Umanskiy Space Capsule

Soviet manned spacecraft. Study 1965. Small minimum space capsule for emergency return of crew or urgent payloads from orbit. Proposed by an engineer at Soviet Factory 918 in 1965, but no support from the entrenched space interests.

Designer Umanskiy at MAP Factory 918 produced a plan to develop a space capsule for only one or two cosmonauts. The single-cosmonaut design would weigh 500 kg, and the two-place capsule 700 kg. The capsules would be used by the cosmonauts to exit from their spacecraft to inspect satellites, rescue crews, or to return from orbit urgent payloads (reconnaissance film or data). Although considered by Kamanin as an excellent idea, it never cleared the interlocking and competing ministries controlling space development (MOM, MAP, and OKB-1).

Crew Size: 2.