The Soyuz (saw-yooz) is a Russian spacecraft. The Soyuz carries people and supplies to and from the space station. The Soyuz can also bring people back to Earth.The Soyuz takes cosmonauts and astronauts to and from the space station. A Soyuz has room for three people to ride in it. The spacecraft also brings food and water to the space station.
source: nasa/image(PrtSc): Jared Owen
The Soyuz is like a lifeboat. At least one Soyuz is always attached to the space station. If there were an emergency on the space station, the crew could use the Soyuz to leave the space station and return to Earth.The Soyuz has two parts. One part is the Soyuz capsule. The second part is the Soyuz rocket.Watch the video from Jared Owen for more info:
The Soyuz capsule sits on top of the Soyuz rocket. The capsule has three parts. The parts are also called modules.The first part of the capsule is the Orbital Module. The crew members live in the Orbital Module while they are in orbit. This module is about the size of a large van. The Orbital Module can connect to the space station.The second part of the capsule is the Descent Module. “To descend” means to go down. The crew sits in this part when the Soyuz is launching to the space station.
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They also use the Descent Module for landing on Earth.The third module is home to the life support systems. It holds things like batteries, solar panels and steering engines.The Soyuz capsule launches on top of a Soyuz rocket. A rocket is what launches people and objects into space. After the launch, the capsule and the rocket separate. The rocket part of the Soyuz returns to Earth. The Soyuz capsule keeps going, and takes only nine minutes to reach space!/nasa
