The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is the northernmost cosmodrome not only in Russia, but also in the whole world. The cosmodrome is located 180 km south of Arkhangelsk. Its area is almost 2 thousand square kilometers, and is an area stretching from west to east for 80 km and from north to south for 50 km.

At the beginning of 2018, the cosmodrome is in 1st place on the planet in terms of the number of space launches and the number of launched spacecraft: 1618 and 2134 respectively, which is 50.3% and 51.2% of the total indicators of the USSR and Russia. During most active cosmodrome in the 70-80s of the 20th century, more than 40% of the world's annual launches into orbit were carried out from here (up to 61.3% in 1979).

The cosmodrome ranked first in annual space launches from 1969 to 1993. The maximum annual number of launches from the cosmodrome into orbit was carried out in 1977 - 70. In addition, according to estimates from the NK magazine and the third volume of the book “Northern Cosmodrome of Russia”, by 2017, 498 or 506 launches of intercontinental missiles (ICBMs) and 6 missile launches were carried out from Plesetsk medium range (RSD) R14U.

According to the same sources, 7 suborbital launches of space rockets were carried out from Plesetsk (among them 5 launches of the Nudol anti-missile missile).

The creation of a cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk forest was a consequence of the fact that the first Soviet ICBM R7 with a range of 7-8 thousand km could not reach the United States when launched from Baikonur.

Another reason for the location of the missile base in the northern part of the USSR was the fact that most Western air force bases were located near the southern borders of the USSR. In addition, to facilitate the delivery of large rockets and construction materials, it was necessary that the future military base was located near the railway, which excluded northern regions Siberia and Far East. As a result, the Plesetsk district was chosen for the location of the facility. Arkhangelsk region: The local wooded area made it easier to camouflage the future cosmodrome. The high southern bank of the Yemtsy River with rocky soil was ideal for placing the R7 rocket launch complexes, which made it possible to reduce the volume of excavation work. The last reason associated with the very large gas outlets of the R7 rocket.

On the other hand, it is known that in 1957-1958, construction of another missile base for R7 missiles (Volga facility) was underway in the mountainous area of ​​the polar Urals near Vorkuta. Later, the construction of the Vorkuta base was stopped due to the increase in the range of the modernized R7A missiles, and a false object in order to camouflage the missile base near Plesetsk.

The proposal to build a missile base was agreed upon at the end of 1956, and already in March 1957 on the railway. At Plesetskaya station the first workers appeared. The surrounding area at that time was an extremely sparsely populated area: even in the village of Plesetsk itself there were only 56 households, in which, in addition to the railway. The station housed a paint and sawmill factory and a workshop. Therefore, 4.5 thousand builders had to initially live in ordinary tents and dugouts, although specialists were housed in five railway cars (to accommodate more there was no room for carriages). On the other hand, when construction began, 2,680 people who lived in several hundred buildings on an area of ​​7,600 hectares had to be relocated from the territory of the future missile base. By June 1958, the number of builders had grown to 11.5 thousand, and by the end of 1959, the first of four launch complexes was ready for launches. IN New Year's Eve In 1960, the launch complex at site No. 41 (“Lesobaza”) entered combat duty (BD). The second launch complex at site No. 16 (“Experimental”) entered the database in mid-April of the same year. The third and fourth launch complexes at site No. 43 (“Skipidarny”) entered the database on July 15, 1961. In 1961, the missiles were replaced with modernized R7A missiles with an increased range of up to 11 thousand km, which made it possible to confidently hit any object in the continental United States.

During the most intense days of the Cuban Crisis, one missile was even installed in the launcher of the fourth launch complex. During the two months of the crisis, 4 R7A missiles and 4 R16 missiles were located in Plesetsk. By 1968, all R7A ICBM launch complexes were removed from the database.

