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The Plesetsk Cosmodrome, located in northwestern Russia approximately 800 km northeast of St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), was for many years the busiest missile launch facility on earth. It has supported over 1,300 launches—or more than one third of all orbital and planetary launches from all other sites in the world combined.(1) Although its output was dramatically reduced after the end of the Cold War, Plesetsk remains a key component of Russia’s ICBM program.

 

In 1957, the Soviet Union gained the ability to launch a nuclear strike against the United States with its new SS-6 Sapwood (R-7) missile. The most direct path for a missile attack against North America was across the Arctic Ocean, and the Soviet military decided to place SS-6 launch pads as far north as possible to maximize their range. The Soviet Ministry of Defense chose the village of Plesetsk as the location of the first SS-6 base. Two years later, in December 1959, the first SS-6 launch pad at Plesetsk was declared operational. That same month, the Soviet Union created the Strategic Missile Forces within the Soviet Army, which oversaw all launch operations.(2)

 

In August 1960, the United States gained its first photographs of the launch site using the Corona spacecraft, which revealed railway lines not found on German military maps from the World War II era. Over the next few years, the SS-7 Saddler (R-16) and the SS-8 Sasin (R-9) ICBMs were deployed at Plesetsk, where, in 1962, the Soviets decided to create a range to test solid-fueled missiles, and to provide access to high-inclination orbits for space launches. The existing infrastructure at Plesetsk thereby gained a dual role.

 

In March 1966, the Plesetsk facility launched its first satellite, the Cosmos-112, followed by the Cosmos-113 in April, and the Cosmos-129 in October. In November 1966, the West announced the existence and whereabouts of the Soviet launch site after a group of British students tracked the three Cosmos satellites and were able to pinpoint their origin. The Soviet Union did not officially acknowledge the existence of Plesetsk, however, until 1983.

 

In 1968, Plesetsk became the testing ground for the early Soviet efforts to create mobile ICBMs. Twelve launches of the SS-X-15 Scrooge (RT-20) took place. Eight of these launches reportedly failed and that mobile ICBM project was terminated. In 1973, the launch site suffered its first disaster with the explosion of a Cosmos satellite that killed nine people. In 1980 came a second disaster when a Vostok booster exploded, killing 50 people. Nevertheless, work continued with the testing of railroad-based missiles such as the SS-24 Scalpel (RT-23), which was tested at Plesetsk from 1982 to 1985.

 

The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union brought hard times to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Despite being in a much better political-economic situation that the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Plesetsk could not escape the severe Russian financial problems of the 1990s. Defense spending was reduced dramatically, and space launches in Plesetsk fell from 47 in 1988 to only six in 1996. Work continued, however, and in December 1994, the first new generation Russian ICBM—-the SS-27 Topol M (RS-12M)—-was launched from Plesetsk.(3)

 

Russia continues to test ICBMs from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.(4) Reports indicate that it is also considering seeking private sector funding to invest in Plesetsk’s satellite launch capability.(5)

 

 

 

 

Footnotes

 

1. GlobalSecurity.org, “Plesetsk Cosmodrome,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/russia/plesetsk.htm, accessed on 29 August 2005.
2. RussianSpaceWeb.com, “Cosmodrome Plesetsk,” available at http://www.russianspaceweb.com/plesetsk.html, accessed on 29 August 2005.
3. RussianSpaceWeb.com, “Cosmodrome Plesetsk.”
4. “Mobile Topol-M cleared for production,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 February 2005.
5. David C. Isby, “Russia Opens New ICBM Launch Site,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 March 2005.

Russia Test Launches SS-25 Topol ICBM

August 3, 2006 :: MosNews :: News

Russia today test launched a road-mobile SS-25 Topol (RS-12M) intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia, according to Russian media sources. Major General Vitaly Seliverstov, deputy head of the Strategic Rocket Forces’ armament department, told Interfax that “the missile was test-fired to confirm the stability of its flight and technical characteristics during the extended period of operation.” Itar-Tass reports that the missile was fired from a mobile launcher. It is believed that the launch and flight of the Topol met all necessary standards, and that the missile hit its designated target on the Kamchtaka Peninsula at the scheduled time.
        The SS-25 Topol was the first fully road mobile intercontinental ballistic missile commissioned by the Soviet Union. The Topol has a high rate of survivability, as it is difficult to locate and destroy a properly hidden road mobile system. MosNews reports that 300 missiles remained on duty as of 2005.  (Article, Link) 

