Soyuz-2 ( GRAU index 14A14) is a modernized version of the Soviet Soyuz

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entir ...

. In its basic form, it is a three-stage

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and sys ...

for placing payloads into

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...

. Compared to the previous versions of the Soyuz, the first-stage boosters and two core stages feature uprated engines with improved injection systems. Digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to be launched from a fixed launch platform, whereas the launch platforms for earlier Soyuz rockets had to be rotated as the rocket could not perform a roll to change its heading in flight. Soyuz-2 is often flown with an upper stage, which allows it to lift payloads into higher orbits, such as Molniya and

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbita ...

s. The upper stage is equipped with independent flight control and telemetry systems from those used in the rest of the rocket. The NPO Lavochkin manufactured Fregat is the most commonly used upper stage. Soyuz-2 rockets were first launched from Site 31 at the

Baikonur Cosmodrome ''Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy'' rus, Космодром Байконур''Kosmodrom Baykonur'' , image = Baikonur Cosmodrome Soyuz launch pad.jpg , caption = The Baikonur Cosmodrome's "Gagarin's Start" Soyuz ...

, and Site 43 at the

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Plesetsk Cosmodrome ( rus, Космодром «Плесецк», r=Kosmodrom "Plesetsk", p=kəsmɐˈdrom plʲɪˈsʲet͡sk) is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 ...

, launch facilities shared with earlier R-7 derived rockets including the

Soyuz-U The Soyuz-U launch vehicle was an improved version of the original Soyuz rocket. Soyuz-U was 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 cons ...

and Molniya. Commercial Soyuz-2 flights are contracted by Starsem and have launched from Site 31 at

and '' Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz'' (ELS), which has been built at the

Centre Spatial Guyanais The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximat ...

on the northern coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. The Soyuz-2 version ST-B can deliver to

geostationary transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step ...

(GTO) from this equatorial site. In 2016, the new Vostochny Cosmodrome started operating Soyuz-2 flights as well, from its first launch pad called Vostochny Cosmodrome Site 1S. The Soyuz-2 has replaced the Molniya-M,

and Soyuz-FG since 2010, 2017 and 2019 respectively. TsSKB-Progress halted production of Soyuz-U in April 2015; the final flight of a Soyuz-U rocket took place on 22 February 2017, carrying

Progress MS-05 Progress MS-05 (), identified by NASA as Progress 66P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). History The Progress MS is a uncrewed freighter based on the Progress-M featuring i ...

to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

(ISS). According to

CNES The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...

officials interviewed in May 2018, launches of Soyuz from

may be replaced by the Ariane 6 medium-lift version A62 in 2021, but later moved back to 2022 or later.

Variants

The Soyuz-2 family includes 2.1a, 2.1b, and 2.1v. The first two variants are modifications to the

launcher. The latter is a "light" version without side boosters. When launched from the

site, Soyuz-2 is always mated with the ST-type fairing; this version is called Soyuz-ST or Soyuz-STK, where additional "K" indicates special measures taken for preparing and launching the rocket in hot and humid conditions.

Soyuz-2.1a

The 2.1a version includes conversion from analog to digital flight control system and uprated engines on the booster and the first stage with improved injection systems. The new digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to launch from a fixed rather than angled launch platform and adjust its heading in flight. A digital control system also enables the launch of larger commercial satellites with wider and longer

payload fairing A payload fairing is a nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom envi ...

s such as the ST-type fairing. These fairings introduce too much aerodynamic instability for the old analog system to handle. This stage continues to use the RD-0110 engine. The 2.1a/ST version is sometimes called Soyuz ST-A. The first launch, from Guiana, (17 December 2011 for Pléiades-HR 1A, SSOT,

ELISA The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presen ...

(4 satellites)) was a success.

Soyuz-2.1b

The 2.1b version adds an upgraded engine ( RD-0124) which greatly increases the specific impulse of the upper stage (326 seconds to 359 seconds), and hence improves payload capability from 7 tonnes to 8.2 tonnes. First launch took place from Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 on 26 July 2008 with a classified military payload. The 2.1b/ST version is sometimes called Soyuz ST-B. The first launch, from

, was a success (21 October 2011), for the first two

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

IOV satellites.

Soyuz-2.1v

The first flight vehicle of the 2.1v version was finished in 2009. It is a "light" version of the Soyuz-2 without the side boosters (blocks B, V, G and D ). The Block A engine was replaced by the more powerful NK-33-1, which , was to eventually be replaced with the RD-193. The new launcher version was able to deliver up to 2.8 tonnes in low Earth orbit.

