Editing Soyuz (rocket family) (section)

== History ==
[[Image:Soyuz rocket engines.jpg|thumb|Soyuz rocket engines ]]

=== Development ===
{{main|Soyuz (rocket)|Soyuz-U|Soyuz-FG}}

The Soyuz launcher was introduced in 1966, deriving from the [[Vostok (rocket family)|Vostok]] launcher, which in turn was based on the 8K74 or [[R-7A Semyorka|R-7a]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]. It was initially a three-stage rocket with a Block I upper stage. The first four test launches were all failures, but eventually it worked.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g88x7bGnpWQ&t=25m40s The Great Soviet Cosmonaut Conspiracy - Soyuz Conspiracy - Timeline]</ref> <!-- Poor wording, citation leads to private video -->Later a [[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya variant]] was produced by adding a fourth stage, allowing it to reach the highly elliptical [[Molniya orbit]]. A later variant was the [[Soyuz-U]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.samspace.ru/ENG/RN/ser_souz.htm|title="Soyuz" - series launch vehicles|publisher=Samara Space Centre|access-date=29 March 2013|url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207031915/http://www.samspace.ru/ENG/RN/ser_souz.htm|archive-date=February 7, 2012}}</ref> While the exact model and variant designations were kept secret from the west, the Soyuz launcher was referred to by either the [[DoD|United States Department of Defense]] designation of SL-4, or the Sheldon designation of A-2 (developed by Charles S. Sheldon, an analyst with the [[Library of Congress]]). Both systems for naming Soviet rockets stopped being used as more accurate information became available.<ref name="LardierBarensky2013">{{cite book |last1=Lardier |first1=Christian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWRIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA233 |title=The Soyuz Launch Vehicle: The Two Lives of an Engineering Triumph |last2=Barensky |first2=Stefan |date=12 March 2013 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4614-5459-5 |pages=233–}}</ref>

The production of Soyuz launchers reached a peak of 60 per year in the early 1980s. It has become the world's most used space launcher, flying over 1700 times, far more than any other rocket. Despite its age and perhaps thanks to its simplicity, this rocket family has been notable for its low cost and high reliability.<ref>{{cite web|title=Soyuz launch vehicle: The most reliable means of space travel|url=https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Delta_Mission/Soyuz_launch_vehicle_The_most_reliable_means_of_space_travel#:~:text=Soyuz%20launch%20vehicle%3A%20The%20most%20reliable%20means%20of%20space%20travel,-18013%20views%2058&text=Russian%20launch%20vehicles%20are%20named,orbit%20on%2023%20April%201967.|website=European Space Agency|date=29 March 2013}}</ref>

=== Soyuz / Fregat ===
{{main|Fregat}}
[[Image:Soyuz TMA-13 erected at Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Soyuz-FG]] erected at the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] launch pad 1/5 (nicknamed ''[[Gagarin's Start]]'') ahead of [[Soyuz TMA-13]] in October 2008.]]

In the early 1990s plans were made for a redesigned Soyuz with a [[Fregat]] upper stage. The Fregat engine was developed by [[NPO Lavochkin]] from the propulsion module of its [[Phobos program|Phobos interplanetary probes]]. Although endorsed by the [[Roscosmos]] and the [[Ministry of Defence (Russia)|Russian Ministry of Defence]] in 1993 and designated "Rus" as a Russification and modernisation of Soyuz, and later renamed Soyuz-2, a funding shortage prevented implementation of the plan. The creation of [[Starsem]] in July 1996 provided new funding for the creation of a less ambitious variant, the Soyuz-Fregat or Soyuz-U/Fregat. This consisted of a slightly modified [[Soyuz-U]] combined with the Fregat upper stage, with a capacity of up to 1350&nbsp;kg to [[geostationary transfer orbit]]. In April 1997, [[Starsem]] obtained a contract from the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) to launch two pairs of [[Cluster II (spacecraft)|Cluster II plasma science satellites]] using the Soyuz-Fregat. Before the introduction of this new model, Starsem launched 24 satellites of the [[Globalstar]] constellation in 6 launches with a restartable [[Ikar (rocket stage)|Ikar upper stage]], between 22 September 1999 and 22 November 1999. After successful test flights of Soyuz-Fregat on 9 February 2000 and 20 March 2000, the [[Cluster II (spacecraft)|Cluster II satellites]] were launched on 16 July 2000 and 9 August 2000. Another Soyuz-Fregat launched the ESA's [[Mars Express]] probe from Baikonur in June 2003. Now the Soyuz-Fregat launcher is used by Starsem for commercial payloads.

=== ISS crew transport ===
Between 1 February 2003 and 26 July 2005 with the grounding of the United States [[Space Shuttle]] fleet, Soyuz was the only means of transportation to and from the International Space Station. This included the transfer of supplies, via Progress spacecraft, and crew changeovers. After the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet in 2011, the [[Space policy of the United States|United States space program]] was without any means to take astronauts into orbit, and [[NASA]] was dependent on the Soyuz to send crew into space until 2020.<ref name="sfn-20140527">{{cite news |author=Clark |first=Stephen |date=27 May 2014 |title=NASA's latest Soyuz seat procurement may be its last |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1405/27soyuz/ |access-date=29 May 2014 |publisher=Spaceflight Now}}</ref> NASA resumed crewed flights from the United States in 2020 through the [[Commercial Crew Development]] program.

