The timeframe for the first launch of the Angara rocket from the Vostochny spaceport remains unchanged and the liftoff is scheduled for 2023, State Space Corporation Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV Channel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2019) on Friday.

"Echelons of equipment are moving to that site [the Vostochny Cosmodrome] and we have started creating a foundation area and pouring the concrete. The timeframe [of the Angara’s first launch from the Vostochny] remains unchanged: we must necessarily carry out this launch in 2023," Rogozin said.

A source earlier told TASS that the Kazan production and construction association would continue building the second stage of the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East. Later, Roscosmos confirmed this information to TASS.

The Roscosmos chief earlier said that an Angara-A5M heavy carrier rocket would blast off from the Vostochny spaceport, specifying that this upgraded version had a more powerful engine. If an Angara-A5 carrier rocket can lift 24 tonnes of payload, an Angara-A5M is capable of delivering 27 tonnes, he said.