On December 27, 2006, a Starsem Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat rocket successfully launched the CoRoT (Convection, Rotation et Transits planétaires) space telescope from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

This mission marked the inaugural flight of the upgraded Soyuz 2.1b variant, featuring a more powerful RD-0124 engine, designed to survey stars and detect extrasolar planets.

Key Aspects of the Soyuz 2.1B / CoRoT Mission:

Launch Vehicle:

The Soyuz 2.1b is a medium-lift launch vehicle featuring a digital flight control system and a redesigned third stage, allowing for improved payload capacity.

Payload:

The 630 kg CoRoT satellite was developed by the French Space Agency (CNES) in collaboration with international partners.

Mission Purpose:

CoRoT was the first spacecraft dedicated to detecting transiting exoplanets and performing stellar seismology (studying star oscillations).

Success:

The launch was successful, placing CoRoT into an 850-kilometer polar orbit.

Legacy:

Despite a fatal computer failure in 2012, CoRoT operated beyond its intended 2.5-year lifespan, discovering 32 exoplanets, including the first rocky exoplanet (CoRoT-7b), as reported by Wikipedia.

The 2006 CoRoT launch was crucial in proving the capabilities of the upgraded Soyuz 2.1b rocket, which became a standard launcher for scientific and commercial missions, including those from the Guiana Space Centre.