Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre

Soyuz-2 (ST-A / ST-B)

Inaugural launch on 21 October 2011
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	Atlas V Falcon 9 H-IIA Long March 2F Long March 8 Zenit-3
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	CSO Galileo O3b OneWeb Pléiades
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
[edit on Wikidata]

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.