3x Strela-3M (Kosmos 2496, Kosmos 2497, Kosmos 2498) & Kosmos 2499
Rokot / Briz-KM
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces
Mission
Rodnik
- Type: Government/Top Secret
- Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
Classified payload for Russia
Location
133/3 (133L)
Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
133/3 (133L) has witnessed the launch of 159 rockets, including 159 orbital launch attempts. While Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation, has been the site for 1675 rocket launches.
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile, it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches, especially the Molniya orbits, so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location, with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became a foreign territory, and Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently, Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.
