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Russian defence minister praises new space rocket complex

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 October 2003, 06:00 CST

Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS

Plesetsk (Arkhangelsk Region), 29 October: The space rocket complex Angara being built at the Plesetsk cosmodrome is designed to make it possible to launch all kinds of military space vehicles from Russian territory, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov told journalists today after visiting the site of the future [space] launch complex.

"Great significance is attached to the deployment of the new heavy space rocket complex Angara at the cosmodrome," the minister noted. "The complex is designed to make it possible to launch all kinds of military space vehicles from Russian territory. Moreover, there are plans to use it to launch space vehicles for scientific purposes," he said.

Ivanov emphasized that the Angara project was ecologically safe as it did not envisage using toxic rocket fuel components.

Angara is a fundamentally new family of rockets. The rocket's module design makes it possible to create light (up to 2t of payload), medium (up to 4t) and heavy (more than 20t) carriers.

The test firing of Angara may start in the fourth quarter of 2005.

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