Russia reports successful launch of new Angara rocket

Russia successfully test-launched its new Angara rocket on Wednesday after a planned maiden flight overseen by President Vladimir Putin had to be aborted last month.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that the next-generation Angara rocket was launched from Plesetsk at 1200 GMT, Russian news agencies reported, citing a defence ministry spokesman.

Twenty-one minutes after the launch, the rocket reached its planned target in the Far Eastern region of Kamchatka 5,700 kilometres (3,540 miles) away from the launch pad, the spokesman said.

"Yes to Angara!" deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin exclaimed on Twitter.

The Angara was initially scheduled to blast off from Plesetsk late last month when officials reported a sudden automatic launch abort in an embarrassing glitch broadcast live on national television.

Designed to succeed Soviet-era launchers, Angara is the first rocket to have been completely built after the collapse of the Soviet Union and it is designed to reduce Russia's reliance on other former USSR countries.

Officials say it is more environmentally friendly than its predecessors because it is fuelled by oxygen and kerosene rather than hugely toxic heptyl.

Airbus Claim Alternative fuels are the future

Alternative fuels could power 15 percent of global air traffic by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030, European aircraft-maker Airbus said at the Dubai Airshow on Tuesday.

"If we get the right sources, it is possible that 15 percent of the world's jet fuel will come from sustainable sources by 2020, and 30 percent will come from sustainable sources by 2030," said Ross Walker, engineering programme manager for alternative fuels at Airbus.

"The challenge is finding sustainable feedstocks" that do not take land and water used for food production, he said.

Walker said the alternative or sustainable fuels he was referring to were based on gas or biomass and converted to liquid.

He described algae, which can be grown in salt water, as a promising source of biomass for alternative fuels. "We believe this is the golden chalice we've been looking for."

"If an area the size of the United Arab Emirates were planted with algae, it could produce enough bio jet fuel to support the world's civil aviation industry," he said.

Airbus was focusing on "drop-in fuels," or fuels that can be used in existing aircraft without modifications, he said.

Walker pointed out that the whole aircraft manufacturing industry, including engine and airframe manufacturers, were collaborating on alternative fuel projects.

Airbus conducted its first test of an aircraft using a 50-50 mix of GTL and kerosene in one engine in 2008, while a Qatar Airways Airbus A340 flew from London to Qatar burning a GTL-kerosene mix in all four engines last month.

Walker said Airbus hopes to conduct a test flight of an A320 burning a 50-50 BTL-kerosene mixture some time next year.