Soyuz-FG Launch Vehicle

The Soyuz-FG middle-class launch vehicle (LV) is intended for injection of automatic spacecraft for national economy, scientific research and spacecraft for special purposes as well as manned and cargo spaceships according to the program of the International Space Station. Since October 30, 2002 Soyuz-FG was the only vehicle used by the Russian Federal Space Agency to launch the manned spacecraft of the Union-TMA to the ISS.

The three-stage Soyuz-FG LV designed on the base of the Soyuz-U LV. It can liftoff from launch pads currently operational at the Plesetsk and Baikonur Cosmodromes.

The Soyuz-FG LV is designed as a system with parallel separation of the lateral rocket engine assemblies upon the first stage burnout, and transverse separation of the second stage engine assembly after burnout. Each LV assembly has its own propulsion unit using non-toxic propellants (oxygen and kerosene).

In contrast to Soyuz-U launch vehicle modernized engines with heightened specific thrust on units of the 1-st and the 2-nd stages, developed for Soyuz-2 LV, are used for Soyuz-FG LV for increasing load-carrying capacity.

Soyuz-FG LV can be equipped with nose fairing of the following diameters: 2.7 m; 3.0 m; 3.3 m; 3.715 m.

Fregat kick stage is designed for payload transfer from open intermediate orbit of a launch vehicle to scheduled orbit of spacecraft injection. "Fregat" is a universal upper stage , it can be used as a part of medium and heavy carrier rocket . Developed and produced in the NGO Lavochkin.

RB uses an engine similar to that used in the Republic of Bryus-M and Breeze-KM. The thrust of this engine is 2 tons, which is close to the optimum for medium-range missiles, but not enough for the Breeze-M, which means that it is necessary to carry out the detour to the geo-transitional and off-path trajectories in several pulses.

RB "Fregat" is used for launching a spacecraft into the reference , geostationary and geotransitional orbits of an artificial Earth satellite , as well as to orient and stabilize the head unit on the passive and active part of the flight.

Soyuz-FG LV power potentialities (with 3.3 m nose fairing) Cosmodrome Inclination, degree Circular orbit average altitude, km Injected payload mass, kg Baikonur 51.6 200 7130 64,9 190 6850 70,4 200 6790 Main characteristics LV type liquid propellant, three-stage Control system autonomous, inertial Launch liftoff mass, t 305 Length, m 42,5 Diameter, m 10,3 Confirmed serviceability index 0,952