Russia's second attempt to test-launch a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex was aborted on Wednesday. The launch of the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny spaceport was canceled about two minutes before its planned time of 0900 GMT. The cause of the cancellation was attributed to the failure of the pressurization system of the oxidizer tank of the central block of the rocket, as reported by the state news agency RIA-Novosti.
National space agency Roscosmos announced that another launch attempt will be postponed for at least one day. This marks the second consecutive failure, as the first attempt on Tuesday was also unsuccessful due to a flaw in the oxidizer tank pressurization system detected by the automatic safety system, according to Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov.
The Angara-A5 rocket is part of the new Angara family of rockets developed to replace the Soviet-designed Proton rockets. The previous three launches of the Angara-A5 were successfully 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 under an agreement that allows Russia to lease Baikonur for $115 million annually until 2050.
Despite its reliance on Baikonur, Russian authorities have been promoting Vostochny as the preferred facility for Angara launches. However, the construction of the new spaceport has faced delays and has seen limited utilization thus far.
