Kapustin Yar
| Kapustin Yar | |
|---|---|
| Капустин Яр | |
| Russian Federation | |
  Kapustin Yar | |
| Coordinates | 48°35′10″N 45°43′12″E / 48.586°N 45.72°E / 48.586; 45.72 |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Russian Federation |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1946 (1946) |
| Built by | Soviet Union |
Kapustin Yar (Russian: Капустин Яр) is a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast, between Volgograd and Astrakhan. It was established by the Soviet Union on 13 May 1946 and in the beginning used technology, material and scientific support from defeated Germany. Numerous launches of test rockets for the Russian military were carried out at the site, as well as satellite and sounding rocket launches. The town of Znamensk was built nearby to serve the missile test range.
Contents
1 History
2 Missiles tested/launched
3 Launch pads
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
History
The 4th Missile Test Range "Kapustin Yar" was established by a decree of the Soviet Government "On Questions of Jet Propelled Weapons" on 13 May 1946. The test range was created under the supervision of General-lieutenant Vasily Voznyuk (commander of the range 1946-1973) in the desert north end of the Astrakhan region. The first rocket was launched from the site on 18 October 1947; it was one of eleven German A-4s that had been captured.
The State R&D Test Range No 8 (GNIIP-8, "test range S") was established at Kapustin Yar in June 1951.
Five atmospheric nuclear tests of small power (10-40 kt) were performed over the site in 1957-1961.[1]
As of 1959 Kapustin Yar was the only publicly known Soviet missile test range. Non-Soviet observers believed at first that Sputnik 1 and 2 launched from the site.[2] With the further growth and development, Kapustin Yar became a cosmodrome, serving in this function since 1966. The rate of space launches was very low, usually 1-2 a year and during the Soviet era, it hosted only the two smallest launch vehicles, the R-12 and R-14 derived Kosmos boosters. There were no space launches at all from 1988-1998. The town of Znamensk was established to support the scientists working on the facilities, their families and supporting personnel. Initially this was a secret city, not shown on maps and requiring official permission to visit.
Evidence of the importance of Kapustin Yar was obtained by Western intelligence through debriefing of returning German scientists and spy flights. The first such flight reportedly[who?] took place in mid-1953 using a high flying Canberra aircraft of the RAF. The UK Government has never admitted such a flight took place nor have any of the supposed participants provided direct evidence[3][4]
Due to its role as a development site for new technology, Kapustin Yar is also the site of numerous Soviet-era UFO sightings and has been called "Russia's Roswell".[5]
Missiles tested/launched
- October 1947 - A-4 (V-2)
- 18 October 1947 - Articul T (exact copy of V-2)
- ? - S-25 Berkut
- 10 October 1948 - R-1
- 3 January 1955 - R-11FM
- 20 January 1955 - R-5M
- 2 February 1956 - R-5M with standard nuclear warhead
- 22 June 1957 - R-12
- March 1959 - R-13
- 6 July 1960 - R-14 Chusovaya
- 11 February 1962 - R-14U
- 16 March 1962 - 11K63 Cosmos
- 21 September 1974 - RT-21M RSD-10 Pioneer
- 12 February 1999 - S-400
- 3 March 2011 - S-500
- 4 March 2014 - RS-12M
- 20 May 2014 - RS-12M
Launch pads
| Name | Coordinates | Comment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burya Launch Complex | Kapustin Yar Burya | 48°28′13″N 46°19′04″E / 48.470308°N 46.317647°E / 48.470308; 46.317647 | Burya. Elaborate complex consisting of horizontal assembly building, huge circular rail line, and mobile erector/launcher. Built at the Soviet Vladimirovka flight test facility south of Kapustin Yar. | ||
| Area 84 | Kapustin Yar LC84 | 48°36′54″N 46°17′59″E / 48.615101°N 46.299855°E / 48.615101; 46.299855 | Launch pads: 1. R-5, RT-15. R-5 Launch complex consisting of three pads. | ||
