The Vostok-2M GRAU index 8A92M was an expendable

Expendable launch system

An expendable launch system is a launch system that uses an expendable launch vehicle to carry a payload into space. The vehicles used in expendable launch systems are designed to be used only once , and their components are not recovered for re-use after launch...

 carrier rocket

Launch vehicle

In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....

 used by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It was originally built as a specialised version of the earlier Vostok-2

Vostok-2 (rocket)

The Vostok-2 , GRAU index 8A92 was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1962 and 1967. Forty five were launched, of which five failed. It was derived from the earlier Vostok-K, with uprated engines. It was a member of the R-7 family of rockets.The Vostok-2 made its maiden...

, for injecting lighter payloads into higher sun-synchronous orbit

Sun-synchronous orbit

A Sun-synchronous orbit is a geocentric orbit which combines altitude and inclination in such a way that an object on that orbit ascends or descends over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local mean solar time. The surface illumination angle will be nearly the same every time...

s. It was a member of the R-7 family of rockets, and the last Vostok.

The Vostok-2M made its maiden flight on 28 August 1964, from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...

, successfully placing Kosmos 44, a Meteor

Meteor (satellite)

The Meteor craft are weather observation satellites launched by the USSR. The Meteor satellites were designed to monitor atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity, radiation, sea ice conditions, snow-cover, and clouds.-Meteor 2-21:...

 weather satellite

Weather satellite

The weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be either polar orbiting, seeing the same swath of the Earth every 12 hours, or geostationary, hovering over the same spot on Earth by orbiting over the equator while...

 into orbit. Its only launch failure occurred on 1 February 1969, when the launch of a Meteor failed due to an upper stage problem.

At 16:01 GMT on 18 March 1980, a Vostok-2M exploded during fuelling Plesetsk

Plesetsk Cosmodrome

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk.-Overview:...

 Site 43/4

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43

Site 43, also known as SK-3 and SK-4, is a launch complex at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. It consists of a two pads, Sites 43/3 and 43/4, and has been used by R-7 derived rockets since the early 1960s....

, ahead of the launch of a Tselina-D satellite, killing 48 people who were working on the rocket at the time. The cause of the explosion was later established to have been a design fault in the rocket's hydrogen peroxide filter system.

Vostok-2M launches occurred from Site 31/6 at Baikonur, and Sites 41/1

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 41

Site 41, also known as Lesobaza and SK-1, was a launch complex at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. It consisted of a single pad, Site 41/1, and was used by R-7 derived rockets between 1959 and 1989....

 and 43 at Plesetsk. It is unclear if any were launched from Site 1/5

Gagarin's Start

Gagarin's Start is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency....

 at Baikonur. The Vostok-2M was retired in 1991, in favour of standardisation on the Soyuz-U

Soyuz-U

The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....

 and U2

Soyuz-U2

The Soyuz-U2 was a Soviet, later Russian, carrier rocket. It was derived from the Soyuz-U, and a member of the R-7 family of rockets...

 rockets. The final flight was conducted on 29 August, and carried the IRS-1B

Indian Remote Sensing satellite

Indian Remote Sensing satellites are a series of Earth Observation satellites, built, launched and maintained by Indian Space Research Organisation...

 satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation

Indian Space Research Organisation

The Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...

.