One of eight segments for the support crown is readied to be hoisted at the Spaceport’s Soyuz launch site. Once installed, the crown will be equipped with a pair of umbilical masts, as well as the four support booms that sustain an erected Soyuz vehicle in its suspended position when installed over the launch pad.

The French Guiana site is nearly identical in design with the launch pads used for Soyuz family vehicles at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome. One difference is the support crown’s fixed installation at French Guiana. At the other sites, it rotates to set the desired launch azimuth. This is not necessary at the Spaceport, as the Soyuz-2 vehicles to be flown from French Guiana have a digital flight control system that manages the launch azimuth during ascent.

Four of the support crown’s segments are shown after their placement in the inset portion of the Soyuz’ concrete launch pad.  The wide-angle camera lens used to take this photo causes some distortion in the background, including the “bending” effect for two of the launch site’s towers that provide protection against lightning strikes.

Workers prepare to raise the Soyuz’ umbilical mast for placement atop the support crown.  Development of the launch site at French Guiana is managed by the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) with involvement of Russian companies responsible for construction of the other Soyuz launch sites at Baikonur and Plesetsk Cosmodromes – which includes the V.P.Barmin Design Bureau of General Machine-building (KBOM).

The Soyuz’ umbilical mast is prepared for installation on a caisson structure atop the support crown.  This mast provides fluids and electrical connections for the launcher’s Block I third stage, as well as its Fregat upper stage and the vehicle’s payload.  A second mast, to be installed later, is shorter and services the Soyuz vehicle’s Block A core stage.

The umbilical mast is positioned atop its caisson structure on the support crown. During a final countdown for Soyuz, this mast is retracted first, pivoting away from the launcher to a position clear of the vehicle. The second umbilical mast – which is to be installed on the same caisson structure – will be retracted just prior to the Soyuz’ liftoff.

This overview photo shows the Soyuz launch site as the umbilical mast is installed on the support crown.  The massive Soyuz launch facility includes the four-level reinforced concrete structure that serves as the launch pad, which is positioned over a 149-meter wide X 123-meter long flame duct.