Russia's Angara booster rocket to be 'ready for tests' in 2012

Angara booster rocket
© RIA Novosti. Vladimir Fedorenko

14:52 27/01/2011

Russia's new generation Angara booster rocket will be ready for a test launch by 2012, the country's space force commander said on Thursday. "We plan that it will be fully prepared for launch in 2012," Oleg Ostapenko told reporters. "Everything is going according to plan."
Angara rockets, designed to provide lifting capabilities between 2,000 and 40,500 kg into low earth orbit, are expected to become the core of Russia's carrier rocket fleet, replacing several existing systems.
The rockets have a modular design similar to the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), based on a common Universal Rocket Module (URM).

MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti)

RIA NOVOSTI