A highly realistic simulated launch of Soyuz from French Guiana today marked a major step closer to this medium-lift launcher’s service introduction with Arianespace. Making a “virtual” liftoff at 4:00 p.m. local time, the simulation reproduced a nominal 30-minute flight of Soyuz, concluding with a representative deployment of a 2,570 kg. broadband services relay satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. The first real Soyuz flight from the Spaceport is planned later this year. The Russian-built launcher will join Arianespace’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the lightweight Vega, creating a family of vehicles operating at French Guiana.