55 years ago, November 28, 1966, from the Baikonur cosmodrome was performed the first launch of the “Union” missile with the Uncooked Space Costrole. The “Union” carrier rocket has become the basis for its numerous modifications: Soyuz-U, “Union-Fg”, “Soyuz-2”. The rockets of this family became reliable support of domestic cosmonautics.
“Union” is undoubtedly the most famous domestic carrier rocket. It is easily recognizable in the four conical side blocks of the first stage, a characteristic head fairing with four rectangles of lattice stabilizers and an elegant “tower” of the emergency rescue system (on manned launches).
After successful launches of Vostok launch vehicles in 1963, the chief designer OKB-1 (now – Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, is part of Roskosmos State Corporation) Sergey Korolev began developing a new direction in the piloted cosmonautics. Not only simple flights with passive rapprochement of ships in orbit, but also long group flights with an active convergence and docking, the transition of astronauts from the ship to the ship is considered. The provision of these tasks in OKB-1 was created a spacecraft with new engines and a control system, more comfortable conditions for cosmonauts (the household compartment was introduced into the design) and, respectively, having a large mass.
The rocket was the most powerful at that time. Nevertheless, its energy transport was lacked for the implementation of new space programs. In parallel with the creation of a new ship in the OKB-1 of his branch number 3 in Kuibyshev (now – the Rosco Space Center “Progress” is included in Roscosmos), work was carried out to create automatic spacecraft of the new generation of the type “Zenit-4mt”, also demanding an increase in energy Media. In addition, the question of equipping the piloted spacecraft with an active emergency rescue system was acute. So there was a need to develop a new modification of the carrier missile. She received the name “Union”.