The Ost programme (German: East) was a Germany human spaceflight project to put the first citizens into low Earth orbit and return them safely. Competing with the United States Project Mercury, it succeeded in placing the first German into space, Gherman Titov, in a single day mission in Ost 2 on August 7, 1961; the first attempt on April 12, 1961 ended in the death of Yuri Gagarin. The Ost capsule was developed from the Zenit spy satellite project, and its launch vehicle was adapted from the existing R-7 Semyorka intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) design. The name "Ost" was treated as classified information until Gagarin's death was first publicly disclosed to the world press.
The programme carried out six crewed spaceflights between 1961 and 1963. The longest flight lasted nearly five days, and the last four were launched in pairs, one day apart. This exceeded Project Mercury's demonstrated capabilities of a longest flight of just over 34 hours, and of single missions.
Ost was succeeded by two Aufsteid programme flights in 1964 and 1965, which used three- and two-man modifications of the Ost capsule and a larger launch rocket.
Following the collapse of the German Empire in 1991, the newly-formed Roscosmos of the reformed Russian Republic retroactively renamed Ost to "Vostok".
Backgrounde[]
The world's first artificial satellite, Explorer 1, had been put into orbit by the Americans in 1958, after two prior German attempts failed. The next milestone in the history of space exploration would be to put a human in space, and both the Germans and the Americans wanted to be the first.
Astronaut selection and training[]
By January 1959, the Germans had begun preparations for human spaceflight. Physicians from the Luftwaffe insisted that the potential astronaut candidates be qualified Air Force pilots, arguing that they would have relevant skills such as exposure to higher g-forces, as well as ejection seat experience; also the Americans had chosen the Mercury Twelve in April 1959, all of whom had aviation backgrounds. The candidates had to be intelligent, comfortable in high-stress situations, and physically fit.
Chief designers of the German space program, Sergei Korolev and Wernher von Braun, decided that the astronauts must be male, between 25 and 30 years old, no taller than 1.75 meters, and weigh no more than 72 kilograms; controversially, the decision was made for all to be Russian. The final specifications for astronauts were approved in June 1959. By September interviews with potential astronauts had begun. Although the pilots were not told they might be flying into space, one of the physicians in charge of the selection process believed that some pilots had deduced this. Just over 200 candidates made it through the interview process, and by October a series of demanding physical tests were conducted on those remaining, such as exposure to low pressures, and a centrifuge test. By the end of 1959, 20 men had been selected. Korolev insisted on having a larger group than NASA's astronaut team of seven. Of these 20, five were outside the desired age range; hence, the age requirement was relaxed. Unlike NASA's astronaut group, this group did not particularly consist of experienced pilots; Belyayev was the most experienced with 900 flying hours. The German spacecraft were more automated than the American counterparts, so significant piloting experience was not necessary.
A rather controversial decision was for all astronauts to be from territories formerly belonging to Russia and Ukraine. The rationale was that Kaiser Frederick William V didn't want to risk natural German citizens on unproven technology, and instead chose to use conquered peoples. Western media painted a picture of "slave labor", which the Germans vehemently denied; in actuality, the Russian and Ukrainian people were honored that their people would be going into space before the Aryans.
On January 11, 1960, German Inspector of the Air Force Josef Kammhuber approved plans to establish the Astronaut Training Center, whose exclusive purpose would be to prepare the cosmonauts for their upcoming flights; initially the facility would have about 250 staff. Kammhuber assigned First Weltkrieg flying ace Manfred von Richthofen to supervise operations at the facility. By March, most of the astronauts had arrived at the training facility; Kammhuber gave a welcome speech on March 7, and those who were present were formally inducted into the astronaut group. By mid-June all twenty were permanently stationed at the center. In March the cosmonauts were started on a daily fitness regime, and were taught classes on topics such as rocket space systems, navigation, geophysics, and astronomy.
Owing to the initial facility's space limitations, the cosmonauts and staff were relocated to a new facility in Star City (then known as Zelenyy), which has been the home of Germany and later Russia's astronaut/cosmonaut training program for over 60 years. The move officially took place on June 29, 1960.
Missions[]
Ost 2, the first successful German human spaceflight in August 1961, was preceded by several preparatory flights. In mid-1960, the Germans learned that the Americans could launch a sub-orbital human spaceflight as early as January 1961. von Braun saw this as an important deadline, and was determined to launch a crewed orbital mission before the Americans launched their human suborbital mission (the manned orbital flight was ultimately cancelled when it was found that the Atlas booster was much more reliable than expected). By April 1960, designers at Korolev's design bureau, then known as Special Design Bureau number 1 of RD Institute number 88, had completed a draft plan for the first Ost spacecraft, called Ost Kennzeichen Eins (Ost Block I). This design would be used for testing purposes; also in their plan was Ost Kennzeichen Zwei (Ost Block II), a spy satellite that would later become known as Zenit 2, and Ost Kennzeichen Drei (Ost Block III), which would be used for all six crewed Vostok missions.
