Volga (,

GRAU index The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of ...

: 14S46 / 141KS) is a Russian rocket

upper stage A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own Rocket engine, engines and Rocket propellant, propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of anoth ...

designed for use with the

Soyuz-2.1a Soyuz2 (; GRAU index: 14A14) is a Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major iteration of the Soyuz rocket family. Compared to its predecessors, Soyuz-2 features significant upgrades, including improved engines and ...

and Soyuz-2.1v rockets. It was derived from the propulsion module of the Yantar satellite, and is closely related to the retired Ikar upper stage. It serves as a lighter and more cost-effective alternative to the

Fregat Fregat () is an upper stage developed by NPO Lavochkin for universal compatibility with a wide range of medium- and heavy-lift launch vehicles. Fregat has been used primarily with Soyuz and Zenit rockets, and entered operational service in ...

upper stage, used on most Soyuz-2 missions. RKTs Progress began development of the Volga in 2008 and the design was finalized in 2010. Proposed during the development of the Soyuz-2.1v, Volga serves as a third stage capable of delivering payloads up to into orbits as high as . It is particularly suited for inserting satellites into

Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

s of around . Leveraging existing satellite propulsion technology, Volga costs up to four times less than Fregat and the manufacturer says it could replace it in many Soyuz-2.1a missions. To accommodate Volga, several modifications were made to the Soyuz payload section, including to antennas, connectors, pyrotechnic devices, and foam insulation inside the fairing. Typical missions last between 60 and 120 minutes and can deploy a single or multiple payloads with the Volga providing attitude control during flight. After completing its mission, it can deorbit or move to a safe distance. The stage has a maximum operational life of 24 hours.

References

External links

* Expendable space launch systems Rocket stages Space launch vehicles of Russia {{Rocket-stub