For the purpose of secrecy, the missile base was first named “Angara facility”, another designation of the military facility was “3rd training artillery range”, and after 1965 a new name appeared: “Research test site for missile and space weapons No. 53 of the Ministry of Defense” . It was extremely difficult to hide the huge object from Western intelligence, since it was located within the range of flights of U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, which were carried out over the USSR in 1956-1960. From April 1958, Norwegian signals intelligence began intercepting reports of major military construction taking place south of Arkhangelsk, believed to be related to ballistic missiles. In this regard, the Plesetsk area was already listed as a priority target for Powers' flight on May 1, 1960. The start of launches of reconnaissance satellites of the “Crown” program in 1960 allowed Western intelligence to establish the purpose of the new object in the Arkhangelsk taiga. Before the start of the Corona program, it was assumed that the USSR could have more than a hundred R-7 missiles on its database. Photographing Plesetsk from space was very difficult due to frequent cloudiness.

In the summer of 1960, construction began in Plesetsk of two ground-based launch complexes (No. 5 and 6) under the R16U ICBM at site No. 5 (Stroydetal), two ground-based launch complexes (No. 7 and 8) under the R16U ICBM at site No. 24 (Lisitsyno ”) and three silo launchers (silos) for R16U ICBMs (No. 9, 10, 11) at site No. 25 (“Lesorubov”). Missiles from sites No. 5, 24 and 25 entered the database in 1962-1963. The 1st launch from silo No. 11 on October 8, 1963 (exercise “Thunderstorm”) was the 1st launch of a silo-based ICBM from the area where the missile was deployed, as well as the first missile launch from Plesetsk. In 1961, in Plesetsk, construction began on two launch complexes (No. 12 and 13) for R9A missiles at site No. 31 (“Maloye Usovo”) and two launch complexes (No. 14 and 15) for R9A missiles at site No. 32 (“Bolshoye Usovo”) "). Missiles from the 31st and 32nd sites entered the database in 1964-1965. On May 16, 1967, the first training launch of the R9A was carried out from site 31. In 1963, all types of Soviet ICBMs available at that time (R7A, R9A and R16U) were based at the Angara missile facility. By 1972-1977, all R16 and R9A missiles were removed from the database. In 1971-1976, site No. 24 began to be used for testing the Temp-2S mobile ICBM; 35 launches were carried out (of which 9 were unsuccessful). From 1976 to 1985, the Temp-2S mobile ICBM, consisting of several dozen missiles, began to be based at sites No. 5, 16, 24, 25 and 31.

Creation of a cosmodrome

The increase in the number of launches into space led to the fact that on January 2, 1963, the leadership of the USSR decided to transform Plesetskaya missile base to the cosmodrome. This was largely due to the extreme inefficiency of the expensive R7 missile launch complexes, the cost of building each of which was estimated at 5% of the annual Soviet military budget. Preparing to launch these missiles took approximately 12 hours. At the same time, the experience of Baikonur has shown that launch vehicles created on the basis of R7 rockets are reliable carriers for providing access to space. In preparation for space launches On December 14 and 21, 1965, two R7A ICBMs were launched from the 1st site. On March 17, 1966, the Kosmos-112 satellite, which was an optical reconnaissance satellite of the Zenit-2 type, was launched from the modernized launch complex No. 41/1. When the official announcement of the launch of the Cosmos-112 satellite was made, it was not reported where it was launched from (only a launch was reported from the territory of the USSR, while before that previous satellites were spoken of as launches from Baikonur). By the end of 1966, the English radio amateur Geoffrey Perry, based on several published orbits of launched satellites, was able to establish the exact location of the new Soviet cosmodrome, and thus, for the first time, references to the Plesetsk cosmodrome appeared in the open Western press. First mentioned in Soviet newspapers about the cosmodrome dates back only to June 20, 1983, and was largely caused by the excitement with private UFO sightings in the north-west of the USSR (for example, the “Petrozavodsk phenomenon” of 1977).

