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Forum:	Soviet - Russian Space
Topic:	Vostochny Cosmodrome to replace Baikonur

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Your Reply: HTML is ON UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend	[QUOTE]Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: [B]PTI via Roscosmos: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="+0">[b]Russia to invest over $800 million to build new space centre[/b]</font> <div align="justify">Russia will invest over USD 800 million to build a space centre in the Far East of the country for civilian space launches, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today. "The government decided to allocate over the next three years 24.7 billion roubles (around USD 811 million) for beginning of the full-scale construction of the Vostochny (Eastern) Space Centre," Putin said in his televised remarks at a meeting with space industry officials. The Vostochny Space Centre to be located in the Amur region bordering China will eventually replace the Soviet-era Baikonur cosmodrome, now on 30-year lease with Russia from Kazakhstan. "I hope that the Vostochny Space Centre will become the first civilian national space centre, and would guarantee Russia full independence in space activities," he underscored. Addressing the space officials at the 'Energia' spacecraft plant in Korolyov town near here, Putin also vowed to develop international cooperation in space and announced the cabinet decision to allow foreigners access to the top secret facility for this. "It is important that the new space centre will provide service for all prospective space projects, including a manned transport system, new generation boosters and future interplanetary missions," he said. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chief of the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos Anatoly Perminov said up to 30 thousand specialists would be employed for building Vostochny cosmodrome and the construction of the space center will boost the industrial capacity of the Far East and encourage the flow of investment into the region. Putin also said the government will invest 100 billion roubles this year (over 3 billion dollars at current rate of exchange) for the development of space industry, including global navigational system GLONASS.</div></BLOCKQUOTE>[/B][/QUOTE]
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<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="600"><TR><td bgcolor="#000000"><TABLE BORDER=0 cellpadding=4 border=0 cellspacing=1 WIDTH="100%"><TR bgcolor="#660000"><TD COLSPAN=2><CENTER>T O P I C     R E V I E W</CENTER></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>RIA Novosti <A HREF="http://en.rian.ru/russia/20071121/88951593.html" TARGET=_blank>reports</A> that Russia will launch manned spacecraft from a new site starting in 2018. <BLOCKQUOTE>Russia will start launches of manned spacecraft from a future space center in Russia's Far East in 2018, a first deputy prime minster said on Wednesday."On November 6, the Russian president signed a decree on the construction of a new space center, to be named Vostochny, in the Amur Region," Sergei Ivanov said at a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission in Samara, in the Volga region."We are planning to launch the first spacecraft from Vostochny in 2015, and by 2018 to start launching manned spacecraft from the new space center," Ivanov said, adding that the construction could take about 10 years.</BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>PTI via Roscosmos: <BLOCKQUOTE>Russia to invest over $800 million to build new space centre<div align="justify">Russia will invest over USD 800 million to build a space centre in the Far East of the country for civilian space launches, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today."The government decided to allocate over the next three years 24.7 billion roubles (around USD 811 million) for beginning of the full-scale construction of the Vostochny (Eastern) Space Centre," Putin said in his televised remarks at a meeting with space industry officials.The Vostochny Space Centre to be located in the Amur region bordering China will eventually replace the Soviet-era Baikonur cosmodrome, now on 30-year lease with Russia from Kazakhstan."I hope that the Vostochny Space Centre will become the first civilian national space centre, and would guarantee Russia full independence in space activities," he underscored. Addressing the space officials at the 'Energia' spacecraft plant in Korolyov town near here, Putin also vowed to develop international cooperation in space and announced the cabinet decision to allow foreigners access to the top secret facility for this."It is important that the new space centre will provide service for all prospective space projects, including a manned transport system, new generation boosters and future interplanetary missions," he said.Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chief of the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos Anatoly Perminov said up to 30 thousand specialists would be employed for building Vostochny cosmodrome and the construction of the space center will boost the industrial capacity of the Far East and encourage the flow of investment into the region.Putin also said the government will invest 100 billion roubles this year (over 3 billion dollars at current rate of exchange) for the development of space industry, including global navigational system GLONASS.</div></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>ITAR-TASS <BLOCKQUOTE>All decisions made to start work on Vostochny space site 2011<div align="justify">All necessary decisions are in place for launching the construction of the spaceport Vostochny in the Amur region in 2011, the head of the federal space agency (Roscosmos), Anatoly Perminov, said at a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council devoted to the sketch of a future high-capacity next-generation space rocket complex of middle-class for the spaceport Vostochny.The Roscosmos chief recalled that "the Russian federal space program for 2006-2015 provides for the implementation of priority guidelines for space activities and the creation in the Amur Region of a spaceport for research, social, economic, and commercial dual-purpose tasks, preparations for and launches of space vehicles, cargo spacecraft and modules of orbital stations, manned space missions and future space programs for the study and exploration of celestial bodies, as well as the implementation of international cooperation in this sphere.”According to Perminov, "by now all the necessary decisions to ensure the beginning of construction work at the site of the Vostochny spaceport in 2011 have been made.""All fundamental decisions regarding Russia’s new cosmodrome have been worked out. Roscosmos attached special importance to the choice of future advanced launch vehicles," he stressed."The contract for preliminary research into the project in accordance with the terms of reference was awarded to TsSKB Progress," said Perminov. “We believe that the space rocket complex Rus-M, being developed in the experimental fashion, will be the core element of a future Russian space infrastructure to ensure launches of manned spacecraft of a new generation and of unmanned spacecraft for various purposes from the Vostochny spaceport."As Roscosmos has said, "Perminov, in general supported the chosen direction of the design work and the proposed steps of creating this complex.”He set the task of developing and presenting within the shortest deadlines the required terms of reference."The work on the complex has entered the practical phase and it is necessary to draw up action plans for each item on the agenda and to appoint officials responsible in order to ensure the task set to us be accomplished in due time," said Perminov.