posted 11-21-2007 12:35 PM               

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.

posted 07-19-2010 05:18 PM               

Russia to invest over $800 million to build new space centre

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.

posted 08-25-2010 11:56 AM               

All decisions made to start work on Vostochny space site 2011

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.

posted 03-22-2016 07:57 AM               

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.

posted 03-22-2016 09:08 PM               

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.

posted 03-24-2016 04:57 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dom:
Looks like they're copying the Soyuz pad design from Kourou?

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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.

quote:

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Originally posted by SkyMan1958:
Does anyone have any idea why they placed the spaceport where it is placed?

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...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.

posted 04-05-2016 08:56 AM               

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.

posted 04-26-2016 08:53 AM               

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 told TASS.

"The launch vehicle was blessed by the bishop of Blagoveshchensk and Tynda Lucian," a spokesperson said. "The ceremony was held a day before liftoff."

posted 04-26-2016 10:13 PM               

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.

posted 04-27-2016 10:58 PM               

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.

posted 04-29-2016 12:07 PM               

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

posted 05-09-2016 08:47 PM               

quote:

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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?

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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.

posted 06-01-2016 10:13 AM               

"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.

posted 11-28-2017 06:46 AM               

Following the launch though, Roscosmos was unable to make contact with the main payload, a Meteor-M meteorological satellite, because it was not in the expected orbit, reports TASS.

"The first scheduled communication session has failed to establish contact with the satellite due to its absence from the designated orbit," the corporation's spokesman said. "Analysis of the current situation is underway."