The Most Launched Rocket - A History Of The R-7

60 Years ago Sputnik-1 became the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet rocket program on board a modified R-7 ICBM designed by Sergey Korolev. Over the subsequent decades the R-7 continue to fly and go on to launch over 1000 times in its various iterations - Sputnik, Luna, Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya and Soyuz. The R-7 is by far the most prolific orbit capable rocket?
Compiled with information from Astronautix, RussianSpaceWeb, NASA, Roscosmos, and more....
Background Music is 'Tranquility Bass' by Kevin Macleod.

[@sofuckingannoying]

One fun fact about R-7 that I've never seen mentioned on KZbin: the rocket was designed around the payload requirements supplied by nuclear scientists. The early H-bomb designs were bulky and heavy. But by the time the rocket started flying, the H-bomb got miniaturized, rendering the rocket rather oversized for its purpose. However, it was just perfect for sending stuff and people to space and gave Soviets a lucky head start in the space race.

[@Caseytify]

That's why the Soviets enjoyed their early edge. American designers waited until the newer, smaller warheads were developed.

[@Bizzon666]

@@Caseytify They were forced to wait, rockets had low priority and funding. Sputnik changed that.

[@61Ldf]

Designed as a nuclear weapon carrier the R-7 / R-7A and with its huge infrastructure and extremely long countdown time it was useless as a respond weapon. Most of them would have been destroyed prior to their usage. So, the conclusion should be allowed that this rocket was a weapon of the first strike. Ironically, it failed grandiosely as a weapon but had a quite successful carrier for lifting of more than 800 spy sats.

[@BattlestarZenobia]

@@61Ldf by accident or design? A space exploration enthusiast just happens to accidentally build a rocket that just "happens" to be a good launch vehicle

[@johnweerasinghe4139]

@@BattlestarZenobia that's western perspective for you. Anything the Russians make is crude or lucky 😀 Yet the Lockheed engineers that bought 100 NK33 were astounded that the Soviets rocket engineers had solved the closed loop technology which made their rockets much more powerful than the US ones and more importantly more efficient. Nobody knows that 😀😀😀

[@nousername8162]

I like how every soviet mission name is just a word like “satellite” or “moon” or “lightning” but people don’t bother translating and so you get “Sputnik” or “Luna” or “molnia”

[@polishkerbal6920]

Tundra (tundra), Lunokhod (moon walker), venera (venus), mir (peace) soyuz (union) , nauka (science) , фобос (phobos) ,восток/vostok (east), Восход/voskhod (sunrise)

[@ildart8738]

@@polishkerbal6920 Enegria (energy), Buran (snowstorm), Spiral' (spiral), Almaz (diamond), Cosmos.

[@makssachs8914]

Naming things the same way I name things in KSP.

[@judet2992]

@@ildart8738Buran is a cooler name than I thought, nice

[@dallas_barr]

"A Soyouz launch without a Korolev cross is scarcely a Soyouz at all." Amen!

[@DmitryKiktenko]

Yuriy, we've fucked up everything!

[@snowhole87]

The R-7 family is like the AK-47 of rockets.

[@infernosgaming8942]

Man russia is the king of well tested designs that barely change, but go on for decades, the T-XX tanks changed in shape by small amounts from the T-54 to the T-92, and they have the whole host of MiGs, Su's and Tu's

[@probablynotabigtoe9407]

@@infernosgaming8942 why would they... Let America spend Trillions on R&D and just steal the good ideas later.

[@aerodynamic1440]

@@probablynotabigtoe9407 if America was SOOO good then why Russia has most reliable rockets and America don't? They literally use Russian rocket engines and Russian rocket to go to space for years now, finally after all these years some private American company managed to create a rocket that can send humans to space regularly and cheap...maybe. Anyways America was incompetent for many years now they are finally catching up. And that isn't even by NASA, but by SpaceX. And I doubt that rocket will be as reliable as Soyuz.

