The launch of the Soyuz-2.1v rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Wednesday, February 5, was the last ever for this type of carrier rocket. According to a source in the space industry, no further launches of this model are planned.
Russia's Ministry of Defense announced the launch, stating that the Soyuz-2.1v lifted off from Plesetsk in the Arkhangelsk region, carrying military payloads.
The exact purpose of the space payload remains classified, but it was confirmed that the launch was conducted in the interests of the defense ministry.
Later, U.S. sources speculated that Russia may have used the light-class rocket to launch a secret Rodnik communications satellite. According to NSF, the Soyuz-2.1v is designed to place objects into a 1,400-kilometer orbit at an 82.5-degree inclination-parameters that match those of the Rodnik satellites, which are considered the military version of the civilian Gonets-D1M satellites.
A similar mission was conducted by Russia's Aerospace Forces in February of last year, when a Soyuz-2.1v launched a satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Senior researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences, Vladimir Prokhvatilov, explained the possible role of these satellites:
"There are so-called inspector satellites, used both by Russia and the U.S… They maneuver in orbit and can approach enemy satellites, interfering with their operations-potentially even disabling them. They can also monitor enemy satellite activities."
In addition to military applications, such satellites can also serve civilian purposes, such as weather monitoring, satellite imaging, and geological reconnaissance.
Russia regularly launches military satellites, including using the Soyuz-2.1b rocket.
The Soyuz-2.1v was developed as a light-class version of the Soyuz-2.1b, but with significant design changes:
The first Soyuz-2.1v launch took place in December 2013. Over the years, Russia has launched a total of 13 of these rockets, all from Plesetsk Cosmodrome.