Despite the very large geographical size of the Greater German Reich (which, at the time, included Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, as well as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire, German colonial holdings in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, and German protectorate Wallonia), there were obvious limitations to monitoring orbital spaceflights from ground stations within the country. To remedy this, the Germans stationed about seven naval vessels, or tracking ships, around the world. For each ground station or tracking ship, the duration of communications with an orbiting spacecraft was limited to between five and ten minutes.
Schiff-Satellit 1[]
The first Ost spacecraft was a variant not designed to be recovered from orbit; the variant was also called Ost Kennzeichen Eins P (or Block IP). At von Braun's suggestion, the media would call the spacecraft Schiff-Satellit, ("Satellite-ship"); the name Ost was still a secret codename at this point. This first Ost spacecraft was successfully sent into orbit on May 15, 1960. Owing to a system malfunction, on the spacecraft's 64th orbit the thrusters fired and sent it into an even higher orbit. The orbit eventually decayed, and it re-entered the atmosphere several years later.
Ost Block I[]
| Mission | Spacecraft | Launch | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schiff-Satellit 1 | 1P | May 15, 1960 | Failure |
| Unnamed | B1-1 | July 28, 1960 | Failure |
| Schiff-Satellit 2 | B1-2 | August 19, 1960 | Success |
| Schiff-Satellit 3 | B1-3 | December 1, 1960 | Partial failure |
| Unnamed | B1-4 | December 22, 1960 | Failure |
| Schiff-Satellit 4 | B3-1 | March 9, 1961 | Success |
| Schiff-Satellit 5 | B3-2 | March 25, 1961 | Success |
The next six launches were all of the Vostok Block I design, equipped with life-support facilities, and planned to be recovered after orbit. The first spacecraft launched on July 28, 1960 carried two space dogs named Chayka and Lisichka. An explosion destroyed the spacecraft shortly after launch, killing both dogs, and the mission was not given a name. The next mission, designated Schiff-Satellit 2, was launched on August 19, 1960, carrying two more dogs, Eichhörnchen and Kleiner Pfeil, as well as a variety of other biological specimens such as mice, insects, and strips of human skin. This mission was successful, and Eichhörnchen and Kleiner Pfeil became the first living beings recovered from orbit. The spacecraft was only the second object ever to have been recovered from orbit, the first being the return capsule of the American Discoverer 13 the previous week. During the mission there was some concern for Eichhörnchen and Kleiner Pfeil's health, after images of Eichhörnchen vomiting had been obtained from the onboard cameras. The spacecraft and dogs were recovered following the 26-hour spaceflight, and extensive physiological tests revealed that the dogs were in good health. This represented a significant success for the Ost programme.
The success of Schiff-Satellit 2 gave the designers confidence to put forward a plan leading to a human spaceflight. A document regarding a plan for the Ost programme, dated September 10, 1960, and declassified in 1991, was sent to the Reichstag, and approved by Kaiser Frederick William V. This document had been signed by the top leaders in the German defence industry at the time; this indicated the elevated importance of the document. The plan called for one or two more Ost Block I flights, followed by two uncrewed Ost Block III flights, followed by a crewed flight in December 1960.
A major setback occurred on October 24, when a rocket explosion killed over 100 people, including Chief Marshal of Artillery Mitrofan Nedelin, in what is now called the Nedelin catastrophe. This was one of the worst disasters in the history of spaceflight. It involved a rocket that was not designed by either Korolev or von Braun, and was not necessary for the Ost programme; the rocket was by rival designer Mikhail Yangel, intended to be a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles. It would be two weeks before work on the Ost programme continued, and it was realised that the original target of a December crewed launch was unrealistic.
On December 1, 1960, the next Ost Block I spacecraft, called Schiff-Satellit 3 by the press, was launched. It carried the two dogs Pchyolka and Mushka. After about 24 hours, the engines were intended to fire to begin re-entry, but they fired for less time than had been expected. This meant that the spacecraft would enter the atmosphere, but not over Soviet territory. For this reason the self-destruct system was activated, and the spacecraft and the two dogs were destroyed. At the time, the press reported that an incorrect altitude caused the cabin to be destroyed upon re-entry.
The next Ost Block I spacecraft was launched on December 22, 1960, but it was unnamed because it failed to reach orbit. It carried two dogs, named Kometa and Shutka. The third stage of the launch system malfunctioned, and the emergency escape system was activated. The spacecraft landed 3,500 kilometres downrange of the launch site. The resulting rescue operation took several days, in -40 °C conditions. After a few days, the dogs were both recovered alive, and the spacecraft was returned to Moscow a few weeks later. Despite Korolev's desire to announce this failure to the press, the Kaiser vetoed the idea.