Initially, only launch complex No. 41/1 was used for launches into space; moreover, the second launch complex R-7 on site 16 in January-February 1967 was partially dismantled in order to restore the launcher on site 31 of Baikonur, which was damaged by an explosion rocket on December 14, 1966. However, since 1981, the second launch complex of Plesetsk began to be used for launches of the Molniya launch vehicle.

The third and fourth R7A rocket launch complex began launching satellites in 1971 and 1969, respectively. On March 18, 1980, a rocket exploded at the fourth launch complex, killing 48 people. Only 3 years after this disaster, in 1983, the fourth launch complex resumed launches. Launch Complex No. 4 (“St. Petersburg”) was the first to undergo modernization for new Soyuz-2 class rockets in 2001-2004; currently Launch Complexes No. 2 and 3 are undergoing the same modernization (it will end in 2017-2019 ). From 1969 to the present, 281 launches into space and one test launch of the R-7A combat ICBM on July 25, 1967 have been carried out from Launch Complex No. 4. From launch complex No. 3 in 1971-2010, 217 launches into space were carried out and one training launch of the R-7A ICBM on February 18, 1971. From launch complex No. 2 in 1981-2012, 136 launches were carried out.

In 1968-1971, plans were developed to launch manned Soyuz spacecraft from launch complex No. 1 (the Soyuz VI military research ship project), but these plans were cancelled. This launch complex was used for satellite launches until 1989. From 1989 to 1997 it was mothballed, as it was planned to convert it to the new Zenit launch vehicles, but these plans were canceled and in 1999 the entire launch complex was dismantled. IN total in 1965-1989, 312 launches were carried out from launch complex No. 1.

Launches of light and heavy launch vehicles

In mid-1964, construction began on the launch complexes for the Cosmos-2 and Cosmos-3M launch vehicles, as well as the silo launcher for the single-stage RSD R14U (Bear Mountains site No. 131). Since the last installation in 1969-1971, six R14U launches were carried out towards the Kazakh Sary-Shagan test site under the Aldan missile defense program. Site No. 133 (launcher 1) was used for launches of the Kosmos-2 launch vehicle from 1967 to 1977 (88 satellite launches were carried out), since 2000, a second launcher (133/3) appeared on it for launches of the Rokot launch vehicle ( 27 launches in 2000-2017), in addition, 39 launches of the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle were carried out from launcher 133/3 in 1985-1994. Site 132 (launchers 1 and 2) was used for launches of the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle from 1967 to 2010 (384 satellite launches were carried out, mainly small military satellites for navigation, communications and radar calibration). On June 26, 1973, the Kosmos-3M rocket exploded, leading to the death of 9 people. After the disaster, launches of this launch vehicle were resumed in next year. At launch complex No. 32 there are 2 launchers for the Cyclone-3 and Rokot LVs, the construction of which began in the 1970s of the 20th century. From the first launcher 32, 57 Cyclone-3 launch vehicles were launched in 1980-2001; from the second, 65 launches were carried out in 1977-2009. From this site in June 2000, the first launches into sun-synchronous orbits were carried out (plans for such launches existed back in the 70s of the 20th century, but were constantly canceled due to the fact that the first orbit of such a launch passed over the United States).

During an unsuccessful launch on January 26, 1983, the second stage of the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle fell into the Northern Dvina River near the village of Brin-Navolok (the first stage exploded when falling in the forest). A hole with a diameter of several tens of meters appeared in the river ice 50 cm thick; the explosion caused the release of soil from the bottom of the river, despite the depth of 7 meters. According to calculations, a third of the fuel did not participate in the explosion and ended up in the river, which threatened to poison the Arkhangelsk water intake.

In 2010, construction began on the launch complex for the Angara launch vehicle at site No. 35, which, like the Sevens launch sites, was located on south coast Yemtsy River. The first launches of light and heavy modifications of the Angara launch vehicle were carried out in 2014. The heavy modification of the Angara launch vehicle became the heaviest launch vehicle launched from Plesetsk - 759 tons. For comparison, the mass of the Proton launch vehicle is 705 tons.

