Success of the 1,786th Launch of Soyuz

The 1,786th flight of a Soyuz launch vehicle was performed on Friday, 20 April 2012 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 16:50 Moscow time (14:50 Paris time).

Arianespace and its Russian partners report that the Progress cargo spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station. This was the second Soyuz family mission in 2012.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Guiana Space Center (CSG) and its successful historic launch on 21 October 2011, this famed Russian medium-class launch vehicle became an integral part of the European launch vehicle fleet, together with the heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the lightweight Vega.

Offered to the commercial market, the Soyuz in French Guiana is Europe's reference medium-class launch vehicle for governmental and commercial missions.

Arianespace is the world’s leading launch service & solutions company, providing innovation to its customers since 1980. Backed by 21 shareholders and the European Space Agency, Arianespace offers an international workforce renowned for a culture of commitment and excellence. As of 15 April 2012, Arianespace had performed 205 Ariane launches (299 payloads), 26 Soyuz launches (24 at Baikonur with Starsem and 2 at the Guiana Space Center) and the first launch of Vega. It has a backlog of 23 Ariane 5, 15 Soyuz and 2 Vega launches, equal to more than three years of business.


Source: Arianespace; EVRY, France - April 20, 2012

Photo: Soyuz TMA-21 in the French Guiana Space Center (Photo by forum-conquete-spatiale.fr)

(4/23/2012)