Soyuz-2-1V rockets to liftoff from existing Plesetsk launch pad

DATELINE: MOSCOW July 26

Russian Soyuz-2-1V light-class carrier rocket that will liftoff from Plesetsk Cosmodrome does not require construction of a separate launch pad, Space Troops commander Oleg Ostapenko said at a session of the Space Troops Military Council.

“No construction of a separate launch pad is required for operating the Soyuz-2-1V carrier rocket. One of the existing launch pads will be reequipped for this rocket’s liftoffs,” the commander was quoted as saying in the Russian Defense Ministry’s Space Troops press release obtained by Interfax-AVN.

The first launch of the Soyuz-2-1V “is due to take place from Plesetsk Cosmodrome as and when the launch pad and the carrier rocket itself are ready,” he said.

The Space Troops Military Council focused on prospects for developing an orbital group for military and dual purposes, spacecraft launch and control vehicles, missile attack warning systems and outer space control and missile defense systems for the 2011-2020 period.

Source: Interfax-AVN