[@Yarxov]

@@infernosgaming8942 to add to the Tank series, the V-2 engine popularized in the T-34 was used in almost every AFV the Soviet union used in WW2, and the T-55, 62, T-72 and the T-90. Its ridiculously modernized of course.

[@arcaipekyun4232]

Light on the Inside the most reliable us rocket yet (atlas v) uses russian rd180 engines. Also soyuz from the design to its engines is completely russian, just like the capsule.

[@simonscience5846]

"Luna one was supposed to reach the moon- it instead became the first object to achieve escape velocity" Ah yes, another instance of stuff that wouldent seem out of place in KSP happening IRL

[@Valsorayu]

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 rocket designs once, but I fear the man who has practiced one rocket design 10,000 times." -Boris Lee

[@joeyknight8272]

What

[@pernibuzdovan12]

@@joeyknight8272 Bruce Lee reference.

[@Doctor699]

R.I.P Sergi Korolev. Hope we honour your memory by ever reaching for the stars.

[@doggy5610]

RIP comrade

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

What a stunning piece of design by Korolev!

[@rikkisan1]

Truly deserves the title Ol Reliable

[@ronschlorff7089]

a Volkswagen!!

[@ConsciousAtoms]

Liked before watching. R-7 has a special place in my heart and it is a shame that so many people in the west do not know about its illustrious history.

[@MihkelKukk]

+1

[@sudantarescosmonautics9422]

ConsciousAtoms mostly as I know if people talking about space program, NASA is always on the first place - understandable. But shouldn't forget about the CCCP/Russian space program, where engineers made heroic steps towards to the Dark Yonder, and one of these were the Восток series.

[@nagualdesign]

+SüdAntares Cosmonautics Obviously people think of NASA when talking about space travel, as well as their own country's achievements if they're not American, but anyone with more than a passing interest knows full well how much Russia has accomplished. Even people with very little interest will be aware of the Space Race between the US and USSR. There's a statue of Yuri Gagarin in Greenwich. I don't think there are any other statues of astronauts here (in the UK).

[@sudantarescosmonautics9422]

nagualdesign you're right. Also, I didn't know about that statue. Every day I learn something new. ☺

[@santosl.harper4471]

NASA revered the work that Roscosmos did and still do. A lot of engineers and technicians speak highly of the work the Russians have done for more than half a century. It's a shame that both organisations do not benefit from the same funding their respective military firms receive.....

[@paladin17t]

10:33 Didn't know the rebels used Soyuz during Hoth evacuation.

[@BattleDroid-sd4rp]

Welcome to Siberia.

[@InventorZahran]

Now that I think about it, most of the spacecraft from Star Wars qualify as single-stage-to-orbit vehicles...

[@brainengineer]

Fun fact: to ignite the engines on this rocket they literally use giant wooden matches.

[@scottmanley]

A fact you might have learned from this guy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZLTmoh4i8lqe7c

[@brainengineer]

yeah, this guy knows a lot about rocket science, can recommend.

[@ronschlorff7089]

made in Sweden!! LOL

[@mihan2d]

I heard now they use laser ignition.

[@ronschlorff7089]

@@mihan2d Nice, I use electric ignition (battery power) for my model rockets too, better than the good old days of light the fuse and run like hell!

[@ChrisSham]

Nitpick: Poor old Laika was not "the first living space traveller", but rather the first in orbit. She was preceded by suborbital living space travellers: An unspecified number of fruit flies, Albert II, Albert IV, Albert V, Dezik, Tsygan, Lisa, Mishka, Chizhik, Smelaya, Malysha, Nepuevy, ZIB, Damka, Rzyhik, Albina, Tsyganka, Lisa-2, Bulba, Knopka, Kozyavka, Dzhoyna, Belka, and Modnista. A few of them were later also put onto orbital flights, after Laika's launch, and a few were even lucky enough to survive.

