Fwd: Russia plans to launch military satellites mainly from Plesetsk space center

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: November 11, 2014 11:24:51 AM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Russia plans to launch military satellites mainly from Plesetsk space center

 

Russia plans to launch military satellites mainly from Plesetsk space center

 

November 11, 10:47 UTC+3
The Plesetsk space center, located in the country's Arkhangelsk Region, currently uses light and medium-class carrier rockets and is to become the main venue for the launch of most spacecraft

 

Plesetsk space center

©  ITAR-TASS/Russia's Defense Ministry/Andrei Morgunov

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. The Plesetsk space center, in northern Russia, is expected to become the main venue for the launches of Russian military satellites, a spokesman for the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

"In prospect, Plesetsk should become the main venue for the launch of most spacecraft, primarily in the interests of the country's defense and security," Aleksey Zolotukhin told TASS.

The Plesetsk space center, located in the country's Arkhangelsk Region, currently uses light and medium-class carrier rockets: Soyuz-2.1 v, Rokot, Kosmos-3M, Soyuz-2.1 a and Soyuz-2.1 b.

Russia currently uses the Baikonur space center in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan as the main launch site. Over the past 50 years, more than 1,500 spacecraft have been launched from Baikonur, the world's first and the largest cosmodrome.

Russia annually pays some $115 million for the lease of Baikonur.

The country also has cosmodromes of Kapustin Yar, in southern Russia, Yasny, in Orenburg Region, and Vostochny, which is currently under construction in the Far East's Amur Region and is set to be launched next year.

The Plesetsk space center, some 180 kilometers (112 miles) from Arkhangelsk, was originally developed as an ICBM site. Since 1968, the cosmodrome has been involved in international space programs.

Until 1990s, some 40% of the world's space launches were conducted from the Plesetsk space center. The cosmodrome facilities allow in future carrying out launches of heavy-class Angara rockets.

 

© 2014 TASS

 

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Over 140 Carrier Rockets, 500 ICBMs Launched from Plesetsk in 20 Years

© Sputnik. Grigory Dubovitsky

 

 

08:00 11.11.2014(updated 08:34 11.11.2014)

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In the future Plesetsk will become the main launch center for the majority of spacecraft designed for military purposes, a spokesperson for Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces, said.

MOSCOW, November 11 (Sputnik) – More than 140 carrier rockets and 500 intercontinental ballistic missiles have been launched from Russia's Plesetsk space center over the past 20 years, the Defense Ministry's spokesperson told RIA Novosti Tuesday.

"Over the past 20 years, 145 carrier rockets have been launched from Plesetsk putting more than 200 satellites into orbit. The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces and Strategic Missile Forces have conducted more than 500 launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. More than 13 missile systems have been tested, three of which are on combat alert at the moment," Col. Alexei Zolotukhin, a spokesperson for Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces said.

Zolotukhin added that in the future Plesetsk will become the main launch center for the majority of spacecraft designed for military purposes.

Plesetsk is the northernmost cosmodrome in the world and occupies an area of 176,200 hectares. The space center includes launch facilities, satellite preparation technical complexes, fueling stations and 1,473 buildings.

Soyuz-2.1v, Rokot, Kosmos-3M, Soyuz-2.1a and Soyuz-2.1b carrier rockets are currently used at the space center, with tests being run for the Angara launch facility expected to see the launch of the Angara-A5 carrier rocket in December 2014.

In July 2014, the first successful test launch of the Angara-1.2PP rocket was carried out at Plesetsk.

The history of Plesetsk dates back to January 11, 1957, when the Soviet government decided to set up a military facility under the name of Angara. Initially, the facility was just a military test site. It was renamed a cosmodrome only in the late 1990s.

On March 17, 1966 the first launch of a Vostok rocket took place from Plesetsk and since 1957, some 1,600 carrier rockets have been launched, more than 2,000 satellites have been put into orbit, 11 space missile systems and 60 spacecraft have been tested there.

 

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