apart there was no bringing them back together. Popovich flew for nearly three days and landed on 15 August, within minutes of Nikolayev. Real rendezvous would have to wait for craft that could steer, but the dual flight showed how much the young Soviet programme could stage at once.

  1. 1962Vostok 4 launchesLaunch

    Pavel Popovich follows Vostok 3 into a near-matching orbit — the first group flight.

  2. 1962First ship-to-ship radioMilestone

    The two Vostoks close to ~6.5 km and exchange the first radio calls between crewed spacecraft.

  3. 1962LandingMission end

    Popovich returns after nearly three days, within minutes of Nikolayev.

Images

Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich aboard Vostok 4
NASA (public domain) · Wikimedia Commons

Images from open archives · credit shown per image