Site 133, also known as Raduga ( meaning Rainbow), is a launch complex at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome

Plesetsk Cosmodrome

Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk.-Overview:...

 in Russia

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...

. It is used by Rockot

Rockot

The Rokot , also transliterated as a the pun Rockot, is a Russian space launch vehicle that can launch a payload of 1,950 kilograms into a 200 kilometre high Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It is a derivative of the UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missile , supplied and operated by Eurockot...

, and previously Kosmos

Kosmos (rocket family)

The Kosmos rockets are a series of Soviet and subsequently Russian rockets, derived from the R-12 and R-14 missiles, the most well known of which is the Kosmos-3M, which has made over 440 launches, and is still in service...

 carrier rockets. It consists of a single pad, originally designated 133/1, and later 133/3.

The first launch from Site 133 was of a Kosmos-2I

Kosmos-2I

Kosmos-2I is the designation applied to two Soviet carrier rockets, members of the R-12 family, which were used to orbit satellites between 1961 and 1977. They were superseded by the R-14 derived Kosmos-3 and Kosmos-3M.-References:* http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/koss63s1.htm*...

, on 16 March 1967, carrying the Kosmos 148

Kosmos 148

Kosmos 148 , also known as DS-P1-I #2 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1967 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme....

 satellite. Ninety Kosmos-2 launches were conducted, the last of which was on 18 June 1977, with Kosmos 919

Kosmos 919

Kosmos 919 , also known as DS-P1-I #19 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1977 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme....

. It was later reactivated as Site 133/3, and supported 38 Kosmos-3M launches between 1985 and 1994.

During the late 1990s, Site 133/3 was rebuilt as a surface launch pad for Rockot, following the decision to use it for commercial launches. There were concerns that noise generated during a launch from Site 175 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...

, a silo-based complex, could cause vibrations that would damage the payload.

Rockots are wheeled up to the complex in a vertical position, and then the service tower is rolled around it. The payload is lifted by a crane and placed on top of the rocket. The procedure is in contrast to many other Russian and Soviet rockets, which had traditionally been assembled horizontally and then transferred to the launch site via railways. The first Rockot launch from Site 133 took place on 16 May 2000, orbiting the SimSat-1 DemoSat

DemoSat

A DemoSat is a boilerplate spacecraft used to test a carrier rocket without risking a real satellite on the launch. They are most commonly flown on the maiden flights of rockets, but have also been flown on return-to-flight missions after launch failures...

. As of 2009, eleven Rockots have been launched from the site.