Page 32 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

The Soyuz manned ferry
The ferry craft for the cosmonauts was called Soyuz, and it could carry three cosmonauts as part of its total weight of
6.5 tonnes. It was made of three parts: a module to provide propulsion and the instruments at the rear, a flight deck to also serve as the return capsule for the cosmonauts, and an orbiter module as a cabin that could be used as a docking system with a space station.
It was not envisaged that the ferry craft would be reusable. The craft used for the ferry first flew in 1967 as Soyuz 1, but it was not until the launching of Soyuz 10 in 1971 that it carried people. Since it had flown for 4 years, it was a tried and tested craft. This was typical of the Soviet way of doing things: find something simple that works, and then stick with it for as long as possible to save time on unnecessary research and development.
The Progress unmanned ferry
Soyuz was for transporting people. But a space
station needs to be stocked with provisions, and waste
matter needs to be taken away. It is not necessary to use a manned spacecraft for this. So a separate unmanned ferry for transporting supplies, oxygen, and water was built in 1977. With this additional craft more people and materials could be kept on board the space station. The unmanned ferry was called Progress (see page 39).
The Salyut program
The first Salyut space station, Salyut 1, was launched in April 1971. It weighed 19 tonnes and was nearly 15 m long. Its power was provided by solAr pAnels. However, Salyut 1 only survived in orbit until October 1971.
More Salyut space stations were launched in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, and 1982 (Salyut 7). Each held two cosmonauts. The Salyut program lasted until 1985, during which time many space endurance records were broken. The space station was then abandoned in favor of the new Mir station (see pages 36–41). Salyut 7 deorbited and burned up in 1991.
Soyuz manned spacecraft (blue).
 The Soyuz manned ferry.
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