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Russia will launch a new rocket called Soyuz-5 before the end of this year, according to Dmitry Bakanov, the director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Bakanov told the state-run news agency TASS in an interview published Monday that preparations for the first liftoff are “almost ready.”

“Yes, we are planning for December,” he said.

If the launch goes well, this will be the maiden test flight of a new-generation rocket that has been under development for more than 10 years. Roscosmos plans several trial launches, but the rocket is not expected to enter service until 2028.

The Soyuz-5 is also known as Irtysh. It is not an entirely new concept, but rather one that borrows a lot from an existing vehicle called Zenit-2. That design first appeared in the 1980s and was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine. Zenit rockets were assembled in Ukraine, but they used RD-171 engines that were developed by a Russian team. The result was a uniquely post-Soviet effort in aerospace that involved close ties between Moscow and Kiev. In other words, what Russia does with Soyuz-5 is almost a copy of what it did with Zenit—minus Ukraine.

The reliance on a Soviet-era design, however, does not detract from its significance for Roscosmos. Although the Zenit relied on Ukrainian-made propulsion systems and components, those dependencies are now gone. The Soyuz-5, therefore, represents a rare bright spot for Moscow, which is eager to end a decade of overreliance on its neighbor.

A Bridge Between Past and Future

Soyuz-5 also fits into a technical category known as medium-lift. It is capable of lofting about 17 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, according to TASS, and that improved performance is achieved by having larger propellant tanks than the Zenit.

Its core is an engine called the RD-171MV. This is the newest addition to a family that dates back to the Energia program of the 1980s. Energia was the Soviet Union’s answer to the space shuttle program, and it eventually carried a space plane called Buran on its maiden orbital voyage. The space plane flew only once, and the entire program was shuttered at the end of the Cold War. But RD-171MV has one thing its ancestors do not: Ukrainian parts. The latest engine, which is fueled by a combination of kerosene and liquid oxygen, is a heavy lifter. It generates more than three times the thrust of NASA’s Space Shuttle main engine, the most powerful liquid-fueled rocket engine currently in operation.

Unlike those older Soviet-era designs, Soyuz-5 is an expendable rocket. SpaceX’s Falcon 9, meanwhile, is only the most prominent example of a new breed of reusable rockets. This feature is what’s given American vehicles a decisive advantage over their Russian counterparts in the international launch market.

Even so, Soyuz-5 has an important place in Roscosmos’ plans. War has placed huge demands on the Kremlin’s budget, while international sanctions have forced Russia to move to localize its space industry. The result is that funds for developing a next-generation reusable rocket have been in short supply. A vehicle named Amur, also known as Soyuz-7, was initially conceived as a potential replacement. Amur is even more ambitious, with a reusable first stage and engines that are fueled by methane. In theory, those features make it competitive with SpaceX on cost.

But Amur, too, has seen delays. It was expected to be in service by the end of this decade, but a successful test launch in 2024 was not enough to keep its debut in the 2030s. Amur now won’t fly before at least 2030. In the meantime, Russia needs a new generation of rockets, and Soyuz-5 is that placeholder.

A Commercial Wildcard?

Roscosmos is not without options when it comes to crewed or commercial launches. It still flies Soyuz-2 rockets for human spaceflights, as well as Angara for heavier payloads. Neither has found a major commercial niche in the West.

Whether Soyuz-5 changes that remains to be seen. The global launch industry looks far different than it did a decade ago, with cheaper and more flexible options from SpaceX and Chinese providers. Launches from Kazakhstan are at a geographic disadvantage, but Russia has been able to lure some customers for both Soyuz and Angara. The question is whether that will continue with Soyuz-5.

Either way, the fact that Roscosmos has gotten Soyuz-5 this far under the circumstances is notable in and of itself. Should the December launch take place, it would show that Russia has kept up its launch capability, even in the face of foreign sanctions and budgetary restraints. It would also be the culmination of years of development work, which began under the banner of Zenit and continued after Ukraine cut off cooperation in 2022.

It may not be the sexiest of rockets. Soyuz-5 is not only a one-time-use system, but also one that is deeply rooted in the Soviet past. But for Roscosmos, it has a value beyond its technical specs. Soyuz-5 is a rare success story that ends years of dependence on Ukraine and a bridge to the future, whether that means Amur or another new rocket on the drawing board.