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The Soyuz family of replaceable missiles is by far the most widely used launch vehicle in the world, with more than a thousand successful launches under its belt, and a first-class safety record thanks to its launch abort system. For nearly a decade, Soyuz rockets were also the only means of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station.
The Russian Soyuz-2 missile has been given a new color scheme, replacing the traditional gray-white-orange with a fresh “corporate blue” and white look.
Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, released a series of images on Saturday showing the new look, with a press release stating that the inspiration for the color scheme was the prototype of the Vostok launch vehicle – the all-white R-7 Semyorka ICBM. rocket used to send both the Sputnik 1 satellite and Yuri Gagarin – the world’s space traveler, into orbit from the Baikonur cosmodrome in 1957 and 1961, respectively.
The first Soyuz-2.1a with the new paint job is expected to launch from Baikonur on March 20 and put 38 spacecraft from 18 countries into orbit.
The change in color scheme is the first of its kind since the Soyuz family of missiles was unveiled all the way in 1966, with the missiles traditionally featuring a white nose cone, gray transition compartment and orange tail section. Below that are gray blocks from the first and second stages, and an orange stripe that rings the rocket’s boosters. After being fed with liquid oxygen, the rocket’s gray components become covered with white frost, and upon launch, the rockets often appear almost completely white apart from an orange frame.
Roscosmos says future launches under contract from its subsidiary Glavkosmos Launch Services (the space agency’s operator of commercial launch programs) will use rockets painted in the new scheme, which coincides with the company’s official colors.
© Photo: Roscosmos / Yuzhny Space Center
New livery for Russian Soyuz missile.
Opinions vary
Online, social media users were divided on what to think of the new color scheme. Some offered praise“White is the best color for the Soyuz,” said one user suggested“White? Soyuz trying on a new dress? Looking good!” another joked
Others, however, did not seem satisfied, complain that while the US and China are sending spacecraft and advanced probes to the Moon and Mars, Roscosmos seems focused on picking out new color schemes for decades-old Soviet technology. “The color is of course the most important thing,” one user said sarcastically suggested“Will this help with the launch?” another asked“How many billion have you spent on the new paint job?” a third askedHave them change the name too. The Union (“Soyuz”) has not existed for 30 years, “a fourth wrote
© Sputnik / Sergey Mamontov
The Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle is launched into space with the piloted Soyuz MS-14 vehicle from the Baikonur cosmodrome.
Russia remains one of the world’s largest spaceflight nations, supplying other countries with its patented, proven safe rocket engines and transporting cosmonauts and astronauts to the International Space Station.
Roscosmos and the European Space Agency partner in the ExoMars program, an ambitious, multiple astrobiological effort to search for signs of past life on the Red Planet, study variations in the Martian environment, and demonstrate technologies for a future sample. return mission. Ambitious plans have also been announced for missions to the moon, with Russia considering sending anthropomorphic robots to the asteroid and even planning the eventual creation of manned bases there.
The limited funding of the Russian space agency and disputes over the distribution of funds for the construction of prestige projects – such as the massive 250,000-square-foot skyscraper company near the center of Moscow, have led some academics and cosmonauts to fear that the country rests on its laurels and gives up ground to past achievements. Late last year, Alexander Sergeev, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, calculated that Russia’s space science program receives 60 times less funding than NASA, and dramatically asked whether Moscow should “ leave space altogether ” amid perceived growing inequality between Russian, American and Chinese space. programs.