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By the numbers

• The Soyuz launch vehicle has been in continuous production since 1957, demonstrating its unmatched reliability with more than 1,700 missions to date.
• Vega, which made its maiden flight in 2012, is designed with a target payload lift capability of 1,500 kg. on missions to a 700-km. circular orbit.

Soyuz & Vega at the Spaceport

Soyuz performs an on-target “virtual” inaugural mission from the Spaceport

Today’s “dry run” simulated flight of Soyuz was a highly realistic exercise that included operational staffing of the Spaceport’s Jupiter mission control room (at left) and the Soyuz launch center (at right).

May 5, 2011

Arianespace’s newest launcher family member – the medium-lift Soyuz – took a major step closer to its service introduction at the Spaceport with a highly realistic simulated launch today, which replicated a typical mission for a commercial telecommunications satellite payload.

Soyuz is suspended over the Spaceport’s concrete launch pad by four support arms, and is connected to a pair of umbilical masts.

With its “virtual” liftoff occurring at 4:00 p.m. local time, the exercise reproduced a nominal 30-minute flight of Soyuz, concluding with a representative deployment of a 2,570-kg. broadband services relay satellite for an injection into geostationary transfer orbit by the vehicle’s Fregat upper stage.  The orbital parameters for this replicated mission were:
- Perigee: 250 km.
- Apogee: 35,950 km.
- Inclination: 6 deg.

The flight was performed with the fully-assembled Soyuz on the launch pad, and included a simulated fueling of the vehicle during the morning and mid-day hours.   The 52-meter-tall mobile service gantry was then rolled back to its parked position, revealing the Russian-built Soyuz as it was suspended in position over the massive concrete launch pad – held in position by four support arms and connected to a pair of umbilical masts.

For today’s “dry run” exercise, the Soyuz launch center and the Spaceport’s Jupiter mission control room were staffed by members of the European and Russian teams, as they will be during an actual flight.  The Soyuz center is located 1 km. from the vehicle’s purpose-built launch pad in the Spaceport’s northern sector, while the Jupiter facility is situated in the Spaceport’s main base area, 22 km. away.

Participating in this exercise were Arianespace; key Russian partners for Soyuz, such as Roscosmos, the Samara Space Center-TsSKB-Progress, NPO Lavochkin, and TsENKI; along with the French CNES space agency and European Space Agency for operations and management of the Spaceport.

Soyuz is shown on the Spaceport's launch pad prior to the “dry run” simulated flight. Visible behind it is the mobile service gantry, which is being rolled back to its parked position.

The “dry run” was highly realistic, including the simulated countdown and liftoff, as well as flight-following with the Spaceport’s tracking cameras and telemetry network.  It even involved a representative real-time video program broadcast with commentator, which is a service that Arianespace provides live on its www.arianespace.com website and is distributed for use by mission customers, industrial team members and others.

Today’s “virtual” flight concluded a period of intense activity that began on May 29 with the first-ever rollout of a Soyuz from its launcher assembly building at the Spaceport to the purpose-built Soyuz launch facility.  It was followed by the vehicle’s vertical erection, mobile service gantry roll-in, and the integration of Soyuz’ upper composite – which consists of the Fregat upper stage and the fairing that will accommodate the payload during an actual mission.  This set the stage for final checkout validations leading to today’s simulated flight. 

While the mix of vehicles for fueling Soyuz on the launch pad were deployed as part of the exercise, no transfer of propellants or gases was performed – which is why these operations are referred to the “dry run.”

The first real Soyuz flight from the Spaceport is planned later this year, with the launcher for this historic mission scheduled to arrive in French Guiana during June. 

Soyuz will join the heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the new lightweight Vega at the Spaceport – creating a family of launchers operated from French Guiana that cover the full range of commercial and institutional mission requirements for Arianespace customers.

- High-resolution images of the Soyuz “dry run” exercise are available in the Arianespace Image library.
   (Photos: ©Arianespace 2011)

- Follow the Soyuz “dry run” at the Spaceport with our complete story and photo coverage:

• May 6, 2011: The Spaceport begins operating to the “rhythm” of Arianespace's launcher family trio at the equator
• May 4, 2011: A Soyuz is “born” at the Spaceport
• May 3, 2011: Soyuz is given the “go” for its simulated first launch from the Spaceport
• May 2, 2011: Final preparations are underway for Soyuz' first “virtual” flight from the Spaceport"
• April 29, 2011: Photo report: Day 1 of the Soyuz “dry run” at the Spaceport in French Guiana
• April 29, 2011: A world's first: Soyuz is in the launch zone at Europe's Spaceport