Russia: successful launch of a new generation Angara rocket
Moscow – Russia successfully launched its next-generation Angara rocket on Monday, the first developed in the country since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The rocket lifted off Monday as agreed from the Plessetsk Military Cosmodrome (North) at 08:50 (0550 GMT), the Roskosmos space agency said in a statement, saying the launch was successful.
An Angara rocket, in its light version, was also launched in July 2014.
The Angara rocket was designed to replace the Proton launchers, the earliest versions of which date from the 1960s.
The Angara also uses cleaner technology, since it is powered by a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen, much less polluting than the toxic propellants used for Proton launchers.
–
