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Launch of Angara-5 Is Beginning of Orbital Space Station, Putin Says
13 April 2024
EIRNS—The Angara-5, Russia’s new heavy-lift vehicle, launched from the Vostochny Launch Center on April 11. This took place after two previous efforts at launch had to be aborted for technical reasons. This is the first launch of Angara-5 from the Vostochny site. Previous launches took place at the Plesetsk military launch pad. President Putin announced that, with the success of Angara, Russia now has the lift capacity for constructing its own space station. Putin made the announcement on Cosmonautics Day in a meeting with Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and two cosmonauts, one of whom is Belarus’ first cosmonaut, Marina Vasilevskaya, and expedition commander, Hero of Russia Oleg Novitsky. Both had just returned from a flight on the International Space Station. [wcj] Click for more |
