Soyuz launch vehicle
Encyclopedia
Soyuz is a family of expendable launch system
s developed by OKB-1, and manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara, Russia
. According to the European Space Agency
, the Soyuz launch vehicle is the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world.
The Soyuz vehicles are used as the launcher for the manned Soyuz spacecraft as part of the Soyuz program, as well as to launch unmanned Progress supply spacecraft to the International Space Station
and for commercial launches marketed and operated by Starsem
and Arianespace
. All Soyuz rockets use RP-1
and liquid oxygen
(LOX) propellant, with the exception of the Soyuz-U2
, which used Syntin
, a variant of RP-1, with LOX. In the United States
, it has the Library of Congress
designation A-2. The Soyuz family is a subset of the R-7 family.
. 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 orbit
. A later variant was the Soyuz-U
.
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 Fregat
upper stage. The Fregat engine was developed by NPO Lavochkin from the propulsion module of its Phobos interplanetary probes
. Although endorsed by the Russian Space Agency and the Russian Ministry of Defence
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 Starsem
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 orbit
. In April 1997, Starsem obtained a contract from the European Space Agency
to launch two pairs of Cluster 2 plasma science satellites
using the Soyuz-Fregat. Before the introduction of this new model, Starsem launched 24 satellites of the Globalstar
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 Express
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-2), 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 COROT
satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
.
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 Molniya
military
communications satellite
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 Tyumen
(Siberia
). On August 24, 2011, an unmanned Soyuz-U carrying cargo to the International Space Station crashed, failing to reach orbit.
Between February 1, 2003 and July 26, 2005 with the grounding of the US Space Shuttle
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. Now that the Space Shuttle fleet is retired, the American space program is without any means to boost men into orbit, and NASA is entirely dependent on the Soyuz to send crew into space for the immediate future.
On 19 January 2005, the European Space Agency
and the Russian Federal Space Agency
agreed to launch Soyuz/ST rockets from the Guiana Space Centre. The equatorial launch site will allow the Soyuz to deliver 2.7 to 4.9 tonnes into sun-synchronous orbit
, depending on the third-stage engine used. Construction of a new pad started in 2005 and was completed in April 2011. The pad used vertical loading common at Guiana, unlike the horizontal loading used at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
. A simulated launch was conducted in early May 2011. The first operational launch happened on 21 October 2011, bearing the first two satellites in Galileo global positioning system.
The Molniya-M
was also derived from the Soyuz family.
The rocket is assembled 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 V
- 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.
The entire rocket is suspended in the launch system by the load-bearing mechanisms on the strap-on boosters where they are attached to the central core. The latter rests on the nose sections of the strap-on boosters. This scheme resembles flight conditions when the strap-on boosters push the central core forward. The concept of suspending the rocket was one of the novelties introduced with the R-7/Soyuz.
Since the launch pad has been eliminated, the bottom portion of the missile is lowered. The launch system trusses bear the wind loads. Resistance to high wind is an important feature of the launch system, as the Kazakhstan steppes, where the Baikonur launch site is located, are known for windstorms.
During launch, the support booms track the movement of the rocket. After the support boom heads emerge 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 strapon booster engines stop, the boosters fall away, providing nonimpact separation. If the skies are clear, ground observers can see a Korolyov cross formed by the falling boosters.
Progress is the cargo spacecraft for unmanned missions to the ISS and previously to Mir. The spacecraft uses a dedicated platform and fairing and can be launched with either Soyuz-U, Souyz-FG or Soyuz-2.
A-type fairing is used for commercial launches.
S-type fairing is used for commercial launches by Starsem. The fairing has external diameter of 3.7 m and a length of 7.7 m. The Fregat upper stage is encapsulated in the fairing with the payload and a payload adapter/dispenser. S-type fairing along with Fregat upper stage were used to launch the following spacecraft: Galaxy 14, GIOVE A, Mars Express, AMOS-2, Venus Express, Cluster.
SL-type fairing is used for commercial launches by Starsem. The fairing has external diameter of 3.7 m and a length of 8.45 m. The Fregat upper stage is encapsulated in the fairing with the payload and a payload adapter/dispenser. SL-type fairing along with Fregat upper stage were used to launch the following spacecraft: COROT
.
