VOSTOCHNY SPACE SITE, September 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved plans for creating super-heavy rockets, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.

“Today, (Russia's space agency) Roscosmos' plans to begin the work on a super-heavy rocket were voiced at the presidential level for the first time,” Rogozin said, adding that on all previous occasions there were mostly informal conversations and discussions.

“In principle, one can say today that Putin gave a go-ahead to the beginning of this work,” Rogozin said.

This means, he explained, that after finalizing the entire family of the Angara rockets of light, medium and heavy class, Russian designers will focus on creating a rocket capable of carrying a fundamentally different payload.

“Not seven, fifteen or even twenty five tons, but 120-150 tons,” Rogozin said.

Against this background, the plans for building a launch pad for the Angara rocket of the heavy class remained unchanged.

“However, some of Roscosmos’s ideas of reducing the number of launch pads might let us use some money to start building a launch pad for a super heavy rocket,” Rogozin speculated. He believes that it must be done without delay, because finalizing the project, securing its approval by the president and government and building the rocket itself would take a while.

“We shall be obliged to come close to creating this class of rockets immediately after 2020,” Rogozin said. “This would confirm Russia’s dominating role in matters related to the creation of a heavy class rocket and a return all the very best that there was in Soviet society. While discussing Vostochny space site-related issues, the president in fact supported this idea related with the federal space program."