</div></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>Russia rolled out its first Soyuz rocket at the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Monday (March 21) in a "dry test" leading up to the new spaceport's first planned launch in April, <A HREF="http://tass.ru/en/science/864041" TARGET=_blank>reports</A> TASS. <BLOCKQUOTE>The first day of comprehensive tests at Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region (Far East of Russia) the first launch form which is to be carried out in April, passed normally, Director General of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation Igor Komarov told reporters on Monday."It's a very important moment for us today. Comprehensive tests of the launch complex, a 'dry rollout' of the Soyuz-2.1a space rocket have begun. The first day passed normally. The staff of all enterprises worked fine", Komarov said.The so-called "dry rollout" is a set of checks and tests on the spaceport's launch pad when the launch vehicle is not fueled. These works are carried out to check the launch methods and systems.The construction of the Vostochny space launch center in the Amur region began in 2012. The total area of the cosmodrome will reach 700 square km. It is destined to become the first national facility for civilian space launches, ensuring Russia's full-scale access to space and reducing the dependence of the Russian space industry on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.</BLOCKQUOTE> <center><a href="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest01-lg.jpg" target="AirLock"><img src="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest01.jpg" width="400" height="267" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest02-lg.jpg" target="AirLock"><img src="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest02.jpg" width="400" height="267" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest03-lg.jpg" target="AirLock"><img src="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest03.jpg" width="400" height="267" border="0"></a><a href="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest04-lg.jpg" target="AirLock"><img src="http://www.collectspace.com/review/vostochny_soyuz_drytest04.jpg" width="400" height="299" border="0"></a></center></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>dom</TD><TD>Looks like they're copying the Soyuz pad design from Kourou?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>SkyMan1958</TD><TD>Does anyone have any idea why they placed the spaceport where it is placed? Purely from a physical security aspect it is not very far from the Chinese border. From a weather perspective, it appears to be in deepest Siberia, so it'll be very cold for many months of the year. The site appears to be about 400 miles from the Pacific so you don't have the benefit of launching over totally unpopulated areas (although I assume there is not a lot of population in that area). Any thoughts as to why they placed it there?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>Hart Sastrowardoyo</TD><TD>What's the difference in flight time and mileage between Star City and Baikonur vs Star City and Vostochny?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>Star City (Zhukovsky Air Base) and Baikonur are about 1,275 miles apart; Zhukovsky and Vostochny are about 3,500 miles apart (per Google Earth). <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by dom: Looks like they're copying the Soyuz pad design from Kourou?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Citing Anatoly Zak's report on the new cosmodrome on <a href="http://www.russianspaceweb.com/vostochny_soyuz.html" target="AirLock">RussianSpaceWeb.com</a>: <BLOCKQUOTE>The launch facility differed from its predecessors in Baikonur and Plesetsk by a movable service tower like the one at the Soyuz facility in Kourou, French Guiana.</BLOCKQUOTE> Zak adds that like all the other Soyuz pads, Vostochny features the Service Cabin, KO, below the surface of the pad. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by SkyMan1958: Does anyone have any idea why they placed the spaceport where it is placed?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Zak <a href="http://www.russianspaceweb.com/svobodny.html" target="AirLock">writes</a>: <BLOCKQUOTE>...with new investments in the Russian Far East, the Kremlin hoped to tighten its grip on this remote region of the country, which in the last decade has seen considerable economic influence from China and Japan. Along with the construction of the new launch site, the Russian government had promised to relocate high-tech enterprises, supporting the manned space program into the region.Vostochny's geographic location (near 51 degrees North latitude) ensured that rockets would be capable of lifting almost the same amount of payload, as they could carry from Baikonur. As a result, the future site could provide access to the International Space Station (if it was still in orbit at the time), and, possibly, support missions to the Moon....at the same time, Vostochny could be a base for commercial missions, targeting both low and high-inclination orbits.</BLOCKQUOTE> As for the weather, Zak writes that the Amur Region has on average 310 clear days a year, a relatively dry climate and a lack of strong winds.With regards to drop zones, he cites the Russian press as identifying unpopulated areas in Yakutiya as the zone for the first stages of rockets and the Arctic Ocean as the impact area for the second stage. </TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>MrSpace86</TD><TD>So what will happen with Gagarin's start? They will just tear it down and clear out Baikonur?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>COR482932</TD><TD>I doubt they will tear it down, but rather, abandon in place.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>johntosullivan</TD><TD>Apparently, Aeroflot flights from Moscow were refused entry to Kazakhstan this week. This is from a BBC Top Gear crew who had to abandon a filming session and return to the UK from Moscow.If tensions are high, I can understand why Russia would want autonomy over its critical space infrastructure.</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>The first launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome will be held on April 27 at 5:01 MSK (10 p.m. EDT April 26), the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities <A HREF="http://tass.ru/en/science/867123" TARGET=_blank>said Monday</A>. <BLOCKQUOTE>According to the Corporation, Roscosmos specialists began prelaunch preparation of all systems of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, as well as the carrier rocket and spacecraft. The delivery of the rocket to the launch pad is scheduled for April 23, 2016.</BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>pokey</TD><TD>What is the new space center's latitude?</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#333333"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>The Vostochny Cosmodrome is at 51 degrees (Baikonur is at 46 degrees, for comparison).</TD></TR><TR bgcolor="#494949"><TD valign=top>Robert Pearlman</TD><TD>The first launch from Vostochny is scheduled to take place tonight (April 26) at 10:01 p.m. EDT (0201 GMT; 5:01 a.m. Moscow Time April 27). The Soyuz rocket will take into orbit the satellites Lomonosov, Aist-2D and SamSat-218. <BLOCKQUOTE>Russian Orthodox bishop of Blagoveshchensk and Tynda, Lucian, on Tuesday blessed the launch vehicle Soyuz-2.1a that is to become the first vehicle to lift off from Russia's new Vostochny space center on April 27, the press service of the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos <A HREF="http://tass.ru/en/science/872357" TARGET=_blank>told TASS</A>."The launch vehicle was blessed by the bishop of Blagoveshchensk and Tynda Lucian," a spokesperson said. "The ceremony was held a day before liftoff."</BLOCKQUOTE> <center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ytaJN5oTWNM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

