18.02 New Russian Rocket Mock-Up Rolls Out to Launch Pad

MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – A full-scale mock-up of Russia’s first large post-Soviet rocket has been rolled out to a launch pad at the Plesetsk space center.

The mock-up of the Angara, built by the Khrunichev aerospace research and production center, will be used to test ground support systems ahead of the maiden launch of the vehicle scheduled for later this year.

The Angara is expected to launch both government and commercial satellites either as a single rocket or in several configurations of booster stages clustered together for heavier payloads.

The modular launcher will be able to cover a wide range of payload classes now served by rockets built by a number of Russian manufacturers, including the Proton, the country’s largest booster.

The engine developed for the Angara will burn kerosene and liquid oxygen, which is deemed by an order of magnitude more environmentally friendly than the toxic hydrazine used in the Proton.