ST-type fairing is used for commercial launches by Starsem. Its external diameter is 4.1 m and its length is 11.4 m. It can be used with the Soyuz-2 only, because older analog control system cannot cope with aerodynamic instability introduced by a fairing as large as this. This carbon-plastic fairing is based on the proven configuration used for Arianespace’s Ariane 4 vehicles, with its length increased by approximately one additional meter. The fairing has been developed and is being manufactured by TsSKB-Progress
in accordance with the requirements of a customer (Starsem
). This will be the only fairing type offered by Starsem/Arianespace for launches from Kourou.
Statistics (each of 4 boosters)
Expendable launch system
An expendable launch system is a launch system that uses an expendable launch vehicle to carry a payload into space. The vehicles used in expendable launch systems are designed to be used only once , and their components are not recovered for re-use after launch...
s developed by OKB-1, and manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara, Russia
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
. According to the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
, the Soyuz launch vehicle is the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world.
The Soyuz vehicles are used as the launcher for the manned Soyuz spacecraft as part of the Soyuz program, as well as to launch unmanned Progress supply spacecraft to the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
and for commercial launches marketed and operated by Starsem
Starsem
Starsem is a European-Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher. Starsem is headquartered in Évry, France and has the following shareholders:* Russian Federal Space Agency...
and Arianespace
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....
. All Soyuz rockets use RP-1
RP-1
RP-1 is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel. Although having a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen , RP-1 is cheaper, can be stored at room temperature, is far less of an explosive hazard and is far denser...
and liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
(LOX) propellant, with the exception of the Soyuz-U2
Soyuz-U2
The Soyuz-U2 was a Soviet, later Russian, carrier rocket. It was derived from the Soyuz-U, and a member of the R-7 family of rockets...
, which used Syntin
Syntin
Syntin is a hydrocarbon with the molecular formula C10H16 used as a rocket fuel. It is a mixture of cis and trans isomers. It has a density of 0.851 g/mL, and a boiling point of 158 °C...
, a variant of RP-1, with LOX. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it has the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
designation A-2. The Soyuz family is a subset of the R-7 family.
History
The launcher was introduced in 1966, deriving from the Vostok launcher, which in turn was based on the 8K74 or R-7a intercontinental ballistic missileIntercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
. It was initially a three-stage rocket with a Block I upper stage. Later a Molniya variant
Molniya (rocket)
Molniya 8K78 was a modification of the well-known R-7 Semyorka rocket and had four stages.This derivative of the original three stage Vostok rocket was especially designed to bring high flying satellites into orbit or to launch probes to other planets. The first launch of this rocket was on...
was produced by adding a fourth stage, allowing it to reach the highly elliptical molniya orbit
Molniya orbit
Molniya orbit is a type of highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 degrees, an argument of perigee of -90 degree and an orbital period of one half of a sidereal day...
. A later variant was the Soyuz-U
Soyuz-U
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....
.
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.
Fregat
Fregat is a type of rocket stage developed by NPO Lavochkin in the 1990s. Its main engine is a liquid propellant rocket that uses UDMH and N2O4 as propellants.- Specifications :...
upper stage. The Fregat engine was developed by NPO Lavochkin from the propulsion module of its Phobos interplanetary probes
Phobos program
The Phobos program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. Phobos 2 became a Mars orbiter and returned 38 images with a resolution of up to 40 meters...
. Although endorsed by the Russian Space Agency and the Russian Ministry of Defence
Russian Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation exercises operational leadership of the armed forces of Russia.The Russian Minister of Defence is the nominal commander of all the armed forces, serving under the president of the Russian Federation, in whom executive authority over the military is...
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 Starsem
Starsem
Starsem is a European-Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher. Starsem is headquartered in Évry, France and has the following shareholders:* Russian Federal Space Agency...
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 orbit
Geostationary transfer orbit
A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit is a Hohmann transfer orbit used to reach geosynchronous or geostationary orbit....
. In April 1997, Starsem obtained a contract from the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
to launch two pairs of Cluster 2 plasma science satellites
Cluster mission
Cluster II is a space mission of the European Space Agency, with NASA participation, to study the Earth's magnetosphere over the course of an entire solar cycle. The mission is composed of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation...
using the Soyuz-Fregat. Before the introduction of this new model, Starsem launched 24 satellites of the Globalstar
Globalstar
Globalstar is a low Earth orbit satellite constellation for satellite phone and low-speed data communications, somewhat similar to the Iridium satellite constellation and Orbcomm satellite systems.-History:...
