Launched in 1972, ESRO’s most ambitious satellite project and first astronomy satellite. Achieved 2.5 celestial scans in UV, X-rays and gamma-rays and made important advances in UV astronomy.

The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft consists of three parts, the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Service Module.

• Soyuz 7K-OK was the first generation of Soyuz spacecraft and was flown between 1967 and 1971.
• The second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz 7K-T, comprised Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 (1973-1981).
• The Soyuz-T spacecraft was the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, in service for seven years from 1979 to 1986. The T stood for transport.
• The Soyuz-TM was fourth generation (1986–2002) Soyuz spacecraft used for ferry flights to the Mir and ISS space stations. It was an upgraded version of the Soyuz-T with the TM standing for transport modified. Its first launch was the uncrewed Soyuz TM-1 on May 21, 1986, where it docked with the Mir space station.