The Entry Module is located between the two other sections and is 2.24 meters long and 2.17 meters in diameter. it has a total mass of 2,950 Kilograms and offers 3.5m³ of habitable volume. The Entry module houses vehicle control systems and crew seats. The crew is isolated in the Entry Module for launch and landing. 

Three custom made Kazbek Seat Liners are installed inside the Module that are specially made for each individual crew member. A shock absorbing system is installed on the crew’s seats to dampen the impact the Soyuz experiences during landing. 

The TsVM-101 computer aboard the entry module is the primary flight computer of the Soyuz, replacing the Argon-16 computer used prior to the introduction of the TMA-M version. TsVM-101 weighs only 8.3 Kilograms vs. the more massive 70kg Argon unit. Additionally, the move of the flight computer from the Service Module to the Entry Module eliminates the need for a separate computer handling entry-related tasks. It is also the prime computer for Launch and Ascent Aborts.  The Entry Module has an attitude control system consisting of 8 Hydrogen Peroxide Thrusters for making maneuvers prior and during entry. 

Also, it is outfitted with the spacecraft’s fully redundant parachute system consisting of a pilot chute that is deployed first after computers issue the parachute opening command during entry. The Pilot chute is followed by a Drogue Chute (16m²) and the Main Chute (518m²) to slow the vehicle down to a safe landing speed. In the final moments before landing, the Entry Module separates from its heat shield that is used to protect the vehicle during the re-entry process. This exposes the six Solid-Fueled Soft Landing Engines that are fired just a split second before landing to slow the vehicle down to its final landing speed. A fast-opening parachute system is also installed on the module to support Launch Aborts.  

100 Kilograms of cargo can be loaded into the entry Module for transport back to Earth. The Entry Module of the Soyuz can also be used as an Airlock when the hatch to the Orbital Module is closed. Spacewalkers would exit and ingress through the side hatch.

Instrumentation Module

The instrumentation or Service Module is located underneath the other two modules and houses equipment necessary to support the vehicle during its mission. It has a liftoff mass of 2,900 Kilograms, is 2.26 meters in length and 2.72 meters in diameter.

A pressurized container includes systems for thermal control, electric power supply, communications, telemetry and navigation. The unpressurized portion of the Instrumentation Modules contains the Main Engine and the liquid-fueled propulsion system. The Propulsion System is used for attitude control maneuvers, Rendezvous and Orbit Adjustments as well as the deorbit burn.

SKD, the Soyuz Main Engine, provides a thrust of 2,942 Newtons. The entire Soyuz Attitude Control System is comprised of 28 DPO Thrusters. Two groups of 14 DPO Thruster are mounted on the spacecraft providing 130 Newtons of thrust. The thruster system, upgraded on Soyuz MS for added redundancy features two independent manifolds and thrusters are installed in pairs so that one operates in primary mode and the other is available as a hot backup.

The Propulsion System uses Nitrogen Tetroxide as Oxidizer and Unsymmetrical Dimethylydrazine as Fuel. A total of 800 Kilograms of propellants are carried aboard the SM Tanks. Tank Pressurization is accomplished with high-pressure helium.

The Service Module also includes the power generation system consisting of two deployable solar arrays and batteries.

Launch Abort System

Soyuz FG features Launch and Ascent Abort Capabilities during the complete ascent phase. In the early portion of the mission and while sitting on the Launch Pad, the crew can be evacuated by the use of the SAS Launch Escape System. On top of the Soyuz Rocket is a Launch Escape Tower that is used for Launch Aborts prior to liftoff and during the first 157 seconds of the flight.

The abort can be triggered by on-board computers and manually via radio signals. Events that cause an immediate launch abort include loss of control, premature booster stage separation, loss of pressure in the combustion chambers, lack of velocity and loss of thrust. When the abort command is issued, three struts engage in the lower structural ring of the Soyuz Entry Module (The Crew is in the Entry Module for Launch and Landing with hatches to the Orbital Module closed and latched). These struts provide a stable interface with the Payload Fairing. At that point, the two Upper modules of the Soyuz are separated from the Instrumentation Module that remains attached to the Launcher.

At the same time, the abort motors mounted on the Launch Escape Tower ignite and the spacecraft under the Payload Fairing is carried away from the launch vehicle. The burn has a duration of up to six seconds. The abort motors provide 723 Kilonewtons of thrust. After burnout of the escape motors, the descent module separates from the Orbital Module and the Shroud before firing engines to drop out of the Fairing. The Entry Module deploys fast-opening parachutes and the Module’s heat shield is jettisoned to expose the Soft Landing Engines. The capsule executes a nominal landing.

