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| Russia's Angara rocket 'makes debut' | Russia's Angara rocket 'makes debut' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Russia has launched its all new Angara rocket on its maiden flight from the northern Plesetsk cosmodrome. | |
| There was no live TV coverage, but later video showed the vehicle leaving the pad at about 12:00 GMT. | |
| The test flight carried a dummy payload and was not intended to reach an orbital altitude. | |
| Angara is designed to give Russia full control over its space activities, reducing its reliance on technologies and facilities of former Soviet states. | Angara is designed to give Russia full control over its space activities, reducing its reliance on technologies and facilities of former Soviet states. |
| These include the rocket components currently sourced from the Ukraine, and use of the famous Baikonur spaceport sited in Kazakhstan. | These include the rocket components currently sourced from the Ukraine, and use of the famous Baikonur spaceport sited in Kazakhstan. |
| The maiden flight had been repeatedly delayed. In June, national TV had given the previous attempt extensive live coverage only then to see a technical glitch force yet another postponement. | The maiden flight had been repeatedly delayed. In June, national TV had given the previous attempt extensive live coverage only then to see a technical glitch force yet another postponement. |
| Coverage of Wednesday's attempt was more muted, therefore. | |
| Confirmation of a successful first flight came through the Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN. | |
| It said that Defence Minister, Army General Sergey Shoygu, had reported the positive outcome to the supreme commander of the Russian Armed Forces, President Vladimir Putin. | |
| And later in the day, it added that parts of the rocket had come back to Earth as expected: "An inseparable dimension and mass mock-up of the payload, together with the second-stage, has fallen in the designated area of the Kura range in Kamchatka peninsula at a distance of 5,700km from the launch site." | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin tweeted that the launch was a "winning start". | |
| Replacement plan | |
| Like many of the world's launchers, Angara is modular in concept. | Like many of the world's launchers, Angara is modular in concept. |
| It has a main core that burns kerosene and liquid oxygen. This "universal rocket module" can then be supplemented with additional boosters for extra power, and different designs of upper-stage to place satellites at their correct altitudes. | It has a main core that burns kerosene and liquid oxygen. This "universal rocket module" can then be supplemented with additional boosters for extra power, and different designs of upper-stage to place satellites at their correct altitudes. |
| Wednesday's test version used the simplest configuration - the Angara-1. When this is in service, this will be expected to put up to four tonnes of payload into a low-Earth orbit - the kind of orbit used by Earth-imaging satellites. | Wednesday's test version used the simplest configuration - the Angara-1. When this is in service, this will be expected to put up to four tonnes of payload into a low-Earth orbit - the kind of orbit used by Earth-imaging satellites. |
| Other variants are planned, including a heavy-lift version designated Angara-5. | Other variants are planned, including a heavy-lift version designated Angara-5. |
| This should be capable of putting up to 7.5 tonnes into the geostationary transfer orbits used by telecommunications spacecraft as they make their way up to 36,000km above the equator. | This should be capable of putting up to 7.5 tonnes into the geostationary transfer orbits used by telecommunications spacecraft as they make their way up to 36,000km above the equator. |
| Russia wants to launch the Angara family both from Plesetsk and the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which is currently being constructed in the Amur Oblast, in the Russian far east. | Russia wants to launch the Angara family both from Plesetsk and the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which is currently being constructed in the Amur Oblast, in the Russian far east. |
| The new rockets would allow the country to phase out a suite of older vehicles, including the heavy-lift Proton launcher. This has had a torrid reliability record of late. | The new rockets would allow the country to phase out a suite of older vehicles, including the heavy-lift Proton launcher. This has had a torrid reliability record of late. |
| The immediate plans are to use the Angara family for unmanned launches only, but manufacturer Khrunichev is developing a human-rated Angara-5 for launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. | The immediate plans are to use the Angara family for unmanned launches only, but manufacturer Khrunichev is developing a human-rated Angara-5 for launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. |
| Russia currently operates Soyuz rockets for manned flights from Baikonur. | Russia currently operates Soyuz rockets for manned flights from Baikonur. |
| Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos |