VBK-Raduga

<p>The VBK-Raduga capsule was a <a href="/facts/Reentry_capsule/qKfYDb5p">reentry capsule</a> that was used for returning materials to Earth's surface from the <a href="/facts/Space_station/2HtaLbDH">space station</a> <i><a href="/facts/Mir/pILadPoB">Mir</a></i>. They were brought to <i>Mir</i> in the <a href="/facts/Progress_spacecraft/l9GvvKLs">Progress-M</a> cargo craft's dry cargo compartment. For return, the capsule would be substituted for the Progress' docking probe before it left the space station, and then after the Progress-M performed its deorbit burn, the capsule was ejected at 120 km altitude to reenter the atmosphere independently. It would then parachute to a landing area in Russia.
</p><p>Each Raduga was about 1.5 m long, 60 cm in diameter, and had an unloaded mass of about 350 kg. It could return about 150 kg of cargo back to Earth. Use of the Raduga reduced the Progress-M's cargo capacity by about 100 kg, to a maximum of about 2400 kg.
</p><p>The <a href="/facts/European_Space_Agency/L8YRNV0C">European Space Agency</a> studied a very similar system called PARES (Payload Retrieval System), for use in combination with the <a href="/facts/Automated_Transfer_Vehicle/sHdKC0wv">Automated Transfer Vehicle</a>.
</p>

<table><tbody><tr><th>Capsule</th><th>Launch date</th><th>Carried by</th><th>Notes</th></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 1</td><td>27 September 1990</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-5/TWvsxqn3">Progress M-5</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 2</td><td>19 March 1991</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-7/aezM7mJB">Progress M-7</a></td><td>Lost on reentry</td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 3</td><td>20 August 1991</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-9/f9Mn8DEk">Progress M-9</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 4</td><td>17 October 1991</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-10/EdhbolDv">Progress M-10</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 5</td><td>19 April 1992</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-12/Fda51NSj">Progress M-12</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 6</td><td>15 August 1992</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-14/MCCNGlgt">Progress M-14</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 7</td><td>31 March 1993</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-17/jWMv50M0">Progress M-17</a></td><td>Capsule returned by <a href="/facts/Progress_M-18/G27W4uPp">Progress M-18</a></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 8</td><td>10 August 1993</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-19/eV3q3bmS">Progress M-19</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 9</td><td>11 October 1993</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-20/foL5mjdM">Progress M-20</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>VBK-Raduga 10</td><td>22 March 1994</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-23/CTpV0kyc">Progress M-23</a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>9 April 1995</td><td><a href="/facts/Progress_M-27/cRJpwFCy">Progress M-27</a></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

VBK-Raduga open-in-new

VBK-Raduga