RUSSIAN FAR EASTERN COSMODROME "SVOBODNY" MARKS ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY








MOSCOW, MARCH 1, 2001 (FROM RIA NOVOSTI CORRESPONDENT EDUARD PUZYREV) -- The Russian Far Eastern test cosmodrome "Svobodny" marks its fifth anniversary today.


	RIA Novosti was informed at the press service of the Strategic Missile Force (RVSN) that the aim of its building was the need "to expand the possibilities of Russia in launching space devices of various designation" on the basis of a former RVSN missile division.


	The calculations showed that the launchings of space devices from that cosmodrome situated, according to the geographic longitude, to the south of the already built "Plesetsk" cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region (the north of the European part of Russia) will allow to deliver to space 25 percent more useful cargoes spending the same amount of energy.


	At the present time, a technical complex for preparing carrier-rockets of a light class Start-1 to be launched by the self-propelled launching installation of the Topol class has been built at the cosmodrome and has been functioning.


	The first launching of the carrier-rocket of the light class Start-1 with the Russian navigation satellite "Zeya" was made at the cosmodrome on March 4, 1998. The scientific-technical devices -the Israeli satellite "Eros-1A" and the Swedish -- "Odin" have been orbited over the last two months.


	General of the army and the RVSN commander in chief, Vladimir Yakovlev believes that in the future the cosmodrome will be able to launch carrier-rockets of the medium and heavy class, for instance, the Angara carrier-rocket which is the newest of them.