Spaceflight

Cold flow tests of a rocket engine for the Khrunichev space centre's new Angara booster are to take place on 15 July in preparation for hot firings later this year.

Russia's Federal Space Agency head Anatoly Perminov visited the Peresvet City-based Russian federal state unitary enterprise Scientific Research Institute of Chemical Machine Building (NIIKhimmash) to discuss the test's progress and the planned creation of the SIC RKP research and test centre. This will be achieved through the merger of NIIKhimmash with another Russian space company.

A decree authorising the merger was signed on 28 February by then Russian president Vladimir Putin. The creation of SIC RKP is expected by 7 July.

Angara is a family of rockets that uses a common core booster design. It has been considered for the European Space Agency, FSA crew space transport system spacecraft, as has an upgraded version of the Samara space centre Soyuz rocket. Samara's Soyuz 2-1a is to launch from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana in 2009. The FSA has also announced the departure of two ships from St Petersberg in July to transport equipment to the new Soyuz launch facility.