Article Posted on : - Jun 05, 2017

A file photo.

ST. PETERSBURG (TASS-DEFENCE): The launch pad for the Angara carrier rocket and associated infrastructure will be built at the Vostochny spaceport in Russia's Far East by 2021, Rano Dzhurayeva, CEO of Russia's Center for Ground-based Space Infrastructure Operation told TASS.

"The design (of infrastructural facilities for the Angara carrier rocket at the Vostochny cosmodrome) has been worked out. The documents have been submitted to Russia's State Expert Evaluation Department. Then, a decision on the prime contractor will be made. The second-stage work will begin in 2017 and is planned to be completed by 2021," Dzhurayeva said.

The tender for selecting the prime contractor will be held in the autumn of 2017 but the acceptance of bids has not begun yet, she added.

After a meeting on the development of the rocket and space industry, the Vostochny spaceport has remained responsible for launching rockets for deep space exploration.

"Considering the latest meetings and reports, the task will remain but is likely to be accomplished during the next stage of the spaceport development," the CEO said.

It was reported earlier that Russia's Roscosmos state space corporation had cancelled the development of the manned version of the Angara-A5 carrier rocket, the Angara-A5P, and postponed the construction of infrastructural facilities for manned launches at the Vostochny cosmodrome until a super heavy rocket was ready.