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Russia to Leave Baikonur

January 20, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News

Russia plans to withdraw its missile forces from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the oldest space launch facility in the world. According to Col.-Gen. Vladimir Popovkin, commander of the Russian Space Troops, the forces will move to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, located in northwestern Russia approximately 800 km northeast of St. Petersburg. Popovkin was quoted by RIA-Novosti as stating that maintaining Baikonur “has become a luxury that we cannot permit ourselves.” The planned withdrawal will take place in 2007-2008. (Article, Link) 

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Russia Tests Topol SS-25; Service Life Extensions to Yield Savings

November 30, 2005 :: News

On November 29, Russia tested fired one of its aging “Topol” ballistic missiles, which have been in service since the 1980s. The RS-12M missile, SS-25 in the NATO designation, was successfully launched from a mobile launcher located at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region. The missile traveled east, with the warhead or warheads being delivered to the designated target at the testing ground of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
        The launch was part of an ongoing plan to extend the service lives of the SS-25, which shores up the strength of Russia’s offensive nuclear forces. Russia’s project to extend the service lives of Cold War workhorses such as the SS-18 and also the SS-25 helps to save or at least delay the costs associated with replacing them with newer ICBMS, such as, for example, the Topol-M (SS-27) which would otherwise be necessary to retain Russia’s sizable nuclear arsenal.
        The SS-25 Topol missiles have already exceeded the period through which they were expected to be operable. A statement by Colonel Aleksey Kuznetsov, head of the Space Troops’ press service, is quoted by the Russian Interfax news agency: “The purpose of the launch is to confirm the flight, technical and operation characteristics of the mobile ground-based Topol missile complex so that its service life can be extended to 20 years.” (Meanwhile, the Associated Press quoted the statement as saying the missiles could be extended to a life of 23 years, and RIA Novosti that it was 19.) To clarify, the service lives of specific missiles means that while some Topols were first introduced around the late-1980s, others which were built and deployed later could still be in service for some time, while still having the same overall “service life.” RIA Novosti explained that some Topol missiles could still be operational until 2016-2018.
        Russian Channel One TV notes that when the Topol missiles were introduced, they were expected to have a life for only ten years, which they have already almost doubled. It is however, worthy of notice that the Channel One report discussed the relation of the Topol and the newer Topol-M to missile defense, and specifically American missile defense capabilities. The Russian press, like the Russian military, is remarkably blunt in their desire to retain the means to deliver nuclear weapons to America, even so far as specifying that America is among its “likely enemies.”

…the launch from Plesetsk today of the oldest missile, and from the first batch, proved that they can maintain complete combat readiness for at least twice as long as this. A rocket usually becomes old when the opponent learns how to intercept it, but our likely enemies have not known what to do about the Topol, nor know so far.

The army is unlikely to keep the Topol missiles in service for longer than 23 years. A new weapon is on its way. …

[Gennadiy Yasinskiy, captioned as first deputy constructor at the Moscow institute of thermal technology] This missile is coming to the end of its service life. I don’t think the Americans will come up with anything special with their air defense [missile defense] system over these three years, whereas our modernized Topol-M missile [the SS-27] has all the elements required to overcome the US system being developed today.

[Correspondent] It was precisely in an attempt to catch up with the Topol that the Americans built the terribly expensive B-2 stealth bomber, each costing two billion dollars. But the outlay turned out to be justified: once in the air, this missile—the foundation of our nuclear shield—is completely unassailable for any air defense [missile defense] system.

        Given the fungibility of money, Russia can allocate resources in its growing military budget to other programs. As RIA Novosti noted, “This measure will allow Russia to keep the infrastructure of missile deployment areas for new mobile ground-based missile systems as it continues to commission modernized Topol-M versions according to schedule.”  (Article, Link) 

» Russian Channel One TV description of Topol test

» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign

» Missile details: SS-N-5

» Missile system details for: Plesetsk Cosmodrome