Roscosmos: First test launch of new Soyuz-5 rocket successfully completed (VIDEO)

Russia has successfully carried out the first test launch of its new Soyuz-5 rocket, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced.

It announced that the rocket took off without any problems from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the British agency Reuters reported on its website today.

According to a statement from Roscosmos, the Soyuz-5 rocket, which the agency describes as a launch vehicle equipped with the world's most powerful liquid-fueled engine, left the launch pad on April 30 at 9:00 p.m. Moscow time (8:00 p.m. Central European Time).

The new launch vehicle is capable of carrying payloads of up to 17 metric tons, will significantly reduce launch costs and will prove more efficient than its predecessors in placing objects, including satellites, into low Earth orbit, the agency said.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov described it as "a new stage in space exploration," adding that it would create new jobs in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Bakanov said that Soyuz-5 is the first new launch vehicle developed by Russia since 2014.