Russia’s New Soyuz Rocket Aims to End Ukrainian Reliance
▼ Summary
– The Soyuz-5 rocket is scheduled for its first launch in December of this year, as confirmed by Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov.
– It will undergo several demonstration flights, with full operational service expected to begin in 2028 from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan.
– The rocket is not innovative, being fully expendable and repurposing older technology, but it represents an important step for Russia to reduce dependency on Ukrainian launch technology.
– Soyuz-5 is a slightly larger copy of the Zenit-2 rocket, which was developed in Ukraine during the Soviet era and flew missions from the 1980s to the 2010s.
– A key advantage for Russia is that it now manufactures rocket elements domestically that were previously made in Ukraine, though the first-stage engine (RD-171) was always Russian-designed and built.
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has announced plans for the inaugural launch of its new Soyuz-5 rocket before the close of this year. Agency head Dmitry Bakanov confirmed the December target in a statement to Russian state media, emphasizing that preparations remain on schedule. The initial demonstration mission will originate from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, with full operational deployment anticipated by 2028.
While not groundbreaking in terms of modern aerospace innovation, the Soyuz-5, also known as Irtysh, represents a major strategic shift for Russia’s space industry. Development began in 2016, and the vehicle relies heavily on repurposed Soviet-era technology rather than new designs. Its most significant feature lies in its supply chain: the rocket replaces components once manufactured in Ukraine with domestically produced alternatives.
The new booster closely resembles Ukraine’s Zenit-2, a medium-lift vehicle developed in the 1980s that remained in service until the 2010s. Designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipro and assembled at the Yuzhmash facility, the Zenit was among the final major rockets produced during the Soviet era. Although its airframe and staging were Ukrainian, its powerful first-stage engine, the RD-171, was always supplied by Russia’s NPO Energomash. The Soyuz-5 effectively reverses this dynamic, bringing the entire production process under Russian control.
(Source: Ars Technica)
