Interspace News

Here Are Just Five Of The Over 30 known Variations Of The Soyuz Spacecraft. Beginning On The Left We have The Soyuz P Armed Satellite Interceptor, The Soyuz PPK Armed Satellite Interceptor, The Soyuz R Command Reconnaissance Spacecraft, The Soyuz VI Nuclear Powered Armed Satellite Interceptor/Reconnaissance Spacecraft, And Finally - The Soyuz VI/OIS Command Reconnaissance Spacecraft. (Mark Wade - Astronautix.com)

The Soyuz spacecraft is the longest serving, most versatile manned spacecraft ever flown. Over the last 40 years more than 230 flights have been flown and to date no fewer than 30 variations of the spacecraft have been drafted. The basic Soyuz spacecraft has been modified to serve as a Moon ship, space taxi, space life boat, space freighter, and even a nuclear powered satellite interceptor complete with machine guns! This incredible flexibility owes its existence to the spacecraft's designer - Sergei Pavlovich Korolev who, together with his OKB-1 Design Bureau, conceived of the spacecraft back in 1961.

Following the success of his Vostok and Voskhod designs, Korolev needed a larger, more capable spacecraft, that could be used to develop the skills necessary to create large structures in Earth orbit and explore the Moon. The problem was that up to this point, spacecraft carried everything they needed for flight in one module which was then hardened and protected from the heat of reentry by a heavy ablative heat shield. A recovery system, capable of landing the entire spacecraft, was then added along with any mission specific equipment. All of this added up to weight - weight that Korolev needed to shave in order to launch his new spacecraft on the rockets that were available at that time.

Korolev solved the problem by adopting a modular design that would enable him to minimize the weight of the decent module by pulling all of the equipment not explicitly necessary for decent off into one of two other modules. Mission specific equipment such as experiments, docking collars, spacewalking gear, and the like, were put into a cylindrical shaped "orbital" module that was placed above the decent module and connected to it by a hatch. Support equipment, such as life support systems, power generation equipment, and engines, were removed and stored in a cylindrical shaped service module that was attached to the rear of the decent module. Two solar panels would be attached to the service module to provide power to the spacecraft during flight.

Diagram Showing The Basic Components Of The Soyuz TM Spacecraft  (NASA)

The entire spacecraft would be launched into orbit by an upgraded R-7 launcher - the same launcher that was used to launch both the Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft. Since the new spacecraft would be heavier than both of it's processors, a third stage would be added to help push the spacecraft into orbit. Once on orbit the crew could then move about between the orbital and the decent modules as their mission required. An additional benefit of this modular design was that the orbital module could also serve as an airlock. This innovation would allow cosmonauts to spacewalk without depressurizing the entire spacecraft resulting in a safer and less complicated EVA capability.

When it was time to come home, the cosmonauts would return to the decent module and then jettison the orbital and service modules. Since the orbital and service modules were designed to be destroyed during reentry, they did not need be hardened and could be constructed out of lighter materials. The resulting relatively small decent module would require far less shielding than a full size capsule which not only decreased the overall weight of the module but, it also allowed for the use of a considerably smaller and therefore lighter, recovery system.

As was the case with all Soviet manned spacecraft, touchdown would occur within the Soviet Union and on dry land. Korolev believed that this simplified the recovery process by enabling his team to recover the spacecraft with a few trucks and helicopters instead of a fleet of ships. However, logic was only part of the equation, the other part was political. Many members of the Soviet government feared landing the spacecraft in the ocean where the American Navy could spy on them. Others, Nikita Khrushchev among them, wanted to see their space heroes return "safely to the breast of mother Russia" for patriotic and propaganda reasons. What ever the case, a single parachute would be used to gently lower the spacecraft until it was just above the ground where a set of landing rockets would fire. This would slow the spacecraft's decent enough so it could safely drop the last couple of feet to the ground.

Unlike its predecessors, which were spherical, the decent module would be shaped like a bell. This would allow it to generate lift during reentry allowing the cosmonauts to actually fly their spacecraft instead of simply falling back to Earth as was done in the past. This capability would allow the spacecraft to perform Lunar missions who's reentry speeds would be in excess of 25,000 miles per hour! The deceleration forces (G forces) generated by this kind of "ballistic" reentry would be enough to crush the crew but, because the spacecraft could fly, the cosmonauts would be able to slow it down by skipping across the atmosphere before beginning the plunge back to Earth.

The results were astounding - the new spacecraft would have nearly 9 meters of habitable volume compared with the 6 meters of habitable volume found on the American Apollo spacecraft. It would also have an airlock which Apollo did not have and the entire spacecraft - orbital, decent, and service modules combined, would weigh about the same as the Apollo command module did by itself. In addition, by changing the amount of fuel in the service module and the equipment in the orbital module, an infinite variety of missions could be preformed.

The Soyuz Circumlunar Spacecraft. From The left we see the Soyuz A (Note The Cylindrical Orbital Module Unique To The Soyuz A Design) Next is the the Soyuz V Tanker With Soyuz B Docked To It At The Far Right. (Mark Wade Astronautix. com)

In December of 1962, Korolev signed a draft proposal requesting permission to proceed with the construction of what he was now calling the Soyuz (Union) spacecraft. In the proposal, Korolev called for the creation of three different ships that together would be used to send cosmonauts on a circumlunar space flight. The first of these, designated Soyuz A, would be launched into orbit aboard a modified R-7 booster which would now be known as the "Soyuz" Booster. Soyuz A would carry a crew of two who would then rendezvous with the already orbiting unmanned Soyuz B. Soyuz B was essentially just a booster rocket that had been orbited in advance and then refueled by the third spacecraft - an orbiting space tanker known as Soyuz V. Once all three were docked, Soyuz B would fire it's engines and send the combined spacecraft off to the Moon. But Korolev was smart enough to know who held the purse strings within the Soviet Union so he also designed two military versions of the spacecraft, a Soyuz satellite interceptor and a Soyuz reconnaissance spacecraft, in hopes of selling all five as a package to the government.

