Angara Launch Pad To Start Being Built At Vostochny Cosmodrome In Spring - Constructor

Construction for a launch pad for the Angara-family launch vehicles at Russia's Vostochny cosmodrome will start this spring, the press service of Russian construction company Kazan, which is responsible for the second stage of the space port's overall construction, told Sputnik on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) Construction for a launch pad for the Angara-family launch vehicles at Russia's Vostochny cosmodrome will start this spring, the press service of Russian construction company Kazan, which is responsible for the second stage of the space port's overall construction, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Initial plans saw this construction project begin in February 2019, but Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin told Sputnik in December that the necessary documentation would only be ready by March 2019. The official papers were changed in order to make the launch of Angara-A5V heavy-lift carrier rockets with a hydrogen-fueled stage from the launch pad possible.

"In spring," the press service said, asked when the launch pad's construction process would start.

The press service also commented on earlier media reports suggesting that construction company Kazan may go bankrupt if it failed to pay off its debts and, subsequently, cease cooperation with Russia's State Space Corporation Roscosmos.

"In December, we signed a settlement agreement with the tax office," the press service said, adding that the deal resolved all existing financial issues and did not give rise to claims on behalf of Roscosmos.

In 2017, the Kazan company was tasked with overseeing the second stage of the Vostochny cosmodrome's construction. Work started in October 2018 after the relevant contract was signed between Roscosmos and Kazan.