Editing Soyuz (rocket family) (section)

=== 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>