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 Express
Mars Express
Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency . The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was...
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-2), 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 COROT
Corot
Corot may refer to:* Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French landscape painter * COROT, a space mission with the dual aims of finding extrasolar planets and performing asteroseismology* COROT-7, a dwarf star in the Monoceros constellation...
satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
.
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 Molniya
Molniya (satellite)
Molniya was a military communications satellite system used by the Soviet Union. The satellites were placed into highly eccentric elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbits, characterised by an inclination of +63.4 degrees and a period of around 12 hours...
military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
launch from the Plesetsk launch site, which used a four-stage version of the rocket called Molniya-M
Molniya-M
The Molniya-M , designation 8K78M, was a Russian carrier rocket derived from the R-7 Semyorka ICBM. First launched in 1964, it had replaced its predecessor, Molniya, by the end of 1965...
. 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 Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
(Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
). On August 24, 2011, an unmanned Soyuz-U carrying cargo to the International Space Station crashed, failing to reach orbit.
Between February 1, 2003 and July 26, 2005 with the grounding of the US Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
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. Now that the Space Shuttle fleet is retired, the American space program is without any means to boost men into orbit, and NASA is entirely dependent on the Soyuz to send crew into space for the immediate future.
On 19 January 2005, the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
and the Russian Federal Space Agency
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...
agreed to launch Soyuz/ST rockets from the Guiana Space Centre. The equatorial launch site will allow the Soyuz to deliver 2.7 to 4.9 tonnes into sun-synchronous orbit
Sun-synchronous orbit
A Sun-synchronous orbit is a geocentric orbit which combines altitude and inclination in such a way that an object on that orbit ascends or descends over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local mean solar time. The surface illumination angle will be nearly the same every time...
, depending on the third-stage engine used. Construction of a new pad started in 2005 and was completed in April 2011. The pad used vertical loading common at Guiana, unlike the horizontal loading used at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
. A simulated launch was conducted in early May 2011. The first operational launch happened on 21 October 2011, bearing the first two satellites in Galileo global positioning system.
Variants
- SoyuzSoyuz (rocket)The Soyuz was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Samara, Russia. It was used to launch Soyuz spacecraft as part of the Soyuz programme, initially on unmanned test flights, followed by the first 19 manned launches of the...
11A511 - Soyuz-LSoyuz-LThe Soyuz-L , GRAU index 11A511L was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Samara, Russia. It was used for tests of the LK Lunar lander in low Earth orbit, as part of the Soviet lunar programme.The Soyuz-L was essentially a two stage...
11A511L - Soyuz-MSoyuz-MThe Soyuz-M , GRAU index 11A511M was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Samara, Russia. It was originally built to launch manned Soyuz 7K-VI spacecraft for the Soviet armed forces. Following the cancellation of this programme,...
11A511M - Soyuz-USoyuz-UThe Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....
11A511U - Soyuz-U2Soyuz-U2The Soyuz-U2 was a Soviet, later Russian, carrier rocket. It was derived from the Soyuz-U, and a member of the R-7 family of rockets...
11A511U2 or 11A511K - Soyuz-FGSoyuz-FGThe Soyuz-FG launch vehicle is an improved version of the Soyuz-U, from the R-7 family of rockets, designed and constructed by TsSKB-Progress in Samara...
11A511U-FG - Soyuz-2 14A14
The Molniya-M
Molniya-M
The Molniya-M , designation 8K78M, was a Russian carrier rocket derived from the R-7 Semyorka ICBM. First launched in 1964, it had replaced its predecessor, Molniya, by the end of 1965...
was also derived from the Soyuz family.
Assembling the rocket
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
- 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
Since the launch pad has been eliminated, the bottom portion of the missile is lowered. The launch system trusses bear the wind loads. Resistance to high wind is an important feature of the launch system, as the Kazakhstan steppes, where the Baikonur launch site is located, are known for windstorms.
Launch
When the strapon booster engines stop, the boosters fall away, providing nonimpact separation. If the skies are clear, ground observers can see a Korolyov cross formed by the falling boosters.
