Soviet and Russian test sites and test centers on Google Earth images
US monopoly on nuclear weapon 29 ended on August 1949 of the year after a successful test in the USSR at the test site in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan of a stationary nuclear explosive device with a capacity of about 22 kilotons.
Subsequently, the Semipalatinsk test site, the first and one of the largest nuclear test sites of the USSR, was established in this area. The nuclear test site is located in Kazakhstan on the border of the Semipalatinsk, Pavlodar and Karaganda regions, in 130 kilometers north-west of Semipalatinsk, on the left bank of the Irtysh River. Its area was 18500 km².
The creation of the landfill was part of an atomic project, and the choice was made, as it turned out, very well - the terrain allowed to conduct underground nuclear explosions in galleries and wells.
From 1949 to 1989, more than 600 nuclear tests were carried out at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, in which 125 atmospheric (26 ground, 91 air, 8 high altitude) were blown up, 343 underground nuclear explosions (of which 215 in galleries and XNUM x out of 128). The total power of nuclear charges tested in the period from 1949 to 1963 years at the Semipalatinsk test site, in 2500 times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Nuclear testing in Kazakhstan terminated in 1989 year.
The territory of the nuclear test site is divided into six experimental fields. At site No. XXUMX, where the first Soviet nuclear explosion was actually carried out, tests of atomic and thermonuclear charges were conducted. When testing to assess the effects of damaging factors, buildings and structures (including bridges), as well as various shelters and shelters were erected at the landfill. Other sites were conducted ground, air and underground explosions of different power.
Part of the ground and underground explosions turned out to be “dirty”, as a result there was a significant radiation contamination of the eastern part of the territory of Kazakhstan. At the test site itself, in ground-based and underground nuclear tests, the radiation background reaches 10-20 milli-resentgen per hour. In the areas adjacent to the landfill, people still live. The territory of the landfill is currently not protected and until 2006 was not marked on the ground. The population has used and continues to use a significant part of the land of the landfill for grazing and growing crops.
From the end of 90 to 2012, several joint secret operations took place at the test site that Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States conducted to search for and collect radioactive materials, in particular, about 200 kg of plutonium that remained at the test site (unexploded nuclear charges), as well as equipment used to build and test a nuclear weapon. The presence of this plutonium and accurate information about the operation were hidden from the IAEA and the world community. The test site was practically not protected, and the plutonium collected on it could be used for acts of nuclear terrorism or transferred to third countries for the creation of nuclear weapons.
Another large Soviet nuclear test site was located on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The first nuclear test here took place on September 21 1955. It was an underwater explosion with a kiloton power 3,5 conducted in the interests of the Navy. On Novaya Zemlya in 1961, the most powerful stories mankind hydrogen bomb - 58-megaton "Tsar-Bomba" on the site located on the Dry Nose Peninsula. 135 nuclear explosions were made at the test site: 87 in the atmosphere (including 84 air, 1 ground, 2 surface), 3 underwater and 42 underground.
Officially, the landfill occupied more than half of the island. That is, the nuclear charges burst on the territory approximately equal to the area of the Netherlands. After the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in August 1963 in the atmosphere, outer space and under water, only underground tests were conducted at the test site before 1990.
Currently, they are only engaged in research in the field of nuclear weapons systems (the object is Matochkin Shar). Unfortunately, this part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago is “pixelated” in satellite images and is not visible.
In addition to nuclear weapons tests, the territory of Novaya Zemlya in 1957-1992 was used for the disposal of radioactive waste. Basically, these were spent nuclear fuel containers and reactor installations from submarines and surface ships of the North fleet Navy of the USSR and Russia, as well as icebreakers with nuclear power plants.
Nuclear tests were carried out in other parts of the USSR. So 14 September 1954, the tactical exercises with the use of nuclear weapons were conducted at the Totsk site. The purpose of the exercises was to work out a breakthrough of the enemy's echeloned defense using nuclear weapons.
During the exercises, a Tu-4 bomber from 8 000 m height dropped the RDS-2 nuclear bomb with a 38 kiloton kilotonn of TNT. The total number of servicemen who took part in the exercise was about 45 thousand.
At present, a memorial sign has been erected at the point above which a nuclear explosion occurred. The radiation level in this area differs little from the natural background values and does not pose a threat to life and health.
In May 1946, the Kapustin Yar test site was created to test the first Soviet ballistic missiles in the northwestern part of the Astrakhan region. The landfill area is currently around 650 km².
The testing of ballistic missiles continued at the test site: P-1, P-2, P-5, P-12, P-14, etc. In the following years, a large number of various short- and medium-range missiles were tested and tested. rockets and air defense missiles. In Kapustin Yar, 177 samples of military equipment were tested and about 24 thousand guided missiles were launched.
In addition to testing itself, the launch of light satellites of the Cosmos series was carried out from the test site. Currently, the landfill in Kapustin Yar is designated as the “Fourth State Central Interspecific Landfill”.
Starting with 1950-x, at least 11 airborne nuclear explosions were conducted at the Kapustin Yar test site.
