On April 30 at 9:00 PM, the new Russian medium-class launch vehicle, the Soyuz-5, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Developed in partnership with Kazakhstan as part of the Baiterek project, the Soyuz-5 is the world's most powerful liquid-propellant rocket engine. The Soyuz-5 rocket is powered by an RD-171MV first-stage sustainer engine developed by Energomash and an RD0124MS second-stage engine developed by the Voronezh Chemical Automation Design Bureau. The Soyuz-5 rocket offers the following advantages: reduced payload launch costs, a twofold increase in payload mass and high launch accuracy, and the use of environmentally friendly propellants. The rocket can launch up to 17 tons of cargo into low-Earth orbit and up to 2.5 tons into geostationary orbit. The rocket uses naphthyl fuel and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer. The estimated cost of launching a payload into space is 300,000 rubles or $4,000 per kilogram.
Soyuz-5 Rocket Specifications
Launch weight: approximately 526–531 tons.
Length: 58.8–65.2 meters (depending on the payload fairing and upper stage configuration).
Board diameter: 4.1 meters.
Payload fairing diameter: 5.2 meters or 4.11 meters.
Engine configuration:
First stage: RD-171MV liquid-fueled engine with four combustion chambers, thrust: 800 tons;
Second stage: RD-0124MS liquid-fueled engine.
Propellant: naphthyl (fuel) + liquid oxygen (oxidizer).
The rocket's payload capacity for orbital launches is:
to low Earth orbit – up to 17 tons;
to sun-synchronous orbit – up to 9 tons;
to geostationary transfer orbit – up to 6 tons;
to geostationary orbit – up to 2.5 tons.
Additional features of the Soyuz-5 rocket:
The rocket's engine emergency protection system, which cyclically evaluates their condition with a cycle time of several milliseconds. If an emergency situation is detected, the system can shut down faulty engine chambers, preserving the ability to continue the flight.
The rocket's components can be transported by road, rail, and air. The first stage unit (35 m long, 4.1 m in diameter) can be transported by rail or an An-124 aircraft.
