Function | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Progress Rocket Space Centre |
Country of origin | Russia |
Cost per launch | US$80 million[1] |
Size | |
Height | 46.2 m (151 ft 7 in) |
Diameter | 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in) |
Mass | 308,000 kg (679,000 lb) |
Stages | 3 or 4 |
Capacity | |
Payload to GTO | |
Mass | 3,250 kg (7,170 lb) |
Payload to GEO | |
Mass | 1,440 kg (3,170 lb) |
Payload to SSO | |
Mass | 4,400 kg (9,700 lb)[2] |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Soyuz-2 (R-7) |
Comparable | |
Launch history | |
Status | Suspended |
Launch sites | Guiana Space Centre, ELS |
Total launches | 27 |
Success(es) | 26 |
Partial failure(s) | 1 |
First flight | 21 October 2011 [3] |
Last flight | 10 February 2022 |
Type of passengers/cargo | |
First stage (boosters) | |
Height | 19.6 m (64 ft) |
Diameter | 2.68 m (8 ft 10 in) |
Empty mass | 3,784 kg (8,342 lb) |
Gross mass | 44,413 kg (97,914 lb) |
Powered by | 1 × RD-107A |
Maximum thrust | 838.5 kN (188,500 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 262 s (2.57 km/s) |
Burn time | 118 seconds |
Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Second stage (core) | |
Height | 27.1 m (89 ft) |
Diameter | 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in) |
Empty mass | 6,545 kg (14,429 lb) |
Gross mass | 99,765 kg (219,944 lb) |
Powered by | 1 × RD-108A |
Maximum thrust | 792.5 kN (178,200 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 255 s (2.50 km/s) |
Burn time | 286 seconds |
Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Third stage | |
Height | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
Diameter | 2.66 m (8 ft 9 in) |
Empty mass | 2,355 kg (5,192 lb) |
Gross mass | 27,755 kg (61,189 lb) |
Propellant mass | 25,400 kg (56,000 lb) |
Powered by | A: 1 × RD-0110 B: 1 × RD-0124 |
Maximum thrust | A: 298 kN (67,000 lbf) B: 294.3 kN (66,200 lbf) |
Specific impulse | A: 326 s (3.20 km/s) B: 359 s (3.52 km/s) |
Burn time | 270 seconds |
Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Upper stage (optional) – Fregat / Fregat-M / Fregat-MT | |
Height | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
Diameter | Fregat / Fregat-M: 3.35 m (11.0 ft) Fregat-MT: 3.80 m (12.5 ft) |
Empty mass | Fregat: 930 kg (2,050 lb) Fregat-M: 980 kg (2,160 lb) Fregat-MT: 1,050 kg (2,310 lb) |
Propellant mass | Fregat: 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) Fregat-M: 5,600 kg (12,300 lb) Fregat-MT: 7,100 kg (15,700 lb) |
Powered by | 1 × S5.92 |
Maximum thrust | 19.85 kN (4,460 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 333.2 s (3.268 km/s) |
Burn time | Up to 1,100 seconds (up to 20 starts) |
Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre was a European Space Agency (ESA) programme that operated Soyuz-2 launch vehicles at the Guiana Space Centre (CSG). It provided Arianespace with a medium-lift launch vehicle alongside the light-lift Vega and heavy-lift Ariane 5.[4] The rocket was marketed by Starsem a joint venture of ArianeGroup, Arianespace, Progress Rocket Space Centre and Roscosmos.
Launched in 2002, the project involved collaboration with Russia in two key areas: building a launch site at the CSG for Soyuz and modifying the launch vehicle to handle the tropical climate. A formal agreement was signed in 2003, with funding and final approval granted in 2005. Construction of the Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz (ELS; lit. 'Soyuz Launch Complex') began in 2005 and was completed in early 2011.
In its standard configuration, Soyuz-2 is a three-stage launch vehicle designed for low Earth orbit missions. Notably, its stage numbering differs from some rockets. The boosters are considered its the first stage, while the central core is the second. For higher orbits, an optional Fregat upper stage could be added. A total of 27 Soyuz-2 vehicles were launched from the CSG between 2011 and February 2022, with 26 successes and one partial failure (Flight VS09). While most missions at the CSG used the ST-B variant of the Soyuz-2 with a more powerful third stage, nine used the ST-A variant.
Soyuz launches from the CSG were suspended indefinitely in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, with the introduction of the Vega C and Ariane 6 launchers, both offering medium-lift capabilities, the role previously filled by Soyuz has become largely redundant.