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Soyuz launch vehicle

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	Topics Soyuz launch vehicle Topic Home The Soyuz launch vehicle (Western designation: A-2) is an expendable launch systemExpendable launch system An expendable launch system or expendable launch vehicle, ELV, is a single-use launch vehicle usually used to laun... manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara, RussiaSamara, Russia Samara is a major city situated on the Volga River in the southeastern part of European Russia, Volga Federal District, the ... . It is used as the launcher for the manned Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz spacecraft Soyuz is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Union's space program.... as part of the Soyuz program. It is now also used to launch unmanned Progress supply spacecraftProgress spacecraft The Progress is a Russian expendable unmanned freighter spacecraft; it was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is launche... to the International Space StationInternational Space Station The International Space Station is a manned research space facility that is being assembled in orbit around the Earth.... and for commercial launches marketed and operated by TsSKB-Progress and the Centre Spatial GuyanaisCentre Spatial Guyanais The Guiana Space Centre is a French/European spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana.... in French GuianaFrench Guiana French Guiana is an overseas dpartement of France, located on the northern coast of South America.... . Soyuz-USoyuz-U The Soyuz-U rocket in the Soviet rocket designation series was a version of the Soyuz launch vehicle first introduced in 197... rockets are fueled with keroseneKerosene Kerosene or paraffin oil is a colorless flammable hydrocarbon liquid.... , but the Soyuz-U2 rocket used a variant called Syntin. History The launcher was introduced in 1966, deriving from the VostokVostok rocket The Vostok rocket was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for ot... launcher, which in turn was based on the 8K74 or R-7a intercontinental ballistic missileFacts About Intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, is a very long-range ballistic missile typically designed for nuclear... . It was initially a three-stage rocket with a Block I upper stage. Later a Molniya variant was produced by adding a fourth stage, allowing it to reach the highly elliptical molniya orbitMolniya orbit Molniya orbit is a class of a highly elliptic orbit with inclination of 63.4 and orbital period of about 12 hours.... . A later variant was the Soyuz-USoyuz-U Overview The Soyuz-U rocket in the Soviet rocket designation series was a version of the Soyuz launch vehicle first introduced in 197... . The production of Soyuz launchers reached a peak of 60 per year in the early 1980s. It has become the world's most used space launcher, flying over 1700 times, far more than any other rocket. It is a very old basic design, but is notable for low cost and very high reliability, both of which appeal to commercial clients. In the early 1990s plans were made for a redesigned Soyuz with a FregatFregat Fregat is a is a type of rocket stage developed by NPO Lavochkin in the 1990s.... upper stage. The Fregat engine was developed by NPO LavochkinNPO Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin is a Russian satellite manufacturer formerly also active in aeronautical design and engineering.... from the propulsion module of its Phobos interplanetary probes. Although endorsed by the Russian Space Agency and the Russian Ministry of DefenceRussian Ministry of Defence he Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation exercises operational leadership of the armed forces of Russia.... in 1993 and designated "Rus" as a Russification and modernisation of Soyuz, and later renamed Soyuz 2, a funding shortage prevented implementation of the plan. The creation of StarsemStarsem Starsem is a European-Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher.... in July 1996 provided new funding for the creation of a less ambitious variant, the Soyuz-Fregat or Soyuz U/Fregat. This consisted of a slightly modified Soyuz U combined with the Fregat upper stage, with a capacity of up to 1,350 kg to geostationary transfer orbitGeostationary transfer orbit A geostationary transfer orbit is a Hohmann transfer orbit around the Earth between a low Earth orbit and a geostationary or... . In April 1997, Starsem obtained a contract from the European Space AgencyEuropean Space Agency The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space... to launch two pairs of Cluster 2 plasma science satelliteSatellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object .... s using the Soyuz-Fregat. Before the introduction of this new model, Starsem launched 24 satellites of the GlobalstarGlobalstar Globalstar is a low Earth orbit satellite constellation for telephone and low-speed data communications, similar to the Irid... constellation in 6 launches with a restartable Ikar upper stage, between September 22, 1999 and November 22, 1999. After successful test flights of Soyuz-Fregat on February 9, 2000 and March 20, 2000, the Cluster 2 satellites were launched on July 16, 2000 and August 9, 2000. Another Soyuz-Fregat launched the ESA's Mars ExpressMars Express Mars Express is a Mars exploration mission of the European Space Agency and the first planetary mission attempted by the age... probe from Baikonur in June 2003. Now the Soyuz-Fregat launcher is used by Starsem for commercial payloads. It is due to be replaced by the new launcher, now named Soyuz/ST (or Soyuz 2Soyuz 2 rocket Soyuz 2 is the collective designation for the new generation versions of the Russian Soyuz rocket.... ), which will have a new digital guidance system and a strongly modified third stage with a new engine. The first development version of Soyuz 2 called Soyuz-2-1a, which is already equipped with the digital guidance system, but is still propelled by an old third stage engine, started on November 4, 2004 from Plesetsk on a suborbital test flight, followed by an orbital flight on October 23, 2006 from Baikonur. The fully-modified launcher (version Soyuz-2-1b) flew first on December 27, 2006 with the COROTCorot Corot may refer to:* Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, a French landscape painter.... satellite from the Baikonur CosmodromeBaikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome, also called Tyuratam, is the world's oldest and largest operational space launch facility.... . A long string of successful Soyuz launches was broken on October 15, 2002 when the unmanned Soyuz U launch of the Photon-M satellite from Plesetsk fell back near the launch pad and exploded 29 seconds after lift-off. One person from the ground crew was killed and eight injured. Another failure occurred on June 21, 2005, during a MolniyaMolniya Molniya may refer to:* The Molniya, the Soviet military communications satellite.... militaryMilitary A military or military force has seen many different incarnations throughout time.... communications satelliteCommunications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications.... launch from the Plesetsk launch site, which used a four-stage version of the rocket called Molniya-M. The flight ended six minutes after the launch because of a failure of the third stage engine or an unfulfilled order to separate the second and third stages. The rocket's second and third stages, which are identical to the Soyuz, and its payload (a Molniya-3K satellite) crashed in the Uvatski region of TyumenTyumen Tyumen is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast in the Urals Federal District.... . However, under this designation of Molniya-M launcher, the other 274 unmanned Soyuz launches have been successful. Between February 1, 2003 and July 26, 2005 with the grounding of the US Space ShuttleSpace Shuttle NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System , is the United States government's current manned... fleet, Soyuz was the only means of transportation to and from the International Space Station. This included the transfer of supplies, via Progress spacecraft, and crew changeovers. Soyuz (in the new version Soyuz/ST) is also planned to be brought into ESAEuropean Space Agency The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space... service in 2008 under a Russo-European joint venture. A new launch pad is being built at the Guiana Space Centre in French GuianaFrench Guiana French Guiana is an overseas dpartement of France, located on the northern coast of South America.... . Assembling the rocket The rocket is assembled not vertically, but horizontally in the Assembly and Testing Building. The assembled rocket is transported to the launch site in its horizontal state and then raised. This is different from the vertical assembly of, for example, the Saturn VSaturn V The Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs.... - one of the features which makes Soyuz cheaper to prepare for launch. Assembling a horizontally positioned rocket is relatively simple as all modules are easily accessible. Also, assembling the rocket in vertical position would require a windproof highrise hangar, which was not considered economically feasible at the time the rocket was designed. Launch pad The entire rocket is suspended in the launch system by the load-bearing mechanisms on the strapon boosters where they are attached to the central