Space News & Blog Articles

Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.

Watch live: Soyuz rocket set to launch from Vostochny Cosmodrome

A Soyuz launcher lifts off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome with four satellites at 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT) Saturday. Credit: Roscosmos TV

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT) Saturday with three Gonets data relay payloads and a demonstrator spacecraft for a proposed constellation of Russian broadband internet satellites.

The three-stage rocket, topped by a Fregat upper stage, will take off from Vostochny, Russia’s newest spaceport near the country’s border with China in the far eastern Amur Oblast. The Soyuz will head north from the remote spaceport to target a near-polar orbit, using its Fregat upper stage to place the three Gonets data relay satellites into an orbit about 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) above Earth.

Then the Fregat upper stage will fire its main engine multiple times to inject Russia’s Skif-D tech demo satellite into a much higher orbit about 5,014 miles (8,070 kilometers) above Earth. The entire launch sequence will take several hours from liftoff until separation of the final satellite.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

×
Stay Informed

When you subscribe to the SpaceZE News Feed, we will send you an e-mail when there are new updates on the site so you wouldn't miss them.

India's most powerful rocket launches 36 OneWeb in...
Live coverage: Indian rocket poised to launch 36 O...

SpaceZE.com