Voskhod (Spacecraft)

The Voskhod was a Soviet crewed spacecraft flown in 1964 and 1965 as a development of the Vostok capsule. It consisted of a spherical descent module for the cosmonauts and a conical equipment module holding propellant and the engine system. The ejection seat was removed and couches were added so that Voskhod 1 could carry three men, without spacesuits, while Voskhod 2 carried two and used an inflatable airlock that let Alexei Leonov make the first spacewalk. A backup solid fuel retrorocket sat on top of the descent module, and a small rocket fired near touchdown to soften the landing. There was no launch escape system, and the Soyuz replaced Voskhod in 1967.