Rocket DB

Head to head

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat vs Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M

Two vehicles in the same payload class. Every figure below comes from the same two sources for both rockets, and a row appears only when both publish the input.

Payload to low Earth orbit

Relative

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat: 8,200 kg

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M: 8,200 kg

Side by side

11 comparable figures

The highlighted value wins the row. Rows where neither direction is better, like length or stage count, highlight nothing.

MetricSoyuz 2.1b/FregatSoyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Flights flown2636
Success rate92.3%100%
Payload to LEO (kg)8,2008,200
Payload to GTO (kg)3,2503,250
Launch cost$80M$48.5M
Cost per kg to LEO$9,756$5,915
Liftoff thrust (kN)4,1504,150
Length (m)46.346.3
Diameter (m)2.9510.3
Launch mass (t)312313
Stages44

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat

Flight record
92.3% success rate24 of 26 flown · 2 failed
2006peak 2011 · 4 flights2026

Maiden flight 2006-12-27. Still flying.

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M

Flight record
100% success rate36 of 36 flown
2017peak 2021 · 8 flights2026

Maiden flight 2008-07-26. Still flying.

Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat is built by Progress Rocket Space Center of Russia.Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M is built by Progress Rocket Space Center of Russia (company profile on Space Index).

Full specifications and the complete launch history for each: Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat · Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M.

Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.