Soyuz programme

Human spaceflight programme of the Soviet Union

Soyuz programmeСоюз Космическая Программа
Soyuz Kosmicheskaya Programma

File:ASTP Soyuz Spacecraft.jpg

Artist's impression of the Soyuz 19 spacecraft from the Apollo–Soyuz mission

Program overview
Country| Soviet Union
Russia
Organization| Roscosmos (1991–present)
Status| Ongoing
Programme history
First crewed flight| Soyuz 1
Launch site(s)| Baikonur
Vehicle information
Uncrewed vehicle(s)| Progress
Crewed vehicle(s)| Soyuz
Crew capacity| 1–3
Launch vehicle(s)|

* Soyuz-U
* Soyuz-FG
* Soyuz-2

Part of a series of articles on the

Soviet space program

* Soviet crewed lunar programs
* Luna program

Soviet human spaceflight programs

* Vostok
* Voskhod
* Soyuz
* Salyut
* Apollo–Soyuz (joint)
* Mir
* Zond (lunar Soyuz 7K-L1)
* N1-L3 (Moon landing)
* TMK (Mars flyby)
* Spiral
* Almaz / TKS
* Energia / Buran

Soviet space probes

* Sputnik program
* Kosmos
* Bion
* GLONASS
* Molniya
* Meteor
* Zenit
* Luna program
* Zond program
* Lunokhod program
* Mars program
* Phobos program
* Marsnik program
* Astron (spacecraft)
* Orion 1 and Orion 2 Space Observatories
* RELIKT-1
* Venera
* Vega program

Expendable launch vehicles

* Kosmos-3M
* Molniya-M
* Proton
* K
* Soyuz
* U
* Zenit
* 2
* Energia
* Kosmos
* 1
* 2I
* 3
* 3M
* N1
* R-7
* Luna
* Molniya
* Polyot
* Soyuz
* L
* M
* U2
* Soyuz/Vostok
* Sputnik
* Voskhod
* Vostok
* L
* K
* 2
* 2M
* Tsyklon
* 2
* 3

Notable figures

* Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
* Friedrich Zander
* Mstislav Keldysh
* Sergei Korolev
* Laika
* Yuri Gagarin
* Alexander Kemurdzhian
* Valentina Tereshkova
* Alexei Leonov
* Konstantin Feoktistov
* Mikhail Tikhonravov
* Mikhail Yangel
* Valentin Glushko
* Vladimir Chelomey
* Kerim Kerimov
* Vasily Mishin
* Boris Chertok

Cosmonauts

* List of Soviet and Russian cosmonauts

* v
* t
* e

The Soyuz programme (/ˈsɔɪjuːz/ SOY-yooz, /ˈsɔː-/ SAW-; Russian: Союз [sɐˈjus], 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.[1] It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok (1961–1963) and Voskhod (1964–1965) programmes.[2]

The programme consists of the Soyuz capsule and the Soyuz rocket and is now the responsibility of the Russian Roscosmos.[3][4] 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.[4][5]

## Contents

* 1 Soyuz rocket
* 2 Soyuz spacecraft
* 3 Derivatives
* 4 Soyuz crewed flights
* 5 Soyuz uncrewed flights
* 6 Gallery
* 7 See also
* 8 References

## Soyuz rocket[edit | edit source]

File:Soyuz TMA-13 Edit.jpg

Soyuz TMA-13 lifting off from Gagarin's Start at Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2008

File:Soyuz rocket ASTP.jpg

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.[6] The Spaceport's new Soyuz launch site has been handling Soyuz launches since 21 October 2011, the date of the first launch.[7] As of December 2019, 19 Guiana Soyuz launches had been made from French Guiana Space Centre, all successful.[8][9][10]

## Soyuz spacecraft[edit | edit source]

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):

* a spheroid orbital module
* a small aerodynamic reentry module
* a cylindrical service module with solar panels attached

