This is the story of our prototype R7-Soyuz. Originally designed for aerodynamics testing before construction of an inter-changable multi-staged R7s system (eg Sputnik, Vostok, Vosthood, Soyuz and Progress all in one) it came into the fore front as a backup certification rocket. It is also the only "split in the middle" rocket in our Soviet fleet due to the lack of space at the back end of R7s making rear ejection impractical. It's poorly edited (using Windows Movie Maker) and is mostly an excuse to use footage that won't make it into the Proton certification video. After spending along time perfecting my Russian accent, I then didn't need it for some months (due to failing to certify) and thus I've forgotten how to do it. So the accent in this video is marginal to say the least. Also the sound levels are a bit off as I have had noisey heavy machinary around my house while editing.