“Soyuz has been in continuous production in Russia since the 1950s and has a great future ahead of it. When the American space shuttle is retired from service, Soyuz will be the only launcher in the world to be used for human space missions,” adds Jean-Marc Astorg. From its new base in French Guiana, Soyuz’s lift capacity will double to 3 tonnes (compared with 1.5 tonnes when launched from Baikonur (2)). This is because the CSG is near the equator, which allows launchers to take maximum advantage of Earth’s rotational speed, known as the “slingshot effect”.

Although the European version looks identical to the Russian Soyuz (and indeed is manufactured in Russia) there are some notable differences. “The European version is fitted with a neutralisation system, which allows teams on the ground to stop the launcher if it deviates from its trajectory,” says Jean-Marc Astorg.

The new launch pad also features a number of enhancements.

A mobile gantry, under assembly at the site, has been specially designed to integrate satellites with the launcher in the vertical position.

“The Russians load the satellites horizontally, move the launcher to the pad, then raise it to the vertical position, whereas in Europe we do everything vertically,” adds Jean-Marc Astorg. “With this gantry, it will thus be possible to integrate a satellite on either a Soyuz or Vega vehicle, depending on the launch requirements.”