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First manned spaceship to be launched from Vostochny onboard Angara rocket — Roscosmos

Media reports said earlier that the creation of a super-heavy missile system would be included in the federal space program for 2016-2025

The construction site of the Vostochny Cosmodrome ITAR-TASS/Ivan Belozerov

The construction site of the Vostochny Cosmodrome

© ITAR-TASS/Ivan Belozerov

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Putin creates commission on Vostochny Cosmodrome construction

BAIKONUR, September 26. /ITAR-TASS/. The first manned spaceship will be launched from the Vostochny space facility onboard the Angara rocket, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Oleg Ostapenko said on Friday.

“This will be the Angara rocket. Everything has been spelled out. We’re working on that basis,” Ostapenko said.

Ostapenko said other carrier boosters would be launched from the Vostochny space facility as well. “We don’t rule out that more powerful boosters will be launched,” he said.

Media reports said earlier that the creation of a super-heavy missile system would be included in the federal space program for 2016-2025. Roscosmos asked to provide over 200 billion rubles (over $5 billion) to create such system at the Vostochny space facility.

According to earlier reports, the first manned launch from Vostrochny Cosmodrome is scheduled for 2018.

On September 23, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said the first manned spaceship would be launched from the new Vostochny space facility in the Russian Far East on time and without delay. “I would like to fix one very vital date which no one should call into question. I mean the year 2018 and the first manned launch from Vostochny (which is still under construction).”

On September 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a resolution to create a commission for the construction of Vostochny Cosmodrome. Rogozin was appointed as chairman of the commission.

Vostochny should become operational in 2015 and start sending manned missions in 2018.

The cosmodrome is intended for launching automatic and piloted space missions under national, international and commercial programs. Its construction started in 2012 and the first launch is expected to be carried out in by 2015 on board Soyuz-2 light carrier rockets. By 2018, it will be ready to launch heavy Angara-5A rockets. The cosmodrome will also have infrastructure for future piloted missions.

More than 400 social, engineering and transport infrastructure facilities, 115 km of roads and 125 km of railroads will be built at the cosmodrome.

Experts say that the commissioning of the cosmodrome will allow Russia to carry out independent and more effective space activities, launch more space vehicles, reduce environmental impact, facilitate economic development of the region, create new jobs in related industries, and make the region more attractive to investors.

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