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The 15th Anniversary of the First Soyuz-2.1a Fligh

07 november 2019

November 8, 2019 marks fifteen years since the first Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle was put into operation. During this period 41 vehicles of this type have been launched from the Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny cosmodromes and Guiana spaceport.

The Soyuz-2.1a version has been designed and is being produced by JSC SRC Progress. This vehicle is equipped by a new digital flight control system, which is common for all three stages, and new digital telemetry system. The digital control system improves the Soyuz-2 injection accuracy, stability and controllability as well as enables the use of large-size payload fairings.

The Soyuz-2.1a mated with the Fregat upper stage (manufactured by NPO-Lavochkin) is designed to put unmanned spacecraft into low-, medium- and high-elliptical, sun-synchronous, geo-transfer and geo-stationary orbits.

Soyuz-2 vehicles have been launched from Guiana Space Centre in South America since 2011.

Since 2014, the Soyuz-2.1a version has been used for launching Progress-M and Progress-MS cargo spacecraft to the ISS.

In April 2016, the Russia’s newest cosmodrome Vostochny was inaugurated with the launch of Soyuz-2.1a with the Volga upper stage (manufactured by JSC SRC Progress).

Beginning from 2020, Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicles are planned to be used for launching Soyuz-MS manned spacecraft to the ISS.