Soyuz completes digital upgrade

[FutureSpaceTourist]

IEEE spectrum has an article on digital upgrades to various Soyuz systems, see http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/space-flight/a-digital-soyuz. Article fragment:

The next Soyuz launch, scheduled for 8 October, marks the culmination of a series of overhauls that will allow the launch rate of Soyuz crafts to double—a rate needed to maintain a crew of six aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in the absence of the retiring U.S. space shuttle fleet.

Although the craft’s outward appearance will not change, Nikolai Bryukhanov, deputy general designer for S.P. Korolev Rocket & Space Corp. Energia, told reporters at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, that "the new Soyuz…will be more convenient for testing." And it’s the rapid testing that will allow for the more frequent launches required.

There's also a description of the old and new systems. Graphic from the article is attached.