Soyuz 7K-OK

The Soyuz 7K-OK is the first generation of soviet Soyuz spacecraft, flying from November 11, 1966 to June 1, 1970. It had a crew of 2-3 astronauts and was produced in two versions, "Active" and "Passive", describing its role during docking and the configuration of the early docking port. It was a major evolution from the early Vostok spacecraft and plagued with early problems.

Description

The Soyuz spacecraft consists of three modules, of which only the descent module CA returns to Earth. Every module is specialized for its tasks.

Orbital Module БО

Extends habitable space, contains galley and toilet, acts as airlock, contains the ingress hatch for entering the spacecraft on the launch pad. Contains the Игла/Igla (Needle) docking guidance system. The orbital module is easily adapted for new docking adapters, docking guidance systems or scientific payloads.

Descent Module СА

Crew, crew seats, front hatch, Sirius-7K IDS, Visor (Визр) periscope, hydrogen peroxide attitude control, heat shield, landing rockets.

Propulsion Module ПО

Contains all navigation sensors, solar arrays, pressurized electronics compartment, hydrogen peroxide for the ДО and ДПО thrusters, Dinitrogentetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine for main(СКД) and backup engine (ДКД).

Subsystems

Attitude control

ДО (DO) and ДПО (DPO) thruster systems, using hydrogen peroxide.

TV cameras

КР-75, КР-71/1, КР-71/2, КР-91. КР-74 TV signal multiplexer.

Missions

Active Spacecraft	Active launch date	Active launch crew	Passive Spacecraft	Passive launch date	Passive launch crew	Date of docking	Active landing date	Active landing crew	Passive landing date	Passive landing crew	Comments
Cosmos 133	November 28, 1966	Unmanned	Canceled	November 29, 1966	Unmanned	Canceled	November 30, 1966	Unmanned	Canceled	Canceled	Attitude control system failed, passive mission canceled, destroyed by 23 kg self-destruct charge over China. Also known as "Spacecraft No.2"
N/A	N/A	N/A	Spacecraft no.1	December 14, 1966 16:00	Unmanned	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Lift-off failed, shortly afterwards SAS rocket activated, destroying the rocket in a fire and killing Major Korostylev.
Cosmos 140	February 7, 1967	Unmanned	NA	NA	NA	NA	February 9, 1967	Unmanned	NA	NA	45K Sun tracker failed, depleting DPO propellants and batteries, landed in water and sank, because of a heat shield burn-through
Soyuz 1	April 23, 1967 03:35 MT	Komarov	Soyuz 2	Canceled	Bykovsky, Yeliseyev, Khrunov	Canceled	April 24, 1967 06:24 MT	Komarov	Canceled	Canceled	Attitude control system failed again, parachutes failed during landing, killing Komarov
Cosmos 186	October 27, 1967	Unmanned	Cosmos 188	October 30, 1967	Unmanned	October 30, 1967	October 31, 1967	Unmanned	November 2, 1967	Unmanned	Achieved only soft-docking, again problems with 45K sensor, passive spacecraft self-destructed before reentry after passing an "Ion pocket" over Brazil
Cosmos 212	April 14, 1968	Unmanned	Cosmos 213	April 15, 1968	Unmanned	April 15, 1968	April 19, 1968	Unmanned	April 20, 1968	Unmanned	Achieved hard-docking, first guided reentry by Cosmos 212, both spacecraft badly damaged by the parachute dragging them over ground after landing

References

• "Soyuz - A Universal Spacecraft"; Hall, Shayler; Springer Praxis; ISBN 1-85233-657-9
• ASTP operational data book. Volume 2: ASTP mass properties data book
• Docking Technology
• Liquid Rocket Engines; Bychkov, Nazarov, Prishchepa.
• The Soyuz - Ready to Fly; Filipchenko.
• Mutual Aid In Space; Fotkin.
• The Apollo And Soyuz Spacecraft; Yudin.
• The Apollo-Soyuz Test Flight; Leonov.
• Space - A Road Without End; Nikolayev
• Such Will Be Our Ship; Zhadanov, Yuzhov
• Soyuz - Workhorse Of Space; Yelizavetin
• Soviet Soyuz Spacecraft; Academy Of Sciences, USSR
• From Spacecraft To Spacecraft;
• Rendezvous In Orbit; Anuchin
• Flight Of Soyuz 10
• Soyuz And Apollo; Buchuev (WARNING: 820 MB PDF)
• The Second Orbital Flight; Nikolayev
• The Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 8 Mission, Mandrovsky
• A Brief Description Of Docking Device of "Soyuz"-Type Spacecraft (With Internal Passageway)
• Description Of The Conceptual Arrangement For The Rendezvous And Docking of Soyuz Spacecraft
• Reference Data On The Parameters Of The Atmosphere In The Living Compartments Of Soyuz Type Spacecraft
• Radiotelephone Communications Between Spacecraft Of The Soyuz Type