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Russian space industry to deliver four Angara carrier rockets in 2021

A heavy Angara-A5 rocket is due to test a new booster this year

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. Four Angara carrier rocket will be accepted for service this year but not all of them will blast off by January, Head of Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday.

"This year, we will most likely try to commission four rockets: two heavy and two light launch vehicles. However, this does not mean that all of them will lift off this year but two of them will make their spaceflight: one light and one heavy rocket," Rogozin said.

A heavy rocket will be commissioned in June and a light carrier in July. The other launch vehicles are expected to be commissioned by the end of the year, the Roscosmos chief said.

A heavy Angara-A5 rocket is due to test a new booster this year, Rogozin specified.

"Previously, it flew together with a Briz upper stage and now this is a DM booster. Its new name is Persei," he explained, adding that the payload for the rocket would be chosen by the military. "Our competence is to deliver the rocket, the booster, carry out tests and confirm technical characteristics," the Roscosmos chief said.

Rogozin also said it would be nice to launch a spacecraft atop an Angara heavy rocket but the specifics of tests offered a "narrow maneuver" for selecting the payload. "There are payloads that can be placed atop this rocket but we must check the geostationary orbit [about 36,000 km above the Earth]. Not each spacecraft can be delivered there," the Roscosmos chief said.

The Angara is a family of next-generation Russian space rockets. It consists of light, medium and heavy carrier rockets with a lifting capacity of up to 37.5 tonnes. The new family of rockets uses environmentally-friendly propellant components. The first two launches of Angara heavy rockets took place from the Plesetsk spaceport on December 23, 2014 and on December 14, 2020.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) organized by the Roscongress Foundation is running on June 2-5. This year, the forum’s motto is: "Together Again. Economy of New Reality." Within the SPIEF format, the forums of small and medium business, Healthy Society, Drug Security and the SPIEF Junior special youth workshop will be held.

The SPIEF’21 forum is being held in the offline format with the observance of all the epidemiological safety measures. TASS is an information partner and the official photo hosting agency of the forum.