[LIVE] Lancement SOYUZ 2.1A Kanopus-V [FR]

Video from the channel La Chaîne Spatiale about Soyuz 2.1a, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 57:36. Language: French. Video type: Livestream.

The channel La Chaîne Spatiale broadcasts live, with French commentary, the launch of a Soyuz 2.1a. The main payloads are the Russian Earth-observation satellites Kanopus-V numbers 5 and 6, accompanied by several small satellites: Grus, D-Star One, UWE-4, Lemur, Lume-1, ZACube-2 and twelve Doves. The commentator explains that the launch was announced with little advance notice and that he is following an unofficial Russian video feed because Roscosmos does not broadcast it on its own channel. He clarifies that the rocket is not lifting off from Baikonur, but from a cosmodrome in Siberia, with around −21 °C on the pad. That explains the thermal covering protecting the fairing and the satellites from the cold until shortly before liftoff. He adds that this launcher configuration carries a Fregat upper stage. Much of the broadcast is devoted to answering questions from the chat.

After the countdown, the engines reach full power and the launcher lifts off in front of a camera positioned about 10 km away. The four strap-on boosters then separate, drawing the so-called Korolev cross in the footage, and the commentator explains the phase of maximum aerodynamic pressure (max Q). From that point on, only the core stage keeps running. A camera aboard the second stage provides live footage with telemetry. It shows the separation of that stage and the Fregat stage with the payload, which performs orientation maneuvers. The commentator stresses how unusual such onboard footage is in Russian launches.

The broadcast of the flight ends with the separation of the second stage and the Fregat underway. The commentator considers the launch concluded, but the deployment of the satellites is not announced live. Afterwards, the broadcast turns into a discussion about the rise of the private space sector, SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Firefly and Virgin Galactic, and about the channel's upcoming videos.