55 years ago, on March 17, 1966, at 13:28 Moscow time, the first launch of the Vostok carrier rocket was carried out from the State Research Test Site of the USSR Ministry of Defense (now the first State Test Cosmodrome Plesetsk) in the Arkhangelsk Region. -2 “with the Kosmos-112 spacecraft on board. This launch marked the beginning of the space biography of the planet’s “northern” cosmodrome.
The need to expand the scale of space activities in the USSR arose in the early 60s of the last century. The leadership of the state made a decision to use the “Angara” facility, created in 1957 in the Arkhangelsk region as a military unit of missile regiments armed with R-7 intercontinental ballistic missiles, for launching spacecraft.
A year after the first space launch, the cosmodrome became the main launch site for automatic spacecraft in the USSR. The cosmodrome prepared and conducted launches of carrier rockets Vostok-2, Vostok-2M, Voskhod, Kosmos-2 and Kosmos-3M with seven types of spacecraft. Simultaneously with the expansion of the number and types of satellites launched, the process of removing missile systems from combat duty was going on.
In 1974, the former combat First Directorate of the training ground was re-profiled to solve space problems. It included two test parts. One of them solved the problems of preparing and launching light-class spacecraft using Kosmos-2 and Kosmos-3M carrier rockets. Another test section was formed to launch the Cyclone-3 space rockets. The Second Directorate included three test units with the task of preparing and launching medium-class spacecraft using carrier rockets of the R-7A type.
On November 11, 1994, a decree of the President of the Russian Federation was signed on the creation of the First State Test Cosmodrome of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (1GIK of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Plesetsk cosmodrome) as part of the Military Space Forces. This decree officially granted the status of a cosmodrome to Plesetsk. On March 24, 2001, by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Space Forces were created, and from July 1, 2001, the cosmodrome was withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces and included in the Russian Space Forces.
The cosmodrome was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, as well as the Order of Suvorov for services in ensuring the security of the state, strengthening its defense capability, creating, testing and producing new types of weapons, military and special equipment.