Meridian 5
Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces
Location
43/4 (43R)
Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
43/4 (43R) has witnessed the launch of 324 rockets, including 324 orbital launch attempts. While Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation, has been the site for 1675 rocket launches.
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile, it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches, especially the Molniya orbits, so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location, with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became a foreign territory, and Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently, Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.
Rocket
Progress Rocket Space Center Soyuz 2.1b Fregat
Soyuz-2, GRAU index 14A14, is the collective designation for the 21st-century version of the Russian Soyuz rocket. In its basic form, it is a three-stage carrier rocket for placing payloads into low Earth orbit. The first-stage boosters and two core stages feature uprated engines with improved injection systems, compared to the previous versions of the Soyuz. Digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to be launched from a fixed launch platform, whereas the launch platforms for earlier Soyuz rockets had to be rotated as the rocket could not perform a roll to change its heading in flight.
The Soyuz 2.1b represents the latest development stage of the proven rocket.
It uses the new RD-0124 engines in the first three stages, coupled with an improved injection system that significantly boosts the performance of the Soyuz.
Furthermore, she wears a new, digital startup control system.
This will allow the Soyuz 2.1b to carry around 1.2 tonnes more payload into low earth orbit compared to its predecessor.