[@scottmanley]

First to go into orbit.... but yes.

[@diabeticalien3584]

Scott Manley Hey I was watching your challenges and I have a challenge: Launch a rocket, then fly a plane up to altitude. Dock the plane to the rocket, fly the combined crafts to Laythe, then when flying over laythe, open the cargo bay and release a small plane which will land on laythes ocean.

[@peepeepoopoo.]

i remember reading about that dog along other animals the soviets put in a suborbital flight and thought that it died due to technical problems, they found the landed shuttle in siberia in the night, and leaved it here because they thought all animals were dead, the next day, they could hear the dog barking so they took it out, eventually they gave the dog to an american president

[@nockieboy]

You aren't trying to name all those fruit flies, are you? o.O

[@julienguieu5636]

Actually, it's inevitable that a certain number (what's known in technical terms as a fuckload) of bacteria piggybacked on Sputnik, beating all those fruit flies and dogs and humans to the punch.

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

4:14 - They did still see a satellite, though - just not the one they _thought_ they saw.

[@goldmax1412]

Спасибо, Скотт, что уделил время и нашей космической программе! Королёв - гений!

[@Bruhza5870]

Привет

[@PaulPaulPaulson]

Great video, with the exact right amount of details!

[@etbadaboum]

Well said.

[@skepticmoderate5790]

*amount of detail OR *number of details

[@ronschlorff7089]

@Terry Wilson nope C-3, more lifting power for heavier models. What I use for my R-7 Soyuz models !!!

[@WildBillCox13]

I was alive. The hype pervaded my childhood. Sputnik. Laika. Yuri Gegarin. Alan Shepard. John Glenn. Echo. Telstar (which spawned a classic surf rock hit). It was quantified in the media as the "Space Race".

[@EpicThe112]

Yuri Gagarin Laika and Sputnik used the R-7 ICBM. that doesn't apply to John Glenn and Alan Shepard because they used SM-65 Atlas & PGM-11 redstone.

[@AlASokolov]

You forgot to mention German Titov and Gus Grissom.

[@AirCommandRockets]

Thanks for the trip down memory orbit Scott. Great video. :)

[@JohnJohansen2]

I have an old hammer that my grandfather made. My father put on a new head and I changed the shaft.

[@hrissan]

John Johansen so true. Same with the human cells, and I’m still me 👍

[@zrspangle]

@@hrissan or are you? *Vsauce music*

[@Canofasahi]

"Better is the enemy of good enough." Dr. Mikoyan of the Mikoyan Gurevich Design Bureau

[@seanbaskett5506]

So true. This is the best understood spacecraft/rocket of all time. I'd fly on it without any worries.

[@Noname_NoID]

"Better" is the enemy of "good enough".

[@jnichols3]

Have to love the Russian's design philosophy. "If it aint broke, dont fix it". The launch vehicle may now have nothing in common with the original, but it was never completely redisigned. They just changed it as needed over the decades. The Russians have a very no nonsense approach to their designs. I saw one video of a spacecraft w/fairing being mated with the booster. When they added the escape rocket, the connector that attached it to the fairing was bare metal. Was there some special high tech electro applied coating that required technicians in clean suits in a clean room to apply? No. It was a guy with coveralls, a paint brush, and a bucket that might have come from a Home Depot paint department. When we used the Redstone, they had the R7. When we used the Atlas, they had the R7. When we used the Titan, they had the R7. Saturn Ib, R7. Saturn V, R7. Nothing, R7. STS, R7. ....................R7, R7 (funny). When we have the SLS, they will have......guess!

[@madalheidis]

Well, to be accurate, the Saturn V equivalent is the N1L3, the R7 just helped in testing of the lander. He actually mentioned the N1.

