Soyuz launch (1997)
Soyuz (Russian: Сою́з) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now RKK Energia) in the 1960s that remains in service today, having made more than 140 flights. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet crewed lunar programs. The Soyuz spacecraft is launched on a Soyuz rocket, the most reliable launch vehicle in the world to date. The Soyuz rocket design is based on the Vostok launcher, which in turn was based on the 8K74 or R-7A Semyorka, a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile. All Soyuz spacecraft are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Soyuz has served as the only means for Americans to make crewed space flights in the world since the retirement of the US Space Shuttle in 2011 and is heavily used in the International Space Station program.