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Soyuz returns three human beings in circumstances that could generously be called "very cramped". It carries no cargo.

The Russian cargo vehicle is named Progress, and it does not survive re-entry.



If it's anything like the first Apollo missions' capsules, it's pretty much three chairs tied back to back. There's barely enough room to sit in, I don't know how the astronauts didn't go crazy in it.


Yes - but no. It is similar - both have some aerodynamic shapes and carry three people - but that's about where similarities end. Soyuz return capsule is 2/3 of Apollo's by volume - which is restrictive. Shape is optimized for mass, so accelerations are less gentle.

Soyuz has another advantages over Apollo - like another module, separate from return capsule; together, those two modules provide livable volume 1.5 of Apollo's.

But for what we're talking Soyuz is more restrictive than Apollo.




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