Soyuz-FG
The Soyuz-FG launch vehicle was an improved version of the Soyuz-U from the R-7 family of rockets, designed and constructed by TsSKB-Progress in Samara, Russia. Guidance, navigation, and control system was developed and manufactured by "Polisvit" Special Design Bureau (Kharkov, Ukraine).
The launch of Soyuz TMA-3 atop a Soyuz-FG rocket. | |
| Function | Orbital carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | TsSKB-Progress |
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Size | |
| Height |
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| Diameter | 2.95 m |
| Mass | 305,000 kg (672,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 (Soyuz FG) or 3 (Soyuz-FG/Fregat) |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass |
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| Payload to SSO | |
| Mass | FG/Fregat: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | R-7 (Soyuz) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | |
| Total launches | 70 (FG: 60, FG/Fregat: 10) |
| Success(es) | 69 |
| Failure(s) | 1 |
| First flight |
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| Last flight |
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| Type of passengers/cargo | |
| Boosters – Blok-B,V,G,D | |
| No. boosters | 4 |
| Height | 19.6 m (64 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.68 m (8.8 ft) |
| Empty mass | 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) |
| Gross mass | 43,400 kg (95,700 lb) |
| Powered by | RD-107A |
| Maximum thrust |
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| Specific impulse |
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| Burn time | 118 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX/RG-1 |
| Second stage – Blok-A | |
| Height | 27.1 m (89 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.95 m (9.7 ft) |
| Empty mass | 6,550 kg (14,440 lb) |
| Gross mass | 99,500 kg (219,400 lb) |
| Powered by | RD-108A |
| Maximum thrust |
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| Specific impulse |
|
| Burn time | 280 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX/RG-1 |
| Third stage – Blok-I | |
| Height | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.66 m (8.7 ft) |
| Empty mass | 2,410 kg (5,310 lb) |
| Gross mass | 25,300 kg (55,800 lb) |
| Powered by | RD-0110 |
| Maximum thrust | 297.93 kilonewtons (66,980 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 326 seconds |
| Burn time | 230 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX/RG-1 |
| Upper stage (optional) – Fregat | |
| Height | 1.5 m (4.9 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Empty mass | 930 kg (2,050 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) |
| Powered by | S5.92 |
| Maximum thrust | 19.85 kilonewtons (4,460 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 333.2 seconds |
| Burn time | 1100 seconds |
| Propellant | N2O4/UDMH |
Soyuz-FG made its maiden flight on 20 May 2001, carrying a Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). It was retired after the 25 September 2019 launch of Soyuz MS-15 to the ISS; the analog control system significantly limited its capabilities and prompted its replacement by Soyuz-2. From 30 October 2002 to 25 September 2019, the Soyuz-FG was the only vehicle used by the Russian Federal Space Agency to launch Soyuz-TMA and Soyuz-MS crewed spacecraft to the ISS.
For uncrewed flights, Soyuz-FG optionally flew with a Fregat upper stage, developed and produced by Lavochkin Association in Khimki. The maiden flight of this configuration occurred on 2 June 2003, the first of ten such launches. Launches of the Soyuz-FG/Fregat configuration were marketed by a European-Russian company called Starsem.
Soyuz-FG was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, from Gagarin's Start (pad LC-1/5) for crewed missions, and from LC-31/6 for satellite launches with the Fregat variant.
The Soyuz-FG performed 64 successful launches until its first failure on 11 October 2018 with the Soyuz MS-10 mission. A video recording of the spaceflight released several weeks later suggested a faulty sensor, resulted in the destruction of the rocket. The crew, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin, escaped safely.