On Thursday, Moscow succeeded in conducting a test launch of a new heavy missile from its space complex in the Far East, in an operation that comes after two failed attempts earlier this week.
The first launch attempt of the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny Spaceport, on Tuesday, was canceled about two minutes before the scheduled launch time due to a malfunction in the pressure system in the oxidizer tank – a unit that stores the oxygen needed for the engines to operate in the vacuum of space – of the central mass. For the missile.
Yuri Borisov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said that the second attempt on Wednesday also failed after the automatic safety system recorded a defect in the engine control mechanism.
He added that the problem is likely due to a programming error.
Thursday’s launch was the fourth of the “Angara-A5” missile, which is a heavy-weight version of the new Angara missile group that was developed to replace the Soviet-designed Proton missiles.
The previous three launches were carried out from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia leased the Baikonur Cosmodrome from Kazakhstan and continues to use it for most of its space launches.
The agreement with Kazakhstan allows Russia to continue leasing Baikonur for $115 million annually until 2050.
While Roscosmos continued to rely on Baikonur, Russian authorities developed Vostochny as the facility of choice for Angara launches.
Construction of the new spaceport took longer than planned, and has only been used sparingly so far.
The development of the Angara-A5 rocket – which is scheduled to be the main launch vehicle for the upcoming Russian lunar research program – has also faced repeated delays and is years behind schedule.
As with the Soviet-designed Proton rocket that Angara is scheduled to replace, the new rocket is intended to launch intelligence and communications satellites into geostationary orbits.
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