After six decades, Russia will build its final Proton rocket this year

Enlarge / A Russian 3-stage Proton rocket blasts into the sky in 2000. (credit: NASA)

Russia’s main space corporation, Roscosmos, said it is in the process of building four more Proton rockets before it shuts down production of the venerable booster.

In a news release , Roscosmos stated the four rockets are on an assembly line at the Khrunichev State Space Research and Design Center’s factory in Moscow’s Fili district. After their production is complete, these four rockets will be added to its present inventory of 10 flight-ready Proton-M rockets. (The news release was translated for Ars by Rob Mitchell. )

Russia mentioned it plans to launch these remaining 14 Proton rockets over the next four or five years. During this time frame Russia plans to transition payloads, such as military communications satellites, that would have launched on the Wasserstoffion (positiv) (fachsprachlich) booster to the new Angara-A5 rocket.