The cosmodrome ‘Plesetsk’, which celebrates its 60th anniversary on 15 July, is located in the Arkhangelsk Region and is the northernmost cosmodrome in the world. It extends from north to south for 46 km and from east to west for 82 km.
Its history began on 11 January 1957, when the USSR Government adopted its Resolution on creation of a military facility with the code name ‘Angara’. It was created as a military formation missile regiments armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles R-7, developed by the SDB-1 guided by S.P. Korolyov.
When in the early 60s of the last century there arose the need to expand the scope of space activities, the state leadership decided to use Plesetsk launch complexes for launching spacecraft.
On 17 March1966 at 13.28, the cosmodrome ‘Plesetsk’ launched the first spacecraft.
The spacecraft ‘Kosmos-112’ (spacecraft ‘Zenith-2’) was launched by the carrier rocket ‘Vostok-2’ into a low near-Earth orbit. In the following years more than 60 types of space vehicles were tested here.
For the merits in creation, testing and production of special equipment, the cosmodrome was on 22 February 1968 awarded the Order of Red Banner, and on 18 January 1977 the cosmodrome was awarded the Order of Labour Red Banner of for success in creating new models of weapons and military equipment.
The official status was acquired by the cosmodrome in accordance with the RF Presidential Decree of 11 November 1994.
By 2017, more than 2,000 space vehicles for various purposes have been launched from its launching sites to near-earth orbits, about 1,600 carrier rocket launches have been conducted, 11 space missile systems and 60 types of space vehicles have been tested. About 500 launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles were produced from the territory of the cosmodrome. 13 missile systems have been tested, 3 of them are currently on alert.
Today, the cosmodrome ‘Plesetsk’ is a complex scientific-and-technical complex fulfilling tasks in the interests of the Services and Arms of the RF Armed Forces.
It includes start-up complexes with carrier rockets’ launchers, technical complexes for preparing space rockets and spacecraft, a multifunctional fueling and neutralisation station for refuelling carrier rockets, upper-stage rockets and spacecraft with rocket fuel components, 1473 buildings and structures , 237 power supply facilities.
The cosmodrome has a ramified network of roads (300 km) and railways (326 km), aeronautical equipment and a first-class aerodrome, which allow to operate aircraft with the maximum landing weight of up to 220 tons, such as IL-76, TU-154, signal communications, including space ones.
At present, the cosmodrome operates launch light-class carrier rockets ‘Angara-1.2’, ‘Soyuz-2.1v’, ‘Rokot’, middle-class carrier rockets ‘Soyuz-2.1a’, ‘Soyuz-2.1b’, heavy class carrier rocket ‘Angara-A5’.
Measuring means of the cosmodrome perform collection and mathematical processing of trajectory and telemetric information during launches of space rockets and ICBMs. The measuring means include measuring points located in the cities of Mirny, Severodvinsk, Naryan-Mar, Norilsk.
Ballistic and analytical support of carrier rockets’ launches from the cosmodrome makes it possible to carry out a full analysis of the flight-technical characteristics of launches of all types of space rockets, provide ballistic and navigational support for launching spacecraft.
Being the largest cosmodrome located in the territory of Russia, in the future ‘Plesetsk’ should become the main place for launching most space vehicles, primarily in the interests of national defence and security. It is here that the long-distance rocket-and-space complexes ‘Soyuz-2’ and ‘Angara’ are built and tested. They are built on a modern domestic element base and designed to maintain the orbital grouping in the coming decades.
Commissioning of these complexes will ensure the possibility of launching all defence spacecraft from the Russian territory, i.e. truly guaranteed independence of the national military space.