Svobodny
51°21'N 128°08'E

Although officials for several years have talked about the advantages of constructing a new Russian cosmodrome in the Far East, not until early 1994 were specific plans set in motion. The selected site is a former ICBM base named Svobodny. Its latitude is essentially equivalent to the minimum orbital inclination now permitted from Baikonur. The first space launches from Svobodnyy in 1997, was with be with START boosters. Proposals to operate the future Angara launch vehicle from Svobodnyy met initial resistance from the Russian government.

Sources and Methods

• Former Svobodnyy-18 ICBM Base To Launch Satellites , Russian Television and Dubl Networks, 7/27/1994
• Will We Build Svobodnyy?, Major General Valeriy Menshikov and Colonel Anatoliy Kuzin, ARMEYSKIY SBORNIK, April 1995 -- Supports establishing a second space launch facility in Russia.
• More on New Cosmodrome's Opening , NTV, 3/9/1997 -- Video report from Svobodnyy Cosmodrome
• Protest Held Against Launch of Start-1 Rocket , Oleg Yemelyanov , ITAR-TASS, 3/3/1997 -- A demonstration of protest against environmental effects of the planned launching of Start-1 booster-rocket from Svobodniy cosmodrome, the Amur region, was held in Yakutsk today.