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Soyuz programme
Human spaceflight programme of the Soviet Union

The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft was originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok (1961–1963) and Voskhod (1964–1965) programmes.

The programme consists of the Soyuz capsule and the Soyuz rocket and is now the responsibility of Roscosmos. After the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, the Soyuz was the only way for humans to get to the International Space Station (ISS) until 30 May 2020 when Crew Dragon flew to the ISS for the first time with astronauts.

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Soyuz rocket

The launch vehicles used in the Soyuz expendable launch system are manufactured at the Progress State Research and Production Rocket Space Center (TsSKB-Progress) in Samara, Russia. As well as being used in the Soyuz programme as the launcher for the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz launch vehicles are now also used to launch robotic Progress supply spacecraft to the International Space Station and commercial launches marketed and operated by TsSKB-Progress and the Starsem company. Currently Soyuz vehicles are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia and, since 2011, Soyuz launch vehicles are also being launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.7 The Spaceport's new Soyuz launch site has been handling Soyuz launches since 21 October 2011, the date of the first launch.8 As of December 2019, 19 Guiana Soyuz launches had been made from French Guiana Space Centre, all successful.91011

The Soyuz rocket family is one of the most dependable and widely utilized launch vehicles in the history of space travel. It has been in operation for nearly six decades, having been developed by the Soviet Union and presently run by Russia. The Soyuz rockets have played an important role in both crewed and uncrewed space missions, launching people to the International Space Station (ISS) and delivering satellites and scientific payloads.12

Soyuz spacecraft

Main article: Soyuz (spacecraft)

The basic Soyuz spacecraft design was the basis for many projects, many of which were never developed. Its earliest form was intended to travel to the Moon without employing a huge booster like the Saturn V or the Soviet N-1 by repeatedly docking with upper stages that had been put in orbit using the same rocket as the Soyuz. This and the initial civilian designs were done under the Soviet Chief Designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who did not live to see the craft take flight. Several military derivatives took precedence in the Soviet design process, though they never came to pass.

A Soyuz spacecraft consists of three parts (from front to back):

There have been many variants of the Soyuz spacecraft, including:

  • Sever early crewed spacecraft proposal to replace Vostok (1959)
    • L1-1960 crewed circumlunar spacecraft proposal (1960); evolved into the Soyuz-A design
    • L4-1960 crewed lunar orbiter proposal (1960)
    • L1-1962 crewed lunar flyby spacecraft proposal (1962); early design led to Soyuz
    • OS-1962 space station proposal (1962)
  • Soyuz-A 7K-9K-11K circumlunar complex proposal (1963)
    • Soyuz 7K crewed spacecraft concept; cancelled in 1964 in favor of the LK-1
    • Soyuz 9K proposed orbital tug; cancelled in 1964 when the Soyuz 7K and Soyuz P were cancelled
    • Soyuz 11K proposed fuel tanker; cancelled in 1964 when the Soyuz 7K and Soyuz P were cancelled
  • L3-1963 crewed lunar lander proposal (1963)
  • L4-1963 crewed lunar orbiter proposal; modified 7K (1963)
  • Soyuz 7K-OK (1967–1970)
  • Soyuz 7K-T or "ferry" (1973–1981)
    • Soyuz 7K-T-AF (1973); 7K-T modified for space station flight with Orion 2 space telescope
    • Soyuz 7K-T/A9 (1974–1978); 7K-T modified for flights to military Almaz space stations
  • Soyuz 7K-TM (1974–1976)
    • 7K-MF6 (1976); 7K-TM modified for space station flight with MKF-6 camera
  • Soyuz-T (1976–1986)
  • Zarya planned 'Super Soyuz' replacement for Soyuz and Progress (1985)
    • Alpha Lifeboat rescue spacecraft based on Zarya (1995); cancelled in favor of a modified Soyuz TM
    • Big Soyuz enlarged version of Soyuz reentry vehicle (2008)
  • Soyuz-TM (1986–2003)
  • Soyuz TMA (2003–2012)
  • Soyuz-ACTS (2006)
  • Soyuz TMA-M (2010–2016)
  • Soyuz MS (since 2016)
  • Military Soyuz (P, PPK, R, 7K-VI Zvezda, and OIS)
    • Soyuz P crewed satellite interceptor proposal (1962); cancelled in 1964 in favor of the Istrebitel Sputnikov program
    • Soyuz R command-reconnaissance spacecraft proposal (1962); cancelled in 1966 and replaced by Almaz
      • Soyuz 7K-TK transport spacecraft proposal for delivering cosmonauts to Soyuz R military stations (1966); cancelled in 1970 in favor of the TKS spacecraft
    • Soyuz PPK revised version of Soyuz P (1964)
    • Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda space station proposal (1964)
    • Soyuz-VI crewed combat spacecraft proposal; cancelled in 1965
    • Soyuz OIS (1967)

Derivatives

The Zond spacecraft was designed to take a crew around the Moon, but never achieved the required degree of safety or political need. Zond 5 did circle the Moon in September 1968, with two tortoises and other life forms, and returned safely to Earth although in an atmospheric entry which probably would have killed human travelers.

