SAMARA. Jan 17 (Interfax) - A flight model of Russia's new Soyuz-5 launch vehicle will be built and launched in 2022, Progress Space Rocket Center General Director Dmitry Baranov told the press.
"The inaugural launch [of the Soyuz-5] is scheduled to take place in 2022, and I believe that the first vehicle will be built in the same year. The first flight model will be sent from here in 2022, and the first launch will also take place in 2022. These are our plans for today," Baranov said in response to a question from Interfax.
The rocket's conceptual design was approved in 2018, and Progress and the Energia Corporation concluded a contract on preparing documentation and building prototypes and flight models, he said.
The two-stage rocket, which will be powered by the RD-171 engine, is part of the Fenix project, Baranov said. It will be launched from the Baikonur site operated jointly with Kazakhstan that was earlier used to launch Zenit rockets. The new rocket will bring payloads of up to 17 tonnes to a parking orbit.
Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin told the press earlier that the rocket would primarily be used to launch scientific and commercial payloads.
"There are no plans to launch military payloads, considering that we will be using Baikonur. Of course, we can launch any payloads we want from Vostochny," he said.
Roscosmos is considering using the Soyuz-5 to transport foreign commercial payloads. The rocket will incorporate the most advanced technologies.