A contract on Saturday, September 20, for the acquisition of ten Soyuz launch vehicles was signed between Arianespace and Roskosmos, the Russian space agency. The contract was signed in Sochi during a French-Russian governmental seminar, attended by the French and Russian prime ministers. These Soyuz rockets will be launched from either the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, or the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, starting in the second half of 2009. The contract provides for the supply of 10 Soyuz ST launchers (three stages, fairing and Fregat upper stage), along with the preparation and launch operations. It follows the contract signed in June 2007 covering the first four Soyuz rockets to be launched from the Guiana Space Center. This latest step forward in European-Russian collaboration on the Soyuz launcher reflects the commercial success of upcoming Soyuz launches from the Guiana Space Center. The Soyuz launcher will be operated from the Guiana Space Center starting in the second half of 2009, along with the Ariane 5 heavy launcher and the Vega light launcher.