Plesetsk Cosmodrome
| Plesetsk Cosmodrome | |
|---|---|
| Космодром «Плесецк» | |
| Russia | |
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 Plesetsk Cosmodrome
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| Coordinates | 62°55′32″N 40°34′40″E / 62.92556°N 40.57778°ECoordinates: 62°55′32″N 40°34′40″E / 62.92556°N 40.57778°E |
| Type | Spaceport |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Russian ministry of defense |
| Controlled by | Russian Aerospace Defence Forces |
| Open to the public |
No |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1957 |
Plesetsk Cosmodrome (Russian: Космодром «Плесецк»), a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk, dates from 1957. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile, it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches, especially the Molniya orbits, so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location, with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became foreign territory; Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.
Plesetsk (Lat: 62°55'32.32"N, Lon: 40°34'40.36"E) is used especially for military satellites placed into high inclination and polar orbits since the range for falling debris is clear to the north which is largely uninhabited Arctic and polar terrain. It is situated in a region of taiga, or flat terrain with boreal pine forests.
The Soyuz rocket, Cosmos-3M, Rockot, Tsyklon, and Angara are launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The heavy Proton and Zenit rockets can only be land-launched from Baikonur (Zenit may also be launched at sea).
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Wikipedia