23 December 2014, 18:17 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The next launch of Russia’s newest ecologically friendly heavy-class Angara-A5 carrier rocket is scheduled for 2016, Andrei Kalinovsky, the acting head of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, said Wednesday.
“The rocket will be ready this year, the launch has been scheduled for 2016,” he told reporters.
The maiden launch of Angara-A5 took place in December 2014. The rocket successfully launched a dummy payload into orbit.
The Angara family of space-launch vehicles is designed to provide lifting capabilities of between four and 35 metric tons, which it can launch into low Earth orbits. It has been in development since 1995.
According to the Khrunichev Space Center, the Angara system will provide Russia with the capabilities of launching any type of spacecraft from its territory, and will ensure Russia's independent access to outer space.
