Vostochny Cosmodrome preparing Angara-A5 rocket for first launch in March 2024

MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - Specialists at Vostochny Cosmodrome are preparing an Angara-A5 rocket for its first launch due in March 2024, Roscosmos said.

"Today, specialists are checking the completeness and operability of technological systems and technical complexes before assembly and testing, as well as the sequence of technological operations and the connectivity of the launch vehicle's components," Roscosmos said.

Autonomous checks of the launch vehicle's units will begin on Thursday, it said.

Roscosmos said on January 9 that the first operational Angara-A5 had been delivered to Vostochny for flight tests.

Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said on December 26, 2023, that the inaugural launch of the Angara-A5 rocket from Vostochny was scheduled for March 2024.

According to Roscosmos, the cosmodrome successfully completed comprehensive trials of the Angara-NZh operational mockup on December 11.

Angara is a family of Russian modular launch vehicles with various lifting capacities, based on universal modules powered by oxygen-kerosene engines. The family ranges from light to heavy with the ability to carry payloads of 3.5 tonnes (Angara-1.2) to 38 tonnes (Angara-A5V) to a low circumterrestrial orbit.