In January, 1955, near the Tyuratam station, began the construction of launching sites and infrastructure to launch the P-7 ICBM. The official birthday of the Baikonur Cosmodrome is 2 June 1955 of the year when the staff structure of the Fifth Research Test Site was approved by the directive of the General Staff. The total area of the cosmodrome is 6717 km².
15 in May 1957 - the first test launch (not successful) of the P-7 missile from the test site took place, after three months - the August 21 of the year 1957 was the first successful launch, the missile delivered conditional ammunition to Kamchatka Kura test site.
Soon, on October 4 1957, after the launch of the first artificial satellite into orbit, the missile range became a cosmodrome.
In addition to the launch into space of various-purpose vehicles, ICBM and various launch vehicles were tested at Baikonur. In addition, the P-7 MBRs equipped with a fusion charge at the beginning of the 60's were on combat duty at launching pads. Subsequently, in the vicinity of the cosmodrome, silos for the P-36 ICBM were built.
Over the years of operation, more than 1500 spacecraft of various purposes and more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles were launched at the Baikonur, 38 types of missiles were tested, more than 80 types of spacecraft and their modifications. In 1994, the Baikonur Cosmodrome was leased to Russia.
In 1956, the Sary-Shagan test site was created to develop missile defense systems in Kazakhstan. The main criteria for choosing a site for the landfill were: the presence of sparsely populated lowland treeless terrain, a large number of cloudless days, and the absence of valuable farmland. The area of the landfill at the time of the USSR was 81 200 km².
All Soviet and Russian anti-missile systems, designed to build a strategic missile defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles, were tested at the test site. A testing facility for the development and testing of high-power laser weapons was also created at Sary-Shagan.
Currently, much of the landfill infrastructure has declined or looted. In 1996, an agreement was signed between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the lease of a part of the Sary-Shagan testing ground. Test launches at the test site by the Russian military are rare, no more than 1-2 once a year.
The most northern cosmodrome of the world is the Plesetsk, also known as the First State Test Cosmodrome. It is located in 180 kilometers south of Arkhangelsk near the Plesetskaya railway station of the Northern Railway. The spaceport occupies the territory of 176 200 hectares.
The cosmodrome conducts its history from January 11 1957, when the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the creation of a military facility with the code name Angara was adopted. The cosmodrome was created as the first Soviet army missile compound armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles Р-7 and Р-7А.
In the 1964 year, the test launches of the RT-2 MBR began to run from the Plesetsk. At present, it is from here that most of the test and control and training launches of Russian ICBMs are carried out.
The spaceport has stationary technical and launch complexes of domestic light and middle class launch vehicles: Rokot, Cyclone-3, Cosmos-3М and Soyuz.
From 70 to the beginning of 90, the Plesetsk cosmodrome maintained world leadership in the number of rocket launches (from 1957 to 1993, 1372 was launched from here, while Baikonur was located at 2, only 917 was located from here). However, since 1990-ies, the annual number of launches from Plesetsk has become less than from Baikonur.
At the military airfield "Akhtubinsk" in the Astrakhan region is located the management of the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense named after V. P. Chkalov (929 GLITS VVS). The airfield is located on the north-eastern outskirts of the city of the same name.
At the airport there are almost all types of combat aircraft in service with the Russian Air Force. In 2013, a new concrete runway with dimensions of 4000x65 m was built at the aerodrome. The construction cost amounted to 4,3 billion rubles. Part of the old runway is used to store aircraft.
20 km from the airfield is the largest airfield in Russia - "Groshevo" (Vladimirovka). Aviation The range is adjacent to the Kapustin Yar missile range. There is a well-equipped target complex that allows you to practice combat use and experience a wide range of aviation weapons.
In the suburbs is located Ramenskoye airfield, which is capable of receiving any type of aircraft without limiting take-off weight. The main runway of the airfield is the longest not only in Russia, but also in Europe (5403 m).
In "Ramenskoye" - is an experimental (test) airfield LII them. Gromov. It is here that most Russian military aviation complexes (including the PAK T-50) are being tested. Here is a large collection of serial and experimental aircraft of domestic production.
In addition to test flights, the airfield is used by civil aviation as a cargo international airport, and at odd-numbered years the International Aviation and Space Salon (“MAKS”) is held at the airport.
At the Lipetsk-2 airfield, in 8 kilometers west of the city center of Lipetsk, there is the Lipetsk center for combat use and retraining of the flight personnel of the air force named after V.P. Chkalov.
Here there are all types of combat aircraft consisting in the armament of front-line aviation of the Russian Air Force. Also here is a “stored” a significant number of combat aircraft, whose operational life has come to an end.
From the foregoing it can be seen that our country has a full-fledged test base: rocket and aviation test sites and combat training centers. With the presence of political will and allocated resources, it is possible to create and fully test the most modern rocket and aviation equipment.
Based on:
http://uzm.spb.ru/archive/nz_nuke.htm
http://geimint.blogspot.com
Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.
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