Soyuz Spacecraft manual hand controller

This controller is used by cosmonauts for manual return on Soyuz capsule. They can hold it close to their chest while taking many g’s. Ed Lu (who flew Soyuz) told me that if you are using it, something has gone wrong with al of the control systems, and you have to guess as to the thrust vectors.

Under ideal end-of-mission situations, an automatic re-entry system will return the Soyuz vehicle and crew from space safely back to the ground. However, for certain hardware and software malfunctions, the crew will be required to manually fly the Soyuz back to Earth through the atmosphere. To do this, cosmonauts use a hand controller that varies the aerodynamic lift on the capsule. Their objective is to manipulate the lift forces on the Soyuz descent module such that they will land as close as possible to the designated site where the recovery team will be waiting for them. There are safety protective buttons, which need to be unlocked. The mechanical interlock on the top hinges allow access to only one side at a time (preventing accidental activation). There are the follow buttons to use, starting at the bottom of the controller:

l. РУС – manual ( hand) controlled descent
2. TC- track descent
3. manual focus
4. БСР- ballistic descent manual

You can see a video of its use here.