Russia’s Roscosmos space agency conducted a successful orbital test launch of its new Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket, opening a new chapter in space travel for the country.
The Angara A5 launched its fourth orbital test launch on April 11, and the first from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east. The 179-foot-tall (54.5 meters) rocket is made entirely from Russian components and uses a more environmentally friendly fuel than the country’s previous heavy rocket, the Proton-M.
“The rocket worked according to plan,” Roscosmos said in a Telegram message after the launch. “This launch marks the start of the flight design tests of the Amur space rocket with heavy launchers from Angara in Vostochny.”
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The launch came after a failed attempt on April 9 and a delayed second attempt on April 10. This is the fourth time that Roscosmos has launched the Angara A5. The first test flight took place in 2014, the second in 2020.
In 2021, the Russian Space Agency launched the rocket on its third test mission, but it missed its intended orbit when the second stage experienced an anomaly.
The April 11 flight was a success, according to Roscosmos, which reported via Telegram that the Angara A5 successfully placed a cubesat developed by Avant Space into low Earth orbit.
“The creation of the Angara space rocket complex (KRK) is a task of special national importance,” Roscosmos said, according to Reuters. “The commissioning of the Angara spacecraft will allow Russia to launch all types of spacecraft from its territory and provide our country with independent guaranteed access to space.”
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The experimental cubesat launched into orbit aboard Angara A5, known as Gagarinets, will be used to verify a laser system designed to project images such as QR codes or advertisements into the night sky , according to Avant Space.
The company claims that a constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 500 to 600 kilometers can project images visible even in cities with high levels of light pollution. According to Avant Space, these artificial aerial images will be visible to millions of people for three to five minutes.
