Russia's Angara 5 Successful Maiden Voyage!

Congratulations to the Russian space industry for the Angara 5 successful first flight.  It holds great promise for future commercial space activities for the benefit of all humankind!

The first Angara 5 rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 0557 GMT (12:57 a.m. EST; 8:57 a.m. local time) Tuesday. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defence.

A new Russian rocket designed as a successor to the workhorse Proton booster lifted off Tuesday on a maiden test flight that could signify Russia’s shift away from launching satellites at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The 180-foot-tall Angara 5 rocket ignited five kerosene-fueled RD-191 booster engines and lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome — a military-run spaceport 500 miles north of Moscow — at 0557 GMT (12:57 a.m. EST) Tuesday, according to the Russian Federal Space Agency. (read full article)

Source: Spaceflight Now December 23, 2014 by Stephan Clark