The first launch of a Russian Soyuz-ST carrier rocket from the Spaceort Kourou in French Guiana is now set for April 2010 marking a new era in Russian and European space launch cooperation. It marks a significant step for the federal Russian space agency, which has mostly relied on the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk spaceport in northern Russia. It will be the first time a Russian-made Soyuz has launched from the Americas.French Guiana's closeness to the equator allows heavier payloads as launches can gain extra momentum from the Earth's own spinning motion. The Soyuz-ST rockets will be able to carry three tonnes instead of the usual 1.7 tonnes. The rocket will be able to get freight into space or, the Return version of the fully automatic European ATV transporter, later version for transport "fly me back" for ISS astronauts.
Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos and French satellite launch firm Arianespace signed an estimated $400-million contract deal last year to launch 10 Russian Soyuz-ST carrier rockets from a separate launch pad near Sinnamari, a village 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Kourou site used for the Ariane-5, the main European-made booster. Kourou is located 50 km (31 miles) from the town of Cayenne on the Atlantic coast of South America.
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