Until recently, this facility was classified, and information about it was kept quiet. However, the winds of change have dispelled the clouds of secrecy over the state test cosmodrome of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Today, we are joined by Major General Gennady KOVALENKO, the head of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

- Gennady Nikolaevich, it was only a few years ago that Russians learned that they have another cosmodrome besides Baikonur (which is no longer Russian), and that is Plesetsk. How many years has your so-called enterprise actually existed, which not only your "potential adversaries" but also the people of Russia themselves did not know about?

- The Plesetsk Cosmodrome has been in existence for 42 years. For many years, the location of this facility was strictly classified, and it was useless to search for it on geographical maps. The world was kept in the myth of uninhabited areas in the northern land. For local residents, the closed territory was explained by the presence of a military training ground.

The myth was created during the construction and development of the cosmodrome, and it was cultivated specifically to avoid close scrutiny by the United States. For a long time, both the test site (the cosmodrome had the status of a test site in the early 1960s) and its residential area were referred to as the "Angara" facility. It took years for the cosmodrome to acquire its current name and for the political will of the leaders of the two superpowers, Russia and the United States, to ensure that their interests in space exploration were open and mutually respected.

- When people talk about rocket and space activities, they usually associate them with the Baikonur Cosmodrome. However, the Plesetsk Cosmodrome is rarely mentioned in the press or on television. What role does it play in the implementation of space programs? What are the activities of its services and departments?

- The State Test Cosmodrome of the Russian Ministry of Defense carries the main load. Russia's national cosmodrome is the most "productive" among the planet's cosmodromes, with approximately 40% of all global spacecraft launches, including more than 60% of domestic automatic satellites, originating from its launch complexes.

Satellites launched from the cosmodrome's launch complexes provide all branches and types of the country's Armed Forces with communication, navigation, and meteorological information, monitor compliance with international treaties on the reduction of strategic and conventional weapons, and serve as a national means of strengthening confidence-building measures between the contracting parties. Along with purely military tasks, the satellites launched from Plesetsk allow us to explore near-Earth space and the Earth's natural resources, make meteorological forecasts and study the world's oceans, take photographs of the Earth's surface and monitor the ice conditions in the Arctic and Antarctica, provide telephone and radio communication, and broadcast television programs, as well as provide assistance to ships and aircraft in distress and predict the conditions for combating fires, floods, and other natural disasters. In space, unique medical products are created and promising technologies for the future are developed.

The Plesetsk cosmodrome is developing not only space, but also rocket themes. The cosmodrome is the cradle of all modern rocket systems. Here their fate is decided - whether they will be put into service or not. How effectively they will be tested at the spaceport, how reliably they will show themselves during combat duty in rocket regiments. How perfect they will be during operation, so powerful will be the nuclear missile shield of Russia. The cosmodrome's test engineers have already taught 11 strategic missile systems to fly.

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Five of them are on combat duty to protect the Fatherland.

- Today, when the United States is seeking to revise the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the issue of Russia's nuclear shield is more relevant than ever. What is the Russian Ministry of Defense's test cosmodrome doing in this regard? Are the interests of taxpayers and a country facing a challenging economic situation being taken into account?

- Currently, the cosmodrome's main efforts are focused on conducting flight and design tests of the upgraded Topol-M missile system. The unique Russian solid-fueled three-stage Topol-M strategic missile is not only beneficial for the Strategic Missile Forces. In the current circumstances, it is also advantageous for domestic taxpayers, as it requires significantly less production and operational costs compared to previous-generation missiles. Additionally, it is environmentally friendly. The upgraded Topol-M is designed to be deployed both on self-propelled launchers and in silos. The Topol mobile missile system is capable of moving off-road, continuously changing its location, and launching missiles from any point along its route. It is impossible to detect its exact location using modern and future technical reconnaissance tools. A comparative analysis of the main tactical and technical characteristics of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile with its foreign counterparts shows that, based on a combination of many indicators, the Strategic Missile Forces will receive one of the best missiles in the world. The officers and warrant officers of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome are engaged in testing this missile system.

In addition, given that launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome are expensive, we are trying to expand the capabilities of the national cosmodrome and take on some of the launches that the country needs.

As part of the Strategic Missile Forces ' strategy for the phased development of the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the near future, it faces the task of commissioning and testing the Rokot rocket and space complex based on conversion technologies in order to meet the needs of the Ministry of Defense and foreign partners. The Rokot launch vehicle is designed to launch small-sized communication and scientific spacecraft into low circular and elliptical orbits. Rokot launch vehicle launches&"they will be carried out from the existing launch complex of the Kosmos launch vehicle with the necessary modifications on it. The Rokot launch vehicle's energy capabilities will allow it to deliver a 1,300 kg field load, thereby providing foreign and domestic customers with cost-effective, reliable and operational access to space to meet their various needs. The cosmodrome currently faces the task of creating a promising rocket and space complex "Angara". The Angara family of launch vehicles is a fundamentally new and most advanced creation of Russian rocket engineers, with no analogues in the world. The Plesetsk cosmodrome will launch the heaviest rockets, which are currently launched only from Baikonur. For this purpose, the launch complex of Zenit rockets will be upgraded at the cosmodrome, ready for operation by 40 percent. For its completion, industrial and construction enterprises of the Arkhangelsk region will be widely involved.

- Gennady Nikolaevich, as far as I know, your cosmodrome, like many other major defense facilities, has been the subject of media attention, with accusations of environmental damage and other problems in the region. What is the command doing to clarify this situation to the population of the North-West and the public opinion of Russia?

