The Angara rocket, currently under development by Khrunichev center, is designed to put heavy payloads into orbit. It is intended mainly for launch from the Plesetsk center to reduce Moscow's dependence on Kazakhstan's Baikonur, the main launch facility for the current generation of Russian rockets.
The new line of rockets will complement, and eventually replace, the existing line of Rockot and Proton launch vehicles. It will be available in a range of configurations capable of lifting between two and 24.5 metric tons into low-earth orbit.
The Angara family will be used for military and civilian purposes, specifically to put into orbit satellites as part of the Federal Space Program, as well as joint international space projects.
Flight tests of the Angara rocket are due to start in 2010. In early 2011, a lighter version of Angara is to be launched and by the end of the same year a heavy-class, Angara-5, vehicle will lift off, according to the Khrunichev center.
