Russia starts developing the Soyuz-5 rocket
The Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, the Progress Rocket Space Center and the Science and Production Association Energomash have started work on the new Soyuz-5 carrier rocket, Dmitry Rogozin, the Director General of Roscosmos wrote on Twitter.
Rogozin noted that the Soyuz-5 would “make it possible to mobilize all rocket and space industry” and enable Russia to use its “powerful potential in design and production.” According to Rogozin, after the Soyuz-5, they will start working on a super heavy rocket.
In May, it became known that the new carrier rocket’s cost of development increased by 14% in a month, reaching 61.19 billion rubles or about 961 million dollars. The cost effectively doubled in a year because in the summer of 2017, Roscosmos stated that 30 billion rubles (472 million dollars) was allocated to the project.
The Soyuz-5 rocket began development in 2017 through the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. Its schematic design was completed in 2018, based off the Zenit rocket whose engines were manufactured in Ukraine. Its maiden flight is scheduled to take place in 2024.
The Soyuz-5, equipped with Russian engines should become the primary carrier rocket for the new Russian spaceship “Federation.” There had been earlier plans to launch a new spaceship into orbit using the Angara A5P super heavy rocket, but those plans were abandoned in May 2017. Consequently, the launch complex for the Soyuz-5 will be developed based on the complex that was built for the Angara.
Russia plans to launch its Angara-5 super heavy rocket in 2021, and the Federation in 2024.