Test site for long-range solid propellant missiles

Historically, the 20th century saw the initial development of liquid-fuel rockets that used cryogenic or high-boiling propellant components. Such missiles required very careful handling and had complex system pre-launch operations. Therefore, from the mid-20th century, active development of solid fuel rockets began, which had the possibility of long-term storage and ease of pre-launch operations. Tests of Soviet liquid-fuel ICBMs were carried out at Baikonur, so the new topic of solid-fuel missiles was moved to Plesetsk.

In 1966-1968, additional launch complexes were built in Plesetsk to test the solid-fuel three-stage ICBM RT-2 (RS-12), which became the first Soviet solid-fuel ICBM. Initially, 3 silos were used for testing, but then their number was increased to 10, which were located in 9 positions (under numbers 11, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 34 and names “Ozerki”, 163 “Loshchina” ”, “Gorki”, “Ozernaya”, “Losinoye” and 169 “Azure”, 161 “Zarya”, “Yubileinaya”). Only launcher number 11 at site no. 161 consisted of two silo launchers, and all the others consisted of only one silo launcher. Launcher No. 14 was located at the Yasnoye site. These launchers carried out 25 test launches, of which 16 were successful. After that, until 1994, regular launches of the RT-2 took place at Plesetsk with the aim of extending the service life from 7 to 15-17 years. In 1967-1969, testing of the first Soviet mobile complex with a solid-fuel ICBM, the RT-20P (8K99), began in Plesetsk. To test the RT-20P, two were built launch pads No. 157 (“Flower”) and No. 158 (“Current”). The tests took place in two stages: launches from site 157 in the Bratsk region and launches from site 158 (launcher No. 21) in the Kura region in Kamchatka. In addition, 3 silo launchers were built at site 158. 12 test launches of the RT-20P were carried out, of which 8 were unsuccessful. Despite the fact that the last four launches were completely successful, the development of the RT-20P complex was discontinued.

In 1969-1972, another three-stage solid-fuel missile, the RT-2P ICBM, was tested in Plesetsk. During them, 15 test launches were carried out (out of 13 successful). Some of the test launches of RT-2 and RT-2P were carried out in 1966 and 1970 from site 161 (“Zarya”) (launchers 1 and 2). After that, since 1983, in Plesetsk, at sites 169 (“Lazurnaya”) and 168, additional modernization of the RT-2 missile was tested: RT-2PM (RS-12M “Topol”). The first three launches were carried out from a silo launcher (which was previously used to test the RT-2P), and only the fourth was carried out from a self-propelled launcher. Between 1983 and 1987, 16 test launches were carried out, and 33 additional test launches were carried out in 1988-1994, all of which were successful. On the basis of the Topol rockets, the Start and Start-1 launch vehicles were created. In 1993 and 1995, 2 launches of the Start-1 launch vehicle with satellites were made from site 158.

In 1989-1990, 4 ditch tests of the mobile-based Courier ICBM were carried out in Plesetsk. Also in Plesetsk, since August 1990, at site 169, the Sirena command missile, created on the basis of the Topol mobile ICBM, has been tested.

Further modernization of the Topol ICBM led to the creation of the Topol-M ICBM ground (15Zh55 or RT-2PM1) and mine (15Zh65 or RT-2PM2) modifications. Since 2000, sites 157 and 158 have also been used to test the ground version of the Topol-M ICBM. For the first test launches of the Topol-M silo version in 1994-1997, the Yuzhnaya-1 or Yuzhnaya silo installation was used (4 successful launches were carried out), and later the silo installations of the Svetlaya and Yubileinaya sites. In 2007-2008, tests were carried out in Plesetsk of the Yars complex (RS-12M2R), which is a Topol-M missile with 4 warheads. Testing of the Yars soil complex took place at site 157, and the mine version of Yars was tested in the mine installations of the Yuzhnaya and Yubileinaya sites. In 2011-2012, two tests of the Rubezh mobile ICBM were carried out in Plesetsk (the first of them was unsuccessful), which is a deep modernization of the Yars ICBM. In the coming months, the first test launch of the Sarmat heavy liquid-fuel ICBM, which should replace the R-36 family of missiles, is expected from Plesetsk.

