Angara V being shipped to Plesetsk

[xenomorph555]

Finally the Angara V is ready and is being taken to the cosmodrone for a launch later this year. This also marks the beginning of the end for the R-7.

Maybe the new ship is also in an advanced stage?

[NASAFanboy]

What makes the Angara special isn't it's performance or speed or payload, nor is it the cost. It's a pretty average launcher who can be outperformed by a Proton in most aspects. But it's a Russian-built rocket using completely Russian-made parts, which means sanctions by NATO or the United States do not affect production of the launcher while it can have a pretty disastorous effect on others. Considering the recent crisis in Ukraine, Putin is making a very wise investment to be independent of other nations for space exploration or satellite launches.

[magnemoe]

Don't proton date back to the Soviet union?

Probably two issues here, 1) it has been upgraded with many western parts 2) some parts are made in Ukraine

[NASAFanboy]

Don't proton date back to the Soviet union?

Probably two issues here, 1) it has been upgraded with many western parts 2) some parts are made in Ukraine

Back then, Ukraine and the other nations were part of the USSR, so the Proton was self-sustainable. Then glasnost came, the countries left with their resources, and the West upgraded some of the Proton's parts with newer technology.

[Kryten]

Proton is every bit as Russian as Angara; the problem is the launchsite. Proton can only launch from Baikonur in Khazakstan, which the Russians are planning stop using over the next few decades. It is being replaced by the Vostochny site in the Russian Far East, but the trip from factories in european Russia involves many bridges and tunnels, which Proton is simply too large to fit through. Angara's modular design allows smaller diameter parts to produce an equally capable rocket.