Russia has ​test launched its new Soyuz-5 rocket for the first time , the country's space agency said late ⁠on Thursday, saying it had lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan without any issues.

The Soyuz-5, which ⁠ Roscosmos , Russia's ​space agency, describes ⁠as a launch vehicle equipped with the world's ⁠most powerful liquid-fuelled engine, lifted off ​successfully ⁠at 2100 Moscow time (1800 ‌GMT) on April 30, it said in a statement.

The new rocket ‌is capable of carrying ‌payloads of up to 17 metric tonnes, will significantly reduce launch costs, ⁠and is more effective than its predecessors at placing objects like satellites in near earth orbit, the agency said.

Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Roskosmos, said the rocket - which he hailed ‌as a "new step in ​space exploration" - would create new jobs ‌in Russia ⁠and Kazakhstan.

Bakanov has previously told ⁠President Vladimir Putin that the Soyuz-5 is the ‌first ​new launch vehicle ‌that Russia has developed ​since 2014.

In this photo taken…