Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft with an active docking unit The Soviet Union planned several military

Soyuz spacecraft Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...

models. These versions were named Soyuz P, Soyuz PPK, Soyuz R, Soyuz 7K-VI, and Soyuz OIS (Orbital Research Station). However, none of the

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

ever flew in space.

Soyuz P, R and PPK

Soyuz P

The

Soyuz P Soyuz P ( meaning Union Interceptor) also known as 11F71 or 7K-P, was a proposed Soviet crewed combat spacecraft and satellite interceptor. The Soyuz P was proposed in December 1962, along with other Soyuz variants to match the United States' Mann ...

(''Perekhvatchik'', Interceptor) space interceptor and Soyuz R (''Razvedki'', intelligence) command-reconnaissance spacecraft was proposed in December 1962 by

Sergei Korolev Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (14 January 1966) was the lead Soviet Aerospace engineering, rocket engineer and spacecraft designer during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s. He invented the R-7 Sem ...

. In the initial draft project, the Soyuz P would use the

Soyuz 9K Soyuz-B ( meaning Union-B) or Soyuz 9K () was a proposed Soviet Union, Soviet spacecraft, which was designed for use as an orbital tug. A number of applications were proposed for it, including use as part of the Soyuz A-B-V complex for crewed circu ...

rocket stage and

Soyuz 11K Soyuz-V ( meaning Union-V) or Soyuz 11K (), sometimes known in the west as Soyuz-C, was a proposed Soviet spacecraft, which was designed for use as a fuel tanker. It would have been used to refuel other spacecraft, particularly the Soyuz 9K orbi ...

tanker spacecraft to conduct a series of dockings and re-fueling operations. The complete complex would then conduct intercepts of enemy satellites in orbits up to 6,000 km in altitude. Soyuz P was cancelled in 1963.

Soyuz R

The Soyuz-R system (1963-1966) consisted of two separately launched spacecraft, including the small orbital station 11F71 with photo-reconnaissance and electronic intelligence equipment and a Soyuz 7K-TK for crew transport. Soyuz R was cancelled in 1966.

Soyuz PPK

Initially the Soyuz P was designed for piloted inspection and destruction of enemy satellites. It was intended that the Soyuz would

rendezvous Rendezvous or rendez-vous may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Rendezvous'' (1923 film), a silent film adventure melodrama * ''Rendezvous'' (1930 film), a German musical directed by Carl Boese * ''Rendezvous ...

with the target satellite. To minimize risk to the crew, a new version, Soyuz PPK (''pilotiruemovo korablya-perekhvatchika'', crewed interceptor spacecraft) was later proposed in 1964.

Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda

The Zvezda (star) station was based on a radically modified Soyuz begun in October 1965. Dmitri Kozlov was the chief engineer of the Soyuz VI project, he also worked on Soyuz-P and Soyuz-R. Soyuz 7K-VI objectives were crew earth observation, orbital inspection and destruction of enemy

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s. Zvezda would be powered by two

plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

radioisotope thermoelectric generator A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), or radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the Decay heat, heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material i ...

s, as

solar arrays A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to abs ...

required the spacecraft to be position to the sun, not a desired attack mode. Also the military experiments need more power than solar provided. Soyuz 7K-VI had a

recoilless gun A Recoilless rifle ( rifled), recoilless launcher ( smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "rr" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some ...

for defense. It was designed for shooting in a vacuum and defending the military research spacecraft from enemy satellite inspector and interceptor satellites. The gun was aimed by maneuvering the entire spacecraft. A special gunsight was installed in the descent module for aiming the gun. A forward docking apparatus to allow docking with

Almaz The Almaz () program was a highly secret Soviet Union, Soviet military space station program, begun in the early 1960s. Three crewed military reconnaissance stations were launched between 1973 and 1976: Salyut 2, Salyut 3 and Salyut 5. To co ...

was also included. Work on Zvezda was cancelled in 1967 with a single prototype in advanced stages of construction. Cosmonaut training for the VI began in September 1966. The cosmonaut group selected included commander

Pavel Popovich Pavel Romanovich Popovich (; ; 5 October 1930 – 29 September 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet cosmonaut. Popovich was the fourth cosmonaut in space, the sixth person in orbit, the eighth person and first Ukrainians, Ukrainian in space. Bio ...

