Soyuz (spacecraft)

Soyuz seen from the Apollo spacecraft during the Apollo Soyuz Test Project

Soyuz (Russian: Союз, English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space programme. It was first used in the 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft is launched on a Soyuz rocket, the most frequently used and most reliable^[1] launch vehicle in the world to date.

^Soyuz All Soyuz spacecraft are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

History

The first Soyuz flight had no people aboard. It launched on November 28, 1966. The first Soyuz mission with a crew, Soyuz 1, launched on 23 April 1967 but crashed upon return, killing cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Soyuz 3^[2] (October 26, 1968) was the first successful manned mission. Now, the Soyuz is widely considered the world's safest, most cost-effective human spaceflight vehicle. Soyuz spacecraft were used to carry cosmonauts to and from Salyut and later Mir space stations, and are now used for transport to and from the International Space Station (ISS). At least one Soyuz spacecraft is docked at the ISS at all times for use as an escape craft in the event of an emergency.

Parts

The Soyuz spacecraft has three parts:

A round orbital module, which provides space for the crew;
A small reentry module, which gets the crew back to Earth;
A service module with solar panels, which contains instruments and engines.

Orbital module

The orbital module is also called the Habitation section. It has all the equipment not needed for reentry, such as experiments, cameras and cargo. It also contains a docking collar for docking to space stations. It does not come back to earth.

Reentry module

The reentry module is used for launch and the journey back to earth. Half of it is covered in heat protection tiles. It comes back to earth.

Service module

The service module has solar panels. It contains systems for temperature control, electric power supply, long-range radio communications and radio telemetry. It does not come back to earth.

Different versions

Soyuz (spacecraft) Media

Exploded-view drawing of the modules of the Soyuz spacecraft
Currently operational crewed spacecraft (at least orbital class)
Drawing highlighting the orbital module
Drawing highlighting the descent module
Replica of the Soyuz spacecraft's reentry module at the Euro Space Center in Belgium
Drawing highlighting the instrumentation/propulsion module
SoyuzDiagram
Soyuz TMA spacecraft diagram*Orbital module (A): 1 docking mechanism*2 and 4 Kurs antenna,*3 television transmission antenna,*5 camera,*6 hatchDescent Module (B): 7 parachute compartment,*8 periscope,*9 porthole,*11 heat shieldService module (C): 10 and 18 attitude control engines, (RCS)*21 oxygen tank,*12 Earth sensors,*13 Sun sensor,*14 solar panel attachment point,*16 Kurs antenna,*15 the
Soyuz 7K crewed spacecraft concept (1963)