The Angara-A5 heavy rocket was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome for the first time
There is a launch! Millions of Russians watched live the first launch of our new heavy rocket Angara-A5 from the Vostochny cosmodrome. Everything is normal.
As told in Roscosmos, the cyclogram of launching into orbit is as follows: 3 min 34 s - separation of the first stage of the rocket; 5 min 25 s - separation of the second stage of the rocket; 5 min 39 s - reset of the wings of the head fairing; 12 min 26 s - separation of the upper stage with payload.
This launch was supposed to take place on April 9th. It was postponed twice: a few minutes before the start, smart automation twice gave a "hang up". In the first case, it is due to a malfunction in the pressurization system of the oxidizer tank of the central block of the launch vehicle. In the second, as a preliminary analysis of telemetry showed, it was due to a malfunction in the engine start control system.
According to experts, during a test launch, and this one is exactly like that, this is normal practice. Testing any new technology, especially such a complex one, is always a big risk. Therefore, it is better to be safe than to create an emergency commission and find out the causes of the accident. And thanks to the automation: it copes very well.
The specialists have sorted everything out. And now the Angara A5 is flying!
Angara-A5 was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome for the first time / Authors: Roscosmos
The event is not just on a cosmic scale: a new page has been opened in Russian cosmonautics. And this is no exaggeration. It is with the help of Angara that a new Russian orbital station will be built, new manned ships and satellites will be launched into space. It will allow us to launch spacecraft of all types from our territory and provide independent guaranteed access to space.
The three-stage Angara-A5 is the first heavy launch vehicle developed in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. In the near future, it will completely replace the heavyweight Proton-M.
But this is not only the first launch of a new rocket from the East. This is the beginning of flight design tests of the Amur space rocket complex. Earlier, the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, stressed: "We are completing work on the Angara-A5M launch complex at Vostochny, we hope that we will carry out the first launch in the first decade of April. This is a very important event for the country, the space ground infrastructure will be strengthened."
The Angara-A5 and Angara-A5M launch vehicles are planned to be used as part of the Amur complex of the first stage at Vostochny.
Prior to that, from 2014 to 2021, three launches of the heavy Angara took place, all from the Plesetsk cosmodrome.
At the same time, the Orion upper stage is being tested. Russian cosmonautics has never known such a versatile "one-time" test.
What is the uniqueness of Angara-A5?
Recall that Angara is a family of Russian modular launch vehicles of various payload capacities, created on the basis of universal rocket modules with oxygen-kerosene engines.
The family includes launch vehicles from light to heavy classes in the payload range from 3.5 tons (Angara-1.2) to 38 tons (Angara-A5B) in low Earth orbit.
It has been written a lot that the uniqueness of Angara lies precisely in its modularity. It's like a constructor: on the same basis, you can assemble a rocket from a different number of blocks. Light, medium, and heavy, which differ in the number of steps.
The universal rocket module is a complete structure consisting of oxidizer and fuel tanks connected by a spacer and an engine compartment. What is very important? Unlike its predecessor, Proton, powered by heptyl, Angara is environmentally friendly. It does not use aggressive and toxic fuel components. Only liquid oxygen and kerosene. And this is a big plus to the safety of the areas adjacent to the launch complex, as well as the fall sites of spent steps.
And one more superstrike: the rocket uses exclusively Russian components.
