The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft was originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok (1961–1963) and Voskhod (1964–1965) programmes.
Soyuz is a family of Soviet and later Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicles initially developed by the OKB-1 design bureau and manufactured by the Progress Rocket Space Centre factory in Samara,Russia. It holds the record for the most launches in the history of spaceflight. Soyuz rockets are part of the R-7 rocket family,which evolved from the R-7 Semyorka,the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile.
S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation "Energia" is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. Its name is derived from the Russian word for energy and is also named for Sergei Pavlovich Korolev,the first chief of its design bureau and the driving force behind early Soviet accomplishments in space exploration.
The R-7 Semyorka was a Soviet missile developed during the Cold War,and the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made 28 launches between 1957 and 1961. A derivative,the R-7A,was operational from 1960 to 1968. To the West it was unknown until its launch. In modified form,it launched Sputnik 1,the first artificial satellite,into orbit,and became the basis for the R-7 family which includes Sputnik,Luna,Molniya,Vostok,and Voskhod space launchers,as well as later Soyuz variants. Various modifications are still in use and it has become the world's most reliable space launcher.
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny,Arkhangelsk Oblast,near the town of Plesetsk,from which it takes its name. As of 2024,it is the only operational orbital spaceport in Europe and the northernmost spaceport in the world. Originally developed as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) site for the R-7 missile,its strategic location approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Moscow was key to its selection.
The Voskhod programme was the second Soviet human spaceflight project. Two one-day crewed missions were flown using the Voskhod spacecraft and rocket,one in 1964 and one in 1965,and two dogs flew on a 22-day mission in 1966.
Vostok was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM and was designed for the human spaceflight programme. This family of rockets launched the first artificial satellite and the first crewed spacecraft (Vostok) in human history. It was a subset of the R-7 family of rockets.
Zenit was a series of military photoreconnaissance satellites launched by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1994. To conceal their nature,all flights were given the public Kosmos designation.
Soyuz-U was a Soviet and later Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress factory in Samara,Russia. The U designation stands for unified,as the launch vehicle was the replacement for both the Voskhod rocket and the original Soyuz rocket. The Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 rocket family,which evolved from the R-7 Semyorka,an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Polyot was an interim orbital carrier rocket,built to test ASAT spacecraft. It was required as a stopgap after the cancellation of the UR-200 programme,but before the Tsyklon could enter service. Only two were ever launched,the first on 1 November 1963,and the last on 12 April 1964. Both of these flights were successful.
The RD-107 and its sibling,the RD-108,are a type of rocket engine used on the R-7 rocket family. RD-107 engines are used in each booster and the RD-108 is used in the central core. The engines have four main combustion chambers and either two (RD-107) or four (RD-108) vernier chambers.
The R-7 rocket family is a series of launch vehicles descended from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka,developed in the 1950s as the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). While the R-7 proved impractical as a weapon,it became a cornerstone of the Soviet and subsequent Russian space programs. Over time,its design was largely standardized into the Soyuz rocket,which continues to operate in its modernized form,the Soyuz-2. More R-7 rockets have been launched than any other family of orbital rockets.
The Luna 8K72 vehicles were carrier rockets used by the Soviet Union for nine space probe launch attempts in the Luna programme between 23 September 1958 and 16 April 1960. Like many other Soviet launchers of that era,the Luna 8K72 vehicles were derived from the R-7 Semyorka design,part of the R-7,which was also the basis for the Vostok and modern Soyuz rocket.
The Vostok-L,GRAU index 8K72 was a rocket used by the Soviet Union to conduct several early tests of the Vostok spacecraft.
The Vostok-K,GRAU index 8K72K was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union for thirteen launches between 1960 and 1964,six of which were crewed. It incorporated several modifications to the core and strap-ons to man-rate them and the Blok E stage also had the improved RD-0109 engine to correct some deficiences in the RD-0105 used on earlier 8K78s. It was a member of the Vostok family of rockets.
The Vostok-2,GRAU index 8A92 was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1962 and 1967. Forty five were launched,of which five failed. It was derived from the earlier Vostok-K,with uprated engines. It was a member of the Vostok family of rockets.
The Vostok-2M,GRAU index:8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched,of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It was originally built as a specialised version of the earlier Vostok-2,for injecting lighter payloads into higher Sun-synchronous orbits. It was a member of the R-7 family of rockets,and the last Vostok.
The RD-0109 is a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in a gas generator combustion cycle. It has single nozzle and is an evolution of the RD-0105. It was the engine used on the Vostok Block-E that launched Yuri Gagarin to orbit.
A medium-lift launch vehicle (MLV) is a rocket launch vehicle that is capable of lifting between 2,000 to 20,000 kg by NASA classification or between 5,000 to 20,000 kilograms by Russian classification of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). An MLV is between a small-lift launch vehicle and a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Medium-lift vehicles comprise the majority of orbital launches as of 2024,with both the Soyuz and Falcon 9 having launched several hundred times.
