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Vostochny spaceport gears up for historic Angara-A5 launch

Roscosmos reported the arrival of the first Angara at Vostochny in early January

MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. Preparations for the first launch of the Angara-A5 heavy launch vehicle have begun at the Vostochny spaceport, the Roscosmos corporation has said.

"Today, experts are scrutinizing the integrity and operability of technological systems and technical suite before assembly and testing, as well as the sequence of technological operations and compatibility of the launch vehicle’s components. Tomorrow, independent checks of the launch vehicle’s units will commence," Roscosmos said in a statement.

Roscosmos reported the arrival of the first Angara at Vostochny in early January.

In December, the state corporation’s CEO, Yuri Borisov, said that the Angara launch complex at Vostochny was almost completely ready. The first launch from there is scheduled for March.

Angara is a family of Russian-engineered and manufactured launch vehicles of various classes (from light to heavy). The new family uses environmentally friendly propellant components. The first (light configuration) rocket from the Angara family blasted off from the Plesetsk spaceport on July 9, 2014. On December 23, 2014, a heavy Angara-A5 was test-launched from Plesetsk.

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