Arianespace Soyuz O3B F4 Launch from Kourou

Images credit & copyright: ESA/Arianespace.

LAUNCH ALERT: Friday, March 9, 2018 at UTC 16:37 (11:37 EST) Arianespace will launch the medium lift Soyuz-2 launch vehicle (VS18) carrying 4 SES made, O3b satellites to Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) from the Soyuz Launch Zone (ZLS) or Ensemble de Lancement Soyuz (ELS) at the Guiana Space Centre or Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG), in Sinnamary, near Kourou, French Guiana.

This will be Arianespace’s 2nd launch of 2018.

TsSKB-Progress Soyuz 2.1a (Soyuz ST) Rocket:

Height: 46.2 m (152 ft.)

Core Diameter: 2.95 m (9.8 ft.)

Width: 10.3 m (34 ft.)

Stages: 3

Boosters: 4

Total Engines: 6 (5 in the first stage and 1 in the second stage)

Total Thrust (sea level): 839.5 kN (188,720 million lb.)

Mass: 312,000 kg (688,000 lb.)

Payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 7,020 kg (15,480 lb.)

Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO): 4,400 kg (9,700 lb.)

Payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO): 3,250 kg. (7,170 lb.)

Payload to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO): 1,440 kg. (3,170 lb.)

Cost: About $60 million per launch

Payload Fairing: Soyuz’s payload fairing is a two-shell protective enclosure 11.4 m (37 f. 5 in.) in length, 4.11 m (13 f. 6 in.) in diameter and protects the spacecraft during launch and the turbulence of ascent before being jettisoned to expose the spacecraft.

Fregat Upper Stage (when in use): The Fregat upper stage is 1.5 m (4 ft. 11 in.) in length with a diameter of 3.35 m (11 ft.). Its single S5.92 engine uses nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) for fuel and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) as an oxidizer, delivering 19.85 kN (4,600 lb.) of thrust and a burn time of 1,100 seconds and can be restarted 20 times in flight.

Third Stage (ST-B):

Height: 6.7 m. (22 ft.)

Diameter: 2.66 m (8.8 ft.)

Engine(s): 1 RD-0110

Engine Chambers: 4

Engine Type: Gas generator/Open-cycle

Propellant Feed: Turbopump

Chamber Pressure: 68.2 bar

Fuel Type: Liquid

Fuel: Rocket propellant-1 (RP-1) or highly refined kerosene. Lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen (LH2) but is cheaper, room temperature stable, less explosive and denser. RP-1 is much more powerful than LH2 by volume and much less toxic than other room temperature fuels such as hydrazine (N2H4).

Oxidizer: Liquid Oxygen (LOX). LOX is often coupled with rocket propellant-1 (RP-1), liquid hydrogen (LH2) and methane (CH4) as it creates a high specific impulse.

Single RD-0110 Thrust (vacuum): 298 kN (67 lbf.

Specific Impulse (vacuum): 326 s

Burn Time: 230 s

Restart Ability: No

Reusable: No

Core Stage (1st & 2nd stage): Core stage RD-108A ignites roughly 17 seconds before liftoff to allow the engine’s turbopumps to reach flight speed spin.

Height: 27.8 m. (90 ft.)

Diameter: 2.95 m (9.8 ft.)

Engine(s): 1 RD-108A

Engine Type: Gas generator/Open-cycle

Propellant Feed: Turbopump

Engine Chambers: 4

Chamber Pressure: 55.5 bar

Fuel Type: Liquid

Oxidizer: Liquid Oxygen (LOX). LOX is often coupled with rocket propellant-1 (RP-1), liquid hydrogen (LH2) and methane (CH4) as it creates a high specific impulse.

Single RD-108A Thrust (sea level/vacuum): 792 kN (178,049 lbf.)/990 kN (222,561 lbf.

Specific Impulse (sea level/vacuum): 258 s/321 s

Burn Time: 280 s

Restart Ability: No

Reusable?: No

Boosters (First Stage): Boosters ignite roughly 17 seconds before liftoff to allow the engine’s turbopumps to reach flight speed spin.

Height: 19.6 m. (64 ft.)

Diameter: 2.68 m (8.8 ft.)

Engine(s): Each has 1 RD-107A

Engine Type: Gas generator/Open-cycle

Propellant Feed: Turbopump

Engine Chambers: 4

Chamber Pressure: 61.2 bar

Fuel Type: Liquid

Oxidizer: Liquid Oxygen (LOX). LOX is often coupled with rocket propellant-1 (RP-1), liquid hydrogen (LH2) and methane (CH4) as it creates a high specific impulse.

Single RD-107A Thrust (sea level/vacuum): 838.5 kN (188,502 lbf.)/1,021 kN (229,529 lbf.

Total Thrust (sea level):

Specific Impulse (sea level/vacuum): 263 s/320 s

Burn Time: 120 s

Restart Ability: No

Reusable?: No

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Arianespace Soyuz O3B F4 (VS18) Mission Information: