kapustin yar
The third Soviet launch site is near Kapustin Yar on the Volga River below the city of Volgograd at about, 48.4? N. latitude, 45.8? E. longitude, also in European Russia. [1]
The Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex, also known as the 4th State Central Range, was a major missile range used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. [2]
Kapustin Yar is located on the banks of the Volga River, about 75 miles east of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and less than 30 miles east of Kazakhstan. [3]
Birth of the Soviet missile development program in the aches of the World War II preditermined the creation of the Kapustin Yar test range. [4]
The major factors which favored Kapustin Yar over other locations were the access by railroad, relative proximity to industrial infrastructure of the city of Stalingrad (Volgograd) on Volga River and land availability for the construction of the range. [5]
Kapustin Yar was known to have been used for over 3519 major launches from 1946 to 2007. [6]
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. [2]
According to some reports a British mission known as Project Robin flew a Canberra reconnaissance over the Kapustin Yar missile test site in 1953. [3]
The author will appreciate receiving eyewitness accounts, recollections and documents related to the involvement of German citizens in the Soviet rocket program, as well as comments on already published material. [5]
The last major launch conducted at Kapustin Yar was in 1987. [2]
The last facility, which only launched the smallest space boosters, conducted its final orbital mission in 1987 and is no longer a part of the Russian Military Space Forces which manages all launch activities. [3]
By that time the new launch site located 30 kilometers from the processing area was built at the range, the initial road construction and housing was also completed. [4]
In the middle 1950’s before the first Sputnik, Aviation Week magazine revealed the United States had a radar station in Turkey which used radar to follow missile and test rocket firings from this point. [1]
The first launch of the A-4 rocket designated No. 010T, was preceded by a short delay caused by the failure of the ignition system. [5]
The 1946 decree, officially founding the rocket industry in the country, directed the Ministry of Armed Forces led by Bulganin to propose the location for the Central Test Range for all jet-propelled weapons. [4]
Sources:
[1] Kapustin Yar Launch Facilities - Russia and Space Transportation Systems
[2] MissileThreat :: Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex
[3] Kapustin Yar Launch Facilities - Russia and Space Transportation Systems
[4] 4th State Central Test Range (GTsP) at Kapustin Yar
[5] Testing of the A-4 rocket in Kapustin Yar
[6] Kapustin Yar