The Zarya spacecraft () was a secret Soviet project of the late 1980s aiming to design and build a large crewed vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (
VTVL
Vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) is a form of takeoff and landing for rockets. Multiple VTVL craft have flown. A notable VTVL vehicle was the Apollo Lunar Module which delivered the first humans to the Moon. Building on the decades of ...
)
reusable space capsule
A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other spacecraft by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surfa ...
,
[ a much larger replacement for the ]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 (corporation), Energia). The Soyuz succeeded ...
. The project was developed during the years of 1985–1989 by Energia corporation until it was shelved in 1989, "on the eve of the Soviet Union's collapse" due to lack of funding.[ The name of the project was later reused by the Zarya space station module which served as the first component of ]International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
in 1998.
Design
The Zarya spacecraft would have differed from all previous spacecraft by having an array of a dozen rocket engines for making a soft landing upon return to Earth, without using a parachute.[
]
Mission
The Zarya spacecraft would have brought crew and supplies to ''Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
'' or supplies only in an uncrewed mode.
It would have had a normal crew size of one or two, and offered the possibility of carrying a maximum of eight to twelve if used in a lifeboat configuration.
Timeline
;1985 January 27
* Preliminary design work began on the Zarya "Super Soyuz". The concept was a reusable spacecraft, launched by Zenit launch vehicle. with all but a small ring of retro rockets being recovered in the landing module, while also being able to deliver cargo to and from orbit. Carriage in payload bay of Buran shuttle
''Buran'' (, , ; GRAU index serial number: 11F35 1K, construction number: 1.01) was the first spaceplane to be produced as part of the Soviet/Russian Buran programme, Buran program. The Buran orbiters were similar in design to the Space Shutt ...
was also a requirement for the program.
;1986 December 22
* Zarya "Super Soyuz" briefed to the Military-Industrial Commission.
See also
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References
Proposed spacecraft
Crewed space program of the Soviet Union
Cancelled Soviet spacecraft
VTVL rockets
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