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 ever flew in space.

Soyuz P, R and PPK

Soyuz P

The

Soyuz P Soyuz P (russian: Союз Перехватчик meaning Union Interceptor) 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 St ...

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

Sergei Korolev Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...

. In the initial draft project, the Soyuz P would use the Soyuz 9K rocket stage and

Soyuz 11K 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 Социалис ...

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 R

The Soyuz-R system 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 PPK

Initially the Soyuz P was designed for piloted inspection and destruction of enemy satellites. It was intended that the Soyuz would rendezvous with the target satellite. To minimize risk to the crew, a new version,

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 Социалис ...

(''pilotiruemovo korablya-perekhvatchika'', crewed interceptor spacecraft) was later proposed.

Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda

The Zvezda (star) station was based on a radically modified Soyuz. Objectives were human earth observation, orbital inspection and destruction of enemy satellites. Zvezda would be powered by two plutonium radioisotope generators and had a recoilless gun 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 (russian: Алмаз, lit=Diamond) program was a highly secret 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 an ...

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 (russian: Па́вел Рома́нович Попо́вич, uk, Павло Романович Попович, Pavlo Romanovych Popovych) (5 October 1930 – 29 September 2009) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Popovich was the ...

, pilot Alexei Gubarev, flight-engineers

Yuri Artyukhin Yuri Petrovich Artyukhin (russian: Ю́рий Петро́вич Артю́хин; 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 Inst ...

Vladimir Gulyaev Vladimir Leonidovich Gulyaev (russian: Влади́мир Леони́дович Гуля́ев; 30 October 1924, Yekaterinburg, RSFSR — 3 October 1997, Moscow) was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema. Biography He was born October 30, 1924 ...

Boris Nikolaevich Belousov Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

, and Gennadiy Kolesnikov. 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 cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

, 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 that can be used to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, suc ...

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

Kosmos 670 Kosmos 670 (russian: Космос 670 meaning ''Cosmos 670'') was an unmanned space mission, unmanned Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz Military_Soyuz#Soyuz_7K-S, 7K-S test. It used a new and unique inclination of 50.6 degree. The experience from these fl ...

Kosmos 772 Kosmos 772 (russian: Космос 772 meaning ''Cosmos 772'') was an uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed military Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz 7K-S test. It was an unsuccessful mission as only one transmitter worked. Only the 166 MHz frequency transmitter ope ...

Kosmos 869 Kosmos 869 (russian: Космос 869 meaning ''Cosmos 869'') was an uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed military Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz 7K-S test. It was a somewhat successful mission. This was the third and final test flight of a new Soyuz spacecraft ...

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 (russian: Союз-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 ...

used with the

Salyut The ''Salyut'' programme (russian: Салют, , 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 ...

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 (UDMH; 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, НДМГ or codenamed Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is used as a rocket propellant. It is a colorless liquid, with a sharp, fishy, ammonia-like smell ...

* 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 (1963) **

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

(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 suit ...

(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 (russian: Лунный Орбитальный Корабль, translit=Lunniy Orbitalny Korabl meaning "Lunar Orbital Craft") was a Soviet crewed spacecraft designed to launch men from Earth to orbit the Moon, deve ...

(1967) ***

Soyuz 7K-L1 The Soyuz 7K-L1 "Zond" spacecraft was designed to launch men from the Earth to circle the Moon without going into lunar orbit in the context of the Soviet crewed Moon-flyby program in the Moon race. It was based on the Soyuz 7K-OK. Several mo ...

(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 7K ...

(1970-71) **''

'' (1962) ***''

'' (1964) **'' Soyuz R'' (1962) ***'' Soyuz 7K-TK'' (1966) **''

Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda 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, none ever flew in space. Soyuz P, R ...

'' (1964) **'' Soyuz OIS ''(1967) ***'' Soyuz OB-VI'' (1967) ***''

Soyuz 7K-S 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 Социалис� ...

'' (1974) ***''

Soyuz 7K-ST The Soyuz-T (russian: Союз-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 ...

'' (1974) ****

Soyuz T The Soyuz-T (russian: Союз-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 ...

(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 three parts, the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Service Module. The first ...

(1986-02) **** Soyuz TMA (2002-12) ****

Soyuz TMA-M 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 Социалис ...

(2010-16) ****

Soyuz MS The Soyuz MS (; GRAU: 11F732A48) is a revision of the Russian spacecraft series Soyuz first launched in 2016. It is an evolution of the Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft, with modernization mostly concentrated on the communications and navigation subsyste ...

(2016-...)

External links

Russia New Russian spaceship will be able to fly to Moon - space corp

* Mir Hardware Heritage ** David S.F. Portree,

', NASA RP-1357, 1995 ** Mir Hardware Heritage (wikisource)
Information on Soyuz spacecraft

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