Cosmonauts will fly on the Angara in 2028 (VIDEO)

The Angara-A5 heavy rocket with the Orion upper stage and a “test payload” went on a test flight from the Vostochny Cosmodrome for the first time.

The launch took place on the third attempt; the first two launches on April 9 and 10 were canceled at the last moment due to system failures.

This is the fourth launch of the Angara-A5. All previous ones took place from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The main launch site should be Vostochny, so today’s launch was a test not only of the rocket, but also of the cosmodrome.

Roscosmos said that the Orion upper stage launched the Gagarinets small satellite, developed by the private company Avant Space, into low-Earth orbit. The state corporation claims that in 2028, Angara-A5 will deliver a manned spacecraft into orbit.

The Angara-A5 should replace the heavy Proton rocket, the first launch of which took place 60 years ago. Russia launches Protons from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

On August 3, 1992, based on the decision of the scientific and technical council of the Military Space Forces on the issue “Launcher vehicles: state and prospects for their modernization and development” and the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 15, 1992, a competition was announced for the design and creation of the space rocket launch vehicle complex) heavy class. RSC Energia took part in the competition. Academician S.P. Korolev, State Research and Production Space Center named following. M.V. Khrunichev and the State Research Center “KB named following. Academician V.P. Makeev,” who presented several options for launch vehicles for consideration by a specially formed interdepartmental expert commission. By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of January 6, 1995 “On the development of the Angara missile complex”, work on the creation of the Angara missile system is defined as work of special national importance. In March, an order was issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding this complex.

In 2012, the head of the Federal Space Agency, who was previously the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, V. A. Popovkin estimated the costs incurred for the development of Angara as follows: “After all, the same Angara cost us more than 160 billion rubles. This is a big figure,” that is, 5.33 billion dollars at the rate of 30 rubles per US dollar.