Vostochny Cosmodrome: ahead of the third phase

April 27 2023 21

The Vostochny Cosmodrome is one of the largest projects being implemented on the territory of the Russian Federation in the XNUMXst century. The construction of such a large facility, especially in adverse climatic conditions, is associated with extremely difficult engineering andtechnical work performed by the best specialists in the country.

It is worth recalling that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the construction of a new cosmodrome in November 2007. Initially, the object was supposed to be built near Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. However, experts drew attention to the rather unfavorable weather conditions for the location of the spaceport in this place, as a result of which it was decided to move the construction site to the Amur Region. The choice was due to the low seismicity of the territory, the supply of electricity produced in the region, a relatively developed transport network and the safety of launches (the trajectories of launched missiles will not cross the territories of other countries and shipping routes).

The construction of the first stage of the Vostochny cosmodrome started in 2012 and was completed in 2016 (some facilities were put into operation until 2018). The work was accompanied by major corruption investigations, specialists at the cosmodrome repeatedly complained to the head of state about non-payment of wages, took part in strikes. In 2018, the official representative of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, Alexander Kurennoy, said that over 140 criminal cases were initiated on the facts of violations during the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome, and the damage amounted to more than 10 billion rubles. We are talking about large theft during the construction of the facility and non-payment of wages to workers.

The actual construction of the second stage of the cosmodrome started in May 2019 and should be completed this August. However, already in 2020, information appeared on the website of the state corporation Roscosmos that all the necessary related infrastructure for launching heavy Angara rockets (the Angara launch complex is a key facility in the second stage of construction) could be put into operation no earlier than 2025 of the year. It is worth clarifying that such large Russian companies as Tyazhmash JSC, Uralkriomash JSC and Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center JSC are taking part in the work. The Kazan Production and Construction Association was chosen as the general contractor, the contract for 39,4 billion rubles was signed in October 2018.

During 2019, the media repeatedly received statements about the likely change of the company involved in the implementation of the project, the reasons for possible changes, according to some officials, are its unpreparedness for such a long project, the “difficult” financial situation and dissatisfaction with the pace of construction on the part of the customer. In 2021, another scandal shook one of the largest construction projects in the country, Dmitry Rogozin, the general director of Roscosmos, fired the head of the Directorate of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Yevgeny Rogoza, due to the lack of control over the movement of budget funds. In addition, Vladimir Zhuk, the chief engineer of the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure, was arrested on suspicion of abuse of office.

Not far off is the construction of the third stage of the cosmodrome, which previously included the construction of launch complexes for the Yenisei super-heavy rocket and the medium Soyuz-5. However, after consultations with scientists and specialists, it was decided to suspend the creation of a superheavy carrier, devoting the third stage of the project to the construction of the launch pad for Amur-LNG. Active construction work within the next stage should start immediately after the completion of the second phase. Initially, it was assumed that the third stage of construction would be completed in 2025-2026, but in this matter, much rests on the readiness of the Angara launch complex, after which the process of implementing the third stage should be launched. So, in 2021, Ravil Ziganshin, General Director of the PSO Kazan, told Vladimir Putin that the construction of one of the facilities of the second stage of the Vostochny cosmodrome is going with some delay due to adverse weather conditions, however, assuring that all work will be completed on time.

Vostochny Cosmodrome: ahead of the third phase

The amount of funds allocated for the implementation of such a large facility is also striking. In 2011, the director of the Federal Agency for Special Construction, Grigory Naginsky, said that the construction of the spaceport would cost the Russian Federation 300 billion rubles. In 2016, the cost of the constructed facilities was 84 billion rubles.

One cannot ignore the fact that the creation of the Vostochny cosmodrome is a tool for our country to solve various political, economic and social tasks. Thus, the new site will reduce by an order of magnitude the possible risks associated with Russia's lease of the Baikonur cosmodrome from Kazakhstan. Also, the implementation of this project will make it possible to demonstrate to the world community the stability of the functioning and survivability of the domestic space industry. In addition, we should not forget that the construction of a new cosmodrome on this territory will give impetus to the socio-economic development of the country's Far Eastern macro-region, conditions will be created for the deployment of high-tech industries and strengthening the potential of scientific enterprises.

Everyone knows that no project of this magnitude can do without serious problems, which has been observed and is still observed during the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome. Corruption scandals related to the embezzlement of public funds surfaced on an ongoing basis. Various technical shortcomings and errors occurred with enviable regularity in the design, working and estimate documentation, leading to delays in wages and strikes among the staff.

Summing up, we can say that the Vostochny Cosmodrome is a clear example of a global project, the implementation of which will definitely expose the structural problems that exist in the economy of any country. It is the understanding and overcoming of the emerging difficulties that should make it possible to turn grandiose plans into an existing reality.

Information

Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.

