The Angara-A5 heavy space rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the Arkhangelsk region on Monday, December 14, at 08:50 Moscow time. The rocket is to deliver nearly 2.5 tons of cargo into geostationary orbit. Reportedly, the cargo is of no practical use.
The launch was the second for the Angara-A5 and the third for the Angara rockets. The first and only launch of the light Angara-1.2 rocket took place on July 9, 2014 from Plesetsk. The rocket flew on the ballistic trajectory to the area of the Kura range ground in Kamchatka. The flight lasted for 21 minutes, during which the carrier, together with an undetachable model weighing 1.43 tons, covered 5,700 kilometers.
Angara-A5 rocket launched on a flight test from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Dec. 14, 2020. (Credit: Roscosmos)
MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) Today, December 14, 2020, at 05:50 UTC, the Angara-A5 heavy-class carrier rocket was successfully launched from Russia’s Ministry of Defence State Test Space Center (Plesetsk cosmodrome) as part of flight design tests of the Angara rocket space complex. The launch vehicle was acquired by ground means of the VKS Titov Main Test Space Center.
Prelaunch preparation and launch of the carrier rocket were conducted by combat crews of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces and enterprises of Roscosmos. At the estimated time, 12 minutes 28 seconds after the liftoff, the Angara-A5.2L space rocket orbital block including the Briz-M upper stage and a spacecraft weight mockup separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle. Further injection of the orbital block into the target orbit is carried out with the help of the Briz-M propulsion system.