On Wednesday, September 15, 2021, of the Rocket and Space Center “Progress” (Samara, is a member of the state corporation “Roscosmos”) in the city of St. Petersburg left part with blocks of two carrier rockets “Soyuz-ST” steps A and B for further transport to the Guiana space center (French Guiana, South America) in the framework of the international project “” The Union “at the Guiana space center”.
The lead contract integrator enterprises of the Russian co-operation in this project is a company “Glavkosmos” (part of the Federal Space Agency), providing seamless interoperability with the European supplier of Arianespace launch services. Preparation of the Russian rocket and space technology and ground service of the process equipment at the launch site in French Guiana carried subsidiaries Roscosmos – RCC “Progress” Scientific-Production Association named after SA Lavochkin and the Center for exploitation of space ground-based infrastructure.
RCC “Progress” is responsible for the launch vehicle, launch site and provides the overall technical management of Russian companies involved in the launch of the mission. To implement the project “Union” in the GCC “established cooperation of the Russian and European organizations. Holding launches of spacecraft is a joint European-Russian launchers calculations. Rocket carrier Preparing” Soyuz-ST “and operation supplied by the Russian side ground technological equipment is carried out by Russian specialists.
The Russian-European project “,” The Union “at the Guiana Space Center” started in 2003, when at the government level, it was decided on launches of carrier rockets “Soyuz-2” from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. In the framework of the decisions taken was signed a number of intergovernmental agreements, which laid the legal basis for the signing of contracts for the creation of ground-based infrastructure of the launch complex “Union”, the production and shipment of rockets “Soyuz-ST” and boosters “Frigate” in the Guiana space center. in 2005, construction began launch complex for the “Soyuz-ST”, in May 2011, the official ceremony of handing over the launch complex and the European space agency launch site operator -. company Arianespace, the launcher first launch of “Soyuz-ST” was held in October 2011.