The first launch of the Angara-A5 heavy-class launch vehicle from the Vostochny Cosmodrome will take place on Tuesday, April 9, at 12:00 Moscow time. This launch will be unique because Roscosmos will simultaneously test several developments: the Orion upper stage and the newest Amur space rocket system. Read more about the rocket, the history of launches, as well as where you can watch the launch in the Izvestia article.
Launch of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle: where to watch online
On Tuesday, April 9, the first launch of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle will take place from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The corresponding statement was published on the website of the Roscosmos state corporation on April 8. The launch broadcast can be viewed on the official page Roscosmos on YouTube and “In contact with”, or on the Roscosmos website, it will connect at 11:00 Moscow time.
During launch, four blocks of the first stage will separate from the rocket after approximately 3.5 minutes, and after 5.5 minutes the second stage will separate. Approximately 12.5 minutes after launch, the upper stage with the test payload will separate from the third stage of the Angara and continue to insert it into the target orbit.
The launch of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle with the Orion upper stage will be carried out from the launch complex at site No. 1A of the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region. Until today, Angara-class rockets were launched exclusively from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. This will be the sixth space launch in Russia in 2024 and the second from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Angara-A5 rocket: technical characteristics
“Angara” is a family of Russian unified launch vehicles from light to heavy class. With their help, it is possible to launch up to 37.5 tons of payload into low Earth orbit. The development of rockets was carried out by the State Space Research and Production Center named after. M.V. Khrunichev (GKNPTs), who decided to use environmentally friendly fuel based on kerosene in rockets. Roscosmos emphasizes that due to the refusal to use toxic heptyl-based fuel in rockets of this class (Proton rockets fly on it), environmental indicators for the areas adjacent to the cosmodrome, as well as the areas where spent stages fall, are significantly increased.
There are three modifications of the Angara launch vehicles:
— “Angara-1.2”. Lightweight two-stage rocket with a lifting capacity of 3.5 tons;
— “Angara-A3”. Medium three-stage rocket. Initially, its development was abandoned due to the creation of a launch vehicle of the same class, Soyuz-5. The resumption of the Angara-A3 project was announced in 2022;
— “Angara-A5”. A heavy three-stage rocket with a payload capacity of 24 tons. The Angara-A5V is at the design development stage, which is planned to have a payload capacity of 37.5 tons.
According to Roscosmos, the height of the Angara-A5 rocket without the warhead is 32.8 m, and the launch weight (without the warhead) is 761 tons, the total is 773 tons. Its payload is approximately 24-24.5 tons at low low-Earth orbit (200 km).
The first launch of the Angara-A5 rocket took place on December 23, 2014. To date, three launches have been carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, the last one is December 27, 2021. The fourth launch of this rocket will take place on April 9. It will be the first from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. In total, over the past 10 years, six Angara missiles have launched from Plesetsk: three light and three heavy.
The importance of launching the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome
In 2018, construction of the second launch complex for Angara rockets began at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The first launch of a rocket of this class was planned for December 2023, but then it was postponed to the first quarter of 2024. The launch complex is designed to carry out 10 launches annually.
According to the head of the Roscosmos corporation, Yuri Borisov, The first launch of the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny cosmodrome plays an important role for the country, as it will strengthen the space and ground infrastructure. In addition, it is expected that in the near future the Angara-A5 rocket will replace the Proton-M, which is launched exclusively from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, located in Kazakhstan. The improvement of the Russian cosmodrome in the Amur region is expected to make it possible to carry out major launches from there, which will allow the development of the country's space fleet.
With the help of rockets of this family, it is planned to launch automatic vehicles into low-Earth orbit (for example, the Spektr-UV orbital observatory), part of the modules of the promising Russian orbital station, as well as a new generation manned transport ship that will deliver crews to the station.
In addition, with this launch, flight design tests of the Amur space rocket complex are expected to begin, which includes both the launch vehicle itself and the infrastructure of the cosmodrome.
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