, pilot Alexei Gubarev, flight-engineers

Yuri Artyukhin Yuri Petrovich Artyukhin (; 22 June 1930 – 4 August 1998) was a Soviet Russian cosmonaut and engineer who made a single flight into space. Artyukhin graduated from the Soviet Air Force Institute with a doctorate in engineering, specializing in ...

Vladimir Gulyaev Vladimir Leonidovich Gulyaev (; 30 October 1924, Yekaterinburg, RSFSR — 3 October 1997, Moscow) was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema. Biography He was born October 30, 1924, in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg, Russia). His father was as c ...

Boris Nikolaevich Belousov Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name * *List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) Arts and media * Boris (band), a Japanese experimental rock trio * ''Boris'' (EP), by Yezda Urfa, 1975 * "Boris" (son ...

, and

Gennadiy Kolesnikov Gennady ( rus, Геннадий, p=ɡʲɪˈnadʲɪj), also transcribed Gennadi or Gennadiy, is a Russian male name. It is derived from the Greek given name Γεννάδιος (Gennadios), latinized Gennadius. People *Gennady Dobrokhotov, Soviet b ...

. Popovich-Kolesnikov and Gubarev-Belousov were the prime crews, with the other engineers acting as reserves and then assigned to later crews.

Soyuz OIS (Orbital Research Station)

The Soyuz OIS (Orbital Research Station) would consist of a separately-launched orbital block 11F731 OB-VI and a transport Soyuz 7K-S.

Soyuz OB-VI

The Soyuz OB-VI would be launched for 30-day missions in a 51.6° orbit at 250 x 270 km. Power was provided by

solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

, and the payload included 700 to 1,000 kg of instrumentation. The total mass would be around 6,500 kg (14,300 lb).

Soyuz 7K-S

The initial Soyuz 7K-S program was to consist of four uncrewed, followed by two crewed test flights, then two operational launches. Cosmonauts were assigned to the project in 1973. In 1975, the project was cancelled. At that time the

launch escape system A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule. It is used in the event of a critical emergency to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiri ...

for 7K-S was ready and was used for Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flights. Three complete vehicles were launched as uncrewed test missions:

Soyuz 7K-ST

The Soyuz 7K-ST transport project was develop in parallel to the military 7K-S and was redesigned for a crew of three, eventually becoming the

Soyuz-T The Soyuz-T (, ''Union-T'') spacecraft was the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, in service for seven years from 1979 to 1986. The ''T'' stood for transport (, ). The revised spacecraft incorporated lessons learned from the Apollo Soyuz Test ...

used with the

Salyut The ''Salyut'' programme (, , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed military reconnaissa ...

space stations.

Specifications

* Crew Size: 2 * Total Length: 7.5 m * Maximum Diameter: 2.7 m * Total Habitable Volume: 9.00 m3 * Total Mass: 6,800 kg * Primary Engine Thrust: 400 kgf * Main Engine Propellants: N₂O₄/

UDMH Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (abbreviated as UDMH; also known as 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, heptyl or Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is primarily used as a rocket propellant. At room temperature, UDMH is a colorle ...

* Main Engine Isp: 305 seconds * Electrical System: Solar panels

Relation with other Soyuz versions

The list below shows proposed, flown (in bold) and ''military'' (in italic) Soyuz versions. *

Soyuz A Sergei Korolev initially promoted the Soyuz A-B-V circumlunar complex (''7K-9K-11K'') concept (also known as L1) in which a two-man craft Soyuz 7K would rendezvous with other components (9K and 11K) in Earth orbit to assemble a lunar excursion veh ...

