tech
Russia’s Soyuz 5 will soon come alive. But will anyone want to fly on it?
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Western market for satellite launches dried up.
TL;DR
- The Soyuz 5 rocket is nearing its debut flight from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
- Development began nearly a decade ago with a goal to replace the Proton booster.
- The rocket is designed to lift approximately 20 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
- It aims to be more price competitive in the geostationary satellite market against rivals like SpaceX's Falcon 9.
- The Soyuz 5 is intended to be built within Russia to reduce reliance on Ukrainian-made components.
- Potential use as a boost stage for the super-heavy Yenisei rocket for a lunar program is mentioned, but development is slow.
- Market challenges include a drop in geostationary satellite launches and increased competition from China and India.
- Geopolitical tensions with Ukraine may limit its use by Western satellite operators.
- Russia's existing Soyuz 2 and Angara rockets have different lift capacities.
- The RD-171MV engine for the first stage uses only Russian components and is very powerful.