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Soyuz crewed spaceship

The Soyuz («Союз», “Union”) spacecraft has been the workhorse of the Russian space program since 1967, and is currently the main means of transporting crews to and from the ISS. Sergei Korolyov originally conceived the Soyuz as a lunar ferry spacecraft (and it could still conceivably be used for that purpose).

The Soyuz is not reuseable; a new one is built for each flight and is docked to the ISS for 6 months. The old one is piloted by the crew returning to Earth; the central crew cabin separates from the other two compartments (these burn up in the atmosphere), and makes a ballistic re-entry, parachutes deploying to slow it down before touchdown on Earth.

The outward appearance of the Soyuz hasn’t changed much over the years, but the interior is equipped with modern avionics (a “glass cockpit”).

The Soyuz vehicle consists of 3 components: the Instrument-Assembly Module (Priborno-Agregatnyi Otsek, Приборно-Агрегатный Отсек); Descent Module (Spuskaemyi Apparat, Спускаемый Аппарат); and Orbital Module (Bytovoi Otsek, бытовой Отсек). They are described in more detail on the Soyuz components page.

On re-entry, the Instrument and Orbital Modules separate and are discarded; the Descent Module makes a ballistic (unpowered) descent through the atmosphere, deploys parachutes (hopefully!) and makes a soft landing in the northern Kazakhstan landing zone.

Both Utility and Descent Modules are covered with a charcoal-colored thermal insulation.

The Soyuz has a launch tower escape system, which is of some reassurance to its passengers! Should the rocket explode on the launch pad, or during ascent, explosive bolts are fired to separate the spacecraft’s descent module from its service module, and the rocket’s upper launch shroud from the lower. The escape system’s motor then fires, catapulting the module and shroud up and free of the booster to descend by parachute some kilometers away. Such an abort occurred in 1983 on the Soyuz T-10 mission (subsequently referred to as T-10-1 or T-10-a), with the two cosmonauts on board surviving intact (“Shaken but not stirred”, as James Bond might put it).

To date there have been two fatal Soyuz flights: Soyuz 1 (death of Vladimir Komarov on landing; parachute failed to open) and Soyuz 11 (deaths of Vladislav Volkov, Georgii Dobrovolskii and Viktor Patsaev during descent because of an oxygen leak.)

Versions

There have been four main Soyuz variants that actually flew into space.

There were several sub-variants flying under the original Soyuz designation. These are rather confusing to figure out! The variants below are linked to descriptions at Encyclopedia Astronautica.

  • 7K-OK: Soyuz 1 to 9. 9 launches. The first launch ended in disaster (death of Vladimir Komarov on landing).
  • 7KT-OK: Soyuz 10 (aborted), 11. Two launches. Soyuz 11 was the second disaster (death of the three crew during descent).
  • 7K-T: Soyuz 12, 13, 17, 18-1 (aborted), 18, 25, 26-29, 31-33, 35-40. 19 launches.
  • 7K-MF6: Soyuz 22. One launch.
  • 7K-T/A9: Soyuz 14, 15, 21, 23, 24, 30. Six launches.
  • 7K-TM: Soyuz 16, 19 (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project). Two launches.

There were also many other variants that were planned, but never built, including the versions intended for transport to the Moon and back, such as the 7K-L1 Zond.

An article by Asif Siddiqi in Spaceflight magazine March 2003, “Soyuz variants – a 40-year history,” describes the variants in detail.

The next major variant was the Soyuz T. The 7K-ST flew under the Soyuz T designation. It could carry three spacesuited cosmonauts, had solar panels and digital computers. 18 attempted launches between 1978-1986, 15 of which were manned. The first launch (T-1) was unmanned. One, Soyuz T-10-1 or T-10-a, failed to reach orbit (as mentioned above) as it aborted at launch. (The following flight was designated Soyuz T-10.) Thus there were 14 actual Soyuz T flights.

The Soyuz TM was a modernized version of the Soyuz T and flew 34 missions between 1986 and 2002.

The Soyuz TMA is the latest version of the venerable Russian Soyuz crew transport spacecraft that ferries crews to the International Space Station and back to Earth. It made its first flight in November of 2002, replacing the previous Soyuz TM version, which had been in service since May 1986.

Future Soyuz upgrades

In April 2006 the head of Energiya, Nikolai Sevast’yanov, announced that a new Soyuz variant would be developed, that would have digital control systems (rather than the current analog «Аргон-16», Argon-16), a new telemetry system and a new Russian «Курс-Н», Kurs-N approaching and docking system (rather than the Ukranian Kurs in use).