In addition to silo- and ground-based solid fuel missiles, a railway missile system was tested in Plesetsk. Since 1982, testing of the RT-23 family of solid fuel missiles began (in a silo version (15Zh44), in a railway-based version (15Zh52) and in a universal version for all three types of deployment - silo, ground and railway (RT-23UGTH or 15Zh61 “Molodets” )). Since 1982, testing of the silo version (15Zh44) of the RT-23 ICBM began in Plesetsk. The tests were carried out using 8 silo launchers: 2 installations at the Yuzhnaya-1 site, and one installation each at the Yuzhnaya-2, Svetlaya-2 and Serebryanka sites. A total of 8 launches were carried out, of which 4 were emergency launches (during one of them the rocket fell directly into the launch silo). Since the RT-23 was created in Ukraine, after the collapse of the USSR, the silo launchers for the RT-23 were converted to the new RT-2PM2 (SS-27) ICBM. Tests of the RT-2PM2 took place in 1994-1996 (3 launches). To test the railway version of the ICBM (15Zh52), BAM builders built a section of the railway between the Medvezhya and Klyuchevaya stations. The 15Zh52 missile complex began to be tested in 1984 at four railway installations at site number 163 (“Loshchina”). Tests of the universal rocket (15Zh61) took place in 1985-1987, during which a total of 16 launches were carried out (1 emergency). Of the 30 launches of railway-based missiles, one was carried out at maximum range in the Aquatoria area ( central part Pacific Ocean). A total of 12 missile trains were built, which carried the BD in 1987-1994.

Since the end of 2014, reports began that Russia was developing a new railway complex with the 15Zh83 (“Bagruzin”) missile, developed on the basis of the Yars or Yars-M ICBM. It was reported that in November 2016, throwaway tests of the 15Zh83 rocket were even carried out in Plesetsk. On the other hand, in December 2017, reports emerged that the creation of a new missile system was considered too expensive.

Infrastructure and future prospects of the cosmodrome

In total, over the entire history of the cosmodrome, about three dozen ground, mine, ground and ground launchers were built on its territory of 1,762 square kilometers. railway type. Of these, 11 launchers are currently in use (3 for the Soyuz launch vehicle, one each for the Rokot and Angara launch vehicles, 167 and 168 test site for mobile ICBMs of the Topol family, 3 silo launchers for the Topol ICBMs -M”, “Yars” and “Sarmat” and a railway position for the Barguzin ICBM). The cosmodrome is located at the Pero airfield with a 2.6 km long runway, which is capable of receiving large aircraft such as Il-76 and Tu-154.

Plesetsk- urban-type settlement in, administrative center Plesetsk district.

Story

The settlement was first mentioned in 1894. In 1897, the Plesetskaya station was built in the Navolotsk volost of the Onega district of the Arkhangelsk province on the Vologda-Arkhangelsk narrow-gauge railway and was included in the register of railways Russian Empire. In 1924, the Plesetsk volost was formed with its center in the village of Navolok. On October 4, 1926, the Plesetsk enlarged volost (which transferred to the Arkhangelsk district) was formed with its center in the village at the Plesetskaya station. July 9, 1929 during administrative reform On the territory of the Plesetsk volost, with the annexation of the village of Samoded, the Plesetsk district of the Arkhangelsk district of the Northern Territory was formed. By a resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 2, 1932, the village of Plesetskoye was classified as a workers' settlement and given the name Plesetsk. In 1963-1965 it was the center of two districts: Plesetsk industrial and Plesetsk rural. Since 2006, it has also been the center of the Plesetsk urban settlement.

