Next Generation Rocket Angara: News

A train with blocks of the design and technological electric refueling model of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle and special equipment sent from the Omsk branch of the GKNPTs named after A.I. M.V. Khrunichev.

Specialists of the Vostochny Space Center (a branch of JSC TsENKI, part of Roskosmos) carried out the acceptance procedure for the cars, after which they will be transported to the Technical Complex of the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Further, according to the work schedule, the calculation of specialists from Roscosmos enterprises will begin comprehensive testing of the Vostochny technical and launch complexes using the Angara-NZh.

Angara-NZh (ground-based liquid) is a full-size copy of the Angara-A5 rocket, designed to work out the preparation of the first flight rocket for launch and certification of the technical and launch complexes of the Amur space rocket complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome.

State Space Research and Production Center named after M.V. Khrunichev (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) sent from its branch, the Omsk Production Association Polet, the Angara-A5 launch vehicle for the first launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome. This launch will open a new page in the history of the Russian rocket and space industry.

Specialists from Polet, with the participation of structural divisions of the Khrunichev Center, completed tests of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle. Based on the results of tests, analysis and verification of all launch vehicle systems for compliance with the integrated engineering and technical solutions, the readiness of Angara-A5 to begin flight tests at the Vostochny cosmodrome was confirmed.

At Vostochny, the creation and testing of the functionality of the infrastructure of the technical complex for the preparation of Angara launch vehicles has been completed. Roscosmos specialists completed and confirmed, including with the help of an electric refueling mock-up of the Angara-A5 launch vehicle - Angara-NZh, the readiness and operability of the launch complex systems. Thus, the space infrastructure for the Angara launch vehicles at Vostochny is ready to begin preparing the first flight rocket for launch.

The Khrunichev Center is the lead developer and manufacturer of the Angara space rocket systems at the Plesetsk cosmodrome and the Amur complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome, which use the latest Russian Angara launch vehicles. The enterprise is entrusted with a national-scale task - the introduction into operation of new launch vehicles of various payloads.

As part of the Amur space rocket complex of the first stage at the Vostochny cosmodrome, it is planned to use three-stage heavy-class launch vehicles Angara-A5 and Angara-A5M.

kvs wrote:The Soyuz 5 needs facilities at Vostochny just like Angara.   There is nothing specific about Baikonur that it is the only choice.    Russia also has to
plan the SHLV derivative to be launched from Russian territory.    

The Orion upper stage in a technological flight design, intended for the second stage of complex and flight testing of the Amur space rocket complex, was delivered to the Vostochny cosmodrome on December 23.
Specialists of the Vostochny Space Center of the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure Facilities together with the developers of the upper stage from the S.P. Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. Korolev (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) unloaded and transported the container with Orion to the installation and testing building. Before this, the container was cleaned in the thermal vestibule of the block warehouse.

In the near future, electrical and pneumatic vacuum tests of the upper stage will begin, work with which is being carried out for the first time at Vostochny.

kvs wrote:Sea Launch from the Black Sea makes sense compared to Baikonur.   The latter is at about 45N while the former is at 43N (in the center).   Staging
Sea Launch from the far east and sailing it down to the tropics would involve a large time penalty.   Probably not worth the payload gain from an
equatorial launch.