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General Notes

Plesetsk cosmodrome's history dates back to January 11, 1957, when the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution establishing a military facility with the code name “Angara” «Ангара».

The first launch of the R-7 at Plesetsk took place on May 15, 1957, but it was not until the fourth launch on August 21, 1957 did the missile reach the target area for the first time.

Unfortunately, the warhead disintegrated in the atmosphere, and no experimental data on the cause of this disintegration was obtained, as telemetry recordings ceased 15-20 seconds before the warhead's impact. Analysis of the reentry vehicle's structural components revealed that the disintegration began at the tip of the warhead and simultaneously determined the extent of its heat-protective coating loss. This allowed for revision of the warhead documentation, refinement of the layout, design and strength calculations, and its prompt manufacture for the next launch.

On August 27, 1957, the media published a TASS report that the Soviet Union had tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Due to the predicted high yield (2 MT) of the thermonuclear charge and in accordance with the decision to conduct a full-scale test of the warhead, a test detonation was conducted at the Northern Test Site (Novaya Zemlya archipelago). On October 6, 1957, the charge, contained in an aerial bomb casing, was dropped from a Tu-16 long-range bomber. The test was a complete success: the yield was 2.9 megatons, exceeding the calculated yield by 20%.

The first fully successful launch of an R-7 missile was on March 29, 1958, equipped with a prototype of the standard warhead.

In February 1959, the “Angara” facility was renamed the 3rd Training Artillery Range. 3-й учебный артиллерийский полигон (3-й УАП).

On December 15, 1959, the first combat launch station for the R-7 (8K71) began combat duty. Two days later, a decree of the Soviet government established a new branch of the armed forces — the Strategic Missile Forces (RSVN) <РВСН>.

On December 24, 1959, flight testing of the improved R-7A (8K74) missile began.

By Resolution No. 192-20 of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated January 20, 1960, the R-7 (8K71) ICBM was accepted into service.

On July 16, 1960, the Armed Forces conducted two combat training launches of a serially produced missile from a launch site for the first time. Before launch, the missile was transported from a technical position on a railway transport and erector carriage and installed on a massive launcher. The entire prelaunch preparation process lasted from two to twelve hours. A fueled rocket (presumably with RP-1 loaded) could only be maintained in that position for 30 days, while actual combat launch readiness once fuelled lasted no more than 8 hours.

On September 12, 1960, the R-7A (8K74) ICBM was accepted into service. It featured a slightly larger second stage, which increased its firing range by 500 km, a new warhead that was the same yield (about 2 MT) but significantly smaller and lighter (the charge diameter was reduced by 1.75 times) and a simplified radio control system.

Launch Complex Acceptances were:

• Pad 41/1 (SK-1) [Lesobaza] at Plesetsk – Ready for Combat Duty on December 31, 1959. During the Cuban Missile Crisis from 11 September 1962 to 21 November 1962, this launch complex was on combat alert with a nuclear armed missile. Combat alert at Site 41 continued on and off until 1963.

• Pad 16/2 (SK-2) at Plesetsk – Ready for Combat Duty on April 15, 1960.

• Pads 43/3 and 43/4 at Plesetsk – Ready for Combat Duty on July 15, 1961.

The four sites at Plesetsk constituted one regiment; but there was a fifth pad built at Baikonur that was equipped for ICBM combat duty (Pad 31). (Site #1 – Gagarin's Start was not equipped for ICBM combat duty).

NATO Designations were:

R-7 (8K71) → SS-6 SAPWOOD Mod 1
R-7A (8K74) → SS-6 SAPWOOD Mod 2

Burn time was 120 seconds for first stage, 290 to 320 seconds for second stage (410 to 440 seconds total).

Two warheads were developed:

Light: 3 MT @ 3700 kg → 12,000 to 14,000 km range
Heavy: 5 MT @ 5400 kg → 9000 to 9500 km range

Plesetsk (“Angara”) R-7A Launchers

Geographic Centroid of all Launchers:
62.93916, 40.52924

Tyura-Tam (Baikonur) R-7A Launcher