The Vostok-L GRAU index 8K72 was a rocket 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....

 to conduct several early tests of the Vostok spacecraft

Vostok spacecraft

The Vostok was a type of spacecraft built by the Soviet Union. The first human spaceflight in history was accomplished on this spacecraft on April 12, 1961, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin....

. It was derived from the Luna

Luna (rocket)

The Luna 8K72 vehicles were carrier rockets used by the Soviet Union for nine space probe launch attempts in the Luna programme between 1958-09-23 and 1960-04-16...

 rocket, with a slightly enlarged second stage to accommodate the larger payload, and was a member of the R-7 family of rockets. Four launches were conducted between 15 May and 1 December 1960, three of which successfully reached orbit.

The first flight, on 15 May 1960, carried the Korabl'-Sputnik 1

Sputnik 4

Korabl-Sputnik 1 , was the first test flight of the Soviet Vostok programme, and the first Vostok spacecraft. It was launched on May 15, 1960. Though Korabl-Sputnik 1 was unmanned, it was a precursor to the first human spaceflight, Vostok 1...

 spacecraft. The second launched on 28 July, however one of the booster engines burned through at launch, causing the booster to separate prematurely, 17 seconds after launch. The rocket exploded 28.5 seconds after liftoff, killing the two dogs that were aboard the spacecraft. The third flight successfully placed Korabl'-Sputnik 2

Sputnik 5

Korabl-Sputnik 2 , also known as Sputnik 5 in the West, was a Soviet artificial satellite, and the third test flight of the Vostok spacecraft. It was the first spaceflight to send animals into orbit and return them safely back to Earth...

 into orbit on 19 August, whilst the fourth and final flight orbited Korabl'-Sputnik 3

Sputnik 6

Korabl-Sputnik 3 or Vostok-1K No.3, also known as Sputnik 6 in the West, was a Soviet spacecraft which was launched in 1960. It was a test flight of the Vostok spacecraft, carrying two dogs; Pcholka and Mushka , as well as a television camera and scientific...

 on 1 December. The Vostok-L was replaced by an uprated version, the Vostok-K

Vostok-K

The Vostok-K , GRAU index 8K72K was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union for thirteen launches between 1960 and 1964, six of which were manned. It was derived from the earlier Vostok-L, however it featured uprated engines to improve performance, and enlarge its payload capacity...

, which offered a greater payload capacity.