Population

By the beginning of the 20th century, 85 people lived at Plesetskaya station. Ten years later the number of residents almost reached three hundred people. 1932 - 4725 inhabitants. During the years of the Great Patriotic War The population of the village decreased by a quarter. In the mid-1950s, there were already 12 thousand residents living in Plesetsk.

Climate

• Average annual air temperature - 1.5 °C
• Relative air humidity - 76.0%
• Average speed wind - 3.0 m/s

Economy

Crossroads st. Partisan (directly) and Lenin. On the right is the administration of the Plesetsk urban settlement.

• Plesetskaya railway station;
• Logging and wood processing
• The Plesetsk cosmodrome and the closed city of Mirny are located nearby.

Culture and sports

• Folk choir
• Leisure center "Zenith" (Partizanskaya str., 6)
• Center children's creativity(Lenin St., 85)
• Music school (Sadovaya str., 18).
• Hockey team

Radio

Etymology

The station, and then the volost and the village, got their name from the nearby lakes Plestsy and former village Plesetskaya.

Topographic maps

• Map Sheet P-37-XI,XII Plesetsk. Scale: 1: 200,000. Indicate the date of issue/condition of the area.

Notes

1. Population Russian Federation for municipalities as of January 1, 2017 (July 31, 2017). Retrieved July 31, 2017. Archived July 31, 2017.
2. Brief historical background Plesetsk district
3. Resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 2, 1932 “On changes in the administrative-territorial division of the Northern Territory
4. All-Union Population Census of 1959. The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. Archived April 28, 2013.
5. All-Union Population Census of 1970 The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender. (Russian) . Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. Archived April 28, 2013.
6. All-Union Population Census of 1979 The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender. (Russian) . Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. Archived April 28, 2013.
7. All-Union population census of 1989. Urban population. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011.
8. All-Russian population census 2002. Volume. 1, table 4. Population of Russia, federal districts, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, districts, urban settlements, rural settlements - regional centers and rural settlements with a population of 3 thousand or more. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012.
9. The permanent population of the Russian Federation by cities, urban settlements and regions as of January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2014. Archived January 2, 2014.
10. All-Russian population census 2010. Number of municipalities and settlements of the Arkhangelsk region
11. Population by municipalities of the Arkhangelsk region as of January 1, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2014. Archived May 4, 2014.
12. Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities. Table 35. Estimated resident population as of January 1, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2014. Archived May 31, 2014.
13. Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2013. - M.: Federal service state statistics Rosstat, 2013. - 528 p. (Table 33. Population of urban districts, municipal districts, urban and rural settlements, urban settlements, rural settlements). Retrieved November 16, 2013. Archived November 16, 2013.
14. Table 33. Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014. Archived August 2, 2014.
15. Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015. Archived August 6, 2015.
16. Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2016
17. Center of Plesetskaya land

Links

• Plesetsk- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
• terrus.ru - Russia database

Abstract on the topic:

Plesetsk (urban-type settlement)

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 History
• 2 Demographics
• 3 Climate
• 4 Economics
• 5 Culture
• 6 Etymology
Notes

Introduction

Plesetsk- an urban-type settlement in Russia, the administrative center of the Plesetsk district of the Arkhangelsk region.

1. History

The settlement was first mentioned in 1894. In 1897 the station Plesetskaya The Navolotsk volost of the Onega district of the Arkhangelsk province on the narrow-gauge railway "Vologda-Arkhangelsk" was included in the register of railways of the Russian Empire. In 1924, the Plesetsk volost was formed with its center in the village of Navolok. On October 4, 1926, the Plesetsk enlarged volost (which transferred to the Arkhangelsk district) was formed with its center in the village at the Plesetskaya station. On July 9, 1929, during the administrative reform on the territory of the Plesetsk volost with the annexation of the village of Samoded, the Plesetsk district of the Arkhangelsk district of the Northern Territory was formed. By a resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 2, 1932, the working village of Plesetsk was formed from the Plesetsk village council. Since 2006 it has been the center of the Plesetsk urban settlement.

2. Demographics

By the beginning of the twentieth century, 85 people lived at Plesetskaya station. Ten years later the number of residents almost reached three hundred people. 1932 - 4725 inhabitants. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the population of the village decreased by a quarter. In the mid-1950s, there were already 12 thousand residents living in Plesetsk.

3. Climate

• Average annual air temperature - 1.5 °C
• Relative air humidity - 76.0%
• Average wind speed - 3.0 m/s

4. Economy

Crossroads st. Partisan (directly) and Lenin. On the right is the administration municipality"Plesetsk".

• Plesetskaya railway station
• Logging and wood processing
• Production of concrete, reinforced concrete products
• Proximity of the Plesetsk cosmodrome and the city of Mirny

5. Culture

Folk choir, leisure center "Zenit" (Partizanskaya St., 6), children's creativity center (Lenin St., 85), hockey team, music school(Sadovaya St., 18).

6. Etymology

The station, and then the volost and the village, got their name from the nearby Lake Plestsy and the former village of Plesetskaya.

Notes

1. Brief historical background of the Plesetsk region - www.moples.ru/index.php?id=4
2. Center of Plesetsk land - www.arhpress.ru/plesetsk/2006/9/26/5.shtml
3. The permanent population of the Russian Federation by cities, urban-type settlements and districts as of January 1, 2010 - www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/b10_109/IssWWW.exe/Stg// / ::|tabl-23-10.xls

Plesetsk is an urban-type settlement in Russia, the administrative center of the Plesetsk district of the Arkhangelsk region.

Climate

• Average annual air temperature - 1.5 °C
• Relative air humidity - 76.0%
• Average wind speed - 3.0 m/s

Culture

Folk choir, Zenit leisure center (Partizanskaya St., 6), children's creativity center (Lenin St., 85), hockey team, music school (Sadovaya St., 18).

Radio

• 1206 Lighthouse
• 67.19 Radio Yunost
• 66.23 Radio Russia/Radio Pomorie
• 66.41 Main radio
• 104.1 Autoradio
• 100.0 Road radio

Demography

By the beginning of the twentieth century, 85 people lived at Plesetskaya station. Ten years later the number of residents almost reached three hundred people. 1932 - 4725 inhabitants. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the population of the village decreased by a quarter. In the mid-1950s, there were already 12 thousand residents living in Plesetsk.

Etymology

The station, and then the volost and the village, got their name from the nearby Lake Plestsy and the former village of Plesetskaya.

Story

The settlement was first mentioned in 1894. In 1897, the Plesetskaya station of the Navolotsk volost of the Onega district of the Arkhangelsk province on the Vologda-Arkhangelsk narrow-gauge railway was included in the register of railways of the Russian Empire. In 1924, the Plesetsk volost was formed with its center in the village of Navolok. On October 4, 1926, the Plesetsk enlarged volost (which transferred to the Arkhangelsk district) was formed with its center in the village at the Plesetskaya station. On July 9, 1929, during the administrative reform on the territory of the Plesetsk volost with the annexation of the village of Samoded, the Plesetsk district of the Arkhangelsk district of the Northern Territory was formed. By a resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 2, 1932, the working village of Plesetsk was formed from the Plesetsk village council. Since 2006 it has been the center of the Plesetsk urban settlement.

Economy

• Plesetskaya railway station
• Proximity of the Plesetsk cosmodrome and the city of Mirny
• Logging and wood processing
• Production of concrete, reinforced concrete products

Plesetsk is a cosmodrome - the First State Test Cosmodrome in the Russian Federation. And from that time on he has not lost his strategic importance for the development of astronautics and the Air Force.

The Plesetsk Cosmodrome or the 1st State Test Cosmodrome is one of the largest cosmodromes in the world. It was founded during the USSR (July 15, 1957) on Russian territory. Has two insignia: “Order of the Red Banner” and “Order of the Red Banner of Labor”.

