- For the launch vehicle of the same name see Soyuz
Soyuz (Russian:
Союз, ); English:
Union) is a series of
spacecraft designed for the
Soviet space program by the
Korolyov
Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the
Voskhod spacecraft and was originally
built as part of the
Soviet Manned Lunar
program. The first unmanned Soyuz mission was launched November
28, 1966; the first Soyuz mission with a crew (
Soyuz 1) was launched April 23, 1967, but the
cosmonaut on board,
Vladimir Komarov, died during
the flight's crash-landing. The first Soyuz flight which the crew
survived (
Soyuz 3) was launched October 26,
1968.
Currently, the Soyuz spacecraft family is still in service. The
Soyuz spacecraft is launched by the
Soyuz rocket, initially as part of the
Soyuz program, and also as part of the
unmanned
Zond program. Soyuz spacecraft
were used to carry
cosmonaut to and from
Salyut and later
Mir
Soviet space stations, and are now used for transport to and from
the
International Space
Station. The International Space Station maintains two docked
Russian Soyuz spacecraft at all times to be used as escape craft in
the event of an emergency.
Design
Soyuz diagram
Diagram showing the three elements of
the Soyuz-TMA spacecraft.
A Soyuz spacecraft consists of three parts (from front to back):
- A spheroid orbital module, which provides accommodation
for the crew during their mission;
- A small aerodynamic reentry
module, which returns the crew to Earth;
- A cylindrical service module with
solar panels attached, which contains the instruments and
engines.
The orbital and service modules are single-use and are destroyed
upon re-entry in the atmosphere. The orbital and reentry portions
are habitable living space. By moving as much equipment as possible
into the orbital module, which does not have to be shielded or
decelerated during
atmospheric
re-entry, the Soyuz is both larger and lighter than the
contemporary
Apollo spacecraft's
command module. The
Apollo command module had six cubic meters of living space and a
mass of 5000 kg; the three-part Soyuz provides the same crew with
nine cubic meters of living space, an airlock, and a service module
for the mass of the Apollo capsule alone.
Soyuz can carry up to three
cosmonaut and
provide life support for them for about 30 person days. The life
support system provides a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere at sea level
partial pressures. The atmosphere is regenerated through
KO2 cylinders, which absorb most of the
CO2 and
water produced by the crew and regenerates the oxygen,
and
LiOH cylinders which absorb leftover
CO
2.
The vehicle is protected during launch by a
nose fairing, which is jettisoned after
passing through the atmosphere. It has an automatic docking system.
The ship can be operated automatically, or by a pilot independently
of ground control.
Orbital Module (BO)
Soyuz spacecraft's Orbital
Module
The forepart of the spacecraft is the orbital module (Russian:
бытовой отсек (БО); Bytovoi otsek (BO)) also known as
Habitation section. It houses all the equipment that will not be
needed for reentry, such as experiments, cameras or cargo. The
module also contains a toilet, docking avionics and communications
gear. On the latest Soyuz versions, a small window was introduced,
providing the crew with a forward view.
A hatch between it and the descent module can be closed so as to
isolate it to act as an airlock if needed, cosmonauts exiting
through its side port (at the bottom of this picture, near the
descent module). On the launch pad, the astronauts enter the
spacecraft through this port.
This separation also lets the orbital module be customized to the
mission with less risk to the life-critical descent module. The
convention of orientation in
zero
gravity differs from that of the descent module, as cosmonauts
stand or sit with their heads to the docking port.
Reentry Module (SA)
Soyuz spacecraft's Descent
Module
The reentry module (Russian:
спускаемый аппарат (СА);
Spuskaemyi apparat (SA)) is used for launch and the journey back to
Earth. It is covered by a heat-resistant covering to protect it
during
re-entry. It is slowed initially by
the atmosphere, then by a braking parachute, followed by the main
parachute which slows the craft for landing. At one meter above the
ground, solid-fuel braking engines mounted behind the
heat shield are fired to give a soft landing.
One of the design requirements for the reentry module was for it to
have the highest possible volumetric efficiency (internal volume
divided by hull area). The best shape for this is a sphere, but
such a shape can provide no lift, which results in a purely
ballistic reentry. Ballistic
reentries are hard on the occupants due to high deceleration and
cannot be steered beyond their initial deorbit burn. That is why it
was decided to go with the "headlight" shape that the Soyuz uses—a
hemispherical forward area joined by a barely angled conical
section (seven degrees) to a classic spherical section heat shield.
