Site 250 at the
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...
, also known as UKSS () and Bayterek (), is a test facility and launch site which was used by the
Energia rocket during the 1980s. The site consists of a single launch pad, which doubled as a test stand, and is supported by an engineering area and a propellant storage facility. the complex was planned to be rebuilt as the ''Bayterek Launch Complex'', which would be used by the
Angara
The Angara (; ) or Angar ( мүрэн) is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisey. It is long, and has ...
rocket from 2015; however development is yet to begin.
Today the UKSS at Site 250 is still standing, however it is deteriorating. Construction work for Bayterek is yet to begin.
Energia
Site 250 was built in the late 1970s as the ''Universal Complex Stand-Start'' (UKSS) to support Energia development, and unlike other Soviet launch complexes it was designed to support long-duration static tests as well as launches, after
Valentin Glushko
Valentin Petrovich Glushko (; ; born 2 September 1908 – 10 January 1989) was a Soviet engineer who was program manager of the Soviet space program from 1974 until 1989.
Glushko served as a main designer of rocket engines in the Soviet progra ...
blamed the failure of the
N1 programme on the lack of facilities to perform static tests.
The only launch to have taken place from Site 250 was the maiden flight of the Energia rocket, carrying the
Polyus spacecraft, which occurred on 15 May 1987. Energia was abandoned after just two launches, the other of which took place from
Site 110.
Angara
Following the cancellation of the Energia programme Site 250 fell out of use. In 2008 Site 250 was selected for development of an Angara launch complex at Baikonur, the Bayterek Launch Complex, instead of
Site 200/40 as had originally been planned, and Site 110 which was also under consideration. This decision was officially confirmed in 2009.
Today the UKSS at Site 250 is still standing, however it is deteriorating. Construction work for Bayterek is yet to begin.
References
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Baikonur Cosmodrome