Vostok spacecraft

The Vostok spacecraft was a Soviet space vehicle designed in the late 1950s to carry humans into space. It was the first spacecraft to successfully orbit a human around Earth, launching Yuri Gagarin in 1961. The Vostok consisted of a re-entry capsule housing the astronaut, connected to a service module that contained life-support and navigation systems. It was launched atop a rocket and, after completing its mission, the capsule would detach and safely descend back to Earth via parachute. The Vostok program marked a significant milestone in human spaceflight, demonstrating the feasibility of crewed space exploration.