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 expendable Russian and Soviet carrier rockets developed by OKB-1 and manufactured by Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara,Russia. With over 2,000 flights since its debut in 1966,the Soyuz is the rocket with the most launches in the history of spaceflight.
The Progress is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft. Its purpose is to deliver the supplies needed to sustain a human presence in orbit. While it does not carry a crew,it can be boarded by astronauts when docked to a space station,hence it is classified as crewed by its manufacturer. Progress is derived from the crewed Soyuz spacecraft and launches on the same launch vehicle,a Soyuz rocket.
Soyuz-2 is a modernised version of the Soviet Soyuz rocket. In its basic form,it is a three-stage launch vehicle for placing payloads into low Earth orbit. Compared to the previous versions of the Soyuz,the first-stage boosters and two core stages feature uprated engines with improved injection systems. Digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to be launched from a fixed launch platform,whereas the launch platforms for earlier Soyuz rockets had to be rotated as the rocket could not perform a roll to change its heading in flight.
The Soyuz-FG launch vehicle was an improved version of the Soyuz-U from the R-7 family of rockets,designed and constructed by TsSKB-Progress in Samara,Russia. Guidance,navigation,and control system was developed and manufactured by "Polisvit" Special Design Bureau.
The Progress Rocket Space Centre,formerly known as TsSKB-Progress,is a Russian joint-stock company under the jurisdiction of Roscosmos State Corporation responsible for space science and aerospace research. It was the developer of the famous Soyuz-FG rocket that was used for crewed space flight,as well as the Soyuz-U that was used for launching uncrewed probes.
The RD-107 and its sibling,the RD-108,are a type of rocket engine initially used to launch R-7 Semyorka missiles. RD-107 engines were later used on space launch vehicles based on the R-7. As of 2021,very similar RD-107A and RD-108A engines are used to launch the Soyuz-2.1a,and Soyuz-2.1b,which are in active service.
This comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list contains rockets that are operational or in development as of 2023;a second list includes all upcoming rockets and a third list includes all retired rockets. For the simple list of all conventional launcher families,see:Comparison of orbital launchers families. For the list of predominantly solid-fueled orbital launch systems,see:Comparison of solid-fueled orbital launch systems.
Soyuz TMA-18 was a 2010 Soyuz flight to the International Space Station (ISS). TMA-18 was the 105th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first crewed flight in 1967.
Soyuz TMA-19 was a crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) and is part of the Soyuz programme. It was launched on 15 June 2010 carrying three members of the Expedition 24 crew to the International Space Station,who remained aboard the station for around six months. Soyuz TMA-19 was the 106th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft,since the first mission which was launched in 1967. The spacecraft remained docked to the space station for the remainder of Expedition 24,and for Expedition 25,to serve as an emergency escape vehicle. It undocked from ISS and landed in Kazakhstan on 26 November 2010. It was the 100th mission to be conducted as part of the International Space Station programme since assembly began in 1998.
Orel or Oryol,formerly Federation,and PPPTS,is a project by Roscosmos to develop a new-generation,partially reusable crewed spacecraft.
The Soyuz was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed in the 1960s by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Kuybyshev,Soviet Union. It was commissioned to launch Soyuz spacecraft as part of the Soviet human spaceflight program,first with 8 uncrewed test flights,followed by the first 19 crewed launches. The original Soyuz also propelled four test flights of the improved Soyuz 7K-T capsule between 1972 and 1974. In total it flew 30 successful missions over 10 years and suffered two failures.
Russia's space industry comprises more than 100 companies and employs 250,000 people. Most of the companies are descendants of Soviet design bureaux and state production companies. The industry entered a deep crisis following the dissolution of the Soviet Union,with its fullest effect occurring in the last years of the 1990s. Funding of the space program declined by 80% and the industry lost a large part of its work force before recovery began in the early 2000s. Many companies survived by creating joint-ventures with foreign firms and marketing their products abroad.
Soyuz TMA-22 was a crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). TMA-22 was the 111th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft,and transported three members of the Expedition 29 crew to the ISS. The spacecraft docked to the ISS on 16 November 2011,and remained docked to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its undocking on 27 April 2012. Soyuz TMA-22 successfully landed in Kazakhstan on 27 April 2012 11:45 GMT.
Rus-M was a proposed launcher design which was intended to become Russia's main launch vehicle for crewed spaceflight after 2018,and an integral part of the Orel spacecraft being developed to replace the Soyuz.
In 2015,the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place.
Progress M-12M,identified by NASA as Progress 44P,was an uncrewed Progress spacecraft that was lost in a launch failure on 24 August 2011,at the start of a mission to resupply the International Space Station. It was the twelfth modernised Progress-M spacecraft to be launched. Manufactured by RKK Energia,the spacecraft was to have been operated by the Russian Federal Space Agency.
The Ikar was a rocket upper stage designed in Russia in 1999 to be used with the Soyuz 11A511U rocket as Soyuz-Ikar. It was derived from the propulsion module of the Yantar spy satellites.
Progress MS-01,identified by NASA as Progress 62P was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. It was launched on 21 December 2015,to deliver cargo to the ISS. Progress MS-01 is the first vehicle in the Progress-MS series.
Soyuz flight VS22 was a rocket launch conducted by multinational launch service provider Arianespace. It was the sixteenth launch of a Soyuz-ST-B launch vehicle,and the 22nd launch of a Soyuz-2 series launch vehicle from the Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz at the Guiana Space Centre. After two scheduling delays and a 33-minute logistical delay,the rocket lifted off on 4 April 2019,and successfully delivered to medium Earth orbit the final four satellites in the O3b broadband satellite constellation,which services Latin America,Africa,and Oceania. After four previous Soyuz flights delivered the constellation's first sixteen satellites,the launch increased the constellation's throughput by 26 per cent. The flight marked the second occasion in which two Soyuz-2 launch vehicles were launched on the same day,occurring hours after the launch of Progress MS-11 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
