The Soyuz Spacecraft

History and evolution of the Soyuz spacecraft

Soyuz, which means 'union' in Russian, is the longest human spacecraft program in the history of space exploration.

The Soyuz concept was developed by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s and, by 1967, it had its first crewed flight. Over more than 50 years of operation, Soyuz spacecraft have transported cosmonauts, and later, American astronauts, to space stations including Mir and the International Space Station. In 1995, astronaut Norm Thagard became the first American on a Soyuz when he traveled to space station Mir. The Soyuz also was the Russian vehicle of choice for many scientific and military missions.