The Russian Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, after the start of serial production, should become competitive in the global market, and its next test launches are already scheduled for 2027 and 2028. This was announced by Dmitry Baranov, Deputy General Director of Roscosmos.
I think that in this class we will compete with everyone. We just need to ensure our price tag. The first rocket can cost twice as much as a production one. This is normal, because you assemble it for the first time, you assembled something, but you have to redo it. After going into series, of course, the price will be significantly lower.
Baranov also explained why preparations for the first launch were repeatedly postponed. He noted that the automatic system controls thousands of parameters and, at any deviation from the specified values, stops the pre-launch sequence. For a new rocket, this is considered a normal situation: after identifying inconsistencies, specialists adjust the settings and go through the entire preparation cycle again. According to him, such an iterative process is considered common practice during the testing of new equipment.
The first launch of Soyuz-5 took place on April 30. According to preliminary estimates by Roscosmos, the tests proceeded normally without serious remarks.
The second copy of the rocket is currently in production. Its launch is tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2027, and the third carrier is planned to be launched in 2028.