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The Vostochny Cosmodrome (Russian: Космодром Восточный Kosmodrom Vostochny "Eastern Spaceport") is a planned Russian spaceport, to be located at 51 degrees north in the Amur Oblast, in the Russian Far East. It is intended to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is located in Kazakhstan. Construction began in January 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2018.[1]
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The cosmodrome will be located in the Svobodny and Shimanovsk districts of Amur Oblast in the Russian Far East, on the watershed of the Zeya and Bolshaya Pyora rivers.[2] The planned total area is 551.5 km2, being a region approximately 30 km in diameter centred on .[3] The nearest city is Uglegorsk. The name Vostochny means "eastern" in Russian. Vostochny's geographic location at 51 degrees north means that, to a given orbit, rockets will be able to carry almost the same amount of payload, as they can when launched from Baikonur.[4] Other arguments for choosing this location include the ability to use sparsely populated areas and bodies of water for the rocket launch routes; proximity to major transportation networks such as the Baikal-Amur Mainline, the Chita-Khabarovsk highway; abundance of electricity production resources in the area; and the presence of the infrastructure of the former Svobodny Cosmodrome, on which the new spaceport will be based.[2] The site's location close to the Pacific Ocean will allow for easier transport of materials to the site, and will allow rockets to jettison their lower stages over the ocean. [5]
It is planned to build seven launch pads at the site, including two for manned flights and two for space freighters. Construction began in January 2011[6] and is expected to be completed by 2018.[7][8] The first unmanned launch will take place in 2015. Russian engineers are looking to apply the knowledge gained from building the Soyuz launch facilities in Kourou spaceport and the Angara pad at Naro Space Center in South Korea.[6] As a cost-saving measure, no defensive military structures like those at Baikonur cosmodrome will be built at Vostochny.[9]
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made several statements emphasizing the importance of the new cosmodrome. "The creation of a new space center ... is one of modern Russia's biggest and most ambitious projects", he said in August 2010.[10] In January 2011, he ordered the government to complete the paperwork as soon as possible so that construction can start on schedule.[9]
During a visit to the site in July 2011, a newly appointed chief of Roskosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, promised 20 billion rubles for Vostochny during 2012.[11] A month later, the head of Spetstroi, Grigory Naginsky told the press that first blueprints for the center went through the project expertise and the first contract worth 1.6 billion rubles was signed with Roskosmos, covering the construction of the railway line and the road. Naginsky also promised the completion of the initial make-shift housing for construction workers at the site by October 1, 2011.
The general designer of the cosmodrome is Ipromashprom (Mechanical Engineering Project Institute). The main contractor is the Federal Agency for Special Construction.[2]
The new cosmodrome will enable Russia to launch most missions from its own soil, and to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazahkstan. Currently, Baikonur is the only launch site operated by Russia with capability to launch manned flights and satellites to geostationary orbit. The Russian government pays a yearly rent of $115 million to Kazakhstan for its usage. Unmanned payloads to low-earth orbit can also be currently launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia. The new site is intended mostly for civilian launches.[12] Roscosmos plans to move 45% of Russia's space launches to Vostochny by 2020, while Baikonur's share will drop from 65% to 11%, and Plesetsk will account for 44 percent.[9]
Development of the Vostochny Cosmodrome is expected to have a positive impact on the economy of the relatively poorly developed Russian Far East. The Russian government has a strategic policy to bring high-tech companies into the Far Eastern region, and several enterprises involved in the manned space flight program are expected to move their activities there when the new cosmodrome is completed.[4] The development of the new site is also expected to dramatically increase employment in the towns of Uglegorsk, Svobodny and others.[4] According to a 2009 estimate, the construction will cost 400 billion rubles ($13.5 billion).[13] Along with the launch pads and processing facilities, an airport and a satellite city will be constructed. The city will be designed to accommodate for 35,000 people as well as for tourists.[6] It will contain a full supporting infrastructure with schools, kindergartens and clinics.[9] Architect Dmitry Pshenichnikov has stated that the city is to become a "one-of-its-kind scientific and tourist space town with a unique design and a beautiful landscape".[6] When completed, the cosmodrome will permanently employ 20,000-25,000 people.[13]
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