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

* Sever early manned spacecraft proposal to replace Vostok (1959)
* L1-1960 manned circumlunar spacecraft proposal (1960); evolved into the Soyuz-A design
* L4-1960 manned lunar orbiter proposal (1960)
* L1-1962 manned 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
* Soyuz 9K proposed booster
* Soyuz 11K proposed fuel tanker
* L3-1963 manned lunar lander proposal (1963)
* L4-1963 manned lunar orbiter proposal; modified 7K (1963)
* Soyuz 7K-OK (1967–1970)
* Soyuz 7K-L1 Zond (1967–1970)
* Soyuz 7K-L3 LOK (1971–1972)
* Soyuz 7K-OKS (1971); also known as 7KT-OK
* Soyuz 7K-T or "ferry" (1973–1981)
* Soyuz 7K-T/A9 (1974–1978)
* Soyuz 7K-TM (1974–1976)
* 7K-MF6 (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 manned combat spacecraft proposal; cancelled in 1965
* Soyuz OIS (1967)
* Soyuz OB-VI space station proposal (1967)
* Soyuz 7K-S military transport proposal (1974)
* Soyuz 7K-ST concept for Soyuz T and TM (1974)

## Derivatives[edit | edit source]

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.[11][12]

## Soyuz crewed flights[edit | edit source]

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

* Soviet human spaceflight missions started in 1961 and ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
* The Russian human spaceflight missions program started in 1991 and continues to this day. Soyuz crewed missions were the only spacecraft visiting the International Space Station, starting from when the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, until the launch of Crew Dragon Demo-2 on 30 May 2020.[13][14] The International Space Station always has at least one Soyuz spacecraft docked at all times for use as an escape craft.[15][16]

## Soyuz uncrewed flights[edit | edit source]

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 T-1
25. Soyuz TM-1
26. Soyuz MS-14

## Gallery[edit | edit source]

* Soyuz TMA-3 launch.jpg

Soyuz TMA-3 launch

* Soyuz 19 (Apollo Soyuz Test Project) spacecraft.jpg

Soyuz 19 as seen from the Apollo spacecraft during Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, July 1975

* Expedition 42 Soyuz TMA-14M Landing (201503120102HQ).jpg

Soyuz TMA-14M landing

* ISS-43 Soyuz TMA 16M approaches the ISS (a).jpg

Soyuz TMA-16M approaching the ISS

## See also[edit | edit source]

File:Commons-logo.svg

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soyuz program.

* Shenzhou, a Chinese spacecraft influenced by Soyuz
* Space Shuttle
* Buran (spacecraft)
* List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ Harland, David M. "Soyuz". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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.
3. ^ Wild, Flint (27 June 2018). "What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft?". NASA. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
4. ^ a b 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.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ "Soyuz & Vega at the Spaceport". Archived from the original on 15 April 2009.
7. ^ "Galileo: Europe readies itself for October launch". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
8. ^ "CNES at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
9. ^ "ESA at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
10. ^ "Arianespace at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
11. ^ Shenzhou-5 – Quick Facts Archived 1 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Astronautix.com. Retrieved on 23 October 2013.
12. ^ "ShenZhou Manned Spacecraft". sinodefence.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
13. ^ "Launch and Landing". NASA. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
14. ^ Oberhaus, Daniel. "SpaceX Launched Two Astronauts—Changing Spaceflight Forever". Wired. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
15. ^ "LA times, U.S.-Russian Crew Blasts Off to Space, By David Holley, 26 April 2003, Times Staff Writer". Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
16. ^ Beyond the Saga of Rocket Science: In Space to Stay, By Walter Sierra, page 225-226, 2019

* v
* t
* e

Soyuz programme

* List of Soyuz missions
* List of Soviet human spaceflight missions
* List of Russian human spaceflight missions

Main topics|

* Soyuz (rocket family)
* Soyuz (spacecraft)
* Baikonur Cosmodrome
* Site 1/5
* Site 31/6
* Soyuz abort modes
* Cosmonaut ranks and positions

File:Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft2edit1.jpg

Past missions
(by spacecraft type)|

| Soyuz 7K-OK (1966–1970)|

* Kosmos 133†
* Soyuz 7K-OK No.1† (uncrewed)
* Kosmos 140
* Soyuz 1†
* Kosmos 186
* 188
* 212
* 213
* 238
* Soyuz 2 (uncrewed)
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9

|

Soyuz 7K-L1 (1967–1970)
(Zond lunar programme)|

* Kosmos 146
* 154†
* Zond 1967A†
* 1967B†
* Zond 4
* 1968A†
* 1968B†
* 5
* 6
* 1969A†
* Zond-M 1†
* M 2†
* Zond 7
* 8
* 9
* 10

