Kapustin Yar
Encyclopedia
Kapustin Yar is a Russia
n rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast
, between Volgograd
and Astrakhan
. Known today as Znamensk
, it was established 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 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 in chief of the test 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 http://kapyar.ru/index.php?pg=404.
With the further growth and development, the site became a cosmodrome
, serving in this function since 1966 (with interruption in 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 to be found on maps and inaccessible to outsiders.
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 took place in mid-1953 using a high flying Canberra
aircraft of the RAF
. Numerous circumstantial reports suggest this flight took place, using the Canberra PR3 WH726
, but the UK Government has never admitted such a flight took place nor have any of the supposed participants provided direct evidence The Canberra took off from Giebelstadt AFB
, Germany, and, flying via the Volga
to the Caspian Sea
, landed at Tabriz
, Iran.
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
".
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan.-Demographics:Population: Ethnic groups...
, between Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
and Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
. Known today as Znamensk
Znamensk, Astrakhan Oblast
Znamensk is a closed town in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. It is the center of the Kapustin Yar missile test range. Population: It was granted town status in 1962.Railway station "Razyezd 85th km" on the Volgograd-Astrakhan railway branch....
, it was established 13 May 1946 and in the beginning used technology, material, and scientific support from defeated Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Numerous launches of test rockets for the Russian military were carried out at the site, as well as satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
and sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
launches.
The 4th Missile Test Range "Kapustin Yar" was established by a decree of the Soviet Government
Government of the Soviet Union
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was the de jure government comprising the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union from 1946 until 1991....
"On Questions of Jet Propelled Weapons" on 13 May 1946. The test range was created under the supervision of General-lieutenant Vasily Voznyuk (commander in chief of the test 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
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
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 http://kapyar.ru/index.php?pg=404.
With the further growth and development, the site became a cosmodrome
Spaceport
A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. The word spaceport, and even more so cosmodrome, has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories...
, serving in this function since 1966 (with interruption in 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
Closed city
A closed city or closed town is a settlement with travel and residency restrictions in the Soviet Union and some of its successor countries. In modern Russia, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" ....
, not to be found on maps and inaccessible to outsiders.
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 took place in mid-1953 using a high flying Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
aircraft of the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Numerous circumstantial reports suggest this flight took place, using the Canberra PR3 WH726
United Kingdom military aircraft serials
In the United Kingdom to identify individual aircraft, all military aircraft are allocated and display a unique serial number. A unified serial number system, maintained by the Air Ministry , and its successor the Ministry of Defence , is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force , Fleet...
, but the UK Government has never admitted such a flight took place nor have any of the supposed participants provided direct evidence The Canberra took off from Giebelstadt AFB
Giebelstadt Army Airfield
Giebelstadt Army Airfield is a closed military airfield located in Germany southwest of Giebelstadt ; approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin. It was turned over to the German government on 23 June 2006 and is now a general aviation airport....
, Germany, and, flying via the Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
to the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
, landed at Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, Iran.
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
Roswell UFO incident
The Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...
".
Missiles tested/launched
- October 1947 - A-4 (V-2)V-2 rocketThe V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
- 18 October 1947 - Articul T (exact copy of V-2)
- ? - S-25 BerkutSA-1 GuildThe S-25 Berkut is a surface-to-air guided missile, the first operational SAM system in the world. Its NATO reporting name is SA-1 Guild. It was used only to defend Moscow, while the more mobile S-75 would be used in almost all other roles...
- 10 October 1948 - R-1
- 3 January 1955 - R-11FMScudScud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
- 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 CosmosCosmos (satellite)Kosmos is a designation given to a large number of satellites operated by the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia. Kosmos 1, the first spacecraft to be given a Kosmos designation, was launched on March 16, 1962....
- 21 September 1974 - RT-21M RSD-10 Pioneer
- 12 February 1999 - S-400S-400The S-400 Triumf is a new generation anti-aircraft weapon system developed by Russia's Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. It is currently in limited service with the Russian Armed Forces....
- 3 March 2011 - S-400S-400The S-400 Triumf is a new generation anti-aircraft weapon system developed by Russia's Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. It is currently in limited service with the Russian Armed Forces....
Launch pads
| Name | Coordinates | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burya Launch Complex | Kapustin Yar Burya | 48.4000°N 46.3300°E | 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 | 48.5500°N 46.2500°E | Launch pads: 1. R-5, RT-15. R-5 Launch complex consisting of 3 pads. |
| Area 86 | Kapustin Yar LC86 | 48.5400°N 46.2500°E | Launch pads: 4. Kosmos 11K63, Kosmos 63S1, Kosmos 63S1M, R-31. Single launch complex consisting of 4 launch pads. |
| Area 107 | Kapustin Yar LC107 | 48.5900°N 46.2933°E | Launch pads: 2. Kosmos 11K65M, Kosmos 65MP, R-14. Single launch complex consisting of 2 launch pads. |
| Mayak-1 silo | Kapustin Yar Mayak-1 | 48.5500°N 46.2500°E | Launch pads: 1. R-12. |
| Mayak-2 silo | Kapustin Yar Mayak-2 | 48.5500°N 46.2500°E | Launch pads: 1. Kosmos 63S1, R-12. |
| Pioner Launch Complex | Kapustin Yar Pioner | 48.6200°N 46.2500°E | Rail-served launch complex. |
| Area 1 | Kapustin Yar PL1 | 48.4000°N 46.2000°E | Launch pads: 1. R-12. |
| Area 87 | Kapustin Yar PL87 | 48.5000°N 45.8000°E | Launch pads: 1. RT-2. |
| R-1 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-1 | 48.8000°N 45.6700°E | |
| R-11 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-11 | 48.7000°N 46.2000°E | Naval missile test area. |
| R-14 Silo Prototype | Kapustin Yar R-14 | 48.5100°N 46.2600°E | |
| R-2 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-2 | 48.7800°N 45.7000°E | |
| R-5 Initial Launch Area | Kapustin Yar R-5 | 48.7500°N 45.7500°E | |
| SM-49 submarine simulator | Kapustin Yar SM-49 | 48.5000°N 45.8000°E | Launch pads: 1. R-11FM. |
| Sounding rocket launch area | Kapustin Yar Sounding | 48.7000°N 46.2000°E | |
| V-2 Launch Area | Kapustin Yar V-2 | 48.5500°N 45.8200°E | Original site for V-2 launches in 1946. First complex at Kapustin Yar. |
| Vertikal Launch Pad | Kapustin Yar Vertikal | 48.5000°N 46.7800°E | Launch pads: 1. Launch site for R-5 scientific launches, located well east of the primary military launch areas. |