The launch of the Russian Angara-A5 rocket, scheduled for April 9, was canceled. It was supposed to be the first for this modification of the carrier from the Vostochny cosmodrome, but at the last minute automation canceled it.
The launch of the Angara-A5 rocket was canceled
On April 9, 2024, the launch of the Russian Angara-A5 rocket was to take place from the launch pad at the Vostochny cosmodrome. However, two minutes before the scheduled start, the countdown was stopped. The reason for this was not initially reported. A little later, an official explanation from Roscosmos appeared.
According to the head of the aggressor country’s space program, Yuri Borisov, the automation that controlled the launch received a signal about problems with the pressurization of the central block oxidizer tank. The launch has been suspended for 24 hours. The second attempt will take place on Wednesday, April 10.
It is worth noting that this is not the first such problem with Russian carriers that has occurred recently. On March 21, under very similar circumstances, the launch of the Soyuz rocket with astronauts on board was postponed. It seems that the sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine are slowly killing the Russian space program.
What is the Angara rocket?
Angara is a Russian rocket that should replace Proton, which is still being launched by most satellites of the aggressor country. Angara is a Russian rocket that should replace Proton. It is still used to launch most of the satellites of the aggressor country. The last carrier has been outdated for a very long time. Roscosmos has officially launched a program to curtail its production, but it will not be completely abandoned soon due to the availability of large reserves.
The Angara creation program started back in 1992. During its existence, the concept has changed several times and in the end the Russians decided to make a modular rocket — a kind of constructor, from which, depending on the blocks used, you can get a carrier capable of putting into orbit from 5 to 38 tons of payload.
However, the Russians’ beautiful idea has stalled for decades. It is worth saying that in 32 years since the beginning of development, the postponed launch is only the seventh and only the fifth for Angara-A5. Russians have a special hope for this modification, which is capable of putting 24.5 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit. Especially for it, they have built a special complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome for several years. And now the first start from it is happening with problems.
According to www.bbc.com
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