Russia aborts second attempt to launch a heavy

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia failed for a second straight day Wednesday to test-launch a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex. Officials have scheduled a further launch attempt for Thursday.

The first attempt to launch the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny spaceport on Tuesday was canceled about two minutes before the scheduled liftoff due to a failure of the pressurization system of the oxidizer tank in the central block of the rocket.

The second attempted launch Wednesday was also aborted by the automatic safety system, which registered a flaw in the engine start control mechanism, said Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos. He added that the failure was most likely rooted in a programming error.

Borisov noted that there were no hardware issues with the rocket that would necessitate spiking the launch, and said that another launch attempt was scheduled for Thursday.