In a significant milestone, Russia successfully launched its Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Thursday. This marks the first successful attempt after two consecutive missions were aborted due to technical glitches.
The Angara-A5, a new post-Soviet launch vehicle, aims to demonstrate Russia's ambitious space endeavors and the increasing importance of Vostochny, nestled in the dense forests of the Amur region in Russia's Far East.
\"There is an engine start, the flight is normal,\" announced Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, during its live translation. \"All systems are functioning normally.\" Minutes after liftoff, the rocket reached speeds exceeding 25,000 kilometers per hour and successfully entered orbit.
The mission carried a test payload, and Roscosmos confirmed that the upper section of the rocket separated as intended, placing the payload into orbit without issues.
The successful launch follows a canceled mission on Wednesday, which was aborted due to a malfunction in the engine launch control system.
The Angara project was initiated a few years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Designed as a Russian-made launch vehicle, Angara ensures that Russia maintains independent access to space without relying on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is leased from Kazakhstan.
The first test flight of the Angara-A5 took place in 2014, with another follow-up launch in 2020 from Plesetsk. Roscosmos emphasized that this latest launch signifies the beginning of flight design tests for the Amur space rocket complex, utilizing Angara's heavy-class launch vehicles at Vostochny.
Additionally, Roscosmos highlighted that the Angara-A5 is more environmentally friendly compared to Russia's Proton M rocket, which has been in operation since the mid-1960s.
Reference(s):
Russia launches 1st Angara-A5 rocket from Vostochny Cosmodrome
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