MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation and Kazakhstan’s National Space Agency Kazcosmos have decided to postpone the first launch of the Soyuz-5 carrier rocket. The decision is based on technical grounds, Roscosmos said in a statement.
"The project partners have decided to reschedule the first launch for a later date. This decision is based on technical grounds. It reflects the balanced approach of the participants, focused on the long-term reliability, safety, and successful operation of the system being created," Roscosmos emphasized.
They added that the launch date will be specified based on the results of all required procedures and agreed upon between the program participants.
Roscosmos Deputy General Director for Rocket Projects Dmitry Baranov emphasized that Roscosmos and Kazcosmos had decided to conduct additional checks of both onboard systems and ground equipment.
"This is necessary to collect statistics and to further ensure the launch's reliability and safety. We are not planning to time the rocket launch to any holiday or special occasion. Our goal is to ensure the success of the first test launch of the Soyuz-5 carrier rocket from the Baiterek space launch complex," he said.
The Soyuz-5 is an advanced Russian medium-class carrier rocket with increased lifting capacity, which is being developed under the Russian-Kazakh Baiterek project to deliver automatic spacecraft to near-Earth orbits, including with the use of upper stages. The new rocket is set to become fully operational in 2028. The Soyuz-5, developed and manufactured by the Samara-based Progress Rocket and Space Center, is designed to launch unmanned spacecraft into various low-Earth orbits. It is a two-stage launch vehicle with a sequential configuration. It utilizes reliable and flight-proven solutions, and the rocket boasts a high level of environmental safety due to the use of environmentally friendly rocket propellant components.