- Indeed, among the residents of the North-West of Russia, there is an opinion that our cosmodrome is an ecological wound of the country. From time to time, articles with such horrifying headlines appear in the media. like "Killer Spaceport", "This dangerous spaceport" , etc. Most of the authors of such publications are people who are far from serious medical, biological and technical problems. Materials that are prepared by specialists, scientists and doctors of the cosmodrome itself are ignored or subjected to free interpretation by journalists.

In conversations with local residents, in publications and speeches on radio and television, we try to explain that a flying rocket does not pollute the area it passes over. As a result of the combustion of hydrazine in the combustion chambers of rocket engines, combustion products are released into the environment: water (steam) - 40%, nitrogen - 30%, carbon dioxide - 15%, carbon monoxide - 12%, hydrogen - 2.8%, and nitrogen oxide - 0.2%. This amount of pollutants is several times less than that of aircraft engines and 100 times less than that of automobile engines.

The fields where rocket parts fall are a different matter. Several kilograms of hydrazine in the rocket's sealed tanks reach the fall fields, and after the rocket stage lands and the fuel self-destructs, it can leave anywhere from a few grams to several kilograms of hydrazine on the field. Hydrazine is indeed a highly toxic substance, three times more toxic than hydrocyanic acid. However, the Arkhangelsk region's industry uses even more toxic substances, such as methyl mercaptan and benzopyrene, which are used in the forestry industry. They are 100 and 1,000 times more toxic than the most aggressive rocket fuel, respectively. During the production of cellulose at the Arkhangelsk

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Pulp and paper mills produce a whole group of environmentally harmful substances. One of them is dioxin, the most toxic substance that affects the human immune system.

From 1994 to 1996, the Moscow Institute of Biophysics conducted research in the sub-track areas of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which are located in the Republic of Khakassia. The fuel used in rockets launched from the Plesetsk and Baikonur cosmodromes is the same, and the principles of rocket engine operation are also the same. Therefore, the conclusions made by the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service at the end of the study can be compared to the results of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome: "...According to the report, rocket fuel components were not detected in the soil or groundwater in the areas near the missile launch sites. The studies showed a complete absence of rocket fuel components and their oxidation products in bottom sediments, water, snow, vegetables, hay, and the muscle tissue of domestic animals. Based on the above, it is not possible to determine the impact of rocket debris on the health of the population in the Khakassia Republic. First Deputy Minister of Health, G. K. Onishchenko, 24 February 1998.

- The city of Mirny is located in close proximity to the cosmodrome, and most of its population is employed at the cosmodrome sites. How does this affect people's health?

- Residents of the North-West have a stereotype that only the Plesetsk Cosmodrome affects human health and quality of life. If this is true, then we can expect a deterioration in the health indicators of the population of the city of Mirny itself, which is located in close proximity to the cosmodrome's launch pads. Since there are no other major industrial enterprises in Mirny, the cosmodrome is the only possible source of impact on the health of the city's residents. However, injuries and accidents are the leading causes of illness in Mirny. Cardiovascular diseases are the second leading cause. On the third, cancer, which in Mirny for a number of years have a tendency to decrease, There is an opinion that the Arkhangelsk regional oncological dispensary very often is engaged in the treatment of residents of Mirny. Although this is not due to the number of patients from Mirny, but the fact that the population of this city has always been on a special account in Arkhangelsk, and this prejudice has been formed over the years.

For many years, the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of the Arkhangelsk Region has been regularly conducting tests of soil and water samples from various areas of the city of Mirny for chemical and radioactive contamination. No deviations from the norm have been detected during this period.

- The country is going through difficult times today. The difficult economic situation is forcing all ministries and agencies to use their available resources to generate some funds. The Ministry of Defense is also forced to look for extrabudgetary sources of funding.

One of these sources for the space industry could be the implementation of commercial launches from the cosmodrome. What is the management of the Plesetsk cosmodrome doing in this regard?

- Strangely enough, it is not the promise of huge profits that drives us to enter the commercial launch market, but rather the opportunity to stabilize the situation in Russia's rocket and space industry. The threat of unemployment forces the industry to utilize the technical capabilities of Russian rocket engineering and enter the global market with extremely low prices for its services, as only low prices for payload delivery to orbit can attract foreign customers to the Russian market.

In connection with the creation of the joint Russian-French enterprise "Starem", which intends to use the Soyuz launch vehicle for commercial purposes, and the Russian-German joint venture "Eurokot" for commercial satellite launches using the Rokot launch vehicle, the cosmodrome really has a chance of a guaranteed stable future. Commercial start-ups are not a luxury, not an end in themselves, but an opportunity to create jobs, load industrial enterprises of the region. As a result, taxes paid to the federal budget, the emergence of new types of economic activity, such as tourism, reconstruction, modernization, and development of infrastructure (roads, railways, air transport, communications, hotels, etc.), and the development of agricultural enterprises.

Yes, space research and spacecraft launches are very expensive and science-intensive. Yes, there are no unified approaches or principles for the safe use of rocket technology in the field of rocket and space activities. Yes, the implementation of commercial programs is currently the only possible way to stabilize the situation in the country's space industry. Therefore, those who believe that maintaining a cosmodrome as a large military structure is burdensome for Russian taxpayers should also consider the fact that it is a national pride of Russia. The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a territory of national glory, where patriotism, dignity, duty, and honor form the moral essence of the missile officers and all the people who serve, work, and live here.

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