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Solar Orbiter
Solar Orbiter is a Sun-observing spacecraft of the European Space Agency with NASA participation, launched in 2020 to study the Sun from as close as 42 million km.
Solar particle event
A solar particle event, also called a solar proton event, is an intense burst of energetic particles from the Sun, associated with solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Solar sail
A solar sail, also known as a light sail, is a spacecraft propulsion method in which a large reflective membrane is pushed by sunlight pressure, giving propellant-free thrust.
Solid-propellant rocket
A solid-propellant rocket, also called a solid rocket motor, is a rocket with fuel and oxidizer cast together as a solid grain that burns from exposed surfaces.
Sonda
Sonda is a family of Brazilian sounding rockets developed from 1965 by Brazil's Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço, beginning with the Sonda I, the first rocket launched by Brazil.
SORCE
SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment) was a NASA satellite launched in 2003 that measured the Sun's total and spectral irradiance from orbit, improving the climate record before being turned off in 2020.
Sound suppression water system
A sound suppression water system is a launch-pad installation that dumps large volumes of water at ignition and liftoff to dampen acoustics and protect the rocket.
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, or research rocket, is a small instrument-carrying rocket that flies a suborbital parabolic path to take scientific measurements in space or the upper atmosphere.
Sounding rocket payload instrumentation
Sounding rocket payload instrumentation is the recoverable, instrumented package flown above the atmosphere on suborbital research rockets, carrying experiments for astronomy and microgravity research with telemetry, attitude control, and parachute recovery systems.
Soviet and Russian sounding rockets
Soviet and Russian sounding rockets are suborbital research vehicles, from R-1 flights with dogs in 1950-1951 to the Vertikal program and thousands of meteorological rocket launches.
Soviet space dogs
The Soviet space dogs were stray dogs from Moscow flown between 1951 and 1966 to test survival in space, most famously Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth.
Soviet space program
The Soviet space program, known as Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR, was the USSR's state-run spaceflight effort from 1946 until 1991, which put the first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit in 1957.
Soyuz (spacecraft)
Soyuz (Союз, "Union") is a Soviet and Russian series of crewed spacecraft, first flown in 1967, that has carried crews to Salyut, Mir, and the ISS.
Soyuz (Союз) (rocket family)
Soyuz (Союз, "Union") is a family of Soviet and Russian launch vehicles derived from the R-7 missile, flying since 1966 with more orbital launches than any other rocket.
Soyuz (Союз) (spacecraft)
Soyuz (Союз, "Union") is a Soviet and later Russian crewed spacecraft in service since 1967. Its three-module capsule carries crews to the International Space Station.
Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1 was the first crewed flight of the Soviet Soyuz program, launched April 23, 1967 with Vladimir Komarov aboard, who died when its parachute failed on landing.
Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11 was a 1971 Soviet spaceflight carrying Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, who became the first crew aboard a space station before dying during reentry.
Soyuz 11A511
Soyuz 11A511 (Союз) was a Soviet carrier rocket designed in the 1960s by Sergei Korolev's OKB-1 specifically to launch the Soyuz spacecraft, flying from 1966 to 1976.
Soyuz 7K-OK
Soyuz 7K-OK was the first operational version of the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, a three-seat vehicle flown between 1966 and 1970 for rendezvous and docking in low Earth orbit.
Soyuz 7K-OK (Союз 7К-ОК)
Soyuz 7K-OK (Союз 7К-ОК) was the first operational Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, a three-seat orbital vehicle that flew from 1966 to 1970 and performed the world's first automatic docking.
Soyuz 7K-T
Soyuz 7K-T was the second-generation Soviet crewed spacecraft, developed from the 7K-OK as a ferry for the Salyut space stations and flown from 1973 to 1981.
Soyuz 7K-T No.39
Soyuz 7K-T No.39, known as Soyuz 18a or the April 5 Anomaly, was a failed 1975 Soviet launch to Salyut 4 from which cosmonauts Lazarev and Makarov survived.
Soyuz 7K-TG
Soyuz 7K-TG, GRAU index 11F615A15, was the first-generation Soviet Progress cargo spacecraft, flying 43 successful resupply missions to Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir from 1978 to 1990.
Soyuz 9
Soyuz 9 (Союз-9) was a Soviet spaceflight launched in June 1970 that kept cosmonauts Andrian Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov in orbit for a record 18 days, testing prolonged weightlessness.
Soyuz MS
Soyuz MS, meaning Modified Systems, is the current version of Russia's Soyuz crew spacecraft, operated by Roscosmos for carrying crews to and from the International Space Station since 2016.
Soyuz MS-27
Soyuz MS-27 was a crewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft that launched in April 2025 carrying Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim to the International Space Station.
Soyuz MS-28
Soyuz MS-28 was a Russian Soyuz flight to the International Space Station launched in November 2025, carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.
Soyuz MS-29
Soyuz MS-29 was a 2026 Russian Soyuz flight to the International Space Station carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.
Soyuz MS-30
Soyuz MS-30 is a planned Russian crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station, launching in March 2027 with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov and NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham.
Soyuz T
Soyuz T was the third generation of Soviet Soyuz crewed spacecraft, in service from 1979 to 1986, carrying three-person crews to the Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 stations.