[@alonelyz1981]

SLS - Falcon Heavy (lol not funny)

[@noop9k]

They developed and flew Energia too.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Yet "you" launched Hubble, YOU went with humans to the moon, You got Voyager underway, New Horizons, Giotto, Juno, Huygens... so many awesome missions with very different requirements to the launch vehicles. seems for some purposes, mainly a commercialisable LEO station program going the russian way is okay, but for other purposes "one size fits all" is not good enough. Don't forget that there are some western designs too that did fly wihtout major complete rehauls for similar times. Mostly sounding rockets and lighterweight delivery systems...

[@martinisbutik]

Don't forget the Proton and Energia!

[@GonkDroid0923]

I hope the R-7 never gets replaced

[@AsbestosMuffins]

"Ivan, what is das?!" "it is soyuz i swear!" "it has no boosters, it has too few combustion chambers, it looks too...american!" "it is... diet...soyuz, for people who think soyuz is too big for them..."

[@infernosgaming8942]

and like Diet soda, it's burn like fucking shit!

[@bingusaerospace]

Lmao

[@infiniteammo115]

Ivan get in the gulag before I have to make you.

[@InventorZahran]

Diet Soyuz doesn't have as much flavo- I mean thrust!

[@asdfasdf825]

LOVE the Soyuz rocket. There is something about it, its shape, its look... love it.

[@calaphos]

If you told Korolev that 60 years later American astronauts would launch on top of his rocket design he would think that history has gone very different from what has happened

[@brainengineer]

Would love to see more videos about russian space tech

[@Enceos]

Check out the *Curious Droid* channel, he's been putting up lots of interesting videos about the Soviet Space Program lately.

[@spaceflighthistory5362]

@@Enceos Yes, that guy posts great space videos.

[@JettQuasar]

The R7 is definitely one of my favorite rockets of all time.

[@awuma]

Excellent video! 60 years and the Semyorka is still going strong: Korolev's legacy is truly remarkable. I didn't know until now that Sputnik 1 was launched with only the side boosters and core stage, so that the entire core went into orbit (just like the Atlas 1 core, first time in December 1958). So in fact many tons went into orbit! Of course, the R-7 was highly secret until brought to the Paris Air Show in 1967. There were no launch pictures published of those early flights, only fakes or launches of other rockets.[ I have a little book by V.P. Glushko, "Rocket Engines GDL-OKB", (1975:Novosti & USSR Academy of Sciences) in English, giving a lot of details and photos, plus history; surprising for the times. I got it at a Soviet exhibit at the Vancouver Planetarium about that time.]

[@alphaadhito]

Maybe you could start a series. How about continuing with Proton rocket? I always like this kind of videos

[@vovanikotin]

Scott, I highly recomend you to read book "Rockets and People" by Boris Chertok about Soviet space. There are 4 volumes. Very nice book.

[@ConsciousAtoms]

Thanks for the recommendation, I am going to check it out. I've always been very interested in the Soviet space program.

[@vovanikotin]

ConsciousAtoms google at nasa gov, there are all 4 books free pdf

[@ecophreak1]

Another book I'd recommend is Red Moon Rising by Matthew Brzezinski

[@AndrewDomanski]

Yeah, currently reading 4th. The editor of the English edition is Asif Siddiqi, which wrote (more impartial and all-encompassing) 'Challenge to Apollo'. I wonder if you are familiar with it.

[@ErickSoares3]

@@AndrewDomanski I read Rocket and People last year and I'm wonder if I should start Challenge to Apollo - would be easier if it was by volume.

[@anttitheinternetguy3213]

damn. i've always loved soyuz design. so curvy, so T H I C C

[@hellothere5843]

Getting horny over a rocket, I see

[@cursedcliff7562]

@@hellothere5843 I like em' curvy (lenny)

[@floppypoppy1995]

Going to watch this when i get home from work for my " before sleep watch " looks like a great video from the couple of minutes i watched! Thanks for another great one Scott!

[@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke]

Love these vids Scott... You're channel has become my #1 for space related info.

