Russia’s next-generation rocket is a decade outdated and nonetheless flying dummy payloads

Technicians assemble an Angara A5 rocket at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East.

Enlarge / Technicians assemble an Angara A5 rocket on the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. (credit score: Roscosmos)

By some measures, Russia’s next-generation flagship rocket program—the Angara—is now three many years outdated. The Russian authorities authorized the event of the Angara rocket in 1992, quickly after the autumn of the Soviet Union ushered in a protracted financial recession.

It has been almost 10 years since Russia launched the primary Angara take a look at flights. The heaviest model of the Angara rocket household—the Angara A5—is about to make its fourth flight, and just like the three launches earlier than, this mission will not carry an actual satellite tv for pc.

This subsequent launch can be a milestone for the beleaguered Angara rocket program as a result of it is going to be the primary Angara flight from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s latest launch web site, within the nation’s far east. The earlier Angara launches had been based mostly out of the military-run Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

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