This shape allows a small amount of lift to be generated due to the
unequal weight distribution. The nickname was thought up at a time
when nearly every headlight was circular.
Service Module (PAO)
Soyuz spacecraft's
Instrumentation/Propulsion Module
At the back of the vehicle is the service module (Russian:
приборно-агрегатный отсек (ПАО); Priborno-Agregatnyi Otsek
(PAO)). It has a pressurized container shaped like a bulging can
(
Instrumentation compartment, PO (Priborniy Otsek) that
contains systems for temperature control, electric power supply,
long-range
radio communications, radio
telemetry, instruments for orientation and control. A
non-pressurized part of the service module (
Propulsion
compartment, AO (Agregatniy Otsek)) contains the main engine
and a spare: liquid-fuel
propulsion system for maneuvering in
orbit and initiating the descent back to Earth. The ship also has a
system of low-thrust engines for orientation, attached to the
Intermediate compartment (
PkhO or Perekhodnoi Otsek).
Outside the service module are the sensors for the orientation
system and the solar array, which is oriented towards the sun by
rotating the ship.
Re-entry procedure
Because its modular construction differs from that of previous
designs, the Soyuz has an unusual sequence of events prior to
re-entry. The spacecraft is turned engine-forward and the main
engine is fired for de-orbiting fully 180° ahead of its planned
landing site. This requires the least propellant for re-entry, the
spacecraft traveling on an elliptical
Hohmann orbit to a point where it will be low
enough in the atmosphere to re-enter.
Early Soyuz spacecraft would then have the service and orbital
modules detach simultaneously. As they are connected by tubing and
electrical cables to the descent module, this would aid in their
separation and avoid having the descent module alter its
orientation. Later Soyuz spacecraft detach the orbital module
before firing the main engine, which saves even more propellant,
enabling the descent module to return more payload. But in no case
can the orbital module remain in orbit as an addition to a space
station, for the hatch enabling it to function as an airlock is
part of the descent module.
Re-entry firing is done on the "dawn" side of the earth, so that
the spacecraft can be seen by recovery helicopters as it descends
in the evening twilight, illuminated by the sun when it is above
the shadow of the Earth. The Soyuz craft is designed to come down
on land, usually somewhere in the deserts of Kazakhstan in central
Asia. This is in contrast to early US manned missions which
"splashed down" in the ocean.
Spacecraft systems
- Thermal Control System—Sistema
Obespecheniya Teplovogo Rezhima, SOTR
- Life Support System—Kompleks Sredstv
Obespecheniya Zhiznideyatelnosti, KSOZh
- Power Supply System—Sistema
Elektropitaniya, SEP
- Communication and Tracking Systems—Rassvet
(Dawn) radio communications system, Onboard Measurement System
(SBI), Kvant-V spacecraft control, Klyost-M television system,
Orbit Radio Tracking (RKO)
- Onboard Complex Control System—Sistema
Upravleniya Bortovym Kompleksom, SUBK
- Combined Propulsion System—Kompleksnaya
Dvigatelnaya Ustanovka, KDU
- Chaika-3 Motion Control System (SUD)
- Optical/Visual Devices (OVP)—VSK-4 (Vizir
Spetsialniy Kosmicheskiy-4),Night Vision Device (VNUK-K, Visir
Nochnogo Upravleniya po Kursu), Docking light, Pilot's Sight (VP-1,
Vizir Pilota-1), Laser Range Finder (LPR-1, Lazerniy
Dalnomer-1)
- Kurs rendezvous
system
- Docking System—Sistema Stykovki i
Vnutrennego Perekhoda, SSVP
- Teleoperator Control Mode—Teleoperatorniy
Rezhim Upravleniya, TORU
- Entry Actuators System—Sistema
Ispolnitelnikh Organov Spuska, SIO-S
- Landing Aids Kit—Kompleks Sredstv
Prizemleniya, KSP
- Portable Survival Kit—Nosimiy Avariyniy
Zapas, NAZ, containing a TP-82 or other
pistol
- Soyuz Launch Escape
System—Sistema Avariynogo Spaseniya, SAS
Variants
Soyuz family tree
The Soyuz spacecraft has been the subject of continuous evolution
since the early 1960s. Thus several different actual versions,
proposals and projects exist.
