The State Corporation Roskosmos announced that today, December 14, 2020, at 08:50 Moscow time, the Angara-A5 heavy-class launch vehicle was successfully launched from the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region.
As specified in the department, all prelaunch operations and the launch of the rocket itself took place in the normal mode. They noted that ground assets of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces monitored the launch and flight of the launch vehicle.
Universal missile modules URM-1 and URM-2 serve as the basis for the creation of carrier rockets of the Angara family. The classes of the Angara launch vehicles are composed of a different number of URM-1 universal rocket modules for the lower stages. One URM-1 is used as part of the Angara-1.2 light-class launch vehicles. The maximum number of URM-1 can be a three-stage heavy missile "Angara-A5".
Angara launch vehicles do not use aggressive and toxic propellants, which makes it possible to significantly increase environmental safety indicators both in the areas adjacent to the launch complex and in the area where the spent stages of launch vehicles fall. The government customers of the Angara space rocket complex are the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the State Corporation Roscosmos, the lead developer and manufacturer is the State Space Research and Production Center named after M.V. Khrunichev.
Before that, only two launches were carried out, both from the Plesetsk cosmodrome: the light "Angara-1.2PP" was launched in July 2014, the first launch of the heavy "Angara" took place on December 23, 2014, then a payload model with a mass was launched into orbit 2 tons.
