Aelita (spacecraft)

Aelita (Soyuz)

Aelita was to be built into a Soyuz-T spacecraft, as pictured here.
Manufacturer	Experimental Design Bureau (OKB-1)
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Operator	Soviet space program
Applications	Satellite/spacecraft
Specifications
Launch mass	7,350 kilograms (16,200 lb)
Dimensions	Height 8 metres (26 ft) Volume 9,000 cubic metres (320,000 cu ft)
Power	Solar arrays
Equipment	Infrared astronomy telescope
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Production
Status	Canceled 1982
Built	0
Launched	0

Aelita was a Soviet design of a version of a Soyuz spacecraft started in 1978. The Aelita was part of the Soyuz programme, but was planned to use an unmanned Soyuz spacecraft as an infrared astronomy telescope satellite. A Soyuz spacecraft was planned to be modified to become the Aelita project satellite. The Aelita project was not completed, and was cancelled in 1982.^[1]