Military Soyuz

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Soyuz family tree
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, none of the spacecraft ever flew in space.[1][2]

Soyuz P, R and PPK

Soyuz P

The Soyuz P (Perekhvatchik, Interceptor) space interceptor and Soyuz R (Razvedki, intelligence) command-reconnaissance spacecraft was proposed in December 1962 by Sergei Korolev. In the initial draft project, the Soyuz P would use the Soyuz 9K rocket stage and Soyuz 11K 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. [3]

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.[4]

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 (pilotiruemovo korablya-perekhvatchika, crewed interceptor spacecraft) was later proposed in 1964.[5]

Soyuz 7K-VI Zvezda

The Zvezda (star) station was based on a radically modified Soyuz begun in October 1965.

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 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, pilot Alexei Gubarev, flight-engineers Yuri Artyukhin, Vladimir Gulyaev, Boris Nikolaevich Belousov, 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.[6][7]

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, and the payload included 700 to 1,000 kg of instrumentation. The total mass would be around 6,500 kg (14,300 lb).[8]

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.[6]

In 1975, the project was cancelled. At that time the launch escape system 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

Salyut space stations.[9]

Specifications

Relation with other Soyuz versions

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

References

  1. ^ "NASA, Soyuz History, nasa.gov" (PDF).
  2. ^ I. B. Afanasyev, “Unknown Spacecraft (From the History of the Soviet Space Program),” What's New In Life, Science, and Technology: Space Program and Astronomy Series, No. 12, December 1991. Translated in JPRS Report, Science & Technology, Central Eurasia: Space (JPRS-USP-92003), May 27, 1992, p.6
  3. ^ "Soyuz P". www.astronautix.com.
  4. ^ "Soyuz R". www.astronautix.com.
  5. ^ "Soyuz PPK". www.astronautix.com.
  6. ^ a b "Soyuz 7K-S". www.astronautix.com.
  7. ^ "Soyuz VI". www.astronautix.com.
  8. ^ "Soyuz OB-VI". www.astronautix.com.
  9. ^ "Soyuz 7K-T". www.astronautix.com.

External links

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