Success of the 1,693rd launch of Soyuz

Success of the 1693rd launch of Soyuz

Evry, December 24, 2004

The 1693rd flight of a Soyuz launch vehicle was performed Friday, December
24, 2004 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:19 a.m. Baikonur
time (11:19 p.m. Paris time on Thursday, December 23, 2004).

Starsem, Arianespace and their Russian partners report that the Progress
spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another service
mission to the ISS.

This ninth Soyuz family mission of 2004 occurred on a symbolic date,
coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the maiden flight of an Ariane
launch vehicle, which took place on December 24, 1979 from the Guiana Space
Center (CSG). At that time, it would have been difficult to imagine what was
to follow with Soyuz subsequently entering the commercial market and
operating in perfect synergy with Ariane.

Today, both Soyuz and Ariane are integral to the innovative and flexible
launch family policy developed by Arianespace and Starsem. Moreover, the
decision of the European Space Agency to introduce the Soyuz launch
capability at the CSG is a major step in widening the range of accessible
missions. The inaugural flight of Soyuz at CSG is scheduled for 2007,
following the construction of a new launch pad coordinated between the
European Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

With the introduction of the Soyuz at CSG, this famed Russian launch vehicle
becomes an integral part of the European launcher fleet, together with the
heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the lightweight Vega. To be offered exclusively by
Arianespace to the commercial market, the Soyuz at CSG is Europe's reference
medium-class launch vehicle for governmental and commercial missions.

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info