Soyuz
AgencyRoscosmos
Year1966
TypeEarth orbit
RocketSoyuz rocket
CountryUSSR/Russia
About the Mission
The longest-serving spacecraft in history, flying since 1966. After the shuttle retired in 2011, it was the only way to reach the ISS for 9 years. Soyuz 11 in 1971 killed 3 cosmonauts during reentry when a valve opened. The only deaths in space, above the Karman line.
Related Missions
Sputnik 1
The first artificial satellite, launched October 4, 1957. Orbited Earth every 96 minutes. Its radio ...
Vostok 1
Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space on April 12, 1961. The flight lasted 108 minutes, one o...
Mercury-Atlas 6
John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. Completed three orbits in ...
Gemini 4
Ed White performed the first American spacewalk on June 3, 1965. He was so reluctant to return that ...