Cosmodrome de Svobodny

The cosmodrome of Svobodny (in Russian: Свобо́дный) was inaugurated in February 1997 by the Russian president Boris Ieltsine, to try to mitigate the operational requirements of the Cosmodrome de Baïkonour which is located in full Kazakh territory . It is located in the Oblast d' Amour into full Siberia, to approximately 150 km in the north of Blagoveshensk. Its exact geographical position is of 51°42 ′ NR 128°00 ′ E (). The site was originally a military base of launching of missiles, built in 1968 fine then closed 1993.

Its latitude enables him to reach orbits less tilted than the bases of Plesetsk, and in particular it is just sufficient to reach the International space station. However, this cosmodrome is still very far from competing with Baïkonour: not only the geostationary orbit remains more difficult access than since Baïkonour, but more especially the Russian State forever which been able to sufficient resolve funds to make the base really operational for its objectives. The labor costs necessary to Svobodny are estimated at 4 trillions roubles (according to the courses of the Rouble of 1994). Russia thus continues to rent the ground of Baïkonour at Kazakhstan, and Svobodny has for the moment used only for launchings of light rockets commes the Start-1, which are only modified ballistic missiles.

The cosmodrome of Svobodny could in theory being retained like launching base of the fused Angara, but that would still require many investments.

In 2005, after the prolongation of the lease of Baïkonour by Russia, the Russian federal Space agency decides the closing of the cosmodrome of Svobodny. However, the Israeli satellite Eros B is launched since Svobodny the April 25th 2006 since a Start rocket, and it is planned to carry out other launchings in the following months.

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