Soyuz 7K-L1E (1969–1970)|

* Soyuz 7K-L1E No.1†
* Kosmos 382

Soyuz 7K-LOK (1971–1972)|

* Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1†
* No.2†

Soyuz 7K-OKS (1971)|

* Soyuz 10†
* 11†

Soyuz 7K-T (1972–1981)|

* Kosmos 496
* 573
* Soyuz 12
* Kosmos 613
* Soyuz 13
* Kosmos 656
* Soyuz 14
* 15†
* 17
* 18a†
* 18
* 20 (uncrewed)
* 21
* 23†
* 24
* 25†
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31
* 32 (uncrewed landing)
* 33†
* 34 (uncrewed launch)
* 35
* 36
* 37
* 38
* 39
* 40

Soyuz 7K-TM (1974–1976)|

* Kosmos 638
* 672
* Soyuz 16
* 19 (Apollo–Soyuz)
* 22

Soyuz 7K-S (1974–1976)|

* Kosmos 670
* 772†
* 869†

Soyuz-T (1978–1986)|

* Kosmos 1001†
* 1074
* Soyuz T-1 (uncrewed)
* T-2
* T-3
* T-4
* T-5
* T-6
* T-7
* T-8†
* T-9
* T-10a†
* T-10
* T-11
* T-12
* T-13
* T-14
* T-15

Soyuz-TM (1986–2002)|

* Soyuz TM-1 (uncrewed)
* TM-2
* TM-3
* TM-4
* TM-5
* TM-6
* TM-7
* TM-8
* TM-9
* TM-10
* TM-11
* TM-12
* TM-13
* TM-14
* TM-15
* TM-16
* TM-17
* TM-18
* TM-19
* TM-20
* TM-21
* TM-22
* TM-23
* TM-24
* TM-25
* TM-26
* TM-27
* TM-28
* TM-29
* TM-30
* TM-31
* TM-32
* TM-33
* TM-34

Soyuz-TMA (2002–2012)|

* Soyuz TMA-1
* TMA-2
* TMA-3
* TMA-4
* TMA-5
* TMA-6
* TMA-7
* TMA-8
* TMA-9
* TMA-10
* TMA-11
* TMA-12
* TMA-13
* TMA-14
* TMA-15
* TMA-16
* TMA-17
* TMA-18
* TMA-19
* TMA-20
* TMA-21
* TMA-22

Soyuz-TMA-M (2010–2016)|

* Soyuz TMA-01M
* TMA-02M
* TMA-03M
* TMA-04M
* TMA-05M
* TMA-06M
* TMA-07M
* TMA-08M
* TMA-09M
* TMA-10M
* TMA-11M
* TMA-12M
* TMA-13M
* TMA-14M
* TMA-15M
* TMA-16M
* TMA-17M
* TMA-18M
* TMA-19M
* TMA-20M

Soyuz MS (2016–present)|

* Soyuz MS-01
* MS-02
* MS-03
* MS-04
* MS-05
* MS-06
* MS-07
* MS-08
* MS-09
* MS-10†
* MS-11
* MS-12
* MS-13
* MS-14 (uncrewed test flight)
* MS-15
* MS-16
* MS-17
* MS-18
* MS-19
* MS-20
* MS-21
* MS-22 (uncrewed landing)
* MS-23 (uncrewed launch)

Current missions|

* MS-24

Future missions|

* 2024
* MS-25

Uncrewed missions are designated as Kosmos instead of Soyuz; exceptions are noted "(uncrewed)".
The † sign designates failed missions. Italics designates cancelled missions.

* v
* t
* e

Soviet and Russian government human spaceflight programs

Active|

* Soyuz
* ISS (joint)
* Russian Orbital Segment

In development|

* Orel

Past|

* Vostok
* Voskhod
* Salyut
* Almaz (incorporated into Salyut program) / TKS
* Apollo–Soyuz (joint)
* Mir
* Shuttle-Mir (joint)

Cancelled|

* Moon:  Zond (7K-L1), N1-L3, LK-700, Zvezda
* Interplanetary:  TMK
* Spaceplanes:  Spiral, Energia / Buran, MAKS, Kliper, LKS, Tupolev Tu-2000
* Capsules:  Zvezda, Zarya
* Space Stations:  OPSEK

Related|

* List of Soyuz missions
* List of Soviet human spaceflight missions
* List of Russian human spaceflight missions
* Cosmonaut ranks and positions

