- Family: Soyuz
- Length: 46.3 m
- Diameter: 2.95 m
- Launch Mass: 312 T
- Low Earth Orbit Capacity: 7020 kg
The Soyuz 2.1a Fregat-M was manufactured by Progress Rocket Space Center with the first launch on 2010-10-19. Soyuz 2.1a Fregat-M has 17 successful launches and 1 failed launches with a total of 18 launches. The 2.1a version includes conversion from analog to digital flight control system and uprated engines on the booster and the first stage with improved injection systems. The new digital flight control and telemetry systems allow the rocket to launch from a fixed rather than angled launch platform and adjust its heading in flight. A digital control system also enables the launch of larger commercial satellites with wider and longer payload fairings such as the ST-type fairing. These fairings introduce too much aerodynamic instability for the old analog system to handle.
