Baikonur Cosmodrome

Russia Launches Soyuz-5 Rocket in First Flight Test from Baikonur

Russia successfully launched its new Soyuz-5 medium-class launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday in the first flight test of the new-generation rocket. The Soyuz-5, equipped with what Roscosmos calls the world's most powerful liquid-fuelled rocket engine, placed a payload mock-up on a planned suborbital trajectory before it fell into the Pacific Ocean. The rocket is designed to reduce launch costs, double payload capacity to 17 tonnes, and use environmentally cleaner fuel components.