Soyuz-22.1b (payload, SSO/GTO capacity, and price figures below; flight totals are family-wide across 2.1a and 2.1b) / launch vehicle
sourcingtypical 4/5 · 17 factsSoyuz-2 is a family of Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicles built by RKTs Progress, the seventh major iteration of the Soyuz rocket line. It flies mainly in two variants, the baseline 2.1a and the enhanced 2.1b, which adds a more powerful third-stage engine and, usually, a Fregat upper stage. The family has flown 165 times with 160 successes from Baikonur, Plesetsk, and Vostochny, launching crewed Soyuz spacecraft, Progress cargo craft, and a wide range of civil and military satellites. Its first crewed flight came on 9 April 2020, carrying Soyuz MS-16 to the International Space Station.
key details
figures describe the 2.1b (payload, SSO/GTO capacity, and price figures below; flight totals are family-wide across 2.1a and 2.1b) configuration where sourced
faq
Who builds Soyuz-2?
Soyuz-2 is built by Progress Rocket Space Center. (source, as of 2026-07-13)
How many times has Soyuz-2 flown?
Soyuz-2 has flown 167 times. (source, as of 2026-08-20)
When did Soyuz-2 first fly?
Soyuz-2 first flew on 2004-11-08. (source, as of 2026-07-13)
Is Soyuz-2 reusable?
Soyuz-2 is not reusable. (source, as of 2026-07-13)
facts
events
timeline
- 20202020-04-09launchSoyuz-2.1a launches its first crewed mission, Soyuz MS-16, to the ISS (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 20162016-04-28launchSoyuz-2.1a debuts at Vostochny Cosmodrome with Mikhailo Lomonosov (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 20152015-04-28incidentProgress M-27M launch failureoutcome: Launch Failurecause: After reaching low Earth orbit, but before separation of the spacecraft from the rocket, communication with the vessel was lost. Ground controllers only received brief telemetry shortly after that confirmed spacecraft separation as well as the deployment of the solar panels, but were not able to confirm the deployment of rendezvous antennas of the KURS system. Initially controllers tried to fall back to the plan of making a 2-day rendezvous with the ISS, but this was also abandoned after ground stations were not able to communicate with the spacecraft during the next 3 orbits. (source, as of 2026-07-16)
- 20112011-12-23incidentSoyuz-2.1b explodes in flight, destroying the Meridian 5 satelliteoutcome: Launch Failurecause: The third-stage engine shut down early and exploded. (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 20092009-05-21incidentSoyuz-2.1b fails carrying Meridian 2 after a third-stage fuel leakoutcome: Launch Failurecause: Bulging of the third-stage combustion chamber led to a fuel leak. (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 20062006-12-27launchSoyuz-2.1b Fregat makes its first flight, launching the CoRoT satellite (source, as of 2026-07-13)
- 20042004-11-08launchSoyuz-2.1a launches its maiden suborbital test flight from Plesetsk (source, as of 2026-07-13)
sources
Includes data from Gunter's Space Page: doc_lau_det/soyuz-2-1b_fregat.htm