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Russia to make launches under lunar program from Vostochny spaceport in Far East

Subsequent works for implementing the Moon program, including a flight around the Moon and landing on the Moon, will be performed after 2025, an official says

KOROLYOV (Moscow Region), April 11. /TASS/. Russia will launch space vehicles under its Moon exploration program from the Vostochny spaceport in the Amur Region in the Russian Far East, General Designer of Energiya Rocket and Space Corporation Yevgeny Mikrin said on Monday.

The Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan won’t be used for the purpose, he added.

"Subsequent works for implementing the Moon program, including a flight around the Moon and landing on the Moon, will be performed after 2025. All the launches will be made from the Vostochny space center," he said at the corporation’s scientific and technical conference.

Under the existing plans, the first launch of the spacecraft Federatsiya in an unmanned mode is scheduled for 2021 and its manned flight to the International Space Station is expected in 2023, he said.

"The Moon exploration program envisages the creation of a manned lunar spacecraft, launch vehicles with increased carrying capacity, an acceleration unit and an inter-orbital tug and lunar infrastructure," Mikrin said.