Russia Launches First Angara-A5 rocket
Russia on Thursday, conducted the inaugural test launch of its Angara-A5 space rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East, successfully putting a test load into low orbit as part of its endeavour to develop a new launch vehicle in the post-Soviet era.
This milestone event, marking Russia’s first post-Soviet space rocket launch, signifies Moscow’s aspiration to assert itself as a prominent player in space exploration, highlighting the increasing significance of the Vostochny Cosmodrome located in the Amur region’s forests in Russia’s Far East.
Despite facing setbacks with two aborted launch attempts on both Tuesday and Wednesday due to issues with the pressurization system and subsequently the engine launch-control system, Russian space officials achieved success on the third attempt, bringing a sense of relief just hours before Russia commemorates Cosmonaut Day, commemorating the historic flight of Yuri Gagarin, who became the first human in outer space 63 years ago under the Soviet Union.
‘‘There is an engine start, the flight is normal,” mission control said as the rocket blasted off to space, reaching more than 25,000 kilometres (15,500 miles) per hour in minutes.
“The fuel tanks detached and then the central section detached and a test load was placed into orbit,” Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos said.
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“The rocket worked normally,” Roscosmos said. “With this launch, flight design tests of the Amur space rocket complex with Angara heavy-class launch vehicles on Vostochny began.”
According to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, the 54.5-meter (178.81-foot) three-stage rocket, weighing approximately 773 tonnes, is capable of carrying around 24.5 tonnes into space.
The defence ministry is also involved in the project, which Moscow says uses only Russian components and less environmentally damaging fuel and will replace the Proton M as Russia’s heavy-lift rocket, which has been in operation since the mid-1960s.
The Angara project was initiated a few years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, with the objective of creating a domestically produced launch vehicle that would ensure space access independent of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which Russia leases from Kazakhstan.
“The creation of the Angara space rocket complex (KRK) is a task of special national importance,” Roscosmos said.
“The commissioning of the Angara spacecraft will allow Russia to launch spacecraft of all types from its territory and provide our country with independent guaranteed access to space.”
The first Angara-A5 test flight took place in 2014, and another followed in 2020, both from Plesetsk in northern Russia. A partial test followed in 2021 that was a failure.
Reuters
