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Rocket file · LV-37

Soyuz U

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) · Soyuz · RETIRED

Soyuz U is an expendable launch vehicle built by Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS). It stands 51.1 m tall, lifts 6,900 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 18 May 1973. It has flown 714 times with 694 successes, a success rate of 97.2%.

Specification

Vehicle spec sheet

ON FILE
Height51.1 m
Diameter3.0 m
Payload to LEO6,900 kg
Payload to GTONOT ON FILE
Maiden flight18 May 1973
ReusableNo, expendable
Launch costNOT ON FILE
StatusRETIRED

As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.

Flight record

Reliability

ON RECORD
Total flights714
Successful694
Failed20
Success rate97.2%
Landing attempts0
Landing successN/A
Scheduled0

Upcoming flights

Manifest

EMPTY

We couldn't load the scheduled Soyuz U flights just now. The Scheduled count under Flight record still shows how many there are.

All upcoming launches

Soyuz U in the archive

From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.

Approach of Soyuz TMA-7/11S
Approach of Soyuz TMA-7/11SNASA / JSC · public domainNASA ↗
Expedition 56 Preflight
Expedition 56 PreflightNASA / HQ · public domainNASA ↗
Approach of Soyuz TMA-7/11S
Approach of Soyuz TMA-7/11SNASA / JSC · public domainNASA ↗

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Common questions

How many times has Soyuz U flown?
714 times, with 694 successes and 20 failures.
What is Soyuz U's success rate?
97.2%. That's 694 successful flights out of 714 attempts.
How much can Soyuz U lift to orbit?
Launch Library 2 lists Soyuz U at 6,900 kg to low Earth orbit.
Is Soyuz U reusable?
No. Launch Library 2 lists Soyuz U as expendable, so no stage is recovered to fly again.