 ASoyuz-2.1b rocket launches aGLONASS-K2 satellite from Site 43/3 in August 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 62°55′12″N40°28′1″E / 62.92000°N 40.46694°E /62.92000; 40.46694 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short name | Pu-43 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Russian Space Forces | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total launches | 550 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch pad(s) | Two | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43, is alaunch complex at thePlesetsk Cosmodrome inRussia. It consists of two pads, Sites 43/3 and 43/4 (also known asSK-3 andSK-4) and has been used byR-7-derived rockets since the early 1960s. As of 2024[update], both pads remain in use for theSoyuz-2.1a andSoyuz-2.1b rockets. Additionally, Site 43/4 also hosts launches of the smallerSoyuz-2.1v launch vehicle.
Originally constructed for theR-7A Semyorka missiles, the site hosted its first launch on 21 December 1965, when an R-7A test flight was conducted from Site 43/3. The first launch from Site 43/4 followed on 25 July 1967. After its decommissioning as a missile base, the complex was repurposed for space launches. The first orbital launch occurred on 3 December 1969, when aVoskhod rocket carried theKosmos 313 satellite into orbit.
Both pads suffered significant damage due to explosions in the 1980s. The first incident, on 18 March 1980, which came to be known as thePlesetsk launch pad disaster, occurred when aVostok-2M rocket exploded during fueling operations at Site 43/4, killing 48 people and injuring dozens more. The damage was so extensive that the pad remained inactive until 1984. On 18 June 1987, aSoyuz-U rocket exploded at liftoff from Site 43/3.[1]
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