The Progress series of robotic cargo ships for the Salyut, Mir, and ISS use the engine section, orbital module, automatic navigation, docking mechanism, and overall layout of the Soyuz spacecraft, but are incapable of reentry.

While not a direct derivative, the Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft follows the basic template originally pioneered by Soyuz.1314

Soyuz crewed flights

Further information: List of Soviet human spaceflight missions and List of Russian human spaceflight missions

Soyuz uncrewed flights

  1. Kosmos 133 - launch failure
  2. Kosmos 140 - reentry damage
  3. Kosmos 186
  4. Kosmos 188
  5. Kosmos 212
  6. Kosmos 213
  7. Kosmos 238
  8. Soyuz 2 - failed to dock
  9. Kosmos 379
  10. Kosmos 396
  11. Kosmos 434
  12. Kosmos 496
  13. Kosmos 573
  14. Kosmos 613
  15. Kosmos 638
  16. Kosmos 656
  17. Kosmos 670
  18. Kosmos 672
  19. Kosmos 772 - partial fail
  20. Soyuz 20
  21. Kosmos 869
  22. Kosmos 1001
  23. Kosmos 1074
  24. Soyuz 34
  25. Soyuz T-1
  26. Soyuz TM-1
  27. Soyuz MS-14
  28. Soyuz MS-23

See also

  • Spaceflight portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soyuz program.

References

  1. Harland, David M. "Soyuz". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022. https://www.britannica.com/technology/Soyuz ↩

  2. Hendrickx, Bart (2018). "Russian Life Support Systems: Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz". In Seedhouse, Erik; Shayler, David J. (eds.). Handbook of Life Support Systems for Spacecraft and Extraterrestrial Habitats. Springer International Publishing. pp. 1–15. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-09575-2_39-1. ISBN 978-3-319-09575-2. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022. 978-3-319-09575-2 ↩

  3. Wild, Flint (27 June 2018). "What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft?". NASA. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-k-4 ↩

  4. O'Callaghan, Jonathan (9 April 2020). "The Last Soyuz - NASA Ends Reliance On Russia With Final Launch Before Crew Dragon". Forbes. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/04/09/the-last-soyuznasa-ends-reliance-on-russia-with-final-launch-before-crew-dragon/ ↩

  5. O'Callaghan, Jonathan (9 April 2020). "The Last Soyuz - NASA Ends Reliance On Russia With Final Launch Before Crew Dragon". Forbes. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/04/09/the-last-soyuznasa-ends-reliance-on-russia-with-final-launch-before-crew-dragon/ ↩

  6. Luscombe, Richard; Sample, Ian (30 May 2020). "SpaceX successfully launches Nasa astronauts into orbit". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/may/30/spacex-nasa-crewed-spaceflight-launch-dragon-capsule-elon-musk-trump ↩

  7. "Soyuz & Vega at the Spaceport". Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090415214124/http://www.arianespace.com/news-soyuz-vega/2008/2008-10-03-Vega-Soyuz.asp ↩

  8. "Galileo: Europe readies itself for October launch". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2011. http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2011/5-23-2011-galileo-soyuz.asp ↩

  9. "CNES at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2019. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Europe_s_Spaceport/CNES_at_Europe_s_Spaceport ↩

  10. "ESA at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2019. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Europe_s_Spaceport/ESA_at_Europe_s_Spaceport ↩

  11. "Arianespace at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2019. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Europe_s_Spaceport/Arianespace_at_Europe_s_Spaceport ↩

  12. NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) (1 January 2010). NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 20100014848: Estimating the Reliability of a Soyuz Spacecraft Mission. https://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20100014848 ↩

  13. Shenzhou-5 – Quick Facts Archived 1 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Astronautix.com. Retrieved on 23 October 2013. http://www.astronautix.com/articles/shefacts.htm ↩

  14. "ShenZhou Manned Spacecraft". sinodefence.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20101202015355/http://www.sinodefence.com/space/spacecraft/shenzhou.asp ↩

  15. "Launch and Landing". NASA. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2011. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/ ↩

  16. Oberhaus, Daniel. "SpaceX Launched Two Astronauts—Changing Spaceflight Forever". Wired. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/spacex-launched-two-astronauts-changing-spaceflight-forever/ ↩

  17. "LA times, U.S.-Russian Crew Blasts Off to Space, By David Holley, 26 April 2003, Times Staff Writer". Los Angeles Times. 26 April 2003. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-26-fg-soyuz26-story.html ↩

  18. Beyond the Saga of Rocket Science: In Space to Stay, By Walter Sierra, page 225-226, 2019 ↩