core. The latter rests on the nose sections of strapon boosters. This scheme resembles flight conditions when strapon boosters push central core forward. The concept of suspending the rocket was one of the novelties introduced with R-7/Soyuz. Since the launch pad had been eliminated, the bottom portion of the missile is lowered. The launch system trusses bear the wind loads. Resistance to high wind is important feature of the launch system, as Kazakhstan steppes, where the Baikonur launch site is located, are known for windstorms. Launch During launch, the support booms track the movement of the rocket. After the support boom heads emerged from the special support recess in the nose sections of the strapons, the support booms and trusses disconnect from the rocket airframe, swiveling on the support axes and freeing the way for the rocket to lift off. During launch, the rocket and the launch facility form a single dynamic system. When the engines of strapon boosters stop, the boosters fall away, providing nonimpact separation. If the skies are clear, ground observers can see a Korolyov crossFacts About Korolyov cross The Korolyov cross is a visual effect observed in the smoke plumes of the R-7 Semyorka rocket and its derivatives, during s... formed by the falling boosters. Stages First stage The first stage of Soyuz rockets consists of four identical conical liquid booster rockets, strapped to the second stage core. Each booster has a single rocket motor with four combustion chambers, two vernier combustion chambers, and one set of turbopumps. Statistics (each of 4 boosters) Gross mass: 44.5 tTonne A tonne , sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms.... (98,100 lbm) Propellant: 39.2 t (86,400 lbm) Dry mass: 3,784 kg (8,342 lbm) Diameter: 2.68 m (8 ft 10 in) Length: 19.6 m (64 ft 4 in) Burn time: 118 s Engines: Soyuz and Soyuz-U models RD-107RD-107 The RD-107 is a type of rocket engine initially used to launch R-7 Semyorka missiles.... Thrust 813 kN (183 klb_fPound-force A pound-force is a unit of force. One pound-force is the force equivalent to that exerted on a mass of one avoirdupois pound... ) at liftoff Thrust 991 kN (223 klb_f) in vacuum Specific impulse 245 s (2.40 kN·s/kg) at liftoff Specific impulse 310 s (3.04 kN·s/kg) in vacuum Chamber pressure 5.85 MPa (848 psi) Soyuz-ST models RD-117 (11D511) Thrust 838 kN (188 klb_f) at liftoff Thrust 1021 kN (230 klb_f) in vacuum Specific impulse 245 s (2.40 kN·s/kg) at liftoff (est) Specific impulse 310 s (3.04 kN·s/kg) in vacuum (est) Chamber pressure 5.85 MPa (848 psi) Soyuz-FG RD-117A (14D22) Thrust 775 kN (174 klb_fPound-force A pound-force is a unit of force. One pound-force is the force equivalent to that exerted on a mass of one avoirdupois pound... ) at liftoff Specific impulse 320.2 s (3.14 kN·s/kg) in vacuum Second stage The second stage of the Soyuz booster is a single, generally cylindrical stage with one motor at the base. Like each of the first-stage rockets, it also has four combustion chambers and one set of turbopumps, but four (instead of two) vernier combustion chambers. The second stage tapers toward the bottom to allow the four first stage rockets to fit more closely together. Gross mass: 105.4 t (232,400 lbm) Propellant: 95.4 t (210,000 lbm) Propellant (Soyuz-U2 with Syntin propellant): 96.4 t (212,000 lbm) Dry mass: 6,875 kg (15,160 lbm) Length: 28 m (91 ft 10 in) Diameter: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in) Burn time: 290 s Engines: Soyuz and Soyuz-U models RD-108 Thrust 779 kN (175 klb_f) at liftoff Thrust 997 kN (224 klb_f) in vacuum Specific impulse 264 s (2.59 kN·s/kg) at liftoff Specific impulse 311 s (3.05 kN·s/kg) in vacuum Chamber pressure 5.1 MPa (740 psi) Soyuz-U2 model with Syntin fuel RD-108 Thrust 811 kN (182 klb_f) at liftoff Thrust 1009 kN (227 klb_f) in vacuum Specific impulse 264 s (2.59 kN·s/kg) at liftoff Specific impulse 311 s (3.05 kN·s/kg) in vacuum Chamber pressure 5.1 MPa (740 psi) Soyuz-ST models RD-118 (11D512) Thrust 792 kN (178 klb_f) at liftoff Thrust 990 kN (222 klb_f) in vacuum Specific impulse 264 s (2.59 kN·s/kg) at liftoff (est) Specific impulse 311 s (3.05 kN·s/kg) in vacuum (est) Chamber pressure 5.85 MPa (848 psi) Third stage There are two variant upper stages in use, the Block I and Improved Block-I (used in Soyuz-2-1b). Gross mass: 25.2 t (55,600 lbm) Propellant: 21.4-22.9 t (47,200–50,500 lbm) Dry mass: 2355 kg (5190 lbm) Length: 6.7 m (22 ft 0 in) Diameter: 2.66 m (8 ft 9 in) Burn time: 240 s Engine: Block I RD-0110 Thrust 298 kN (67.0 klb_f) Specific impulse 330 s (3.24 kN·s/kg) Chamber pressure 6.8 MPa (986 psi) Improved Block I RD-0124 (11D451) Thrust 294 kN (66 klb_f) Specific impulse 359 s (3.52 kN·s/kg) Chamber pressure 16.2 MPa (2350 psi) External links