But support for the civilian space program within the Soviet military was shaky at best and many rallied hard for the cancellation of the civilian Soyuz. Fortunately, the propaganda value of the civilian program was to strong for the government to ignore so outright cancellation was not an option. The result was a decision to spin off the military Soyuz to Chief Designer Kozlov's bureau and allow Korolov to continue with the civilian spacecraft. By separating the projects it was hoped that the military could be appeased by addressing their main complaint which was that the civilian program was draining recourses away from military projects (to avoid complications we will focus on the civilian versions of the spacecraft in this article).

Funding flowed freely to the military program but Korolev's civilian spacecraft was never properly funded and it languished on the side lines. Further complicating matters was a rivalry that existed between Korolev and the Chelomei Design Bureau. Chelomei was floating his own plan for sending a manned spacecraft to the Moon and he had the added bonus of having Nikita Khrushchev's son in his employ. Eventually, the inevitable happened and it was decided that the Chelomei design bureau would conduct the circumlunar flight.

But Korolev was not out of the race yet - he may have lost the circumlunar flight but he was given the even bigger prize of developing a spacecraft capable of actually landing a man on the Moon. This changed everything and two of the three civilian Soyuz, Soyuz B & V, were canceled. Korolev then began to redesign Soyuz A and the result was the Soyuz 7K-OK. The Soyuz 7K-OK would be a highly maneuverable, 3 man, spacecraft capable of relatively long duration space flights. Its basic appearance would be the same as Soyuz A except that it's orbital module would be shaped more like a grape instead of a cylinder and it would sport a cylindrical shaped docking collar at the top. Additionally, the decent module would be attached to the service module by a lattice structure rather than a bulky connecter ring as a way of further reducing the spacecraft's weight.

Korolev's plan for landing men on the Moon called for the launch of three spacecraft - an orbiter, a lander, and a booster. All of these would be simultaneously launched into Earth orbit by the N-1 super rocket Korolev was in the process of developing. Once on orbit, the booster would fire it's engine to kick the combined spacecraft out of Earth orbit and off to the Moon. Upon reaching the Moon, the booster would fire again to slow the spacecraft down enough to allow it to enter lunar orbit. One of the two cosmonauts would then exit the orbiter, spacewalk over to the lander and enter it. The lander would then separate from the orbiter/booster and descend to the lunar surface where the cosmonaut would conduct his explorations. At the end of his mission, the cosmonaut would launch himself from the lunar surface and rendezvous with the orbiter/booster. The two spacecraft would then dock and the Moon walker would exit the lander, spacewalk back over to the orbiter, and rejoin his crewmate. When the crew was ready to return home they would fire the booster's engine once again to send the spacecraft back to Earth.

It was a very bold plan and to pull it off, the Soviets would need to develop a host of radical new technologies including -

This Is A Photo Of Soyuz 3 (Soyuz 7K-0K) Being Prepared For Flight. Note The Cylinder Shaped Docking Collar At Far Left And The Port Hole On The Orbital Module.  The Boom That Is Folded Along Side The Collar Is The Docking Radar Antenna. The Left Of The Man Is A Gold Sun Shield Which Is Deployed During Flight To Help Keep The Decent And Orbital Modules From Overheating. The Man Is Working On The Decent Module Behind Which Is The Service Module. The Square Panel Folded Along Side The Service Module Is One Of The Solar Panels (RKK Energia).

The ability to automatically rendezvous with other spacecraft

Automatic approach and alignment techniques

Automatic docking techniques

The ability to exit a spacecraft and spacewalk over to another

Astronavigation

Maneuvering in orbit

High speed reentry techniques

Ultra long distance radio and tracking equipment

Korolev proposed using the Soyuz spacecraft to practice these techniques in the relative safety of low Earth orbit similar to the way the Americans were planning on using their Gemini spacecraft. The Soviet government agreed with Korolev's recommendation and on December 3, 1963 issued a decree authorizing Korolev to build Soyuz .

By 1966 the first flight tests of the new spacecraft had been conducted but with only mixed results. Further complicating matters was the fact that Korolev had suddenly died leaving his assistant, Vasiliy Mishen, to finish the project on his own. In the mean time the American Gemini program had already accomplished most of it's goals and soon project Apollo would begin rehearsing flights to the Moon. The Soviets had a lot of catching up to do and they needed to do it in a hurry. There was no time for further testing - the next launch would be a manned launch and with it the Soviets planned to erase the American lead in one bold stroke.

The plan was ambitious to say the least. A single cosmonaut would be launched into space aboard the Soyuz 1 spacecraft. The next day, two more cosmonauts would launch aboard the Soyuz 2 spacecraft which would then rendezvous and dock with Soyuz 1. One cosmonaut from Soyuz 2 would enter the orbital module, depressurize it, exit the spacecraft, and spacewalk over to Soyuz 1. Once there he would enter the Soyuz 1 orbital module, re-pressurize it, and join his new crewmate for the trip back to Earth. Soyuz 2 would return to Earth the next day. In this one flight, the Soviets would accomplish everything that Gemini had in 10 and, as a bonus, have preformed the first ever crew transfer in orbit.

