Editing VBK-Raduga

{{Infobox individual space vehicle|name=VBK-Raduga|native_name=МКБ-Радуга|image=[[File:Raduga.png|Raduga|frameless|center|middle|upright=1]]|caption=NASA illustration of a VBK-Raduga ballistic return capsule during final descent to Earth.|type=[[Reentry capsule]]|dimensions=1.5m long, 60cm diameter|dry_mass=350kg|launched_from=[[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]|first_flight_date=September 27, 1990|last_flight_date=April 9, 1995}}

The '''VBK-Raduga''' capsule was a [[reentry capsule]] that was used for returning materials to Earth's surface from the [[space station]] ''[[Mir]]''. They were brought to ''Mir'' in the [[Progress spacecraft|Progress-M]] cargo craft's dry cargo compartment. For return, the capsule would be substituted for the Progress' docking probe before it left the space station, and then after the Progress-M performed its deorbit burn, the capsule was ejected at 120&nbsp;km altitude to reenter the atmosphere independently. It would then parachute to a landing area in Russia.<ref>{{cite web|title=VBK-Raduga|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/vbk-raduga.htm|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=10 January 2014}}</ref>

Each Raduga was about 1.5&nbsp;m long, 60&nbsp;cm in diameter, and had an unloaded mass of about 350&nbsp;kg. It could return about 150&nbsp;kg of cargo back to Earth. Use of the Raduga reduced the Progress-M's cargo capacity by about 100&nbsp;kg, to a maximum of about 2400&nbsp;kg.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}

The [[European Space Agency]] studied a very similar system called PARES (Payload Retrieval System), for use in combination with the [[Automated Transfer Vehicle]].<ref>{{cite web|title=PARES to complete study phase|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pares-to-complete-study-phase-196173/|publisher=Flight International|access-date=10 January 2014|date=5 April 2005}}</ref>
{{Gallery
 |File:Raduga capsule at Cité de l'Espace-IMG 1819.jpg|Raduga capsule on display at [[Cité de l'Espace]] in [[Toulouse]], [[France]]
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Capsule       !!Launch date       !!Carried by    !!Notes
|-
|VBK-Raduga 1  ||27 September 1990 ||[[Progress M-5]]  ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 2  ||19 March 1991     ||[[Progress M-7]]  ||Lost on reentry
|-
|VBK-Raduga 3  ||20 August 1991    ||[[Progress M-9]]  ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 4  ||17 October 1991   ||[[Progress M-10]] ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 5  ||19 April 1992     ||[[Progress M-12]] ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 6  ||15 August 1992    ||[[Progress M-14]] ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 7  ||31 March 1993     ||[[Progress M-17]] ||Capsule returned by [[Progress M-18]]
|-
|VBK-Raduga 8  ||10 August 1993    ||[[Progress M-19]] ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 9  ||11 October 1993   ||[[Progress M-20]] ||
|-
|VBK-Raduga 10 ||22 March 1994     ||[[Progress M-23]] ||
|-
|              ||9 April 1995      ||[[Progress M-27]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Mir Mission Chronicle|date=December 1998 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19990019365|publisher=NASA JSC|publication-date=1 December 1998|last1=McDonald |first1=Sue }}</ref> ||
|}

==See also==
*[[Kounotori 7#Reentry capsule|HTV Small Re-entry Capsule]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Mir modules}}

[[Category:Mir]]