Flight tests of the heavy-class Angara-A5M rocket carrier with an oxygen-hydrogen upper stage will begin no earlier than four years from now. This became known during the presentation of Dmitry Baranov, Deputy Director General of Roscosmos for Rocket Projects.
The new upper stage will be used in combination with the Angara-A5M and its future modifications. Its task is to put payloads into geostationary orbit.
The rocket carrier will be able to put spacecraft weighing up to 27 tons into orbit, while the regular Angara-A5 can only deliver 24 tons of payload into space.
Roscosmos has also planned to adapt the Angara-A5M for launching manned transport ships. Flight tests of the rocket are scheduled for the period 2030–2031.
Earlier www1.ru reported that the first three newest Angara-A5M rockets for launching the Russian orbital station will be built at the Khrunichev Center.