R-7 Semyorka

The R-7 Semyorka (Russian: Р-7 Семёрка, lit. 'number seven', GRAU index: 8K71) was a Soviet missile developed during the Cold War, and the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile. The basis for the R-7 rocket family, it was adapted into the world's first orbital launch vehicle, Sputnik, and the crewed orbital launch vehicles Vostok. R-7 derivatives are the most launched rocket family ever with over 2,000 flights as of 2026, primarily Soyuz variants.
Developed by OKB-1 under Sergei Korolev, the R-7 used a kerolox propellant, with a 37 meter-tall core stage powered by the four-chamber RD-108 engine, and four boosters each powered by one four-chamber RD-107 engines. It carried a thermonuclear warhead of between three and five megatons, based on the RDS-37 design. The R-7 made 28 launches between 1957 and 1961. A derivative, the R-7A, was operational from 1960 to 1968. Western Cold War espionage did not discover the R-7 until its launch, later giving it the NATO reporting name SS-6 Sapwood. In August 1957, it was first tested successfully, flying 6,000 km from Baikonur Cosmodrome to Kura Missile Test Range.
Up to six R-7 units were operationally deployed from late 1959, by the...