Soyuz-2 / Rus
Two Soyuz-U launch pads are operational at the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Complexes 1 and 31) and three are available at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome (Complexes 16 and 43 left and right). All Soyuz-U/U2 launch vehicles are produced by the Samara Central Specialized Design Bureau and Progress Plant with engines designed by the Energomash Scientific Production Association. Of the 32 missions flown during 1993-1994 only one failed. A malfunction in the second stage of the 27 April 1993 flight led to the loss of its photographic reconnaissance payload (References 245-246).
In 1991 work began on a major Soyuz improvement program. Now known as Rus, the modernized launch vehicle would have an increased payload capacity (up to 8,000 kg for a 52 degree orbit) with a new flight control system, enlarged payload fairings, and modified main engines. Operations are expected to begin at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in 1997. Test firings of a new Rus main engine were underway in 1994 (References 247-253).
By March 2004 there had been dozens of 300 to 400-second test-firings at a plant in Voronezh that developed and built the 'Rus' engine. Engineers there say 'Rus' is likely to open a whole new line of rocket engines. 'Rus' is to power the 'Soyuz-2' satellite launcher. The vehicle fills a niche on the lighter side of the heavy 'Proton' booster.
Despite its external similarities with the older spacecraft, the Soyuz-2 is an entirely new launch vehicle. Its cargo capacity was increased by 700kg. The first rockets will be able to put 11 metric tons into a near-earth orbit, and in the future when the third stage of the rocket is equipped with new engines manufactured at the Voronezh factory, the cargo capacity will be increased by another 500kg. Apart from its high technical performance, the new launcher differs from its predecessors in that all the components of the new rocket are manufactured in Russia. the increased cargo capacity is only one of the Soyuz-2's improvements. It is also very important that the launch vehicle is equipped with an entirely new advanced digital control system which would allow the launch vehicle to place space vehicles in more precise stationary orbits. This, in turn, is vital for the successful mission of the cargo - a satellite. The new control system enables the length of the launch vehicle's nose to be increased from 7.7 meters to 11.4 meters and its diameter to be increased from 3.7 to 4.1 meters. This means that the size of the cargo can also be increased considerably (orbiting 1kg of cargo costs about $30,000 on the world market). A smaller number of people are needed for the new vehicle's pre-launch preparations.
Previously, it took 70 people to complete the Soyuz's pre-launch preparations, while only 15-20 people are needed to service the Soyuz-2. Only two people are required to service the new control system, as compared to the 40 people that are required for the previous Soyuz. The Lavochkin Aerospace Association in Moscow, one of Progress' partners, has developed the Fregat booster unit for the Soyuz-2. The booster will help place spacecraft in near-earth orbits as well as put them on trajectories to other planets. Today, Europe does not have a medium-class launch vehicle like the Soyuz. Since Kourou is closer to the Equator than Baikonur, the cargo capacity of Russian spacecraft launched from Kourou will triple from 1.5 metric tons to 4 metric tons. It's going to be widely used by the European Space Agency for launching probes and spaceships from the European spaceport facility in Kourou in French Guiana. Kourou's position close to the Equator makes for the maximum possible harnessing of the natural rotation of the Earth for the purposes of space launches.
Construction of infrastructure for launches of Soyuz spacecraft from the Kourou space center in French Guiana started in December 2005 and was expected to be completed in July 2008. The contract on the approximately 135-million euros project was signed on April 11, 2005 by CNES Director of Launchers Michel Eymard and Pierre Berger, the chairman of Vinci Construction Grands Projets, which represented the especially established industrial group Soyuz-Infrastructure. The program of cooperation between the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency envisages launches of Russian Soyuz-ST space carriers from the Kourou space center and the work on the construction of the three-stage carrier, Soyuz-2-1B. The first launch of Soyuz spacecraft from the French space center was planned for the second half of 2008.
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