=== Recent incidents ===
A long streak of successful Soyuz launches was broken on 15 October 2002 when the uncrewed [[Soyuz-U]] launch of the Photon-M satellite from [[Plesetsk]] fell back near the launch pad and exploded 29 seconds after lift-off. One person from the ground crew was killed and eight were injured.

Another failure occurred on 21 June 2005, during a [[Molniya (satellite)|Molniya]] [[military]] [[communications satellite]] launch from the Plesetsk launch site, which used a four-stage version of the rocket called [[Molniya-M]]. The flight ended six minutes after the launch because of a failure of the third stage engine or an unfulfilled order to separate the second and third stages. The rocket's second and third stages, which are identical to the Soyuz, and its payload (a Molniya-3K satellite) crashed in the [[Uvatsky District|Uvatsky]] region of [[Tyumen]] ([[Siberia]]).{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

On 24 August 2011, an uncrewed Soyuz-U carrying cargo to the International Space Station crashed, failing to reach orbit. On December 23, 2011, a Soyuz-2.1b launching a [[Meridian 5]] military communications satellite failed in the 7th minute of launch because of an anomaly in the third stage.<ref>{{cite web |author=Amos |first=Jonathan |date=23 December 2011 |title=Another Soyuz rocket launch fails |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16317099 |access-date=29 March 2013 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

On 11 October 2018, the [[Soyuz MS-10]] mission to the [[International Space Station]] failed to reach orbit after an issue with the main booster. The [[launch escape system]] was used to pull the Soyuz spacecraft away from the malfunctioning rocket. The two crew, [[Aleksey Ovchinin]] and [[Nick Hague]], followed a ballistic trajectory and landed safely over 400&nbsp;km downrange from the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]].

=== Soyuz 2 ===
{{main|Soyuz-2|Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre}}

[[Image:Soyuz 2 metop.jpg|thumb|[[Soyuz-2|Soyuz 2]] ready to launch (2007)]]

The venerable Soyuz launcher was gradually replaced by a new version, named [[Soyuz-2|Soyuz 2]], which has a new digital guidance system and a highly modified third stage with a new engine. The first development version of Soyuz 2 called [[Soyuz-2|Soyuz 2.1a]], which is equipped with the digital guidance system, but is still propelled by an old third stage engine, started on 4 November 2004 from [[Plesetsk]] on a suborbital test flight, followed by an orbital flight on 23 October 2006 from Baikonur. The fully modified launcher (version [[Soyuz-2|Soyuz 2.1b]]) flew first on 27 December 2006 with the [[CoRoT]] satellite from the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]].

On 19 January 2005, the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) and the [[Roscosmos]] agreed to launch Soyuz ST rockets from the [[Guiana Space Centre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Industry/Industry_how_to_do_business/Closer_ties_between_ESA_and_Russia|title=Closer ties between ESA and Russia|publisher=European Space Agency|date=19 January 2005|access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> The equatorial launch site allows the Soyuz to deliver 2.7 to 4.9 tonnes into [[Sun-synchronous orbit]], depending on the third-stage engine used.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/esapub/bulletin/bulletin132/bul132h_arend.pdf|title=Soyuz at the European Spaceport|publisher=European Space Agency|date=Nov 2007|access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> Construction of a new pad started in 2005 and was completed in April 2011. The pad used vertical loading common at [[French Guiana]], unlike the horizontal loading used at the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Soyuz_launch_site_ready_for_first_flight|title=Soyuz launch site ready for first flight|publisher=European Space Agency|date=1 April 2011|access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> A simulated launch was conducted in early May 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/First_Soyuz_almost_ready_for_launch_from_French_Guiana|title=First Soyuz almost ready for launch from French Guiana|date=4 May 2011|publisher=European Space Agency|access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> The first operational launch happened on 21 October 2011, bearing the first two satellites in [[Galileo (satellite navigation)|Galileo]] [[Global Positioning System|global positioning system]].

The [[Soyuz-U]] and [[Soyuz-FG]] rockets were gradually replaced by [[Soyuz-2 (rocket)|Soyuz 2]] from 2014 until 2019. Soyuz-U was retired in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |author=Gebhardt |first=Chris |date=February 21, 2017 |title=Longest-serving rocket in history bids farewell with Progress MS-05 launch |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/02/soyuz-u-progress-ms-05-launch/ |publisher=NasaSpaceFlight.com}}</ref> while Soyuz-FG carried [[Human spaceflight|astronaut crews]] to the [[International Space Station|ISS]] until September 2019 (final flight, [[Soyuz MS-15]], on 25 September 2019).

<gallery>
Image:RocketLaunch2018-08.jpg|Soyuz-2.1b (2018)
Image:"Soyuz" launch vehicles model series on MAKS-2021.jpg|From left: Soyuz-2.1v, Soyuz-2.1a, Soyuz-2.1b and [[Irtysh (rocket)|Soyuz-5]])
</gallery>