Sergey Latyshev

+5

April 27 2023 14: 11

So the analogy suggests itself: "Saw weights, Shura, they are golden"

Moon by 2015, Mars in 2019, reusable ships, nuclear tug, sea launch, Russian starlink...
Golden weights will last a long time ..
1. KirillM
  
  +2
  
  April 27 2023 14: 21
  
  Before the American cuts called lobbying, we are still oh how far away
  1. Vega (Eugene)
    
    +1
    
    April 30 2023 23: 15
    
    Of course, they steal more from them, but for some reason there are results. And we are doing great with the first, but not so much with the second.
2. Nelton
  
  +2
  
  April 27 2023 14: 45
  
  Quote: Sergey Latyshev
  "Saw weights, Shura, they are golden"
  
  The first phase of Vostochny has been built and is regularly used for launches.
  
  Moon by 2015, Mars in 2019, reusable ships, nuclear tug, sea launch, Russian starlink...
  
  100+ consecutive fail-safe launches,
  Angara did fly
  GLONASS deployed and maintained
  due to ion engines, now 2 accumulators are displayed at a time, and they still work.
  
  along the way, they replaced all Ukrainian divisions.
  
  Maybe not as epic as balabolili, but quite adequate to the available means and tasks.
  Which of the countries - from the second ten in terms of nominal GDP - has done more in space?
  1. Vyacheslav_6
    
    +4
    
    April 28 2023 07: 08
    
    Well, in 60 years, you can finally debug the process of launching a rocket. For reference: the current Soyuz-2 launch vehicle, like all previous launch vehicles, is part of the R-7 launch vehicle family and is essentially a modernization of the Royal Seven. And even in the 90s they were doing more space than the last 20 years. Then at least the station was built. And now we just keep astronauts there, who are practically not busy with anything. Or rather, they were not busy until Nauka was launched. Therefore, "projects" such as Fedor or Peresild arise.
    1. Nelton
      
      +3
      
      April 28 2023 09: 50
      
      Quote: Vyacheslav_6
      in 60 years, you can finally debug the process of launching a rocket.
      
      By the way, I do not exclude that the decrease in the accident rate and the rejection of Ukrainian products is not a coincidence.
      And so any achievement (up to the station on Mars) can be reset with the phrase
      
      in 60 years, you can finally ....
      
      Quote: Vyacheslav_6
      Then at least the station was built
      
      The Americans paid - so they built ...
      Now they are tormenting NEM languidly, now as the basis of their own station.
      Science launched...
      And it’s not at all a fact that it is the manned space program that directly needs additional funding.
      And with satellites, the main plug is in the component base.
      1. Vyacheslav_6
        
        +2
        
        April 28 2023 20: 03
        
        Accident reduction - the return of military acceptance, which Serdyukov once dispersed and as a result, the Proton turned 180 degrees at the start and cut into the ground. It turned out that three of the four sensors managed upside down
LexandrLit

+3

April 27 2023 15: 32

The first news about Vostochny in the last half a year and that about nothing!
-How is the construction of the launch pad of the hangar?
-What did Brisov do during the year of the government of Roskosmos?
1. Nelton
  
  0
  
  April 27 2023 16: 18
  How is the construction of the launch pad of the hangar?
  
  Too lazy to open the Roscosmos website?
  
  https://www.roscosmos.ru/39180/
  
  The construction of the launch complex for launch vehicles of the Angara family is underway. The 66-meter-high cable-filling tower has already been assembled, and technological equipment is being installed. Reinforcement and concrete laying at the zero mark is also now being carried out. At the same time, work is underway to build a command post, a gas outlet, underground networks and communications, and improve the premises of an administrative building, a checkpoint and other facilities.
RUR

0

April 27 2023 22: 57

conditions will be created for the deployment of high-tech sectors of industry and strengthening the potential of scientific enterprises.
conditions will be created for the deployment of high-tech sectors of industry and strengthening the potential of scientific enterprises.

Everything is well written and dreamed of, but ... Somewhere in 1983, Yu. Andropov stated in one of his reports that somewhere:

46% of production work is done manually

it turns out that the industry of the USSR is almost 50% - manufactory, 18-19 century ... then the strongest deindustrialization followed ... Strelkoa says that there is no machine tool building in the Russian Federation, and recently I came across an appeal made somewhere on the net 5 -7 years ago, Russian scientists working abroad, to Putin, that like the Russian Federation is losing science ...
1. Vyacheslav_6
  
  +2
  
  April 28 2023 07: 32
  
  In 1983? Yes, in February 1983 he fell ill of kidney failure. I searched the Internet about 46% and found only one link - yours. In 1978-79, as a student, he did an internship at a plant that produced aircraft and rocket engines. The practice took place in the workshop, the entire area of which was occupied by CNC machines.
  1. RUR
    
