Second Attempt to Launch Russia's Heavy-Lift Rocket from Far East Halted

Russia's second attempt to test-launch a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex was called off on Wednesday. The planned launch of the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny spaceport was cancelled approximately two minutes before its scheduled time of 0900 GMT. The state news agency RIA-Novosti reported that the cancellation was due to a failure in the pressurization system of the oxidizer tank of the rocket's central block.

The national space agency, Roscosmos, announced that any further attempts to launch will be delayed by at least one day. Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov stated that the first attempt on Tuesday also failed because the automatic safety system detected a defect in the oxidizer tank pressurization system.

This launch was intended to be the fourth for the Angara-A5, a heavy-lift variant of the new Angara family of rockets, which was developed to replace the Soviet-designed Proton rockets. The previous three launches were conducted from the Plesetsk launchpad in northwestern Russia.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia leased the Baikonur Cosmodrome from Kazakhstan and has continued to use it for the majority of its space launches. The agreement with Kazakhstan permits Russia to lease Baikonur for $115 million annually until 2050.

While Roscosmos has continued to depend on Baikonur, Russian authorities have designated Vostochny as the preferred facility for Angara launches. However, the construction of the new spaceport has taken longer than anticipated and has seen only limited use to date.