Fairings used for unmanned missions
The Soyuz LV is used for various Russian unmanned missions and is also marketed by Starsem for commercial satellite launches. Presently the following fairing types are used:Progress is the cargo spacecraft for unmanned missions to the ISS and previously to Mir. The spacecraft uses a dedicated platform and fairing and can be launched with either Soyuz-U, Souyz-FG or Soyuz-2.
A-type fairing is used for commercial launches.
S-type fairing is used for commercial launches by Starsem. The fairing has external diameter of 3.7 m and a length of 7.7 m. The Fregat upper stage is encapsulated in the fairing with the payload and a payload adapter/dispenser. S-type fairing along with Fregat upper stage were used to launch the following spacecraft: Galaxy 14, GIOVE A, Mars Express, AMOS-2, Venus Express, Cluster.
SL-type fairing is used for commercial launches by Starsem. The fairing has external diameter of 3.7 m and a length of 8.45 m. The Fregat upper stage is encapsulated in the fairing with the payload and a payload adapter/dispenser. SL-type fairing along with Fregat upper stage were used to launch the following spacecraft: COROT
Corot
Corot may refer to:* Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French landscape painter * COROT, a space mission with the dual aims of finding extrasolar planets and performing asteroseismology* COROT-7, a dwarf star in the Monoceros constellation...
.
ST-type fairing is used for commercial launches by Starsem. Its external diameter is 4.1 m and its length is 11.4 m. It can be used with the Soyuz-2 only, because older analog control system cannot cope with aerodynamic instability introduced by a fairing as large as this. This carbon-plastic fairing is based on the proven configuration used for Arianespace’s Ariane 4 vehicles, with its length increased by approximately one additional meter. The fairing has been developed and is being manufactured by TsSKB-Progress
Progress State Research and Production Rocket Space Center
The Progress State Research and Production Space Centre is a Russian "Federal State Unitary Enterprise" under the jurisdiction of Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency responsible for space science and aerospace research...
in accordance with the requirements of a customer (Starsem
Starsem
Starsem is a European-Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher. Starsem is headquartered in Évry, France and has the following shareholders:* Russian Federal Space Agency...
). This will be the only fairing type offered by Starsem/Arianespace for launches from Kourou.
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 tTonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
(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-107The RD-107 is a type of rocket engine initially used to launch R-7 Semyorka missiles. RD-107 engines were later used on space launch vehicles based on the R-7...
- Thrust 813 kN (183 klbfPound-forceThe pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...
) at liftoff - Thrust 991 kN (223 klbf) 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)
- Thrust 813 kN (183 klbf
- RD-107
- Soyuz-ST models
- RD-117 (11D511)
- Thrust 838 kN (188 klbf) at liftoff
- Thrust 1021 kN (230 klbf) 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)
- RD-117 (11D511)
- Soyuz-FG
- RD-117A (14D22)
- Thrust 775 kN (174 klbfPound-forceThe pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...
) at liftoff - Specific impulse 320.2 s (3.14 kN·s/kg) in vacuum
- Thrust 775 kN (174 klbf
- RD-117A (14D22)
- Soyuz and Soyuz-U models
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 klbf) at liftoff
- Thrust 997 kN (224 klbf) 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)
- RD-108
- Soyuz-U2 model with Syntin fuel
- RD-108
- Thrust 811 kN (182 klbf) at liftoff
- Thrust 1009 kN (227 klbf) 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)
- RD-108
- Soyuz-ST models
- RD-118 (11D512)
- Thrust 792 kN (178 klbf) at liftoff
- Thrust 990 kN (222 klbf) 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)
- RD-118 (11D512)
- Soyuz and Soyuz-U models
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 klbf)
- Specific impulse 330 s (3.24 kN·s/kg)
- Chamber pressure 6.8 MPa (986 psi)
- Improved Block I
- RD-0124RD-0124The RD-0124 is a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in a staged combustion cycle. RD-0124 engines are used on the Soyuz-2.1b. A modification of the engine will also be used on the second stage of some rockets in the planned Angara rocket family...
(11D451) - Thrust 294 kN (66 klbf)
- Specific impulse 359 s (3.52 kN·s/kg)
- Chamber pressure 16.2 MPa (2350 psi)
- RD-0124
- Block I
Further reading
- International Reference Guide to Space Launch Systems, Third Edition, Iaskowitz, Hopkins, and Hopkins ed., 1999, Reston, Virginia, AIAA Publications. ISBN 1-56347-353-4