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^[6] (Kharkov, Ukraine).

Soyuz FG

The launch of Soyuz TMA-3 atop a Soyuz-FG rocket.
Function	Orbital carrier rocket
Manufacturer	TsSKB-Progress
Country of origin	Russia
Size
Height	FG: 49.5 m[citation needed] FG/Fregat: 42.5 m[citation needed]
Diameter	2.95 m[citation needed]
Mass	305,000 kg (672,000 lb)
Stages	2 (Soyuz FG) or 3 (Soyuz-FG/Fregat)
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	FG: 6,900 kg (15,200 lb)[1] FG/Fregat: 7,800 kg (17,200 lb)[citation needed]
Payload to SSO
Mass	FG/Fregat: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb)[citation needed]
Associated rockets
Family	R-7 (Soyuz)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	FG: Baikonur LC-1/5 and LC-31/6 FG/Fregat: Baikonur LC-31/6
Total launches	70 (FG: 60, FG/Fregat: 10)[2][3]
Success(es)	69
Failure(s)	1
First flight	FG: 20 May 2001 FG/Fregat: 2 June 2003
Last flight	FG: 25 September 2019 FG/Fregat: 22 July 2012
Type of passengers/cargo	Soyuz-TMA Soyuz-MS Progress Venus Express
Boosters – Blok-B,V,G,D[4]
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	Sea level: 838.5 kN (188,500 lbf) Vacuum: 1,021.3 kN (229,600 lbf)
Specific impulse	Sea level: 263.3 s (2.582 km/s) Vacuum: 320.2 s (3.140 km/s)
Burn time	118 seconds
Propellant	LOX/RG-1
Second stage – Blok-A[4]
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	Sea level: 792.48 kN (178,160 lbf) Vacuum: 990.18 kN (222,600 lbf)
Specific impulse	Sea level: 257.7 s (2.527 km/s) Vacuum: 320.6 s (3.144 km/s)
Burn time	280 seconds
Propellant	LOX/RG-1
Third stage – Blok-I[4]
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[5]
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
[edit on Wikidata]

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.^[7] 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.^[3] 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.^[8]