The new modification will be based on replacement the third stage for economy upper stage, as Life reported.
With the purpose of more confident and progressive competition for foreign markets share, as well as subsequent missile launches cost reduction, Roskosmos company began negotiations on a new modernization and reduce the value of Soyuz-2 missile.
So, it was decided to abandon the third stage, the missile will be equipped by cheaper upper stage Fregat instead. The experts believe that this combination will reduce the cost of each missile launch by 20-25 %.
It is known that the two-stage modification existed before – for example, Soyuz 2.1v, but it was not equipped with the upper stage, so, it could not take more than three tons of weight for the shortest distance.
In the last year summer, Roskosmos signed a contracts with Oneweb and Arianespace companies to launch OneWeb mobile communication satellites. Under the contract, 21 missiles are to be launched during the years 2017-2018 to bring to space 672 satellites of 150 kg weight each.
So, new alternative modification of Soyuz-2 – two-stage missile with Fregat upper unit – is the best option for future launches.
In addition, Fregat’s maneuverability is a special advantage, it can breed a large number of satellites in different orbits better and more correctly during their separation.
Earlier it was reported that ILS company introduced two new versions of Proton missile designed for commercial space launches.
