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Technical concept of super-heavy rocket not determined yet - source

Several options are under consideration, the source in the national rocket and space industry told

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Specialists of the Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos and companies of the sector participating in development of a super-heavy class rocket has not yet finalized the technical concept of the new carrier, a source in the national rocket and space industry told TASS on Saturday.

"Several options of the rocket’s technical concept has been considered today at the coordination council’s meeting. Several reports were made but no decisions were taken according to results of the meeting, except the report to be presented to national policymakers concerning the technical concept of the carrier in early 2019," the source said.

Specialist will present final versions of the technical concept for the ultra-heavy carrier rocket and the feasibility study of the project to the establishment early next year, Roscosmos said earlier

In accordance with the designers’ plans, the Russian super-heavy carrier rocket should be able to deliver more than 70 tonnes of cargo into low near-Earth orbit at the first stage. Its basic task is to provide for a possibility of flights into deep space, in particular, to the Moon, Mars and other planets. The construction of infrastructure for this rocket is due to begin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East in 2026 and its first launch is scheduled to take place in 2028.

The concept of creating a super-heavy carrier rocket envisages maximally utilizing the accumulated technological potential. The super-heavy carrier rocket will also incorporate the elements and technologies of the medium-class Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, which Russia is developing. In Roscosmos’s estimates, the work to create a super-heavy carrier rocket and build the required infrastructure for it will cost 1.5 trillion rubles ($22.4 billion).