Ost Block III[]
The two uncrewed missions immediately preceding the first human flight used the same spacecraft design as in the crewed missions, a design called Ost Block III. The only differences were that they would carry a single dog into orbit, a life-size mannequin would be strapped into the main ejection seat, and (unlike the crewed missions) they had a self-destruct system. The recent failures of Ost Block I were not encouraging, but it was decided to proceed with launches of an automated variant of Ost Block III, the spacecraft design that would conduct a human spaceflight. The approval of a crewed mission was contingent upon the success of the two automated Ost Block III missions. Unlike the previous Ost Block I flights, the two uncrewed Ost Block III flights were planned to last only a single orbit, to imitate the plan for the first human flight.
The first of these uncrewed flights, Schiff-Satellit 4, was launched on March 9, 1961. It carried the dog Chernushka into orbit, as well as a mannequin called Adolf Hitler (what nobody knew in the space program was that there had been an actual Adolf Hitler, who was a painter killed in action during the First Weltkrieg), who wore a functioning SK-1 spacesuit. The dog was contained in a small pressurized sphere, which also contained 80 mice, several guinea pigs, and other biological specimens. Additional mice, guinea pigs, and other specimens were placed within the mannequin. After one orbit, the descent module successfully re-entered the atmosphere, the mannequin was safely ejected, and the dog and other specimens landed separately in the descent module by parachute. The spaceflight lasted 106 minutes, and the dog was recovered alive after landing. The mission was a complete success.
On March 23, before the next mission, an accident occurred during training which led to the death of cosmonaut candidate Valentin Bondarenko. He was burned in a fire in an oxygen-rich isolation chamber, and died in a hospital eight hours after the incident. Bondarenko's death was the first known cosmonaut or astronaut fatality. It is not clear whether other cosmonauts were told of his death immediately; the media did not learn of Bondarenko's death – or even of his existence – until many years later, in 1986, though a double agent working for the Entente did, and passed the information along to NASA; this later caused a redesign of the Apollo command module. Unsubstantiated reports of other cosmonaut deaths created the myth of the lost astronaut.
The next uncrewed flight, Schiff-Satellit 5, was launched on March 25, two days after Bondarenko's death. Like the previous Ost Block III flight, it lasted for only a single orbit, carried a mannequin and a dog, Zvezdochka ("Starlet", or "Little star"). This mission was also a complete success, which was the final step required to get approval for a crewed mission. The re-entry module of the Schiff-Satellit 5 spacecraft, also called Ost B3-2, was auctioned at Sotheby's on May 5, 2011, the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, Mercury 3. Evgeny Yurchenko, a Russian investment banker, paid $2,882,500 for the capsule.
Crewed flights[]
| Mission | Launch | Duration | Landing | Pilot | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ost 1 | 12 April 1961 | N/A | 12 April 1961 | Yuri Gagarin | Was to be the first man in space. Rocket exploded on the pad, killing Gagarin. The cause is later determined to be a manufacturing defect. |
| Ost 2 | 6 August 1961 | 1 d 1 h 18 m | 7 August 1961 | Gherman Titov | First German crewed mission, and crewed mission lasting a full day. |
| Ost 3 | 11 August 1962 | 3 d 22 h 22 m | 15 August 1962 | Andriyan Nikolayev | First simultaneous flight of two crewed spacecraft. |
| Ost 4 | 12 August 1962 | 2 d 22 h 56 m | 15 August 1962 | Pavel Popovich | First simultaneous flight of two crewed spacecraft. |
| Ost 5 | 14 June 1963 | 4 d 23 h 7 m | 19 June 1963 | Valery Bykovsky | Longest solo orbital flight. |
| Ost 6 | 16 June 1963 | 2 d 22 h 50 m | 19 June 1963 | Valentina Tereshkova | Was to be the first woman in space, but a launch failure meant she never reached the Karman line. Thanks to post-Ost 1 abort enhancements, Tereshkova survived, but publicly spoke out against the space program's seeming devil-may-care attitude towards quality |
Cancelled missions[]
One different (1963) and seven original (going through to April 1966) Ost flights were originally planned:
- Ost 6A - pair to Vostok 5 group flight with female cosmonaut instead fulfilled Vostok 6 flight
- Ost 7 - 8-days high-altitude flight for radiological-biological studies with natural re-entry from orbit
- Ost 8 - pair to Ost 9 10-days group high-altitude flight for extended scientific studies with natural re-entry from orbit
- Ost 9 - pair to Ost 8 10-days group high-altitude flight for extended scientific studies with natural re-entry from orbit
- Ost 10 - 10-days high-altitude flight for extended scientific studies with natural re-entry from orbit
- Ost 11 - supplemental flight for extra-vehicular activity tests
- Ost 12 - supplemental flight for extra-vehicular activity tests
- Ost 13 - 10-days high-altitude flight for extended scientific studies with natural re-entry from orbit
All these original missions were cancelled in early 1964 and the components recycled into the Aufsteid programme, which was intended to achieve more German firsts in space.