* v
* t
* e

Soviet crewed lunar programs

Launch vehicles and ascent/upper stages|

* N1 rocket
* Proton rocket
* Blok E
* Blok D

LK spacecraft

Spacecraft|

* LK-1
* VA spacecraft
* LK-700
* Zond (Soyuz 7K-L1)
* Zond-M (Soyuz 7K-L1S)
* Zond-LOK (Soyuz 7K-L1E)
* LOK (Soyuz 7K-L3)
* LK (spacecraft)

Other hardware|

* Lunokhod-LK
* Krechet-94

Soyuz docking tests|

* Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A
* Soyuz 2, Soyuz 3
* Soyuz 4, Soyuz 5
* Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8
* Soyuz Kontakt 1, 2

Zond (7K-L1/L1S)
lunar flyby missions|

* Kosmos 146
* Kosmos 154†
* Zond 1967A†
* Zond 1967B†
* Zond 4
* Zond 1968A†
* Zond 1968B†
* Zond 5
* Zond 6
* Zond 1969A†
* Zond-M 1 (L1S-1)
* Zond-M 2 (L1S-2)†
* Zond 7
* Zond 8
* Zond 9
* Zond 10

* Kosmos 382

LOK (7K-LOK/L1E) test missions|

* Zond-LOK 1†
* LOK 1†
* LOK 2

LK Lander (T2K) test missions|

* Kosmos 379
* Kosmos 398
* Kosmos 434
* LK-1

The † sign designates failed missions. Italics designates cancelled missions.

* v
* t
* e

Soviet and Russian space program

* Roscosmos

Launch sites|

* Baikonur Cosmodrome (in Kazakhstan)
* Dombarovsky
* Kapustin Yar
* Plesetsk Cosmodrome
* Svobodny Cosmodrome (defunct)
* Vostochny Cosmodrome

File:Roscosmos logo ru.svg

Launch vehicles|

* Angara
* Proton
* Soyuz

Human spaceflight
programs|

| Past|

* Vostok
* Voskhod
* Salyut
* Almaz (incorporated into Salyut program) / TKS
* Soyuz-Apollo (joint)
* Mir
* Shuttle–Mir (joint)
* Energia / Buran

|

Cancelled|

* Zond (7K-L1) (Moon flyby)
* Soviet crewed lunar programs (Moon landing)
* Zvezda (moonbase)
* TMK (Mars/Venus flyby)
* Spiral
* Zvezda
* Zarya
* MAKS
* Kliper

Active|

* International Space Station (joint)
* Russian Orbital Segment
* Soyuz

In development|

* Orel

Robotic
programs|

| Past|

* DS (1960–1977)
* Prognoz (1972–1996)
* Luna programme (1959–1976)
* Venera (1961–1984)
* Zond program (1964–1970)
* Astron (1983)
* Vega program (1984)
* Granat (1989)
* Gamma (1990)
* Mars 96 (failed) (1996)
* Resurs-DK No.1 (2006-2016)
* Koronas-Foton (2009)
* Fobos-Grunt (failed) (2011)
* Spektr-R (2011–2019)

|

Active|

* Bion-M
* Elektro–L
* ExoMars (joint)
* Meteor-M
* Resurs-P
* Spektr-RG

In development|

* Luna-Glob
* Luna 25
* Luna 26
* Luna 27
* Luna 28
* Kazachok
* Spektr-UV

Communications|

* Sputnik programme (begun 1957)
* Sputnik 1
* Sputnik 2
* Sputnik 3
* Sputnik 41
* Sputnik 99
* Luch (satellite)
* Deep Space Network

Concepts|

* Baikal-Angara
* Laplace-P
* Mars-Grunt
* Mercury-P
* OPSEK
* Spektr-M
* Venera-D

Images and artwork|

* Mission patches

Related|

* List of cosmonauts
* Cosmonaut ranks and positions
* Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation
* Soviet space dogs
* Laika
* Belka and Strelka
* Veterok and Ugolyok
* Ivan Ivanovich
* Soviet space exploration history on Soviet stamps
* Cosmonauts Alley
* Monument to the Conquerors of Space
* Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics
* Out of the Present (1995 documentary)
* Mission to Mir (1997 documentary)

* See also: Space industry of Russia
* Russian Aerospace Defence Forces

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