Soyuz-5 Makes First Test Launch Under the Baiterek Project

On April 30 at 11:00 p.m. Astana time, the Soyuz-5, also known as Sunkar, rocket was tested at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place from Site 45 as part of the joint Kazakh-Russian Baiterek project, Orda.kz reports.

This was the rocket’s first launch as part of flight design testing.

The first and second stages of Soyuz-5 performed normally. The mass-dimensional model was delivered to the planned suborbital trajectory and then fell in an area of the Pacific Ocean that had been closed in advance to shipping and aviation.Roscosmos said.

According to the press service of Kazakhstan’s Aerospace Committee, the ground infrastructure was modernized for the creation of the complex, including upgrades to control, fueling, security and launch systems. In total, more than 40 technical systems are involved, and the pre-launch operations themselves are highly automated.

The Baiterek project is being implemented by Kazakhstan together with Russian partners and is regarded as one of the key projects for the country’s space industry. Its goal is to create modern launch infrastructure of its own and expand Kazakhstan’s role in the space services market.

The launch of Soyuz-5 had been postponed several times before. It was initially planned for 2022, then moved to 2023. Later, the timeline was shifted to the end of 2025. But in December last year, the project partners again decided to delay it for technical reasons.

Video: Roscosmos

Original author: Raushan Korzhumbekova

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