The Soyuz 1

Soyuz 1 (Russian Союз 1, Union 1) was part of the Soviet Union's space program and was launched into orbit on April 23, 1967, carrying a single cosmonaut, Colonel Vladimir Komarov, who was killed when the spacecraft crashed during its return to Earth.

This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight.

Launched at 03:35 local time, this was also the first night launch of a human space vehicle. Salyut 1 (DOS-1) (Russian: Салют-1; English translation: Salute 1) was launched April 19, 1971. It was the first space station to ever orbit earth. Its first crew launched in Soyuz 10 but were unable to board it due to a failure in the docking mechanism; its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 productive days. Unfortunately, a pressure-equalization valve in the Soyuz 11 reentry capsule opened prematurely when the crew returned to Earth, killing all three. Salyut 1 reentered Earth's atmosphere October 11, 1971.

The Soyuz 2

Soyuz 2 was an unpiloted spacecraft in
the Soyuz family intended toperform
a docking maneuver with Soyuz 3.
Although the two craft approached,
closely, the docking did not take place.

Salyut 2 (OPS-1)(Russian:Салют-2; English translation: Salute 2) was launched April 4, 1973. It was not really a part of the same program as the other Salyut space stations, instead being the highly classified prototype military space station Almaz. It was given the designation Salyut 2 to conceal its true nature. Despite its successful launch, within two days the as-yet-unmanned Salyut 2 began losing pressure and its flight control failed; the cause of the failure was likely due to shrapnel piercing the station when the discarded Proton rocket upper stage that had placed it in orbit later exploded nearby. On April 11, 1973, 11 days after launch, an unexplainable accident caused the two large solar panels to be torn loose from the space station cutting off all power to the space station. Salyut 2 re-entered on May 28, 1973.
Station statistics
Call sign: Salyut 2
Crew: 3
Launch: April 4, 1973 09:00:00 UTC
Launch pad: Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR
Reentry: May 28, 1973
Mass: 18,500 kg
Length: 14.55 m
Width: 4.15 m
Living volume: 99 m³
Perigee: 257 km (138.8 nmi)
Apogee: 278 km (150.1 nmi)
Orbit inclination: 51.6 degrees
Orbital period: 89.8 minutes
Days in orbit: 54 days
Days occupied: 0 days
Number of orbits: 866
Distance travelled: 35,163,530 km(18,986,787.3 nmi)

The Soyuz 3

Soyuz 3 was the first manned launch of a Soyuz spacecraft since the accident that killed cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on Soyuz 1. That ill-fated flight had been intended to rendezvous and dock with Soyuz 2; now Soyuz 3 with cosmonaut Georgi Beregovoi would attempt this goal. Ground controllers were able to bring the two spacecraft within 200 m of one another before Beregovoi took control of the Soyuz to complete the maneuver. Unfortunately, while he was able to close the gap to only one metre, three successive attempts to dock failed. Eventually, almost all of the maneuvering fuel was expended and the objective had to be abandoned. The failure was blamed on Beregovoi's piloting.The plane crash that killed Yuri Gagarin occurred during Beregovoi's training for this mission.

Salyut 3 (OPS-2) (Russian: Салют-3; English translation: Salute 3) was launched on June 25, 1974. It was another Almaz military space station, this one launched successfully. It tested a wide variety of reconnaissance sensors, returning a canister of film for analysis. On January 24, 1975 trials of the on-board 23 mm Nudelmann aircraft cannon (other sources say it was a Nudelmann NR-30 30 mm gun) were conducted with positive results at ranges from 3000 m to 500 m. Cosmonauts have confirmed that a target satellite was destroyed in the test. The next day, the station was ordered to deorbit. Only one of the three intended crews successfully boarded and manned the station, brought by Soyuz 14; Soyuz 15 attempted to bring a second crew but failed to dock. Nevertheless, it was an overall success. The station's orbit decayed, and it re-entered the atmosphere on January 24, 1975.

The Soyuz 4

Soyuz 4 launched January 14, 1969. On board was the cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov on his first flight. The aim of the mission was to dock with Soyuz 5, transfer two crew members from that spacecraft and reenter. The last three Soyuz flights had attempted to do this but had all failed for various reasons.
The radio callsign of the crew was "Amur"; that of Soyuz 5, with which it was to dock, was "Baikal". This referred to the trans-Siberian railway project called the Baikal-Amur Mainline, which was under construction at the time. Hence the docking served as encouragement to the
workers on that project.

Salyut 4 (DOS-4) (Russian: Салют-4; English translation: Salute 4) was launched on December 26, 1974. It was essentially a copy of the DOS-3, and unlike its ill-fated sibling it was a complete success. Three crews made stays aboard Salyut 4 (Soyuz 17, Soyuz 18 and Soyuz 21), including one of 63 days duration, and an unmanned Soyuz capsule remained docked to the station for three months, proving the systems' long-term durability. Salyut 4 was deorbited February 2, 1977, and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 3.

