Russia Successfully Test-Launches Angara A-5 Heavy Carrier

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Angara-A5 heavy-class carrier rocket with a payload simulator was successfully test-launched from the Plesetsk spaceport in the country's north, the defence ministry said on Monday.

"The operational crew of the aerospace forces' space forces conducted a test launch of the Angara-A5 heavy-class carrier rocket with a mass-size evaluation payload model," the ministry said in a statement.

The rocket was launched at 08:50 Moscow time (05:50) from the Plesetsk spaceport, the ministry specified.

All pre-launch operations and the launch itself were conducted regularly, the Russian Ministry of Defence went on to say, adding that ground units of the aerospace forces were monitoring the flight.