Soyuz was part of a space program.
Soyuz (rocket) . It was commissioned to launch Soyuz spacecraft as part of the Soviet human spaceflight program , first with 8 unmanned test flights , followed by the first 19 manned launches . Soyuz ( Сою́з [ sɐˈjʉs ] , `` Union '' , as in Сове́тский Сою́з , `` Sovetskiy Soyuz '' , `` Soviet Union '' ) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau ( now RKK Energia ) in the 1960s that remains in service today . The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet manned lunar programs .