Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) · Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, Russia
Launch Pads
4 active (Sites 43/3, 43/4 Soyuz-2; Site 35 Angara-1.2; Site 35/1 Angara-A5)as of [1]Annual Launches
~10as of [1]Military-dominant cadence; exact figure varies; estimate from public manifestsMax Payload (LEO)
24,500 kg to LEO (Angara A5)as of [1]Established
1957
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is Russia's primary military launch facility and one of the most active spaceports historically by number of launches. Located in northern Russia, it is optimized for high-inclination and polar orbit missions. It serves as the test site for new Russian launch vehicles including the Angara family, and remains the sole operational launch site for sovereign Russian crewed-orbit capability outside leased Baikonur.
| Region | Europe |
| Country | 🇷🇺 Russia |
| Coordinates | 62.9271° N, 40.5778° E |
| Ownership | Military |
| Parent Entity | Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) under the Russian Ministry of Defence |
| Regulatory Regime | Roscosmos State Corporation + Russian Ministry of Defence; subject to ITAR / OFAC / EU sanctions post-2022 |
| Latitude Advantage | 62.9 deg N — high-latitude site optimized for polar, SSO, and Molniya orbits; the only sovereign-Russian (non-leased) launch site for high-inclination missions |
| Azimuth Range | 0 deg-150 deg (polar to Molniya/highly-elliptical regimes) |
| Human Spaceflight | Historical (no longer primary) |
| Employees | ~10,000 (military personnel + civilian support, Russian MoD figures) |
| Website | https://structure.mil.ru |
Active Users
Strategic Value
Sole sovereign Russian orbital site for polar and Molniya regimes (Baikonur is leased from Kazakhstan, Vostochny is far-east). Strategic importance amplified post-2022 as international cooperation (Rockot for ESA, etc.) ended.
Recent Activity
Angara A5 launches continued through 2024-2025 deploying military payloads (Cosmos series); Western commercial customers absent since 2022 sanctions.
2026
Continued Angara A5 / Persei upper-stage qualification flights
2027
Angara A5M (uprated variant) maiden flight scheduled