Vostochny Cosmodrome

Vostochny Cosmodrome (Космодром Восточный, 'Eastern Spaceport') is Russia's newest launch facility, located near the town of Tsiolkovsky in the Amur Oblast of Russia's Far East — approximately 5,550 kilometers east of Moscow and near the Chinese border — representing a decades-long strategic effort to reduce Russia's dependence on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is leased from Kazakhstan at annual cost approaching $115 million and carries sovereign risk as Russian-Kazakh relations evolve.

Construction began in 2011 under a Presidential decree from Dmitry Medvedev, with the first orbital launch occurring on April 28, 2016 — a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying three small satellites, including the Lomonosov scientific satellite and two student nanosatellites. The launch came after years of construction delays, cost overruns, and a worker payment scandal that led to multiple contractor arrests. The geographic location at 51.9°N latitude (similar to Baikonur's 45.6°N but further east) provides somewhat less favorable orbital geometry than equatorial launch sites for geostationary missions, requiring more propellant for GTO insertion.

Vostochny has two operational launch pads: the Soyuz-2 launch complex (LC-1S) supporting Soyuz-2.1a and Soyuz-2.1b launches carrying Roscosmos satellites, scientific payloads, and commercial rideshare missions; and the Angara launch complex (LC-1A) under construction to support the Angara-A5 heavy-lift vehicle — Russia's next-generation rocket designed to replace the Proton-M, which can only launch from Baikonur due to its highly toxic UDMH/N2O4 propellants.

The Angara-A5 launch facility at Vostochny had its first test launch in April 2024, representing a key milestone in Russia's launch infrastructure modernization. The Angara-A5M (enhanced version) and eventual Angara-A5V (with hydrogen upper stage for increased payload) are planned to support lunar missions under Russia's Luna program and future crewed Oryol spacecraft missions — for which Vostochny is intended as the primary launch site, eliminating Baikonur dependency for human spaceflight.

Sanctions imposed following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine significantly disrupted Vostochny's commercial launch business, as Western satellite operators terminated contracts with Roscosmos. The facility now serves primarily Russian government payloads and the domestic Gonets/GLONASS constellation replenishment missions.