NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

Foton-M n°4

Launch Time
Fri Jul 18, 2014 20:50 UTC

Rocket

Soyuz 2.1a
Image Credit: Roscosmos
Roscosmos
Status: Active
Price: $17.42 million
Liftoff Thrust: 4,550 kN
Payload to LEO: 7,500 kg
Payload to GTO: 0 kg
Stages: 3
Strap-ons: 4
Rocket Height: 51.38 m
Fairing Diameter: 4.11 m
Fairing Height: 15.59 m

Mission Details

Foton-M n°4

The Foton satellites are built on the basis of the Zenit satellites, themselves derived from the Vostok spacecraft.

Foton has a mass of 7t, can carry 625kg of equipment, and has an operational life in orbit of thirty days. A Bion satellite can be broken down into three parts: the Drop Compartment, the Descent Compartment (SA) and the Instrument Compartment.

Only the SA Compartment is capable of returning to Earth. It contains most of the scientific payload. It is shaped like a sphere 2,3 m in diameter and has two hatches 1,2 m in diameter.

The Instrument Compartment is cylindrical in shape and has a mass of 500kg. It has a diameter of 2m and a length of 50cm. It also contains scientific experiments.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 6,840.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit

Location

Site 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Stats

2014

42nd orbital launch attempt

Soyuz 2.1a

18th mission
3rd mission of 2014
17th successful mission
14th consecutive successful mission