This week, the first of as many as 10 Soyuz rockets begin their journey from Russia to French Guyana to eventually be launched. It is possible to launch a heavier payload into orbit from this location near the equator than from Russia’s space ports.

“The shipment of the first two Soyuz-ST carrier rockets will leave the port of St. Petersburg on November 7. The Colibri cargo vessel will deliver them to the space center in Guiana,” a Progress official said.

The Kourou launch site is intended mainly for the launch of geostationary satellites. Its proximity to the equator will enable the Soyuz-ST to put into orbit heavier satellites than those launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk in northern Russia.

Russia’s Federal Space Agency  special cargo ship carrying parts of two Russian Soyuz-ST rockets will leave the port of St. Petersburg on November 7, heading to the Kourou space center, the Progress design bureau said Thursday. (RIA Novosti)

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