Russia launches first Angara-A5 space rocket after 2 aborted launches
- Russia test launched its Angara-A5 rocket for the first time after technical glitches prompted officials to abort missions at the last minute two days in a row
- The launch of the Angara-A5 rocket, a new post-Soviet launch vehicle, is intended to showcase Russia’s post-Soviet space ambitions
“The rocket worked according to plan. The upper stage separated ... and is currently putting the test payload into target orbit,” the Roscosmos space agency said in a social media post shortly after the launch.
The first attempt to launch the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny spaceport on Tuesday was cancelled about two minutes before the scheduled lift-off due to a failure of the pressurisation system of the oxidiser tank in the central block of the rocket.
The second attempted launch on Wednesday was also aborted by the automatic safety system, which registered a flaw in the engine start control mechanism, said Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos. He added that the failure was most likely rooted in a programming error.
The launch of the Angara, a new post-Soviet launch vehicle, is intended to showcase Russia’s post-Soviet space ambitions and the growing role played by Vostochny which sits in the forests of the Amur region of Russia’s Far East.