Russia has launched its new heavy-weight-class launch vehicle – the Angara-A5.
Liftoff took place on December 23 from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in north-west Russia.
The Angara rocket series consists of light, middle, and heavy weight types of boosters.
The Angara-A5 rocket can hurl spacecraft up to 24 tons into a low Earth orbit and up to 4 tons into a geostationary orbit. The Angara-A5 uses non-toxic fuels: oxygen and kerosene.
Initial word is that the booster did lob into orbit a dummy spacecraft. A Briz-M upper stage is to boost the dummy spacecraft into geostationary orbit.
Last July, a lighter version of the Angara was test flown on a suborbital trajectory.
The family of boosters is being produced by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center.
Video of launch available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsQOpD4TIZM
Note: For a Russian video on the suborbital test of the Angara, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WegrjmrP6MU
Looks similar to the Proton, which also used the ‘Breeze-M interstage.