A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket has been installed at Russia's new Vostochny Cosmodrome's launch site ahead of its first space launch, Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said Saturday in a statement.

"A Soyuz-2.1a space rocket was taken out of the technical facility to the launch site of the Vostochny Cosmodrome and was installed to the launch pad," the statement reads.

On February 12, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced that the carrier rocket had been assembled ahead of its maiden launch from the Vostochny spaceport scheduled for April 27.

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket will lift off from Vostochny to orbit small research satellites, such as Aist-2D, Mikhailo Lomonosov and SamSat-218.

Vostochny, which has been under construction since 2012, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.

Beijing Monitors First Launch From Russia's Vostochny Spaceport
China is paying attention to Russia's progress in the space industry and will watch the upcoming first space launch of its new Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos head Igor Komarov said Sunday.

"Of course, they are [Chinese partners] interested in the development of our space industry and especially of the Vostochny Cosmodrome," Komarov told reporters asked if the Vostochny's maiden start was discussed with Chinese counterparts during his visit to China and if they would watch it.

According to Komarov, Beijing noted that the new space center was built only some 62 miles from the Russian-Chinese border.

In February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced that a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket had been assembled ahead of its first launch from the Vostochny spaceport scheduled for April 27.

Vostochny, which has been under construction since 2012, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.

Source: Sputnik News