Robert Pearlman

Per Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com:

Roskosmos did not televise the launch, but sources at the site told RussianSpaceWeb.com, that the launch countdown was automatically aborted after the "Klyuch na Start" (key to launch) command and during the pressurization of the vehicle's tanks, just minutes before a scheduled liftoff. The umbilical cable mast reportedly remained connected to the rocket.
The problem required to postpone the launch for at least 24 hours and, according to Kremlin's press officials, President Putin would remain at the launch site for another day, hinting a likely launch attempt on April 28.

dom

Having Putin breathing down their necks isn't going to make it easier for the launch crew. They have to get it right as Vostochny is a personal vanity project of his but once it's done they can mothball the place for a few years...

Robert Pearlman

The first launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome was a success, reports TASS.

A cluster of three space satellites — Lomonosov, Aist-2D, and SamSat-218 — in combination with the upper stage booster Volga has successfully separated from the third stage of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket, launched from the spaceport, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Thursday.
"The satellites are now in the interim orbit," a Roscosmos spokesman at the spaceport said.
The carrier rocket was launched from Russia's new Far Eastern spaceport Vostochny at 05:01 a.m. Moscow time. The satellites and the upper stage separated from the third stage approximately nine minutes after the blastoff.

jasonelam

I noticed during the launch the rocket executed a roll program right after liftoff. I hadn't seen this on previous launches. Does this suggest that the launch platform does not move the rocket to the proper azimuth before launch, like it does at Baikonur?

dom

A little underwhelming...

Launching 60 year-old rockets just isn't impressive anymore and it'll be years before the Angara is flown from there because of Russia's present economic situation. It's going to be a long time before this new site gets used to its full potential - ironically, this will be in the post-Putin era. Watching Putin's unimpressed face makes me think he realises this too!

Robert Pearlman

From Anatoly Zak on Twitter:

Very rare shot: A fallen Stage I booster from Soyuz rocket just spotted downrange from Vostochny.

jasonelam

quote:
Originally posted by jasonelam:
Does this suggest that the launch platform does not move the rocket to the proper azimuth before launch, like it does at Baikonur?

Found the answer to my question via RussianSpaceWeb.com:

In the original Service Cabin, all access bridges formed a circular turntable, which could rotate along with other service systems to orient the rocket for a correct ascent azimuth depending on the orbital inclination of the upcoming mission. This feature became unnecessary with the introduction of the Soyuz-2 variant, whose flight control system could perform the necessary roll maneuver in flight to attain the correct azimuth.

Robert Pearlman

Rocketcam footage of the first Vostochny launch:

Robert Pearlman

Russia’s new Vostochny Space Center's astronaut training complex will be completed by 2022, the head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center said.

"According to the confirmed schedule, the construction of the preflight astronaut training center at the Vostochny Cosmodrom will be completed in 2022... This will be the most modern preflight training complex," Yuri Lonchakov told journalists.

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