This Is All That Remained Of The Soyuz 1 Spacecraft When Rescuers Arrived At The Seen  - Note The Flames In The Upper Right Of The Photo (RKK - Energia)

On April 23, 1967, cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov blasted off aboard the Soyuz 1 spacecraft and immediately upon reaching orbit, the spacecraft began to malfunction. First, the solar panels failed to deploy, then several antenna's and a television transmitter also failed to deploy. Because the spacecraft's thermal radiators were attached to the solar panels, heat created by the spacecrafts electronics was unable to dissipate and eventually caused the spacecrafts electrical system to overheat and fail. Without power, the spacecraft's attitude control system could not function and Soyuz went into a head over heals tumble. Ground controllers ordered the second Soyuz launch canceled and Komarov was radioed instructions as to how to attempt repairs. When the repairs failed to resolve the problems, Komorov was ordered to perform an emergency reentry on his 17th orbit. This was easier said then done because without an attitude control system there was no way to stabilize the spacecraft so that the retro rockets could be fired and as a result Komarov missed his landing opportunity.

In a heroic, last ditch effort to save his crippled spacecraft - and himself, Komorov used the decent modules reentry thrusters to put the spacecraft into a roll hopping that the centrifugal force would be enough to stabilize the spacecraft long enough for the de-orbit burn. One orbit later, Komorov was able to fire his retrorockets and begin the plunge back to Earth but he was not out of the woods yet. Komorov would have to manually steer his damaged spacecraft through a grueling 10-G ballistic re-entry! Further complicating the effort was the fact that the de-orbit burn occurred one orbit latter than planned meaning that Komorov would land far short of his intended landing zone.

Through a combination of expert flying skills, superb training, and sheer luck, Komorov succeeded in piloting his crippled spacecraft through the Earth's atmosphere and was heading for a safe landing. But, as fate would have it, Komorov's ordeal was not over. Soyuz was not designed to fly a ballistic re-entry - it was designed to generate lift so that the pilots could avoid the high G forces associated with ballistic re-entry. But this was an emergency and there was no time for fancy, un-proven, flying techniques. Komorov was ordered to put his spacecraft into a spin so that any lift generated by the capsule would be evened out. Although this technique got him safely through reentry, it resulted in a spinning and tumbling spacecraft that was not oriented properly for the deployment of the recovery system. When the main parachute deployed, the spinning and tumbling caused the lines to entangle. Komorov, who was in contact with ground controllers the entire time, began to curse as he attempted to jettison the main parachute and deploy the back-up system. But the main parachute failed to separate and the reserve chute became entangled in its lines. Soyuz 1 hit the ground at nearly 500 km/hr nearly 1000 km short of it's intended landing site. The impact generated a force equivalent to 60,000 G's and Komorov was killed instantly.

The Soyuz spacecraft was completely redesigned and over the course of the next two years a series of 3 unmanned test flights were conducted to validate the new systems. A fourth test flight actually succeeded in docking two unmanned Soyuz spacecraft clearing the way for a return to manned flight. The big moment came on October 25, 1968, when the unmanned Soyuz 2 spacecraft was launched into orbit and the next day, cosmonaut Georgi Beregovoi followed aboard Soyuz 3 intent on docking with his automated partner. Bergovoi was able to maneuver his spacecraft to within a few meters of Soyuz 2 but problems with the automatic docking system prevented him from completing his mission. Beregovoi was forced to return to Earth on October 30 ending the first successful (at least partly) flight of a Soyuz spacecraft.

Finally, on January 14, 1969, Soyuz 4 was launched with cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov aboard. The next day Soyuz 5 was launched carrying cosmonauts Boris Volynov, Yevgeniy Khrunov, and Aleksey Yeliseyev . It is interesting to note that at the time of the launch, the cosmodrome was buried under snow and the temperature was hovering around -30 C ! On January 16, 1969 the two spacecraft docked live on Soviet television. Khrunov and Yeliseyev, using the orbital module as an airlock, then conducted a 37 minute spacewalk during which they maneuvered over to Soyuz 4 and joined Shatalov for the ride home. Soyuz 4 landed on January 17, 1969 during a blizzard that generated high winds and temperatures in excess of -37 C. This ability to launch and land even during severe weather is a capability unique to Soyuz and has never been matched. Soyuz 5 returned to Earth the next day.

While all of this was going on another type of Soyuz, Zond, was being developed to actually carry cosmonauts to the Moon and Back. Zond was basically a stripped down Soyuz 7K-OK consisting of just a service module and a decent module. A cone shaped docking collar was mounted in place of the orbital module and a large antenna protruded from the same area. Zond also featured a new KTDU-53 engine which, unlike its Earth orbit bound cousin, did not have a reserve engine to assure operations if the main engine failed.

Two versions of the spacecraft were built. The first was the Soyuz 7K-L1P which was created for Chelomei's circumlunar mission. It would be launched aboard Chelomei's new Proton heavy lift booster and carry a crew of 1. The second variation was the Soyuz 7K-L1S which was being designed for Korolev's lunar landing program. The Soyuz 7K-L1S was designed to be launched aboard Korolev's N-1 super rocket and would be outfitted with extra support equipment and fuel tanks that would enable it to carry a crew of two. This version, also known as the "Heavy" Zond, never actually flew in space. There was only one attempt to launch a heavy Zond and it ended in failure when it's N-1 booster exploded shortly after lift off.

