oyuz are launched from the Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes. Because both facilities are landlocked, specific downrange drop zones are reserved for the impact of the first and second stages and payload fairing. The vehicles are therefore constrained to fly along launch azimuths that overfly these zones. Available inclinations are 52, 65, and 70 deg and sun-synchronous orbits from Baikonur, and 63, 67, 73, 82, and 90 deg and sun-synchronous orbits from Plesetsk.

The basic "Soyuz" is capable of reaching circular orbits only at very low altitudes, because it lacks a third stage restart capability. As a result, missions to space stations have not been delivered directly to the 407 km (220 nmi) reference orbit listed for other launch vehicles, but rather to lower altitude orbits. Spacecraft onboard propulsion then raises the spacecraft to the altitude of the space station. To achieve higher orbits, an upper stage is used: either the Block L in the "Molniya" configuration, or the new "Soyuz-Ikar" and "Soyuz-Fregat" upper stages. "Soyuz" family performance varies depending on the detailed vehicle configuration and operational assumptions. Unless noted the following performance information assumes commercial standard practices such as a flight performance reserve providing 99.7% probability of sufficient propellant for orbit insertion, and fairing jettison times that limit aeroheating levels to no more than 1135 W/m2 (0.1 BTU/ft2/s). Russian government missions may use different fairing jettison times or performance reserves, resulting in higher performance.

There are two operational pads at Baikonur: Pad 5 at LC 1 and Pad 6 at LC 31. There are three active pads at Plesetsk: LC 16 Pad 2, and LC 43 Pad 3 and 4. The oldest "Soyuz" complex at Plesetsk, LC 41, has apparently been deactivated. Launch rates from Plesetsk have plummeted since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 1996 TsSKB-Progress, the Russian Space Agency, Aerospatiale, and Arianespace entered into a joint venture, named Starsem, to market the "Soyuz" and "Molniya" rockets commercially to customers other than the Russian government. Starsem is headquartered near Paris. Starsem has invested $35 million at Baikonur to offer processing facilities comparable to those found at other world-class launch sites. Starsem also has begun investing in the development of the "Soyuz ST" vehicle, an improved version of the current "Soyuz U". This is actually the first step toward the upgraded "Soyuz 2" launcher, featuring the same payload fairing as the "Ariane 4". The "Soyuz ST" should be available on the market within two to three years. Starsem has been participating in studies with ESA and Arianespace to investigate the business opportunities of launching the "Soyuz" from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.