Soyuz 2.1b

Developed by the Progress Rocket Space Centre (RKTs Progress) in Samara, Soyuz-2 is used to place payloads into low Earth orbit in standard configuration but can also support missions to higher orbits using an additional upper stage, most commonly the Fregat, though the smaller Volga is available as a less expensive option. Since its introduction in 2004, Soyuz-2 has gradually replaced earlier Soyuz variants and is launched from the facilities of its R-7 derived predecessors: Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and Sites 43/3 and 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia, and, since 2016, Site 1S at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia.

The Soyuz‑2 family includes several variants. The base model, Soyuz‑2.1a, debuted on 8 November 2004, followed by the Soyuz‑2.1b, with a 15 percent more powerful third stage, on 27 December 2006. A derivative version, Soyuz‑ST, was introduced in 2011 with modifications for operation at the Guiana Space Centre, the European Space Agency's launch site in French Guiana.

Uzlovoy Module

In the mid-2000s, RKK Energia, the manufacturer of the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) components, added the Uzlovoy Module (UM) to the future configuration of the ISS. The proposal involves the addition of a Nodal Module (a significant modification of the Universal Docking Module (UDM) design, increasing the number of docking ports from 4 to 6 and taking into account its location at the Nauka nadir and at the same time reducing its weight from 20 tons to 4 tons, partly by removing the additional life-support system and adding two additional science/energy modules to the segment around 2013–2015. These plans were tabled due to Nauka delays. Since the refurbishment of the Nauka module, the Uzlovoy module is now the Prichal module

Image Gallery

Credits:

—Logo

Corrections:

DPO thrusters reconfigured and gyroscopes added to help with the stability, especially in translation maneuvers.

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