| Area 86 | Kapustin Yar LC86 | 48°34′10″N 46°17′43″E / 48.569350°N 46.295413°E / 48.569350; 46.295413 | Launch pads: 4. Kosmos 11K63, Kosmos 63S1, Kosmos 63S1M, R-31. Single launch complex consisting of four launch pads. | ||
| Area 107 | Kapustin Yar LC107 | 48°32′27″N 46°17′56″E / 48.540716°N 46.299020°E / 48.540716; 46.299020 | Launch pads: 2. Kosmos 11K65M, Kosmos 65MP, R-14. Single launch complex consisting of two launch pads. | 48°32′29″N 46°18′04″E / 48.541425°N 46.301082°E / 48.541425; 46.301082 | Launch garage: 1. mobile ICBM Topol/Topol-E |
| Mayak-1 silo | Kapustin Yar Mayak-1 | 48°34′10″N 46°17′42″E / 48.569537°N 46.294893°E / 48.569537; 46.294893 | Launch pads: 1. R-12. | ||
| Mayak-2 silo | Kapustin Yar Mayak-2 | 48°34′10″N 46°17′45″E / 48.569551°N 46.295814°E / 48.569551; 46.295814 | Launch pads: 1. Kosmos 63S1, R-12. | ||
| Pioner Launch Complex | Kapustin Yar Pioner | 48°37′12″N 46°15′00″E / 48.6200°N 46.2500°E / 48.6200; 46.2500 | Rail-served launch complex. | ||
| Area 1 | Kapustin Yar PL1 | 48°24′00″N 46°12′00″E / 48.4000°N 46.2000°E / 48.4000; 46.2000 | Launch pads: 1. R-12. | ||
| Area 87 | Kapustin Yar PL87 | 48°33′41″N 46°17′43″E / 48.561263°N 46.295281°E / 48.561263; 46.295281 | Launch pads: 1. RT-2. | ||
| R-1 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-1 | 48°48′00″N 45°40′12″E / 48.8000°N 45.6700°E / 48.8000; 45.6700 | |||
| R-11 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-11 | 48°42′00″N 46°12′00″E / 48.7000°N 46.2000°E / 48.7000; 46.2000 | Naval missile test area. | ||
| R-14 Silo Prototype | Kapustin Yar R-14 | 48°31′43″N 46°17′43″E / 48.528534°N 46.295274°E / 48.528534; 46.295274 | |||
| R-2 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-2 | 48°46′48″N 45°42′00″E / 48.7800°N 45.7000°E / 48.7800; 45.7000 | |||
| R-5 Initial Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-5 | 48°45′00″N 45°45′00″E / 48.7500°N 45.7500°E / 48.7500; 45.7500 | |||
| SM-49 submarine simulator | Kapustin Yar SM-49 | 48°40′18″N 46°16′14″E / 48.671529°N 46.270620°E / 48.671529; 46.270620 | Launch pads: 1. R-11FM. | ||
| Sounding rocket launch area | Kapustin Yar Sounding | 48°42′00″N 46°12′00″E / 48.7000°N 46.2000°E / 48.7000; 46.2000 | |||
| V-2 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar V-2 | 48°33′00″N 45°49′12″E / 48.5500°N 45.8200°E / 48.5500; 45.8200 | Original site for V-2 launches in 1946. First complex at Kapustin Yar. | ||
| Vertikal Launch Pad | Kapustin Yar Vertikal | 48°30′00″N 46°46′48″E / 48.5000°N 46.7800°E / 48.5000; 46.7800 | Launch pads: 1. Launch site for R-5 scientific launches, located well east of the primary military launch areas. | ||
See also
- Area 51
- White Sands Missile Range
Notes
 | This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (July 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
^ http://kapyar.ru/index.php?pg=404
^ Ley, Willy (October 1959). "For Your Information". Galaxy. p. 73. Retrieved 14 June 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Lashmar, Paul: "Spy Flights of the Cold War" Sutton Publishing 1998
ISBN 0-7509-1970-1 pp 76-83.
^ Pedlow, Gregory W and Welzenbach, Donald E: "The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974" History Staff Centre for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency p23.
^ Featured in the 2005 UFO Files documentary episode "Russian Roswell" which aired on the History Channel.
References
.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{list-style-type:none;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>dd{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100{font-size:100%}
Naimark, Norman (1995). The Russians in Germany. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-78405-5.
Kurt, Magnus (1999). Raketensklaven. Deutsche Forscher hinter rotem Stacheldraht. Elbe-Dnjepr-Verlag. ISBN 3-933395-67-4.
External links
- Web-site of Kapustin Yar
- History and map of Kapustin Yar
- 1953 Spyflight by RAF
- @www.aviation.ru
- Launch Pads of Kapustin YAR