Should the abort occur while the vehicle is still at the pad, the SAS can lift the capsule to an altitude of 1.5 kilometers causing it to land 3 to 4 kilometers away from the rocket. A minimun altitude of 850 meters is required to achieve full parachute deployment for a nominal landing. The minimun landing distance from the launcher is 110 meters. During the abort scenario, crew members experience up to 10 G’s.

At T+157 seconds, the SAS and Payload Fairing is jettisoned. After that, a variety of abort modes are available for the Soyuz Spacecraft. Depending on the abort scenario, different mechanisms are used to separate the Soyuz Capsule from the Rocket. After separation from the Launcher, the Soyuz conducts a commanded Module Separation and the Entry Module uses its attitude control system to place the vehicle in the correct entry attitude.

The abort trajectory that takes the Soyuz to a landing point somewhere downrange the ground track, largely depends on the timing of the failure. The later an abort occurs in the ascent, the higher the G load the crew and vehicle experiences. For an abort 400 seconds in the flight, up to 21Gs occur on the way back to Earth. After Entry, the Soyuz performs nominal landing operations to bring the crew back to Earth. All abort scenarios are considered to be survivable by the crew.

Soyuz Flight Profile

After being delivered to Low Earth Orbit by the Soyuz FG Launch Vehicle, the Spacecraft deploys its solar arrays and communication antennas to begin on-orbit operations. After orbital insertion, the Spacecraft starts two days of Rendezvous Operations to link up with the Space Station including several main engine burns to raise its orbital altitude and modify its trajectory.

Once reaching the vicinity of the Space Station, the KURS automated docking system takes over. The Vehicle makes a flyaround of ISS to align itself with its docking port. Flyaround distance is about 100 meters. Once being alignd with the docking port, the Soyuz initiates a period of Stationkeeping to give mission control a chance to asses alignment and vehicle systems before final approach is initiated.

All aspects of the Rendezvous and Docking are controlled in automated mode, however the commander of the Soyuz Spacecraft is ready to assume manual control and conduct a manual approach and docking should there be any problems during the automated docking sequence. After initial contact and capture, a hard mate between the two docking interfaces is formed and a 1-hour leak check operation kicks off. Hatches are opened and the crew’s and Soyuz’ Stay aboard the Station begins.

During the docked phase, most of the onboard systems of the spacecraft are deactivated. During the long duration mission, the Soyuz is tested periodically and the crew checks their Kazbek Couches and performs regular landing simulations. Soyuz can stay docked to the Station for up to six months, however modifications are under development to increase docked time to one year. When the crew gets ready to depart the station, the Soyuz is activated and hatches are closed. The leak check operation is repeated while the crew also closes the Entry Module hatch and ingresses the Sokol Launch and Entry Suits before getting strapped into their seats.

Undocking is accomplished by opening hooks and latches that were used to form the hard mate between ISS and Soyuz and initiating springs that push the vehicles away from each other. At a distance of 20 meters, the Soyuz performs a 15-second separation burn to leave the vicinity of the Station. A period of several hours of free flight follows during which the vehicle retreats to a distance of 12 Kilometers behind ISS. At that point, the Deorbit Burn is conducted by igniting the SKD Main Engine to slow the vehicle down by about 115 meters per second, just enough to place it on a re-entry trajectory.

Minutes from Entry Interface, the three Soyuz Modules are pyrotechnically separated and the Entry Module maneuvers to its Re-Entry Attitude. During the entry process, the vehicle is protected by its ablative heat shield. At an altitude of about 9 Kilometers, the Pilot Chute opens and deploys the Drogue Chute that slows the vehicle from 240 meters per second to 90m/s. At an altitude of 7.5 Kilometers, the Main Chute is opened and slows the vehicle down to 6 meters per second. While flying under the main chute, the Soyuz transitions from a nearly horizontal flight to a vertical descent.

Also, the heat shield is jettisoned and the propellant tanks are vented. Dropping the heat shied exposes the soft landing engines and the landing radar to provide navigation data.

Just a split second before landing, the Soyuz ignites its six solid-fueled Soft-landing Engines to dampen the impact. Landing speed is 3 meters per second. Inside the vehicle, the Kazbek Seat Liners have a built-in shock absorbing system to dampen the impact load. After landing, recovery forces open the Entry Module Hatch and extract the Crew. Landing occurs in the Kazakh Steppe.