Roscosmos Unveils Soyuz-5: A New Competitor to Falcon 9

After more than a decade of stagnation in the deployment of next-generation launch vehicles, Roscosmos is returning to the forefront of spaceflight with the new Soyuz-5 rocket.

Photo: Роскосмос by https://t.me/roscosmos

Soyuz-5 launch

Soyuz-5 Designed for Rapid Satellite Deployment

On April 30, the long-awaited first launch of the medium-lift Soyuz-5 launch vehicle took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The rocket may play a key role in efforts to catch up in the development of orbital satellite constellations.

The payload followed a suborbital trajectory and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, Roscosmos reported, noting that all stages performed nominally.

Soyuz-5 is based on the Soviet-era medium-class Zenit rocket, which combined fuel tanks produced in Ukraine (Dnepropetrovsk) with Russian-built engines. Zenit was developed in the 1980s and remained in service for decades. However, the Russian-Ukrainian partnership collapsed for well-known reasons in 2014, and the final Zenit launch took place in 2017.

Development of Soyuz-5 began in 2016 within the framework of the Baiterek joint venture between Russia and Kazakhstan. The lead developer is the Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara. Soyuz-5 can deliver up to 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit-three tonnes more than Zenit-3 and more than twice the capacity of the Soyuz-2 family. The rocket uses environmentally cleaner propellants-kerosene and liquid oxygen-and is roughly similar in size to Zenit.

The Key Achievement: A New Engine

According to Roscosmos on Telegram, the main achievement of Soyuz-5 is its liquid-propellant rocket engine developed by Energomash. The RD-171MV, described as "the most powerful engine in history,” is based on the Soviet RD-170. It features a turbine power of 250,000 horsepower-exceeding the combined output of two Arktika-class nuclear icebreakers. Roscosmos notes that the engine incorporates a new control system without imported components, offers improved responsiveness, and includes additional fire-protection measures.

The second stage is equipped with the RD-0124MS engine with a thrust of 60 tonnes, developed by the Russian design bureau Khimavtomatika.

According to Progress, Soyuz-5 uses the proven Fregat upper stage inherited from Soyuz-2. It is equipped with an autonomous control system, an onboard Biser-6 computer, and GLONASS signal reception equipment to improve orbital insertion accuracy.

Future Plans and Commercial Ambitions

Roscosmos plans to conduct several more test flights before approving Soyuz-5 for servicing the growing number of Russian space startups, including commercial companies planning to deploy their own satellite constellations.

Soyuz-5 Compared to Falcon 9

A comparison with the American Falcon 9 rocket is inevitable. In its expendable configuration, Falcon 9 can deliver up to 22.8 tonnes, and about 17.5 tonnes in reusable mode. This makes their payload capacities broadly comparable. Falcon 9 is partially reusable: its first stage returns to Earth or a landing platform for reuse, with some boosters having flown more than 30 times. Soyuz-5, at present, is fully expendable.

Roscosmos estimates the cost of a Soyuz-5 launch at approximately $55-56 million, which is intended to make it competitive with Falcon 9 launches, priced at around $62-67 million for a new booster.

Russia is also developing several reusable launch systems, including Amur-SPG (Soyuz-7), Korona developed by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau, and Krylo-SV-a light-class project in which the first stage returns to an airfield like an aircraft. Russia is actively moving toward practical testing of reusable technologies.

If Soyuz-5 represents a step toward a new heavy-lift "workhorse” rocket, the Amur-SPG project is focused primarily on reducing launch costs and competing directly with Elon Musk.