(1963) **

Soyuz 7K-OK Soyuz 7K-OK was the first generation of Soyuz spacecraft and was flown between 1967 and 1971. The 7K-OK was used for the first ferry flights to the Salyut space station program, beginning a long history of space station service that continue ...

(1967-71) ***

Soyuz 7K-OKS Soyuz 7K-OKS (also known as Soyuz 7KT-OK) is a version of the Soyuz spacecraft and was the first spacecraft designed for space station flights. Its only crewed flights were conducted in 1971, with Soyuz 10 and Soyuz 11. Design The two craf ...

(1971) ****

Soyuz 7K-T The second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the ''Soyuz 7K-T'', comprised Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 (1973–1981). In the wake of the Soyuz 11 tragedy, the spacecraft was redesigned to accommodate two cosmonauts who would wear pressure ...

(1973-81) ****

Soyuz 7K-TM The 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project version of the Soyuz spacecraft (Soyuz 7K-TM) served as a technological bridge to the third generation Soyuz-T (T - транспортный, ''Transportnyi'' meaning transport) spacecraft (1976–1986). T ...

(1975) **

Soyuz 7K-LOK The Soyuz 7K-LOK, or simply LOK ( meaning "Lunar Orbital Craft") was a Soviet crewed spacecraft designed to take humans from Earth to orbit the Moon, developed in parallel to the 7K-L1. The LOK would carry two cosmonauts, acting as a mother ship ...

(1967) ***

Soyuz 7K-L1 Soyuz 7K-L1 "Zond" spacecraft was designed to launch cosmonaut, cosmonauts from the Earth to circle the Moon without going into lunar orbit in the context of the Soviet crewed lunar programs, Soviet crewed Moon-flyby program in the Moon race. ...

(1967-70) ****

Soyuz 7K-L1E Soyuz 7K-L1E was a Soviet uncrewed modified Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft. Also called a dummy Soyuz 7K-LOK. Two were built, one Soyuz 7K-L1E was successfully launched into Low Earth Orbit on Proton rocket and is known as Kosmos 382. The other Soyuz 7 ...

(1970-71) **''

'' (1962) ***''

Soyuz PPK Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социали� ...

'' (1964) **'' Soyuz R'' (1962) ***'' Soyuz 7K-TK'' (1966) **'' Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda'' (1964) **'' Soyuz OIS ''(1967) ***'' Soyuz OB-VI'' (1967) ***''

Soyuz 7K-S Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft with an active docking unit The Soviet Union planned several military Soyuz spacecraft models. These versions were named Soyuz P, Soyuz PPK, Soyuz R, Soyuz 7K-VI, and Soyuz OIS (Orbital Research Station). However, non ...

'' (1974) ***'' Soyuz 7K-ST'' (1974) **** Soyuz T (1976-86) ****

Soyuz TM The Soyuz TM () were fourth generation (1986–2002) Soyuz spacecraft used for ferry flights to the Mir and ISS space stations. The Soyuz spacecraft consisted of four parts, the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Service Module. The fi ...

(1986-02) ****

Soyuz TMA The Soyuz-TMA () was a spacecraft built by Energia and used by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. It is a revision of the Soyuz spacecraft introduced in 2001 and was in use until 2012 after being superseded in 2010 by the Soyuz TMA-M. While it lo ...

(2002-12) ****

Soyuz TMA-M The Soyuz TMA-M was a spacecraft developed by Energia (corporation), Energia and operated by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. Introduced in 2010, it was a revision of the Soyuz spacecraft with upgrades over its predecessor, the Soyuz T ...

(2010-16) ****

Soyuz MS The Soyuz MS (; GRAU: 11F732A48) is the latest version of the Russian Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz spacecraft series, first launched in 2016. The "MS" stands for "modernized systems," reflecting upgrades primarily focused on the communications and ...

(2016-...)

References

External links

RSC Energia: Concept Of Russian Manned Space Navigation Development

{{Russian human spaceflight programs Crewed spacecraft Soyuz program Soviet military spacecraft