The Soyuz 5

The Soyuz 5 was a Soyuz spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union on January 15, 1969 that docked with Soyuz 4 in orbit.

Salyut 5 (OPS-3) (Russian: Салют-5; English translation Salute 5) was launched on June 22, 1976. It was the third and last Almaz military space station. Its launch and subsequent mission were both completed successfully, with three crews launching and two (Soyuz 21 and Soyuz 24) successfully boarding the craft for lengthy stays (the second crew on Soyuz 23 was unable to dock and had to abort). Salyut 5 reentered on August 8, 1977. Following Salyut 5 the Soviet Military decided that the tactical advantages were not worth the expense of the program and withdrew. The focus for the later missions was research and prestige.

The Soyuz 6

Soyuz 6 was part of a joint mission with Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 8 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying seven cosmonauts. The crew of Georgi Shonin and Valeri Kubasov were meant to take high-quality movie photography of Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 8 docking but the rendezvous systems on all three spacecraft failed.
It is still not known exactly what the actual problem was, but it is often quoted as being a helium pressurization integrity test. The version of Soyuz spacecraft used for the missions (7K-OK) carried a torus shaped docking electronics equipment housing surrounding the motor assembly on the back of the service module. This is thought to have been pressurized with helium to provide a benign environment for the electronics. It was then jettisoned after docking to lower the mass of the spacecraft for reentry. What went wrong with the electronics on all three spacecraft is still not known.The crew was made up of Georgi Shonin and Valeri Kubasov, who carried out important experiments in space welding. They tested three methods: using an electron beam, a low pressure plasma arc and a consumable electrode. The apparatus was designed at the E. O. Paton Electric Welding Institute, Kiev, Ukraine. The weld quality was said to be in no way inferior to that of Earth based welds. After 80 orbits of the Earth they landed on October 16, 1969, 180 km northwest of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. The radio call sign of the spacecraft was Antei, referring to the Greek hero 'Antaeus,' but also a common diminutive of a Russian given name for boys. More important, at the time of the flight, however, it was also the name of the largest practicable aircraft, the Soviet Antonov 22, made in Ukraine. But unlike the call signs of Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 8, this was not the name of a squadron in Soviet military training, of uncertain role, for the one that begins with the letter 'a' is Aktif, meaning 'Active'.

Salyut 6 (DOS-5) (Russian: Салют-6; English translation: Salute 6) was launched on September 29, 1977. Although it resembled the previous Salyut stations in overall design, it featured several revolutionary advances including a second docking port where an unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft could dock and refuel the station. From 1977 until 1982 Salyut 6 was visited by five long-duration crews and 11 short-term crews, including cosmonauts from Warsaw Pact countries. Some unconfirmed reports say the station was functionally capable of even more missions and years, but combating the ever-increasing mold in living quarters was becoming impossible, and in practice caused the retirement decision. The very first long-duration crew on Salyut 6 broke a record set on board Skylab, staying 96 days in orbit. The longest flight on board Salyut 6 lasted 185 days. The fourth Salyut 6 expedition deployed a 10-meter radio-telescope antenna delivered by a cargo ship. After Salyut 6 manned operations were discontinued in 1981, a heavy unmanned spacecraft called TKS and developed using hardware left from the canceled Almaz program was docked to the station as a hardware test. Salyut 6 was deorbited July 29, 1982.

The Soyuz 7

Soyuz 7 was part of a joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 8 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying seven cosmonauts.
The crew consisted of commander Anatoli Filipchenko, flight-engineer Vladislav Volkov and research-cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko, whose mission was to dock with Soyuz 8 and transfer crew, as the Soyuz 4 and 5 missions did. Soyuz 6 was to film the operation from nearby.
However, this objective was not achieved due to equipment failures. Soviet sources later claimed that no docking had been intended, but this seems unlikely, given the docking adapters carried by the spacecraft, and the fact that the Soyuz 8 crew were both veterans of the previous successful docking mission. This was the last time that the Soviet manned Moon landing hardware was tested in orbit, and the failure seems to have been one of the final nails in the coffin of the programme.
The radio call sign of the spacecraft was Buran, meaning 'blizzard', which years later was re-used as the name of the entirely different spaceplane Buran. This word is apparently used as the name of an active or aggressive squadron in Soviet military training, and, just like the Soyuz 4, it was constructed and trained to be the active or male spacecraft in its docking. Further, the word was probably chosen as it begins with the second letter of the alphabet.

Salyut The Salyut program: 7 (DOS-6) (Russian: Салют-7; English translation: Salute 7) was launched on April 19, 1982. It was the back-up vehicle for Salyut 6 and very similar in equipment and capabilities, though several more advanced features were included. It was aloft for four years and two months, during which time it was visited by 10 crews constituting 6 main expeditions and 4 secondary flights (including French and Indian cosmonauts). Aside from the many experiments and observations made on Salyut 7, the station also tested the docking and use of large modules with an orbiting space station. The modules were called "Heavy Cosmos modules." They helped engineers develop technology necessary to build Mir. Salyut 7 deorbited on February 7, 1991.