Soyuz (spacecraft) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Soyuz
Specifications
Soyuz spacecraft (TMA version)

Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Country of origin	Soviet Union, Russian Federation
Operator	Soviet space program (1967–91) Roscosmos (1991 onwards)
Applications	Carry cosmonauts to orbit and back; originally intended for Soviet Moonshot and Salyut space station transportation.


Design life	Up to six months docked to station
Regime	Low Earth orbit (circumlunar spaceflight during early program)


Production
Status	In service
Maiden launch	(Uncrewed) November 28, 1966 (Crewed) Soyuz 1 April 23, 1967


Related spacecraft
Derivatives	Shenzhou, Progress

Soyuz (Russian: Союз, English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space programme. It was first used in the 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft is launched on a Soyuz rocket, the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world to date. All Soyuz spacecraft are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

History
Spacecraft systems
Parts
Images for kids
See also

History

The first Soyuz flight had no people aboard. It launched on November 28, 1966. The first Soyuz mission with a crew, Soyuz 1, launched on 23 April 1967 but crashed, killing cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Soyuz 3 (October 26, 1968) was the first successful manned mission. Now, the Soyuz is widely considered the world's safest, most cost-effective human spaceflight vehicle. Soyuz spacecraft were used to carry cosmonauts to and from Salyut and later Mir Soviet space stations, and are now used for transport to and from the International Space Station (ISS). At least one Soyuz spacecraft is docked at the ISS at all times for use as an escape craft in the event of an emergency.

Spacecraft systems

Soyuz diagram

Exploded plan of the Soyuz MS spacecraft.

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 rangefinder (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 Cosmonaut survival pistol or Makarov pistol
Soyuz launch escape system – Sistema Avariynogo Spaseniya, SAS

Orbital module (A): 1 docking mechanism; 2, 4 Kurs rendezvous radar antenna; 3 television transmission antenna; 5 camera; 6 hatch

Descent module (B): 7 parachute compartment; 8 periscope; 9 porthole; 11 heat shield

Service module (C): 10, 18 attitude control engines; 12 Earth sensors; 13 Sun sensor; 14 solar panel attachment point; 15 thermal sensor; 16 Kurs antenna; 17 main propulsion; 19 communication antenna; 20 fuel tanks; 21 oxygen tank

Parts

The Soyuz spacecraft has three parts:

A round orbital module, which provides space for the crew;
A small reentry module, which gets the crew back to Earth;
A service module with solar panels, which contains instruments and engines.

Orbital module

The orbital module is also called the Habitation section. It has all the equipment not needed for reentry, such as experiments, cameras and cargo. It also contains a docking collar for docking to space stations. It does not come back to earth.

Reentry module

The reentry module is used for launch and the journey back to earth. Half of it is covered in heat protection tiles. It comes back to earth.

Service module

The service module has solar panels. It contains systems for temperature control, electric power supply, long-range radio communications and radio telemetry. It does not come back to earth.

Images for kids

Diagram showing the three elements of the Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Replica of the Soyuz spacecraft's entry module at the Euro Space Center in Belgium
Soyuz family tree
Soyuz 7K crewed spacecraft concept (1963)
Soyuz-TM spacecraft. Compare the antennas on the orbital module to those on Soyuz-T. Differences reflect the change from the Igla rendezvous system used on Soyuz-T to the Kurs rendezvous system used on Soyuz-TM.
The Soyuz TMA-6
Soyuz MS-01 docked to the ISS.
Early 7K-OK Soyuz at National Space Centre in Leicester, England
Soyuz spacecraft of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP)
Soyuz docked to Mir
Soyuz docked to ISS
A Soyuz mock-up shows how its modules are connected
Soyuz TM-31 moves to Launch Pad on 29 October 2000
Soyuz TMA-2 launch from Baikonur on April 26, 2003
Soyuz TMA-21 with parachute deployed
Soyuz landing sequence
Training session in a Soyuz simulator.
4-7 seats Space Shuttle orbiter and 3 seats Soyuz-TM (drawn to scale).

Soyuz (spacecraft) facts for kids

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