The Soyuz 7K-L1P (Zond) Spacecraft. (Mark Wade - Astronautix.com)

The Zond 7K-L1P, on the other hand, flew several times. The first launch occurred on March 10, 1967 with the spacecraft probably intended to enter a highly elliptical orbit from which it could simulate a high speed lunar reentry. Unfortunately, the Protons fourth stage failed to restart leaving the spacecraft stranded in Earth orbit. Several maneuvers were conducted on orbit but the spacecraft apparently suffered problems with it's temperature control system, maneuvering system, and recovery system. On April 8, a second Zond was launched and again the Protons fourth stage malfunctioned leaving the spacecraft stranded in Earth orbit. The spacecraft itself apparently fared no better than its predecessor and it fell to Earth 11 days later in an uncontrolled reentry. On November 22, 1967, the Soviets tried yet again only this time the boosters first stage failed shortly after liftoff causing the rocket to crash just 65 km from the launch pad. The good news was that the launch escape system functioned perfectly and the spacecraft was recovered intact. A fourth attempt was made on March 2, 1968 with Zond successfully achieving orbit but no attempt was made to send the spacecraft into deep space. Apparently, at this point, the Soviets simply wanted the spacecraft to reach orbit and function normally. But even this limited goal proved to be elusive with electrical and communication problems plaguing the spacecraft throughout the flight. Eventually, Zond was ordered to return to Earth but continuing problems with the electrical system caused the retro rockets to malfunction causing the spacecraft to land outside the primary recovery area, it missed the secondary landing area as well. In fact, Zond 4 missed the Soviet Union in it's entirety and landed in China where it was promptly recovered, examined, and put on display outside the Red Army military museum in Beijing where it remains to this day.

Zond 5 After Landing In The Indian Ocean. Unlike Their Soyuz 7K-OK Cousins, Zond Was Designed To Support Water Landings And The Indian Ocean Was Designated A Secondary Landing Zone.  (Energia)

Finally, on September 15, 1968, Zond 5 conducted the worlds first successful circumlunar flight following yet another booster failure on the previous mission. The spacecraft carried plants, turtles, flies, and worms which were used to investigate the effects of cosmic radiation on living organisms. However, despite all of the crowing about this new Soviet space first, the fact of the matter is that if this had in fact been a manned mission the crew would have surly died. An apparent problem in the capsules maneuvering system resulted in a ballistic reentry that generated 10-16 G's of deceleration and temperatures in excess of 13,000 degrees C! The capsule also missed it's primary recovery zone and, fearing a repeat of the Zond 4 fiasco, many Soviet flight controllers insisted that it be destroyed (all Zonds after Zond 4 carried a self destruct package). Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the spacecraft landed safely in the Indian Ocean where it was recovered and returned to the Soviet Union. Zond 6 was launched on November 10, 1968 and it also successfully completed a circumlunar fly-by. When reentry occurred, the spacecraft successfully employed the skip-glide technique to reduce it's speed and it's payload was subjected to no more than 4-7 G's of deceleration. But then disaster struck when the spacecrafts parachute ejected prematurely and shredded itself - the capsule hit the ground at full speed and was destroyed.

Unperturbed by the rough landing, The Soviets were now confident that between Zond 5 and Zond 6 they had proven the spacecraft and now stood a real chance at beating the Americans to the Moon. Realizing this, NASA decided to cancel all future Earth orbital tests of it's Apollo spacecraft and proceed directly to lunar flight beginning with Apollo 8 in December. In response, the Soviets decided that they would also proceed directly to manned lunar flight with the launch of Zond 7A a mere two weeks before Apollo 8. On December 1, the spacecraft and it's Proton booster were rolled to the launch pad and manned launches were actually attempted on December 7, 8, &9. Unfortunately, problems with the spacecraft repeatedly delayed the launch and the launch window closed. Rather than accept second place, the Soviets returned the stack to the assembly building and the crew was reassigned following the successful flight of Apollo 8.

On January 5, 1969 an unmanned Zond 7A was finally launched and it's a good thing the Soviets decided not to try for second place. The boosters second stage exploded during ignition and the launch escape system failed - both the booster and the spacecraft were destroyed. On July 20, 1969, the United States successfully landed men on the Moon effectively ending the Moon race. However, the Soviets had one last Zond ready for flight so on August 8, 1969, Zond 7 was launched on what became the first and only perfect flight of the program - soon after this the program was canceled.

With the end of the Moon race Soviet scientists began concentrating the creation of orbiting space stations. Rather than develop an entire new family of spacecraft, the Soviets opted for modifying the existing Soyuz 7K-OK by adding an improved docking system and converting the orbital module from a work area into a cargo hold. These modifications were put to the test when Soyuz 6 was launched on October 11, 1969 followed by Soyuz 7 on the 12, and Soyuz 8 on the 13th. At the time, western observers though that the flight was simply a stunt designed to take the worlds eyes off of America's Moon missions. However, the fact of the matter is that any space station flight would involve at least two spacecraft (the Soyuz and the space station) and could possibly involve three or even four (a Soyuz, the station, a cargo ship, and even a second Soyuz carrying a replacement crew). Handling this many spacecraft at the same time required developing new skills that were completely different from those that the Soviets had been rehearsing for the lunar flights. This flight was designed to address these issues by providing ground controllers and cosmonauts alike with a dress rehearsal for the upcoming space station flights. Unfortunately, Although Soyuz 7 & 8 were equipped with the new docking system, no docking was attempted because of problems aboard the Soyuz 8 spacecraft that left it tumbling out of control for a short period of time. Soyuz 6,7&8 all returned to Earth safely thereby clearing the way for the launch of Soyuz 9 on June 1, 1970. Soyuz 9 was another space station practice mission focusing primarily on developing an understanding of the long term effects of weightlessness. The flight lasted 18 days, a world record at the time, during which the crew tested prototype space station systems, Earth observation techniques, and conducted several physiological and astrophysical experiments.