Technical Data
| Version: |
Soyuz A (1963) |
Soyuz 7K-OK
(1967–1971) |
Soyuz 7K-L3
(LOK) |
Soyuz 7K-T
(1973–1981) |
Soyuz 7K-TM
(1975) |
Soyuz-T
(1976–1986) |
Soyuz-TM
(1986–2002) |
Soyuz-TMA (2003–....
) |
| Total |
| Mass (kg) |
5 880 |
6 560 |
9 850 |
6 800 |
6 680 |
6 850 |
7 250 |
7 220 |
| Length (m) |
7.40 |
7.95 |
10.06 |
7.48 |
7.48 |
7.48 |
7.48 |
7.48 |
| Max Diameter (m) |
2 .50 |
2 .72 |
2 .930 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
| Span (m) |
? |
9 .80 |
? |
9 .80/– |
8 .37 |
10 .6 |
10 .6 |
10 .7 |
| Orbital Module (BO) |
| Mass (kg) |
1 000 |
1 100 |
- |
1 350 |
1 224 |
1 100 |
1 450 |
1 370 |
| Length (m) |
3 .00 |
3 .45 |
2 .26 |
2 .98 |
3 .10 |
2 .98 |
2 .98 |
2 .98 |
| Diameter (m) |
2 .20 |
2 .25 |
2 .3 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
| Volume (m³) |
2 .20 |
5 .00 |
- |
5 .00 |
5 .00 |
5 .00 |
5 .00 |
5 .00 |
| Reentry module (SA) |
| Mass (kg) |
2 480 |
2 810 |
2 804 |
2 850 |
2 802 |
3 000 |
2 850 |
2 950 |
| Length (m) |
2 .30 |
2 .24 |
2 .19 |
2 .24 |
2 .24 |
2 .24 |
2 .24 |
2 .24 |
| Diameter (m) |
2 .17 |
2 .17 |
2 .2 |
2 .17 |
2 .17 |
2 .17 |
2 .17 |
2 .17 |
| Volume (m³) |
4 .00 |
4 .00 |
- |
3 .50 |
4 .00 |
4 .00 |
3 .50 |
3 .50 |
| Service module (PAO) |
| Mass (kg) |
2 400 |
2 650 |
- |
2 700 |
2 654 |
2 750 |
2 950 |
2 900 |
| Usable mass (kg) |
830 |
500 |
3152 |
500 |
500 |
700 |
880 |
880 |
| Length (m) |
2 .10 |
2 .26 |
2 .82 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
2 .26 |
| Diameter (m) |
2 .50 |
2 .72 |
2 .2 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
2 .72 |
Soyuz A (part of the "circumlunar complex") (1963)
Korolyov initially promoted the Soyuz A-B-C circumlunar complex
(
7K-9K-11K) concept (also known as L1) in which a two-man
craft Soyuz-A 7K would rendezvous with other components (9K and
11K) in Earth orbit to assemble a lunar excursion vehicle, the
components being delivered by the proven
R-7 rocket.
First generation
The manned Soyuz spacecraft can be classified into design
generations.
Soyuz 1 through
Soyuz
11
(1967–1971) were first-generation vehicles,
carrying a crew of up to three without spacesuits and distinguished from those following
by their bent solar panel and
their use of the Igla automatic docking
navigation system, which required special radar antennas.
This first generation was called
Soyuz
7K-OK and encompassed the original Soyuz and
Salyut 1 Soyuz.
The
Soyuz 7K-L1 was designed to launch
men from the Earth to circle the moon, and was the primary hope for
a Soviet circumlunar flight. It had several test flights in the
Zond program from 1967–1970 (
Zond 4 to
Zond 8), which
produced multiple failures in the 7K-L1's re-entry systems. So the
remaining 7K-L1s were scrapped. The
Soyuz
7K-L3 was designed and developed in parallel to the
Soyuz 7K-L1, but was also scrapped.
The next manned version of the Soyuz was the
Soyuz 7K-OKS. It was designed for
space station flights and had a docking port
that allowed internal transfer between spacecraft. The Soyuz 7K-OKS
had two manned flights, both in 1971, and the second of which
depressurized upon re-entry, killing its three-man crew.
Second generation
The second generation, called
Soyuz Ferry or
Soyuz 7K-T, comprised
Soyuz
12 through
Soyuz 40 (1973–1981). It was
developed out of the military Soyuz concepts studied in previous
years. The
Soyuz 7K-T/A9 version was
used for the flights to the military
Almaz
space station.