    0
    
    April 28 2023 08: 25
    
    I inserted the date as a keepsake - but it’s from one article, so I’ll definitely give you everything later ... and you, as you can see, believe in the advanced industry of the USSR, but it’s not entirely clear why de-industrialization occurred and science in the Russian Federation disappears .. in the article he wrote about the ALL INDUSTRY of the USSR, and not about his practice, because he could write it - an article - and publish it before or later that February ...
    1. Vyacheslav_6
      
      +2
      
      April 28 2023 20: 08
      
      Yes, I don't believe it. I know. It’s just that I managed to work for 10 years under the Union, and my specialty is a mechanical engineer for UAVs (aircraft engines). So under the Union, rocket engines were encrypted. Now tell me how the locksmith's combustion chambers were manually turned with a file.
      1. RUR
        
        -1
        
        April 28 2023 20: 29
        
        You know a very narrow area in which you worked, and you transfer your experience to the entire industry of the USSR, but, for example, let's take the VAZ, Kamaz, Gaz, Zil, etc. plants - people, of course, were proud - our Zhiguli, Kamaz, etc., but in fact - an Italian factory, the rest are from the USA, with the appropriate equipment - presses, lines, robots, etc. ... you can not believe it, but this de-industrialization can be explained only by lack of competitiveness in many areas .. which does not really contradict Andropov
  2. RUR
    
    +1
    
    April 28 2023 13: 24
    
    https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/v-poiskah-istokov-promyshlennoy-revolyutsii-v-rossii-ili-fabrichnaya-lihoradka-pervoy-poloviny-xix-veka
    
    If we proceed only from data on the share of manual labor, then the conclusions about the completion of the industrial revolution can be even more disappointing. Suffice it to recall the program article by Yu.V. Andropov "The Teachings of Karl Marx and Some Issues of Socialist Construction in the USSR", published in 1983, in which he, in particular, noted: "... it is enough to imagine the tense situation with labor resources, the demographic situation in the country, so that the economic the inadmissibility of further preservation of a significant share of manual, non-mechanized labor, which only in industry reaches 40 percent. If in 1983 manual labor in industry reached 40%, then in agriculture the share of manual labor remained at the level of 60%. In 1985, according to official data, only about 51% of all workers in the factories and plants of the USSR were engaged in mechanized labor, 14% were engaged in the adjustment and repair of industrial equipment, and 35% continued to work manually. It turns out that, despite huge efforts, during the years of Soviet power, the country was never able to achieve the main goal of industrialization, and in the last decade of the twentieth century, de-industrialization began.
    1. Vyacheslav_6
      
      0
      
      April 28 2023 20: 38
      
      Cool. You know that Andropov died in 1983. About 1985 he wrote from the other world!? You could at least put the quotes right. Okay, convinced. Only the article talks about 40%, and not about 46%, this is, firstly, and secondly, it was about the cosmodrome and space. And I would love to see how they would manually cut out the channels in the cooling jacket of the COP, the dimensions of which changed in width and height depending on the passage of the chamber and nozzle. The Americans, with all their automation, made the camera for the F-1 from soldered tubes, the cross section of which changed along the length of the camera by pressing
      1. RUR
        
        0
        
        April 28 2023 21: 36
        
        Yours is much cooler - the date of Andropov's death is February 9, 1984, Moscow ... look where Andropov's quotes end ... this is where the closing quote is, the author of the article writes about 1985, not Andropov, i.e. it's a different person. 40 and 46 are considered comparable values, i.e. the difference is not significant ... and then, I wrote to you that I quoted from memory ...
Vyacheslav_6

+1

April 28 2023 06: 45

They began to build Baikonur in the winter of 1955. And they began to launch rockets from it since 1957. Over the next decade, the USSR managed to break ahead in space exploration and lose the lunar race. And now, for several decades, they have been building rockets and spaceports, and they are appointed to lead Roskosmos as a punishment, removing them from higher positions. Yes, and they finance space according to the residual principle. It is not clear why cosmonautics has annoyed Putin so much. Indeed, in other areas this is not the case. Maybe he wanted to become an astronaut, but did not take it?
1. hellman anton
  
  0
  
  April 28 2023 07: 32
  
  It's funny, given that all areas have been optimized and are now a pitiful sight, Well, only nuclear energy could not be optimized and destroyed.
  Cosmonautics (Cosmos) is a continuation of the country's army and military-industrial complex, and given that the army has not been raised from its knees, as promised. Why will space be on horseback?
  Actually, those countries that have a powerful army are now at the forefront in the space sector. USA, China, Europe
  Because everything is connected to each other. The army needs satellite reconnaissance, data transmission through these satellites (communication)
prior

0

April 28 2023 10: 15

The further, the more surprised, there were no billionaires in the Soviet Union, but how many and what were the achievements!
Maybe there were achievements, because there were no billionaires?!
1. Vega (Eugene)
  
  0
  
  April 30 2023 23: 17
  
  And in China and in the West there are achievements and billionaires.
The comment was deleted.