The Soyuz launch vehicle is an expendable launch system designed by the Korolev Design Bureau (Soviet Union) and used as the launcher for the manned Soyuz spacecraft, as part of the Soyuz program. However it is a general purpose launch vehicle with other uses, including launches of the Progress cargo spacecraft and commercial launches marketed and operated by TSeEsKAbe and the Starsem company. There were 11 Soyuz launches in 2001 and 9 in 2002. Soyuz vehicles are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia. They are manufactured in Samara, Russia. Apollo Soyuz Test Project Soyuz booster on launch pad. ... An expendable launch system is a single-use launch vehicle usually used to launch a payload into space. ... S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (also known as RKK Energiya) is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. ... Soyuz at National Space Centre Soyuz (Союз, union) is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolev for the Soviet Unions space program. ... The Soyuz human spaceflight programme was initiated in the early 1960s as part of the Luna programme that was intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. ... ISS Progress cargo spacecraft (NASA) The Progress is an expendable unmanned freighter spacecraft; it is Soyuz derived and is launched also by the Soyuz launch vehicle. ... Starsem is a European-Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Baikonur Cosmodrome (Russian: Космодром Байконур, Kosmodrom Baykonur), also called Tyuratam, is the worlds oldest and largest working space launch facility. ... Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located about 800 km north of Moscow and south of Arkhangelsk (coordinates vary in different sources, but 62. ... This article is not about Samarra, which is in Iraq. ...

The launcher was introduced in 1966, deriving from the Vostok launcher, which in turn was based on the 8K74 or R-7a intercontinental ballistic missile. 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 highly elliptical orbits. A later variant was the Soyuz U. 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... The Vostok rocket (Russian Восток, translated as East) was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for other satellite launches. ... R-7 with Sputnik 2 The R-7 (Semyorka) was the worlds first ICBM and was deployed by the Soviet Union. ... A Minuteman III missile soars after a test launch. ...

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 850 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. 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Soyuz rocket engines

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 and a modified third stage, but is still propelled by an old engine, started on November 4, 2004 from Plesetsk on a suborbital test flight. The fully modified launcher (version Soyuz-2-1b) is planned to fly first by the end of 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... NPO Lavochkin is a Russian satelite manufacturer. ... The Russian Federal Space Agency, formerly the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (RKA) (in Russian: Российское авиационно-космическое агентство) is the government agency responsible for Russias space science program and general aerospace research. ... Starsem is a European-Russian company that was created in 1996 to commercialise the Soyuz launcher. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... A geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a Hohmann transfer orbit around the Earth between a low Earth orbit (LEO) and a geostationary orbit (GEO). ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Space Agency (ESA; established 1975) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to exploration of space with currently 16 memberstates. ... A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years). ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... Concept model of the Mars Express spacecraft Mars Express is a Mars exploration mission of the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Baikonur Cosmodrome (Russian: Космодром Байконур, Kosmodrom Baykonur), also called Tyuratam, is the worlds oldest and largest working 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 exploded 29 seconds after lift-off. One person was killed and eight injured. October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Soyuz (in the new version Soyuz/ST) is also planned to be brought into ESA service in 2007 under a Russo-European joint venture. It is planned to build a new launch pad in French Guiana. The European Space Agency (ESA; established 1975) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to exploration of space with currently 16 memberstates. ... 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

Soyuz launch vehicle

• R-7 missile family page
• Starsem
• Soyuz launch log at Starsem
• Soyuz U/Fregat