The Soviet spacecraft Voskhod, based on modifications to the Vostok design, made two manned space missionsÑthe first (1964) was the world's first multiperson spaceflight, and the second (1965) saw the first walk in open space by a space-suited cosmonaut. Voskhod in Russian means much the same thing as Vostok, essentially a "moving upward"; the word is poorly translated as "sunrise." The Spacecraft In order to conduct impressive spaceflights prior to the start of the U.S. Gemini program, Soviet chief space designer Sergei Korolev was ordered by Premier Nikita Khrushchev to modify the existing Vostok design to carry two additional crew members. These modifications were accomplished, despite the objections of Korolev, by removing the Vostok ejection seat and inserting three crew members into the spacecraft sideways and without spacesuits. The removal of the ejection seat eliminated any possibility of crew survival in the event of a booster malfunction early in the flight. The Voskhod strongly resembled the Vostok spacecraft but was heavierÑVoskhod 1 weighed 5,320 kg (11,730 lb), and Voskhod 2 weighed 5,685 kg (12,530 lb), compared to Vostok's 4,700 kg (10,400 lb). Voskhod had the same basic spherical command module as Vostok; an expanded service module, however, contained batteries, oxygen, and a rocket engine. An extra retro-rocket engine was mounted atop the command module in event of failure of the primary engine. The additional weight of the Voskhod required the use of a larger upper-stage rocket, although the lower stages were identical to those used to launch earlier Vostok and Sputnik flights.
Missions Six days after an unmanned test flight (Cosmos 47), the manned Voskhod 1 was put into orbit on Oct. 12, 1964. Pilot-cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was in command. He was accompanied by two nonpilots who had received only 4 months of training: medical doctor Boris Yegorov and spacecraft designer Konstantin Feoktistov. The ship returned to Earth after a 16Ðorbit flight of 24 hr 17 min 3 sec, despite rumors in Moscow that a week-long flight had been planned. After another unmanned test flight (Cosmos 57, Feb. 22, 1965) that probably ended in an explosion, Voskhod 2 was launched on Mar. 18, 1965, with two crew members aboard. While pilot Pavel Belyayev guided the spacecraft, copilot Aleksei Leonov crawled into a special inflatable airlock chamber and later exited the ship through the outer hatch, becoming the first person to walk in space. The autopilot failed at the end of the mission, and the crew made an off-course manual landing, coming down in a snowy pine forest in the Ural Mountains after a 17-orbit flight of 26 hr 2 min 17 sec. No further manned Voskhod flights were made, although a modified Voskhod was used to launch Cosmos 110 on Feb. 22, 1966, with two dogs, Veterok and Ugolyok, aboard for a 330Ðorbit flight of 22 days.