Cluster Salsa & Samba

Soyuz-Fregat launched the first pair of ESA's Cluster II spacecraft, Salsa and Samba, into highly elliptical orbit from Baikonur to study the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere.

Outcome

Success

Orbit

Elliptical

Elliptical orbit

Payload to orbit

2.4 T

Flight

3rd

of 4 Soyuz-U/Fregat flights

Date and time

16 July 2000, 12:39 UTC

Rocket

Soyuz-U/Fregat

Builder

Progress RSC

Launch site

31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Payload

Earth Science

International designator

2000-041

Launches in 2000

43rd of 85

See it in orbit

Space Atlas shows the satellites and rocket stages from this launch in 3D.

View satellites in Space Atlas↗