Soyuz orbits the French CSO-2 Earth observation satellite on Arianespace’s 10th launch of 2020 The medium-lift Soyuz launcher ascends from French Guiana with the CSO-2 satellite payload on Arianespace’s Flight VS25. Arianespace’s workhorse Soyuz was back in action today, delivering the French CSO-2 Earth observation satellite into Sun-synchronous orbit from the Spaceport. This afternoon’s launch, which began at the exact liftoff time of 1:42:07 p.m. in French Guiana, deployed the spacecraft passenger during a mission lasting just under one hour. It was Arianespace’s 10 th and final flight of 2020 – and the fifth this year using the medium-lift vehicle – coming just 11 days after another Soyuz was launched by the company and its Starsem affiliate from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome to deliver 36 satellites for the OneWeb constellation.