Touchdown! A Cloud Of Dust Is Kicked Up By The Soyuz Landing Rockets (NASM)

Then on April 19, 1971 the worlds first space station, Salyut 1, was launched and on April 23, the crew of Soyuz 10 (Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksey Yeliseyev, and Nikolay Rukavishnikov) were launched on a long duration mission to the station. Soyuz 10 successfully docked with the space station but the crew were either unable to open the hatch or they could not remove the docking collar. Either way, five and one half hours after their arrival, the crew was forced to undock their spaceship and return to Earth. 16 hours later, Soyuz 10 reentered the Earths atmosphere in an unusual night time landing indicating that the problems encountered by Soyuz 10 may have been more severe than the Soviets were willing to admit. Soyuz 10's reentry was uneventful and the recovery system was deployed as planned. However, as the spacecraft dangled beneath its landing chute, the crew was able to look out the window and see that the spacecraft was heading for a water landing in a lake. Soyuz was not designed for a water landing and the icy water would have no doubt caused problems for the crew. Luckily, at the last minute, a gust of wind saved them and they landed 150 feet away on dry ground. *

After examining the problems encountered by Soyuz 10, Soviet engineers concluded that Salyut's docking system was not at fault and that another docking attempt could be made. Soyuz 11 (Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Victor Patsayev) was launched on June 6, 1971 and the next day it succeeded in docking with the station. Shortly thereafter, the crew entered the station and for the next 21 days they preformed experiments, observed the Earth, and provided live television broadcasts to audiences within the Soviet Union. Then on June 27, disaster struck when a serious electrical fire broke out on the station. The crew was able to extinguish the fire but as a result the crews mission was cut short from it's intended 33-45 days to just over 24 - still a new worlds record.

On June 30, Soyuz 11 fired its retro rockets and began it's decent into Earths atmosphere. The service module was jettisoned without incident but the same could not be said about the orbital module. When a Soyuz orbital module is jettisoned, a series of explosive bolts are fired. These need to be detonated sequentially in order to minimize the force of the detonation which could damage the spacecraft. But on Soyuz 11, they fired simultaneously and the resulting jolt caused a mechanical failure that released a seal on the decent modules air pressure equalization valve. This valve, normally opened at relatively low altitudes, allows fresh air to enter the spacecraft during descent thereby equalizing the cabin pressure with that of the surrounding atmosphere. It was never intended to be open in space and now, instead of allowing fresh air in, it was sucking the air out into space! The crew, realizing what was happening to them, frantically tried to shut the valve but they were only able to remain conscious for 30 seconds - it takes 60 seconds to close the valve. With the valve still half open, the spacecraft continued it's decent and after about 15 minutes the cabin pressure reached zero. At this point the cosmonauts blood began to boil and it continued to do so until there was no longer a vacuum inside the spacecraft. When the spacecraft was recovered the crew was found still strapped to their couches - dead. The official cause of death was listed as pulmonary embolism - their lungs had exploded.

Once again Soyuz was redesigned and the result was the Soyuz Ferry spacecraft. The Soyuz Ferry was designed to function as a space taxi. It's sole mission would be to ferry crews and supplies from Earth to the orbiting space stations. To help it accomplish this task, its cargo capacity was increased by eliminating the solar panels and replacing them with batteries. This meant that the spacecraft would not be able to function for more than 4 days at a time unless it was docked to a space station. This was not considered a problem because flights from Earth to the station or visa versa never took longer than a day or two. Once docked to the station, the Soyuz Ferry could be powered down and "stored" for up to 90 days at a time. When the spacecraft got close to the end of it's orbital life time, a fresh ferry would be launched and the old one flown back home allowing the cosmonauts to remain in space virtually indefinitely. Other changes included a new "Igla" (needle) automated docking system and new "Salyut" docking hardware. The new docking hardware did away with the old docking collar and, as a result, the orbital module was now 2.65 meters shorter than it's predecessors yet maintained the same internal volume. Because of the Soyuz 11 tragedy, cosmonauts would now be required to ware bulky space suits during launch and reentry so the Soyuz Ferry's crew would be limited to two

A Soyuz Ferry Spacecraft Is Seen Here Docked To The Salyut 6 Space Station. This Is The Soyuz 26 Spacecraft Which Was Docked At The Rear Port Of The Space Station When It Was Feared That Soyuz 25 Had Damaged The Forward Port During An Aborted Docking Attempt Several Months Ago. The Rear Port Was Normally Reserved For Progress Re-Supply Ships. The Photo Was Taken By The Soyuz 27 Spacecraft Which Was On It's Way To Deliver A Fresh Soyuz To The Long Duration Crew (Energia).

The first manned flight of a Soyuz Ferry spacecraft was that of Soyuz 12 - a short, two day shake down of the new spacecraft and it's systems. The first space station flight came on July 3, 1974 when Soyuz 14 docked with the Almaz (officially known as Salyut 3) military space station for a 16 day stay. Soyuz 15 attempted to revisit the station on August 26 but as the spacecraft approached a problem developed within it's automated docking system. The spacecraft's thrusters began to fire wildly nearly shoving Soyuz 15 into the side of the station! The crew regained control of the spacecraft and disabled the automated system. Several manual dockings were then attempted but with propellant running low the crew was forced to abandon there mission and return to Earth. Landing occurred on target but during a rain storm once again demonstrating the spacecrafts unique, all weather, flight capabilities.

In the early 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to fly a joint manned mission using an Apollo and a Soyuz spacecraft. To accomplish this mission the Soyuz Ferry would need extensive modifications and the result was the Soyuz ASTP. Soyuz ASTP was equipped with a new ASTP universal docking system, a modified life support system capable of supporting a crew of 4, and a set of newly designed solar panels that would allow the spacecraft to spend a reasonable amount of time in orbit. Given the shaky track record of the Soyuz up to this point, the Soviets agreed to fly several test flights in advance of the actual mission. Three unmanned flights were flown along with a single manned flight - Soyuz 16. Soyuz 16 flew a simulated ASTP flight plan with complete success proving the new spacecraft's ability to carry out the joint mission. On July 15, 1975, Soyuz 19 was launched followed several hours later by the American Apollo 18 spacecraft. The Soviets were so concerned about this mission that an entire backup spacecraft and booster were prepared and rolled out to a second launch pad located about 20 km away - just incase they would be needed. As things turned out, Soyuz 19 flew a perfect mission successfully docking and re-docking several times with the American Apollo. The back-up Soyuz was returned to the assembly building, refitted with new equipment and then launched on September 15, 1976 as the Soyuz 22 spacecraft. Ironically enough, Soyuz 22 would be a week long military recognizance flight aimed primarily at the United States.

