Soyuz Programme

The Soyuz programme (/ˈsɔɪjuːz/ SOY-yooz, /ˈsɔː-/ SAW-; Russian: Союз , meaning Union) 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.

Soyuz programme
Союз Космическая Программа
Soyuz Kosmicheskaya Programma
Soyuz Programme
Artist's impression of the Soyuz 19 spacecraft from the Apollo–Soyuz mission
Program overview
CountrySoviet Union
Russia
OrganizationRoscosmos (1991–present)
StatusOngoing
Programme history
First crewed flightSoyuz 1
Launch site(s)Baikonur
Vehicle information
Uncrewed vehicle(s)Progress
Crewed vehicle(s)Soyuz
Crew capacity1–3
Launch vehicle(s)

The programme consists of the Soyuz capsule and the Soyuz rocket and is now the responsibility of the Russian Roscosmos. After the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, 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.

Soyuz rocket

Soyuz Programme 
Soyuz TMA-13 lifting off from Gagarin's Start at Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2008
Soyuz Programme 
Soyuz rocket on launch pad

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. The Spaceport's new Soyuz launch site has been handling Soyuz launches since 21 October 2011, the date of the first launch. As of December 2019, 19 Guiana Soyuz launches had been made from French Guiana Space Centre, all successful.

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)
  • 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-TM (1974–1976)
  • 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)
    • Soyuz R command-reconnaissance spacecraft proposal (1962)
      • Soyuz 7K-TK transport spacecraft proposal for delivering cosmonauts to Soyuz R military stations (1966)
    • 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.

Soyuz crewed flights

Soyuz uncrewed flights

See also

References

Tags:

Soyuz Programme Soyuz rocketSoyuz Programme Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz Programme DerivativesSoyuz Programme Soyuz crewed flightsSoyuz Programme Soyuz uncrewed flightsSoyuz Programme GallerySoyuz Programme

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