Modifications for various launch sites

The Soyuz-2.1a/1b versions launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome and the

have a series of modifications over the stock units. Some of these might later be implemented on all the Soyuz-2, while some are particular requirements to the space port design. Modifications for the

(CSG) version includes: * First use of a mobile service tower at the ELS that enabled vertical payload integration. * European supplied payload adapters. * European supplied KSE (), a system to locate and transmit a flight termination signal. It would activate the engine shutdown command and leave the vehicle in a ballistic trajectory. * Adaptation of the

S-Band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave radio band, band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequency, frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it c ...

telemetry system on all stages from the 5 TM bands available at

Baikonur Baikonur ( kk, Байқоңыр, ; russian: Байконур, translit=Baykonur), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered ...

, and Plesetsk to the 3 allowed at the CSG range. * Adaptation of the S-Band telemetry coding and frequency to the IRIG standard used at CSG. * Adaptation of the oxygen purge system for directing to the outside the mobile gantry. * Adaptation to the tropical CSG climate including the adaptation of the air conditioning system to local specifications and protective measures to avoid icing. All holes and cavities were studied and certified to be adequately protected against intrusion of insects and rodents. * The four boosters and the core stage were upgraded with pyrotechnic devices to breach the fuel tanks to assure that they would sink in the ocean. The other stages were shown to lose structural integrity on impact and thus proven to sink. * At least initially, the boosters and core stage would use the pyrotechnically ignited 14D22 ( RD-107A) and 14D23 ( RD-108A) rather than the chemically ignited 14D22 kHz and 14D23 kHz used on the rest of the Soyuz-2. Modifications for the Vostochny Cosmodrome version includes: * New and upgraded computer, N.A.Semikhatov NPO Automatika's Malachite-7, with six times more performance, better obsolescence protection, reduced weight. * The new computer enabled a significant reduction on the cable network complexity thanks to multiplexing lines and using common buses. * New nickel-cadmium batteries that eliminate the need for a dedicated battery charging station. * The inclusion of on-board video system, that will enable real-time views of the launch. * Since the launch pad at Vostochny also has a mobile gantry for vertical payload integration, similar to the ELS at Guiana, it has the necessary piping to direct the oxygen purges outside the gantry. On 1 October 2015, it was announced that parts of the assembly complex for the Soyuz-2 at Vostochny Cosmodrome were designed for a different modification of the rocket and are too small, so that the planned first launch in December 2015 was under question. The first launch occurred on 28 April 2016 at 02:01:21 UTC. Image:RocketLaunch2018-08.jpg, Soyuz-2.1b (2018) Image:"Soyuz" launch vehicles model series on MAKS-2021.jpg, From left Soyuz-2.1v, Soyuz-2.1a, Soyuz-2.1b and Soyuz-5)

Notable missions

Suborbital test flight

On 8 November 2004, at 18:30 UTC, the first Soyuz-2 carrier rocket, in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration, was launched from the

in Russia. The rocket followed a

sub-orbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...

trajectory, with the third stage and boilerplate payload re-entering over the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

Maiden launch

The first attempt at launching a Soyuz-2 to orbit, with the

MetOp-A Metop (Meteorological Operational satellite) is a series of three polar-orbiting meteorological satellites developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites ...

satellite, occurred on 17 July 2006. It was scrubbed two hours before the launch by an automatic sequence, after the onboard computer failed to check the launch azimuth. Fuelling of the rocket was underway at the time, and all launch complex equipment and on-board preliminary checks had proceeded without incident. The rocket was left fuelled on the launch pad, for the next attempt on 18 July 2006. Launch was eventually conducted on 19 October 2006.

First crewed mission

First crewed launch of Soyuz-2 took place at 9 April 2020, carrying

Soyuz MS-16 Soyuz MS-16 was a Soyuz spaceflight launched on 9 April 2020, which transported three members of the Expedition 62/ 63 crew to the International Space Station. This flight was the first crewed launch using the Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle, and ...

to the ISS.

Naphthyl fuel

Following successful ground testing, a naphthyl fueled Soyuz-2.1b launch took place on 22 October 2022 at Vostochny. Naphthyl is an environmentally safe hydrocarbon fuel with fewer aromatic compounds than kerosene, that also slightly improves engine performance. There are only minor differences in thermal properties, viscosity, and surface tension, so this did not require significant engine changes.

Launch statistics

Since 2006, Soyuz-2 rockets have accumulated a total of 153 launches, 146 of which were successful, yielding a success rate.

Launch outcomes

Launch sites

List of launches

Planned launches

Notes

References

External links

Encyclopedia Astronautica article on Soyuz 2.1

European Space Agency about Soyuz-ST (Russian name Soyuz-STK)

Soyuz User's Manual
from Starsem
Soyuz-2 launch vehicle
from Roscosmos {{CSG launch sites R-7 (rocket family) Space launch vehicles of Russia Vehicles introduced in 2004