Assembly of Russia's first Soyuz-5 rocket will take almost the whole of 2024, only after that should the decision on its launch be expected, General Director of the Progress Rocket Space Centre Dmitry Baranov said on Monday
SAMARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Assembly of Russia's first Soyuz-5 rocket will take almost the whole of 2024, only after that should the decision on its launch be expected, General Director of the Progress Rocket Space Centre Dmitry Baranov said on Monday.
"Just about until the end of 2024, this (assembly) will last, and then there will be some decision on the launch," Baranov said at a press conference, adding that, as of yet, the launch of the rocket is scheduled for 2024.
He also said that factories were already producing hull parts for static tests. Parts of the first flying rocket will be ready in the first quarter of 2023 as well. In the second or third quarter, the general director said, all components, including engines, control systems and telemetry systems, will be produced, and assembly can begin by the end of 2023.
Soyuz-5 is a medium-lift launch vehicle designed by Russia to replace the Ukrainian � formerly Soviet � Zenit rocket, which was launched for the last time in 2017. Soyuz-5 rockets will be using the same launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome which was previously used for Zenit rockets.
As part of the flight tests, three launches are planned for 2023-2025, the first of which will carry a model of the spacecraft into orbit. After the completion of flight tests, at least two Soyuz-5 launches are planned per year until 2036. The rocket's components are currently being tested. Its engines, fuel and oxidizer tanks have already been tested.