Soyuz ASTP Is Seen Here As Photographed By The American Apollo 18 Spacecraft. Note The Universal Docking Adapter On Top Of The Orbital Module And The Two Solar Panels (NASA)

There were two near disasters that involved the Soyuz Ferry . The first of these occurred on April 5, 1975 when Soyuz 18A was launched to the Salyut 4 space station. All was proceeding normally until it came time for the rocket's third stage to separate from the core booster. Two of the four pyrotechnic latches bolts that are used to accomplish this detonated prematurely rendering the other two useless. The third stage then ignited with the core stage still attached which caused the rocket to deviate from it's prescribed course causing the engines to automatically shut down. Sensing a problem, the Soyuz launch escape system engaged automatically and yanked the spacecraft away from the disintegrating booster at speeds in excess of 5.5 km per second! The shocked cosmonauts at first thought the escape system had malfunctioned but ground controllers quickly assured them that it was working properly.

The spacecraft was pulled to an altitude of 180 km where the three modules were separated. The decent capsule then came around and began a ballistic reentry. The crew was subjected to a bone crushing 20 G force for a short period of time during which they yelled to relieve the pressure. Once the G forces had subsided, the crew noticed that there spacecraft was heading towards the Chinese boarder. They repeatedly asked mission control to assure them that their spacecraft would not land in China ( a bitter enemy of the Soviet Union) but no such assurances could be offered. Luckily, Soyuz 18A landed in Siberia. However, it did so in the dark, in waist deep snow, and just 320 km short of the border. Rescue forces arrived several hours later to save the crew.

The other incident of note occurred April 12, 1979 when Soyuz 33 was launched to the Salyut 6 space station. Soyuz 33 was the fourth of the Soviets guest cosmonaut missions in which visitors from various Soviet block nations were given rides to Soviet space stations. The launch went well and the spacecraft was delivered into a proper transfer orbit that eventually lead it to Salyut 6. But, as the spacecraft closed for docking, the automated docking system began a planned 6 second burn. Suddenly the spacecraft began to shake violently and the burn was automatically terminated after only 3 seconds. Ground controllers asked the crew to try the burn again and once again the spacecraft shook violently and the engine shut down. This was not good - without this engine the cosmonauts could not return to Earth - the crew was effectively stranded in orbit! Ground controllers suspected that the cause of the problem lie in a malfunctioning pressure sensor located inside the engine. The crew was told to sleep and that in the morning they could try to land again using the backup engine. But the crew could not sleep. The backup engine was located directly next to the main engine. If the main engine was damaged then the backup engine was probably damaged as well! Regardless, the crews misgivings proved to be unfounded and when the order was given to fire the backup engine it responded exactly as it should. However, it never stopped responding! Once the burn started the engine would not shut down and the crew was forced to manually shut it down. The result was a ballistic reentry that subjected the crew to over 10-G's but the spacecraft did make it home only 15 km from their target with the crew none the worse for the ware.

The Control Panel Of The Soyuz T Spacecraft (Mark Wade - Astronautix.com)

Soyuz underwent yet another metamorphoses in December of 1979 when the Soyuz T was unveiled. The Soyuz T spacecraft was a vast improvement on the Soyuz Ferry boasting an improved engine system, enlarged landing rockets, and an improved launch escape tower. The spacecraft was capable of carrying a crew of three or a crew of two plus a cargo canister. It also featured a new "Argon" computer, fully automated flight control systems, and it once again sported a pair of solar panels on the service module. One improvement that the cosmonauts were particularly fond of was a pair of covers that could be lowered over the port holes during reentry. Then, once the capsule was out of it's fire ball, they could be jettisoned allowing the cosmonauts to watch there landing. In the past, the port holes were often so charred from reentry that the crew was unable to see through them. Another new development was the ability to jettison the orbital module of the spacecraft before the retrofire maneuver. This innovation would allow cosmonauts to undock from their orbital modules leaving them attached to the station where they can serve as new compartments. Although this was never done in practice, the capability clearly demonstrated Soviet intentions to expand their space stations in an aggressive program aimed at restoring their dominance in the field of space exploration.

The Soyuz T underwent extensive testing before it's first operational flight including four unmanned shake down flights. Gone were the days when every space project was rushed in order to simply "beat the Americans" and although the atmosphere between the two space programs remained competitive, it was becoming clear that they were also heading in different directions. The Americans had decided to completely scrap their Apollo hardware and replace it with a reusable space plane that they were calling the Space Shuttle. The Soviets, on the other hand, sought to continue to grow their space station program with the eventual goal of constructing large orbiting outposts that could be used as a stepping stones to the planets. To do this, the Soviets needed to slow down and stop jumping ahead of themselves and with the Americans no longer breathing down their backs they were able to do just that.

On June 5, 1980 Soyuz T made it's debut on a two day crew exchange mission to the Salyut 6 space station. All of their planning a patience paid off in spades with the spacecraft performing flawlessly throughout the flight. Soyuz T marked a turning point for the Soviet space program restoring a degree of reliability not seen since the days of Korolev. 15 Soyuz - T spacecraft flew missions to three different space stations with crews remaining on orbit for hundreds of days at a time. They were shuffled around from one docking port to another to make room for various visitors and expansion compartments. They were used as space age repair vans as cosmonauts worked to save stricken space stations including one that had frozen and was covered in ice! They were even used as a space moving van to shuffle equipment between the Salyut 7 space station, which was being abandoned, and the new Mir space complex that was being constructed at the time.