[@gerrit2107]

I love these kinds of video's, i always watch em :D

[@IanValentine147]

one of your best! followed the channel a lot and just found this gem. Thank you.

[@FlorianGerlich]

It's been years I wanted to find this information is a short and concise form! Thanks!

[@scarkillerful]

RIP Laika.

[@itsahumanperson6174]

Indeed.

[@override7486]

You meant Łajka :)

[@HuntingTarg]

@@override7486 [duly impressed]

[@clam2190]

F

[@aasquared8191]

@@override7486 You mean Лайка, ю факин спай?

[@catfish552]

Always love the historical videos, Scott.

[@sammirison7755]

Excellent presentation given enthusiastically. Great work!

[@Zerostar369]

Very well done Scott. That was a joy to watch.

[@AntonIkryannikov]

Most beautiful rocket ever, in my view. Thanks!

[@BKaiser_]

Love these videos Scott

[@twiff3rino28]

Whenever I see one of these things lifting off, whether it be R-7 footage from the 50s or a modern variant, I get the chorus from "Ya Shosla S Uma" stuck in my head 😳.

[@rickgraham8701]

That was awesome. Thanks Scott.

[@Ricovandijk]

Many thanks for another fantastic space-history lecture!

[@akiraacecombat]

Kudos for the old 60´s footage, is a really nice touch

[@cosminmihu9963]

It's a very beautiful series, always nice to see these videos of early rocketry.

[@JeKramxel]

The amount of technology and cumulative knowledge to go into a developmental project like this is awesome and enormous. I always wonder how can they keep live and active records of all that knowledge, especially in those early days, before any really advanced data storing process came into effect. As always, great info!

[@billinct860]

This answered a lot of questions for me. Thanks!

[@nicejungle]

I love this kind of review Thanks !

[@VanyaShvets]

Absolutely fantastic!

[@valentinmakes]

I love your space-history lessons! 🚀 ❤️ 🛰

[@CommandLineVulpine]

Could you do a video on the Proton rocket as well? Something about their design I find very attractive.

[@huracan200173]

Love these videos!

[@paveli1181]

Vostok is a beautiful rocket. All those curves are gorgeous.

[@doodleboi7034]

Indeed

[@EricHallahan]

Great video! Was just looking up some records today, and I would look at FAI 9352 and 9331, as they both blew my mind.

[@allancopland1768]

Very good presentation Scott.

[@MrGrebgnet]

Very interesting video Scott!

[@cacarey01]

Great video Mr Manley

[@adamphelps6809]

I love all your videos but I especially love this one and the evolution of the atlas!

[@EricIrl]

Good stuff. All the variants of the R7 and the Soyuz can get a little bewildering.

[@eshafto]

Nice history. Thanks!

[@out4space]

Very interesting, thanks again.

[@USWaterRockets]

Nice video with a great amount of detail. It would be awesome to see you do a video about the N-1 rockets similar to this!

[@quabbo1]

Yay a new rocket history video! Do the Titan rockets or proton next!!

[@fmatosqg]

Awesome footages of the rockets, I guess most videos are hard to track

[@dariusm.8316]

I approve that video length. Also great video

[@ihavezeepower6451]

nice vid Scott....

[@canadianPanda1]

Great video. Please make more videos like this.

[@natheniel]

these are the kind of videos that makes me emotional

[@lordofsales77]

Спасибо Скотт за классное видео!

[@SealOfApproval82]

13 min 37 sec length... I see what you did there!

[@jeffisthenamemethisthegame7906]

..... he made an entertaining and educative video without midroles? :)

[@agarceran]

Sorry, 1336 for me...

[@user-po6hn9id1t]

Adria Garceran me too

[@nerdcm355]

Marc Vork What does that mean?

[@PaulPaulPaulson]

Adria Garceran The video itself says 13:36 but the preview says 13:37. Maybe they use different functions for rounding.

[@grexursorum6006]

Soyuz flys now with with closed cycle engines... Nice! Didnt know that... Great Video, thanks!

