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First plane lands at Vostochny cosmodrome’s airport — Roscosmos

The aircraft was operated by the crew of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, headed by the commander of the joint aviation detachment Vadim Yunders

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. The airport of the Vostochny Spaceport, currently under construction, has received the first airplane, the press service of Roscosmos corporation told the media.

"A Tupolev-134 airplane of the state corporation Roscosmos has landed at the airport of Vostochny Spaceport during a test flight to check the technical readiness of its runway. It was the first landing of the airplane at the airport of Vostochny," the news release reads. The aircraft was operated by the crew of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (part of Roscosmos), headed by the commander of the joint aviation detachment Vadim Yunders.

The state corporation added that the crew practiced an exercise to prepare for an approach and carry out a landing in a situation where the available means facilitating approach are limited.

"After a brief pause on the ground and preparations for another departure, the aircraft left for Blagoveshchensk," Roscosmos concluded.

In late July, Roscosmos reported that the Vostochny airport complex had received the first incoming flight. It was a helicopter that took a special reconnaissance commission on an inspection tour of territories to determine likely landing sites for a future reusable first stage of the Amur launch vehicle.

At the moment, construction of the second stage facilities, including the airport complex, is underway at Vostochny. In April, the Ground Space Infrastructure Facilities Operation Center (part of Roscosmos) announced plans for increasing the length of the runway from three kilometers to four.

Last November, Roscosmos told TASS that construction work on the launch complex for the Angara launch vehicle at the Vostochny Cosmodrome was 75% complete.

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