The Soyuz TMA now is equipped with five different radio-technical systems, and this means that there are established on board five bulky and heavy transmitters, five receivers and five amplifiers, developed in the 70s, with the application of analog components. However, digital technologies will make it possible to combine all these systems into one compact block.

– NK news 566

The new TsVM-101 computer (which weights 8.3 kg – manufacturer’s page, in Russian) will replace the Argon-16 computer (which weighs 70 kg – manufacturer’s page, in Russian). The analog telemetry system will also be replaced by a lighter digital equvalent called МБИЦ, MBITS. The TsVM-101 will initially be installed in the rear Instrumentation/Propulsion Module of the Soyuz and Progress, but it is planned to later move it to the Descent Module to take over re-entry control functions from the KS-020M computer that currently handles this, and enable the TsVM-101 to be reused. This will not happen before 2010.

This photo (from the NASASpaceflight.com forum) shows the difference in sizes between the two generations of computers.

These developments will enable the ship to be cheaper, lighter and more spacious. Only Russian-made systems would be used. There will also be an improved cooling system for the hydrogen peroxide re-entry control thrusters, enabling the Soyuz to remain in space for up to a year. The ship would be designated Soyuz TMA-Ts, «Союз-ТМА-Ц», the “Ts” meaning Цифровой, Tsifrovoi, digital.

The new digital system will first be test-flown aboard a modified Progress-M (beginning from serial number 401), currently Progress M-65 in August 2008 (with a “standard” Progress as backup should the systems malfunction). The first digital Soyuz will be Soyuz TMA-13 N°701, to fly in October 2008 (again with a backup on standby).

Between 2008-2010 there will be a transition period when old and new versions of Soyuz and Progress will be flown.

At the 2006 Farnborough Airshow Nikolai Sevast’yanov said that the next modernized Soyuz variant would be able to stay docked to the ISS for nearly a year (360 days), and also do a circumlunar mission (around the Moon), re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere at the planetary escape velocity of 11.2 km/second. The heat shielding for the Descent Module would thus need to be strengthened and thickened. The external hull design would otherwise remain much the same.

The table below (from somewhere in the Novosti Kosmonavtiki forum) lists the variants that have flown under the Soyuz designation (there are some discrepancies with the previous descriptions).

Soyuz types
Spaceship
Корабли		 Ship modification
Модификации корабля		 Beginning of operation
Начало эксплуатации		 Launches
Запуски
Soyuz Original/basic 1966 55
Soyuz T First modification 1974 21
Soyuz TM Second modification 1986 34
Soyuz TMA Third modification 2002 In use
Soyuz TMA-Ts Fourth modification 2008 –

Characteristics

The following was taken from the Energiya TMA page.

Soyuz TMA technical data
Name of characteristic, dimensions Meaning Remarks
Spacecraft mass, kilograms 7220  
Descent module mass, kg ~2900  
Crew, persons 2-3  
Orbit parameters
• inclination 51.6°  
• altitude, km
~ of insertion 202/238 (Perigree/apogee)
~ during spacecraft docking up to 425  
~ during spacecraft descent up to 460  
Geometrical characteristics of the spacecraft, millimeters
• body length 6980  
• maximal diameter 2720  
• diameter of living compartments 2200  
• solar array span 10 700  
Calculated mass of payload, kg (with a 3-person crew)
• delivered up to 100  
• returned up to 50  
Flying life, days 200 (Including the autonomous flight time)
Touchdown speed, meters/second
• with the main parachute system, maximum/nominal 2.6/1.4 (3.6/2.6 via Soyuz TM)
• with the reserve parachute system, maximum/nominal 4.0/2.4 (6.1/4.3 via Soyuz TM)
Launch vehicle Soyuz FG Developed for the Soyuz TMA spacecraft; it passed flight testing during the Progress spacecraft launches in the years 2001-2002
Anthropometric parameters of Soyuz TM and Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Parameters Soyuz TM Soyuz TMA
Cosmonaut/astronaut height, centimeters
• maximum, in the standing position 182 190
• minimum, in the standing position 164 150
• maximum, in the sitting position 94 99
Cosmonaut/astronaut chest circumference, cm
• maximum 112 not limited
• minimum 96 not limited
Cosmonaut/astronaut mass, kg
• maximum 85 95
• minimum 56 50
Maximum foot length, cm   29.5

Diagrams

~ Page last updated: 21 August 2007

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Photo gallery

Soyuz TMA-6 approaching to dock (NASA)

Soyuz TMA-6 approaches the ISS to dock, 16 April 2005.

Soyuz TMA-9 and Progress M-57 docked

Striking view of Soyuz TMA-9 (foreground) and Progress M-57 docked to the ISS; they are rather reminiscent of remora fish.