The Soyuz-5, also known as “Sunkar” has been moved to the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome in preparation for its maiden test flight.

“The Soyuz-5 rocket, with a payload mockup, was transported this morning via the cosmodrome railway from Assembly and Testing Building 42 and installed vertically at Launch Pad 45. Over the next few days, specialists will complete final checks of the launch complex and the rocket,” a cosmodrome source said, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

The first flight test is scheduled for April 3 at 16:00 (GMT+5).

The launch is part of the Baiterek Space Complex, a joint Kazakh-Russian initiative to develop a ground-based launch infrastructure at Baikonur for eco-friendly rocket launches. The project began in 2004 and officially launched in 2005 during a visit by then-Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev and Vladimir Putin.

Originally intended for the Angara rocket, the launch complex plans shifted after program changes. Infrastructure from the retired Zenit rocket program was adapted for Soyuz-5, enabling the first flight with minimal new construction.

The Soyuz-5 is a two-stage medium-class rocket built by "Progress" Rocket and Space Center. Specifications include:

Height: 58.8-65.2 meters depending on the fairing

Diameter: 4.1 meters

Launch mass: 526-531 tons

Payload: 17.4 tons to low Earth orbit, 2.5 tons to geostationary orbit

Fuel: environmentally safe naphthyl (kerosene) and liquid oxygen.