As far back as 1973, the Soviets knew that the Soyuz spacecraft alone would never be able to support the kind of aggressive space station program they had in mind. The problem was that the spacecrafts cargo capacity was limited to just a few hundred pounds. If cosmonauts were going to live and work in space for long periods of time they would require thousands of pounds of equipment supplies. There was also the fuel issue - if a station was to remain in orbit for any respectable period of time then it would need to be refueled otherwise, it would fall back to Earth as soon as it's maneuvering jets were empty. This would be akin to owning a car and then having to buy a new one every time you ran out of gas! Finally, there was the garbage issue. On Earth we have an entire planet and we are already running out of places to store our trash. In space, when your confined to a bus sized station for months at a time, this problem is compounded 1000 fold. Every scrap of paper, every container, every piece of equipment, that is brought into the station will forever remain on the station. Some way had to be found to remove the trash and dispose of it in a way that would be both practical and efficient. The solution to these problems was to construct a "space freighter" that could carry fuel and supplies up to the station and remove unneeded items from the station. The result was yet another Soyuz modification known as Progress.

Progress would be a totally automated unmanned spacecraft based loosely on an existing unmanned military version of Soyuz. When the Progress program was first proposed, engineers toyed with the idea of a manned resupply ship that could not only send cargo up to the station, but it could also return cargo from the station. However, the cost of developing such a spacecraft proved to be prohibitive and it was abandoned in favor of a totally automated design. The program was officially approved in1974 above the objections of the head of the Soviet space program at that time - Vasiliy Mishin. Mishin was still trying to send men to the Moon and saw his involvement in the space station project as a distraction from that goal.

A Progress space freighter approaches the Salyut 6 space station. Note the lack of solar panels

Externally, Progress would look virtually identical to the Soyuz Ferry spacecraft but the similarities ended there. The decent capsule was done away with and replaced with a tanker section and the service module was enlarged to accommodate the control and docking systems that were normally found inside the decent module. The orbital module was converted into a cargo hold by attaching a series of racks and bins. Large cargo would be strapped to the racks and smaller items would be placed inside the bins. The new spacecraft would be capable of lofting 2,300 kg of cargo of which 998 kg could be fuel. The complete spacecraft would be 7.94 meters long, 2.7 meters wide and it's cargo module would have about 6.6 cubic meters of volume.

The plan was simple. Progress spacecraft would be launched from Earth and then automatically guided to the station. Progress would then dock at the station's aft docking port which would be equipped with a series of propellant lines that mated with ones found on Progress. The propellant would be transferred from Progress to the station by closing off the stations tanks and then using a pump to lower the pressure within the tanks to about 3 atm. The Progress would then raise it's tank pressure to 8 atm, the valves would be opened, and the propellant would flow from the Progress over to the station. When finished, the fuel lines would then be purged with nitrogen.

The entire process would take several hours but it would do the job. The crew on board the station would then remove the Progress docking hatch and unload the cargo section of the spacecraft. Once the compartment was empty, the crew would fill it with used air regeneration tanks, clothes, and other waist, and then reattach the hatch. Once all this was accomplished, the spacecraft would undock from the station and lower its orbit. Controllers would then guide the spacecraft back into the atmosphere where it would burn up over the Pacific ocean along with all of the trash.

The first Progress flight began on January 20, 1978 with the launch of Progress 1.Two days later the spacecraft automatically docked with the Salyut 6 space station. Among the supplies delivered were replacement parts, clothes, regeneration units, linens, the Splav materials processing furnace, sensors, penguin suits, replacement air, and food. The cosmonauts were particularly fond of the fresh fruit, onions, and garlic that were sent to spice up there otherwise bland diet. The fuel transfer was a complete success and the spacecraft undocked from Salyut 6 on February 6. On February 8, it was de-orbited and destroyed as planed.

On August 23, 1989, the Soviets unveiled an upgraded version of Progress called Progress M. Progress M featured a new service module, rendezvous and docking system, and an improved payload capability. It was also given a set of solar panels so that it could operate for up to 30 days independent of the station. Progress M could spend up to 180 days attached to the station in storage mode. But Progress M could do more than just haul cargo, it could also return cargo from the station through the use of a 350 kg return capsule which was jettisoned just before reentry and later recovered. Progress M was also used as a free flying experiment platform - most notably for the deployment of the giant Znamya space mirror experiments. The Znamya space mirror project was an attempt to develop and deploy a set of giant space mirrors that could be used to illuminate vast sections of Siberia during the long artic winter. The program met with only limited success and was abandoned in the late 1990's.

The Incredible Capabilities Of The Soviet Space Program In The Early 1990's Are Highlighted Here Where No Fewer Than 4 Soyuz Class Spacecraft Tend To A Partially Constructed Mir Space Station.  On The Far Left, A Progress M-1 Space Freighter (Note The Solar Panels) Is Preparing To Dock, In The Center A Soyuz-TM Spacecraft is Docked To Mir's Kristall Module, At The Bottom Another Progress M-1 Freighter Is Docked To Mir's Kvant Module, And Yet Another Soyuz-TM Spacecraft Took The Photo (Energia)

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia continued to work with the Progress spacecraft but when the Ukrainian built automated docking system became to expensive, they began developing a manual docking system that could be controlled by the cosmonauts working inside the space station. On April 6, 1997, Progress M-34 was launched to the Mir space station to test the new system and deliver a routine cargo of supplies and equipment. Two days later, the spacecraft automatically docked with the station and the crew began unloading it's cargo. On June 25, Progress M-34 was undocked from Mir and cosmonaut Tsibliev was given manual control of the spacecraft. Since it was imposable to see the spacecraft directly, Tsibliev used a television monitor to guide the ship in. He complained that it was very hard for him to see the Progress against the cloud covered Earth but he was ordered to continue with the test anyway. That was when disaster struck. Tsibliev evidently lost control of the spacecraft and it collided with Mir's solar arrays, bounced off , and then collided with the hull of the station's Spektor module. The impact punctured a hole in the module and the 2 cosmonauts and 1 American astronaut who were on board the station at the time could actually feel their ears pop and hear the air escaping out into space. Luckily, they were able to seal off the damaged module and save the station from almost certain abandonment.