Soyuz 7K-TM was the spacecraft used in
the
Apollo-Soyuz Test
Project in 1975, which saw the first and only docking of a
Soyuz spacecraft with an
Apollo
spacecraft. It was also flown in 1976 for the earth-science
mission,
Soyuz 22. Soyuz 7K-TM served as a
technological bridge to the third generation, the
Soyuz-T spacecraft.
Several
military Soyuz models were
planned, but none actually flew in space. These versions were named
Soyuz 7K-P,
Soyuz 7K-PPK,
Soyuz R,
Soyuz 7K-VI, and
Soyuz OIS (Orbital Research
Station).
Third generation
The third generation
Soyuz-T (T:
транспортный,
Transportnyi meaning transport) spacecraft
(1976–1986) featured solar panels allowing longer missions, a
revised Igla rendezvous system and new translation/attitude
thruster system on the Service module. It could carry a crew of
three, now wearing spacesuits.
Fourth generation
The
Soyuz-TM crew transports (M:
модифицированный,
Modifitsirovannyi meaning modified) were
fourth generation Soyuz spacecraft, and were used from 1986 to 2003
for ferry flights to
Mir and the
International Space
Station.
Soyuz-TMA (2003–.... )
Soyuz TMA (A: антропометрический,
Antropometricheskii
meaning
anthropometric) features
several changes to accommodate requirements requested by NASA in
order to service the
International Space Station,
including more latitude in the height and weight of the crew and
improved parachute systems. It is also the first expendable vehicle
to feature "
glass cockpit" technology.
Soyuz-TMA looks identical to a Soyuz-TM spacecraft on the outside,
but interior differences allow it to accommodate taller occupants
with new adjustable crew couches.
Soyuz TMAT (2010/....)
In 2004, Russian space officials announced that the Soyuz will be
replaced by early 2011 with the new
Kliper
and
Parom spacecrafts. However, since then the
Kliper appears to have been indefinitely postponed due to lack of
government funding, and it has been announced that the Soyuz will
receive an upgrade to make it suitable for up to one year in space,
as well as new digital interior displays and updated docking
equipment. This new version, known as Soyuz TMAT, could enter
service around 2010 .
Soyuz ACTS (2012/....)
Soyuz ACTS (Advanced Crew Transportation System), also known as
Soyuz-K, is a proposed version of the Soyuz design capable of
achieving lunar orbit.
The upgrades could include a new habitation
module developed by the European Space Agency
. A novel, rocket-based precision landing
system may also be implemented.
Missions could be launched from Baikonur
or Guiana Space
Centre
.
Related craft
The unmanned
Progress spacecraft
were derived from Soyuz and are used for servicing space
stations.
While not being the direct derivatives of the Soyuz, the Chinese
Shenzhou spacecraft and the
Indian
Orbital Vehicle follow
the general template as pioneered by the Soyuz.
Operators
- Russian Federation: 24th of August 1991 (independence of Russia
from the USSR) to the present
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: 1966 to 26th of December
1991 (Dissolution of the Soviet Union, by the dissolution of the
Supreme Soviet)
See also
Missions
See
List of Soviet
and Russian manned space missions as well as the
Zond program
Image gallery
Image:Soyuz National Space Centre.jpg|Early 7K-OK Soyuz at
National Space Centre, Leicester, EnglandImage:ASTP Soyuz
Spacecraft.jpg|Soyuz spacecraft of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project
(ASTP)Image:Soyuz 19 (Apollo Soyuz Test Project)
spacecraft.jpg|Soyuz 19 spacecraft as seen
from Apollo
CMImage:Soyuz acoplada MIR.jpg|Soyuz docked to MirImage:Soyuz spacecraft.jpg|Soyuz spacecraft
mock-upImage:Soyuz rocket engines.jpg|Soyuz launch vehicles
enginesImage:Soyuz tm-31 transported to launch pad.jpg|Soyuz TM-31 Moves to Launch Pad, 29 October
2000Image:Soyuz TMA-2 launch.jpg|Soyuz TMA-2
launch, Baikonur, April 26, 2003Image:Soyuz
landing.jpg|Soyuz TMA-3 landing (NASA)Image:Space Shuttle vs Soyuz
TM - to scale drawing.png | Space Shuttle Orbiter and Soyuz-TM
(drawn to scale).Image:Soyus craft on Display at the Kennedy
Space Center.jpg | Soyuz spacecraft on display at the Kennedy Space
Center
.
References
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