Soyuz thread

[Brotoro]

Soyuz ...Sort-of

I took a break from preparing my armada for its assault on Laythe (lots of docking, refueling, and whatnot) by building a pseudo Soyuz for giggles. The ship is all stock, so it doesn't look all that much like a Soyuz, but I wanted it to at least WORK like a Soyuz. Below are pictures of the rocket on the pad and lifting off. It uses four side boosters, a central sustainer core, and an upper stage like the real Soyuz launcher. The nose cones on the side boosters are tilted inward by mounting them on tilted cubic struts with part clipping enabled. Not pretty, but it works.

The real fun of the booster is the engines, of course. The sustainer core and side boosters each have four LV-T45 engines (since the more scale-like LV-909s would not lift the beastie). The sustainer core has four Ant engines placed where the vernier engines go, and the side boosters each have two Ant engines as verniers.

Below we see the dropping of the side boosters. The side boosters to not feed fuel into the sustainer core (since that would be unlike the Soyuz launcher), but the sustainer core is longer than the side boosters, so it burns longer. I don't know that the side boosters of the Soyuz launcher use separation rocket motors, but I needed sepratrons to be sure rear end of the sustainer did not go up in a ball of flame at booster separation.

The sustainer core burned out, and then the upper stage with one poodleski engine took the spacecraft the rest of the way to orbit.

The upper stage placed the Soyuz in a 200 km orbit with fuel to spare. Spasebo, upper stage! You are now orbital debris.

Deploy the solar panels, and the Soyuz is ready for orbital operations.

Like any self-respecting Soyuz, mine has three components: The Orbital Module in front (with docking port) that provides extra space for the kerbal kosmonauts to do experiments... or to just get away from Jebediah when he's been eating too much borscht; the Reentry Module that can hold two to three kerbals, preferably wearing pressure suits; and the Service Module that has the propulsion systems, solar panels, and other equipment.

At the end of our mission, the Soyuz begins reentry by jettisoning the orbital module. Some versions of the Soyuz separated the orbital module before retro firing...other visions retained it until after retro firing. I dumped it so that I'd need less fuel for the retro firing...but it does become another piece of space debris.

And...oops... I noticed that I forgot to put on the two 24-77 radial engines I was going to use as for the retro rocket burn. So I brought along that fuel tank for nothing. But fear not, comrades, because the RCS is plenty strong to deorbit this Soyuz. It did take a few minutes of firing and used a third of the RCS fuel, but a reentry trajectory was achieved.

Ka-DOOSH! The service module is separated from the reentry module.

Reentry flames! The capsule was a bit off balance because I had a parachute on only one side.

Like any proper Soyuz, this one came down on land. Ochen horosho! I decided not to use sepatrons as braking motors before touchdown because I figured they'd just make the capsule flop around and potentially kill my brave kosmonauts right at the end of a successful mission.

[Giggleplex777]

You can use 24-77s as landing retro rockets.

[Brotoro]

You can use 24-77s as landing retro rockets.

Where do they get their fuel?

[chainedlupine]

Nice work! I sure wish KSP had circular parts so you could make a more authentic Soyuz-alike.

I've been tempted to re-create an early Vostok flight. But I am not sure if I am skilled enough at Kerbal aerobatics in order to drop Jeb on his head so he survives minus a parachute.

[Giggleplex777]

Where do they get their fuel?

A toroidal fuel tank under to pod.

[Brotoro]

A toroidal fuel tank under to pod.

Ah! Capsules have fuel crossfeed capability...I neve noticed that.

Thank you, sir. You are a fount of useful information.

[Temstar]

Fun fact: the original Soyuz-7K was in fact designed with a cylindrical rather than spherical orbital module:

It was designed to be a part of the Soyuz circumlunar complex:

So if anyone tells you it doesn't "look Soyuz enough" tell them it's a 7K design.

[Budgie]

Isnt the Shenzhou also a bit more cylindrical too? Thats a Soyuz-derivative, for sure

[M5000]

Isnt the Shenzhou also a bit more cylindrical too? Thats a Soyuz-derivative, for sure

I think so..

There's a lot of Soyuz models that progressed over the years, starting with the 7K, of course.

[Camelotking524]

I wish they would include Russian space program inspire parts. Its could even be another technology branch in the campaign

[Temstar]

Shenzhou is mostly indigenous I think. It uses the same layout as Soyuz because it's really the most sensible shape for a capsule manned spacecraft. It has 14 m^3 of habitable volume vs 5.9 m^3 of Apollo CM despite being about the same weight (not including SM for both spacecraft).

Shenzhou OM is very unusual. Before Shenzhou 8 the OM is equipped with it's own solar panels, propulsion system and can stay pressurised after separation from Shenzhou RM. So basically the OM is its own tiny independent manned spacecraft and one mission even left the OM in orbit for 8 month after the rest of the ship has gone home.

From Shenzhou 8 onwards the OM lost the solar panels and autonomous flight capability so it became functionally the same as a Soyuz OM, except being bigger and different shaped.

[Budgie]

Eh, close enough . Thanks for the interesting tidbit, I dont know much about non-US and Soviet/Russian space hardware

Back on topic, I really love the Soyuz mods that have existed on the forums for a bit. Ive never been interested in recreating historical spacecraft with stock parts because I feel it doesnt do it justice (personally). Of course, I applaud those that have managed such great likenesses out of non-mod parts, though

Such a useful little craft:

Edited April 24, 2013 by Budgie

[Camelotking524]

Their's always my mod. It still works in .19.1 and as always Bobcats Soyuz.

[wafflemane]

how did you put 4 booster on the fuel tanks? thanks