Angara used a new
Persei upper stage to place its 2,400 kg mass simulator near geostationary
orbit (GEO). The Persei upper stage burned twice after a few hours to place the
payload in a graveyard orbit a few hundred kilometres above GEO. Persei only
made it to a low Earth parking orbit before experiencing engine failure,
according to Russian reports. The Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket re-entered the
atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean at 4:08 p.m. EST on January 5, uncontrollably
(2108 GMT).
The development of a new rocket began in 1992 to ensure Russia’s ability to conduct orbital launches without relying on the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Angara, a fully Russian-designed and launched rocket, is scheduled to launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