Where is Plesetsk located?

It is located 180 km from Arkhangelsk, making it the northernmost cosmodrome geographically. ABOUT n is at 63 degrees northern latitude and 41 degrees east longitude. It has an area of ​​1762 km², on which 6 centers and 4 launch complexes are located.

This is not only a Russian cosmodrome, but also locality(city) Mirny. It can accommodate from 40 to 50 thousand service personnel, depending on the needs of the technical base. The cosmodrome is provided with rail and road connections with an extensive network.

Initially secret object was called Angara. But in the sixties it was renamed. And the name is used for launch vehicles. In 1966 (March 17), Kosmos-112 was launched as an artificial satellite of our planet. In the same year, testing of strategic missile systems began.

IN Soviet times the cosmodrome had an original address - Leningrad-300.

In 1968, the cosmodrome began to participate in international space programs Oh.

After the fall Soviet Union The cosmodrome was included in the Russian Armed Forces. And in 2001 he was transferred to the Space Forces.

What is remarkable about Plesetsk?

In Soviet times about the fall various levels rockets were notified to the local population of nearby areas. Now there is no notification, which sometimes creates unpleasant situations.

The railway network of Plesetsk is the largest in terms of departmental ramifications railway in the Russian Federation. Passenger trains depart constantly from Mirny in various directions. The military airfield of the cosmodrome has the first class for the operation of heavy aircraft.

In total from Plesetsk there were:

1. more than 1,600 launch vehicles have been launched;
2. more than 1950 space aviation objects were launched into orbit.

The following were put into operation:

• ten types of launch vehicles;
• eleven missile systems;
• about thirty spacecraft.

The first Topol-M launches were carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. And in 2014 (December 23), the famous Angara-A5 was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The launch vehicle was equipped with a Briz-M upper stage.

Historical summary

The cosmodrome project was conventionally “conceived” on January 11, 1957, when the government of the Soviet Union decided to build the Angara facility. A base was created for missile regiments equipped with ballistic missiles, which were also then at the development stage.

The construction site was also not chosen by chance. Several factors were taken into account when developing the idea:

• The object was absolutely secret and needed special secrecy;
• The construction site had to be difficult to reach the enemy, but the enemy's territory had to be within reach of Soviet missiles;
• Possibility of observation and control of tests in the Kamchatka region.

In 1964, the base was armed with 15 launchers for several types of missiles, and in 1966 the Vostok-2 launch vehicle was launched from the cosmodrome. Since 1968, the base became a full-fledged member of world space programs and remained so until the collapse of the Union.

For reference: Vostok-2 is a launch vehicle for artificial satellite Earth "Cosmos-112".

Under the auspices of the Russian Federation, the cosmodrome has also distinguished itself more than once:

• In 1994, the first launch of the not little-known Topol-M was made from Plesetsk;
• In 2000, the first launch of Topol-M was made, but already as part of the PGRK (mobile ground-based missile system);
• In 2008, the base and surrounding areas were cleared of missile fragments (more than 148 tons of removed metal, etc.);
• From 2008 to 2011, a number of launches were carried out, which did not always end successfully;
• Latest achievement: in 2014, on December 23, the newest heavy launch vehicle Angara-A5 was launched.

Environmental implications

Hide the fact that experiments with ballistic missiles and launch vehicles cause obvious harm environment, is simply impossible. However, in the Soviet Union this information was only available local residents, the public was informed of complete control. On at the moment More than 20 fall fields remain damaged and gradually ceased to be used. Thanks to this they have very different condition. Some have not been used since the 80s, but there are also those that still have traces of extremely toxic rocket fuel (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine).

In the 21st century, ecology has finally taken its due place in the minds of ordinary residents, and governments. Therefore, the number of experiments in the Mirny area is strictly controlled. At the time of 2014-2015, Plesetsk operates with launch vehicles using kerosene and liquid oxygen, and the number of “harmful” launches has been reduced to the required minimum.