Soyuz-A

Soyuz-A was the original design of the 7K Soyuz spacecraft, drawn up by Sergei Korolev's bureau in the December 1962 draft project as a crewed craft for rendezvous and docking in Earth orbit and then for a circumlunar flight. In the plan a Soyuz B rocket block and several Soyuz V tankers would be assembled in orbit, after which the three-person Soyuz A would dock and be sent around the Moon on a trip lasting seven to eight days. The craft stood about 7.4 metres tall with a gross mass of 5,880 kilograms and carried modules for living, landing, equipment, propulsion and rendezvous electronics. The draft was submitted to the expert commission in March 1963, but the Soyuz-A did not receive the leadership support needed to join the Soviet space programme, and the later Soyuz 7K-LOK, which was very similar, was the version that went forward.