When Russia joined the United States as a full partner in the International Space Station program, they offered Progress as a means of re-supplying the station. However, ISS would be much larger than any space station ever constructed, Progress-M would be incapable of carrying enough fuel to keep the station replenished. Progress was once again modified and the result was the Progress M-1 spacecraft. Progress M-1 was nearly identical to Progress M except that it could carry more fuel. Progress M-1 could launch 2230 kg of cargo into space of which 1950 kg could be fuel. This compares to only 1,200 kg of fuel per flight for the Progress M. Progress M-1 is still used to deliver cargo to ISS and it was even used to deliver the Russian docking compartment Pirs to the station in late 2001. Despite it's continuing success in the ISS program, Progress M-1 is best known as the space tugboat that was used to pull the ageing, 103 ton, Mir space station down into the atmosphere putting a period at the end of the last sentence of the last chapter of the Soviet space program.

While Progress was evolving, the Soyuz spacecraft itself also continued to evolve. On February 20, 1986, the Soviet Union launched the first of it's second generation space stations - Mir. Mir was designed to be a modular station consisting of up to 5 Salyut type stations docked together around a central hub. To service this new station the Soviets again modified Soyuz and the result was the Soyuz TM (Soyuz T Mir). Soyuz TM was equipped with a new Kurs rendezvous system and new computers that would enable the spacecraft to dock with the station at any relative attitude. Kurs was also capable of docking with an unresponsive space station as was demonstrated on the Soyuz TM-21 mission. The American Space Shuttle was preparing to undock from Mir at the completion of the first Mir docking mission. The Russians considered the event historic and wanted to photograph the shuttle's departure so they undocked the Soyuz and moved it to a position where it could record the event. After undocking, the Soyuz spacecraft was attempting to re-dock with Mir when the space stations computer crashed and left it hanging dead in space. Thanks to the Soyuz -TM Kurs docking system, the cosmonauts had no problem re-docking to the lifeless station. They then entered the complex and re-booted the computer.

A Soyuz TMA Spacecraft departs the International Space Station Photo Credit: NASA

Other refinements to the Soyuz TM included a new display that would show the closing rate as detected by the spacecraft's docking radar, improved landing altimeter radar, improved internal guidance units, improved acceleration sensors, improved computer systems, a new non-cooled main engine nozzle, and a triple redundant electrical and hydraulic system. Additionally, the spacecraft's propellant tanks were lightened as was the launch escape system and the parachutes. All of this resulted in greater cargo capacity and more room inside the decent module. Finally, a new Rassvet radio system was installed to provide communications through the new SDRN satellite network. This innovation allowed for separate voice channels for each cosmonaut and increased communications windows.

The Soyuz-TM spacecraft was first launched on February 6, 1987 to deliver cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandar Laviekin to the new Mir space station for an 11 month long duration mission. The mission was delayed repeatedly due to problems preparing Mir's first expansion module, Kvant 1, for flight. However, when the launch finally did occur, the spacecraft preformed flawlessly clearing the way for continued expansion of the complex. The Soyuz-TM spacecraft carries with it several unique distinctions. It was the first manned spacecraft designed by one nation (the Soviet Union) and then handed over to another nation (Russia). It is also the first, and to date the only, Russian spacecraft to launch an American astronaut. Dr Norman Thagard was launched to Mir aboard the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft on March 14, 1995. He was returned to Earth by the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis On July 7, 1995 following the first Shuttle Mir docking. Soyuz TM also carried the first expedition crew to the International Space Station, and it is the only manned spacecraft to date that can be rented by private citizens.

Today the Soyuz spacecraft continues to serve Russia as it's only manned spacecraft and yes, it is still evolving. The most recent incarnation is the Soyuz TM-A. Soyuz TM-A is a little wider at the base than the Soyuz TM allowing it to function as a space lifeboat for the International Space Station. Although Soyuz TM initially used for the same purpose - it was to small for American astronauts to use. The United States has virtually no height restrictions for it's astronauts because of the comparatively roomy cabin found on the Space Shuttle. Soyuz TM-A solves this problem.

Proposals have also been made to develop a mini space station that would be tended by Soyuz spacecraft. This mini station could be rented out to private companies or citizens to use as they see fit. There are also proposals to rent Soyuz out to foreign governments as well as one to use it as a spacecraft for the first phase of a renewed Russin lunar program.. Whatever the future holds for Soyuz one thing is for sure, if history is any kind of guide, this venerable little spacecraft will be around for many years to come - in one form or another.

* Soyuz 23 actually landed on a frozen lake and its landing rockets melted the ice and sent the spacecraft into the drink. The spacecrafts parachute failed to separate causing the spacecraft to flip over and then sink. As the crew hung upside down they realized that they were now trapped inside the spacecraft because the exit hatch is located on the top of the capsule. No fresh air could enter the spacecraft because the valve that allows the air in was now under water. The crew was forced to rely an a set of dying batteries to keep the air regeneration equipment running long enough for rescuers to find them. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end but cosmonaut Rozhdestvensy, who was a member of the Soyuz 23 crew, described the incident as "the only time in my life when I was genuinely scared."