[@vojtechjezek9265]

I think its amazing that they still use the first ever orbital rocket for modern spacecraft. The design has really been proven by time.

[@Deeplycloseted435]

Great video! Very much enjoyed this. Amazing how long they've used basically the same tech to get the job done. If it aint broke....

[@edgeeffect]

Thanks for this FAB video... I'm a massive fan of Семёрка too!

[@Stankiem83]

Cool video thanks

[@mar117117]

First rocket ever used to go to space is still one of the most important rockets today. If only Korolev knew what would his baby achieve he couldn't be more proud.

[@directcurrent5751]

Thanks!

[@Wildgraywolf1]

An excellent video with real factual facts even.

[@TomTimeTraveler]

EXCELLENT video rich in details, especially the "L" variant which put test models of the Soviet lunar hardware in Earth orbit. I didn't know that!

[@Slikx666]

I think that if I'd had teachers like you at school I would have done better. It's thanks to people like you that I've learnt more since leaving school that I learnt at school. 👍

[@phorzer32]

Awesome!

[@sudantarescosmonautics9422]

I'm really happy you made a video about the Soviet/Russian Space Program, and one of the most kerbal-kind rocket design ever built.

[@1010ZZZ1010]

most kerbal rocket is delta(delta 2 , delta 4). soyuz is too shaped

[@ronschlorff7089]

hint, tanks!

[@snacksy7754]

cool vid

[@ThomasPlaysTheGames]

Nice video.

[@ironwolf6849]

Now that was interesting.

[@thewhiterabbit2019]

Idk if you have any interest in this, but I would love an in-depth series on sky lab and all the problems faced and the solutions done for it.

[@Omnihil777]

Thankx, Scott. Could you do one on the N1 soviet moon rocket? That would be cool!

[@rachaeltyrell9851]

the most beautiful rocket ever built!.

[@kindlin]

13:37 for the win!

[@trekker105]

I'm glad they added cameras to the newer versions.

[@-EnforcerVFX-]

more videos like this please

[@TomLuTon]

Imagine what a Saturn V could have been if it been in production for 50 years with all the R&D, tinkering, and upgrades...

[@petersmythe6462]

The R7: the greatest legacy of any rocket in human history.

[@ronschlorff7089]

Please don't wet yourself, and forget about the Saturn V, "legacy" and "historically" speaking that is. There's that little bit about 9 launches to vicinity and on the moon, don't you know!

[@galleryss]

Great channel Scott keep up the great work. Ko - Ro - L-yo-v with accent on first two syllables, best way to pronounce his name. Great summary though!

[@mplaw77]

I remember Sputnik 1, guess I saw the booster trailing behind because it clearly could be seen as a small star loving fast horizon to horizon. I was 5 years old. Inspired, I got into the rocket business from that day onward designing and building ever more complex amateur rockets with model rockets filling in the gaps. Fan of NASA, I following NASA closely. I learned more, math, chemistry, and physics as a hobbyist than in school. As an adult, I settled into chemistry to make a living and buy the books I searched to borrow as a kid.and got tossed out of more than one library for looking in the "age inappropriate" card catalogues. Those books by George P. Sutton, John D. Clark, Capt. Bertrand R. Brinley

[@directcurrent5751]

I'm buying more books in my retirement than all my life before.

[@raymondberry7099]

Watched this video as a primer to what Tim Dodd will be doing a long form video about this amazing machine still in use after so many decades. Clearly they got it right for LEO purposes, but it's expensive now compared to contemporary designs like SpaceX and others use now. Lots to learn from a time proven design.

[@therealdarklizzy]

The R-7 has that retrofuturistic space age vibe that gives me flashbacks to that CoD: Black Ops mission where they have to blow up the rocket.

[@clank2269]

I'm hyped for the Angara A7V!

[@robertmoore6298]

I wish you were my history teacher.. Can you do more stuff like this?