Published: 7/24/1998

Russian specialists, servicing the new Svobodny cosmodrome in the Amur Region, Russian Far East, hope to gain approval from Russia's Prime Minister, Sergei Kiriyenko, for their original ideas. "We will not request any money. The main thing is to receive a confirmation from the government that the new cosmodrome is necessary for the country",Alexander Sukhadolsky, technical director of the Komplex research centre, said. According to Sukhadolsky, financing of the cosmodrome's equipment should not be a problem, since funds for servicing will be received from commercial launches from Svobodny. The cosmodrome now launches only small rockets from mobile systems, including the converted Start-1 which was developed by the Komplex centre on the basis of the Topol military system. On generating profits from launching Start-1s with commercial satellites, the money can be invested in the development of "the spaceport". Then it will be possible to switch over from mobile to silo launch systems and later to land launch pads. The idea of establishing a new cosmodrome emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union when the main launch site at Baikonur remained in Kazakhstan. Svobodny was selected, since it is situated closer to the equator and is equipped with an adequate infrastructure. From the 1960s, Svobodny accommodated a division of the Strategic Missile Troops, which had at its disposal 60 silo launching systems with RS-10 missiles (NATO classification SS-11). A total of 45 training launches of ICBMs were made from Svobodny before 1973. Late in 1994, the division was disbanded under international treaties on disarmament. All missiles were removed from combat duty, and destruction of launchers started. The command preserved five silos from where it is planned to fire off the new Rokot booster, being developed on the basis of the RS-18 rocket (NATO classification SS-19). On 1 March 1996, the Russian president issued a decree, granting Svobodny the status of the Second State Testing Cosmodrome. The first stage of work on creating a cosmodrome has been carried out in Svobodny: a building was equipped for assembling and testing light-class rockets and satellites, a commanding post was built and a station is in operation to receive telemetering information from satellites as well as a system of common time. In 1997, two space launches were made from Svobodny. However, no launches are planned for this year, since foreign customers are behind with the preparation of their satellites. (AS798.5) (VZ)

Article ID: 229