Russia Tests New Soyuz-5 Rocket in Successful Launch

Russia has test-launched its new Soyuz-5 rocket for the first time, the country’s space agency Roscosmos said late on Thursday, adding that it lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan without issues.

The Soyuz-5, which Roscosmos describes as a launch vehicle equipped with “the world’s most powerful liquid-fuelled engine”, lifted off at 9 p.m. Moscow time on 30 April, it said in a statement.

The new rocket is capable of carrying payloads of up to 17 metric tonnes, will significantly reduce launch costs and is more effective than its predecessors at placing objects like satellites in near-Earth orbit, the agency said.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov described the rocket as “a new step in space exploration” and said it would create jobs in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Bakanov said the Soyuz-5 is the first new launch vehicle Russia has developed since 2014.

(reuters, bak)