153rd Main Testing Center
Unit Identification and Mission: 153rd Main Testing Center
The 153rd Main Testing Center, commonly known as the Titov Main Test Space Center, is military unit 32103 within the Space Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Its core mission is the testing, acceptance, and operational control of Ministry of Defence space systems, including spacecraft and associated ground segments. The Center conducts factory and state trials for space assets, assumes flight control during launch and early orbit phases, performs routine telemetry, tracking, and command operations, and supports anomaly resolution and end-of-life disposal for military satellites.
Command Structure and Leadership
The 153rd Main Testing Center is subordinated to the Space Forces component of the Russian Aerospace Forces, under the 15th Army of Aerospace Forces (Special Purpose). Open reporting identifies Major General Andrey Marchuk as the Center’s commander. The network of subordinate command-and-measurement complexes, including the 40th Separate Command and Measurement Complex, falls under this Center’s operational control.
Headquarters Location and Core Facilities
The headquarters of the 153rd Main Testing Center is located in Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Oblast, a closed administrative-territorial formation. The site houses mission-control halls for military spacecraft, telemetry processing suites, command uplink systems, orbital dynamics and flight dynamics centers, and operational planning elements. Facilities are configured for 24/7 operations with redundant power, secure communications, and protected information systems to maintain continuous spacecraft command and control.
Operational Functions and Procedures
The Center manages pre-launch readiness checks, countdown integration tasks with cosmodromes, acquisition of signal following spacecraft separation, and early-orbit testing. It performs continuous telemetry monitoring, on-orbit testing and calibration, software and configuration uploads, station-keeping and orbit maintenance, and de-orbit or graveyard maneuvers as applicable. Precision orbit determination is conducted using measurement data from geographically distributed ground stations, enabling command timelines and pass scheduling across multiple orbital regimes.
Supported Launch Sites and Early Orbit Support
The 153rd Main Testing Center supports launches from Russian-operated cosmodromes, including Plesetsk, Baikonur, and Vostochny. Ground stations and flight dynamics teams coordinate to ensure rapid acquisition after orbital insertion, conduct health checks, and complete initial functional testing before handover to sustained operations. The Center’s involvement spans pre-launch test plans through the critical launch and early orbit phase, then transitions to routine mission operations.
Network Architecture: Command and Measurement Complexes
Spacecraft control relies on a network of command-and-measurement complexes distributed across the Russian Federation. These complexes provide tracking, telemetry reception, and command uplink coverage across multiple longitudes to sustain contact with low Earth orbit, highly elliptical, and geostationary spacecraft. The complexes are equipped for time synchronization, precision measurements, and secure data transport back to the mission-control core at the headquarters.
Technical Capabilities: TT&C and Ground Equipment
The command-and-control infrastructure employs telemetry, tracking, and command systems operating in standard spacecraft control bands, including S-band for command and telemetry and, where applicable, X-band for high-rate downlink reception. Sites typically field parabolic antennas of various apertures for near-Earth and high-orbit support, radio-frequency front ends with low-noise amplification, precision timing sources, and automated processing chains for real-time command sequencing and telemetry analysis. Redundancy and encryption are standard across the control network to ensure resilience and security.
Satellite Mission Set Supported
The Center conducts testing and operational control for a wide range of Ministry of Defence spacecraft categories, including navigation, communications, data relay, meteorological, and remote sensing platforms, as reflected in official Russian Ministry of Defence communications. Mission support includes launch and early orbit operations, routine control, orbit maintenance, and on-orbit testing throughout the satellites’ operational lives.
40th Separate Command and Measurement Complex (NIP-16): Identification and Role
The 40th Separate Command and Measurement Complex, identified with the site designation NIP-16 and military unit number 81415, is reported under the command of Colonel Vadim Drosov. This complex functions as a regional node within the Titov Center’s network, providing telemetry reception, tracking data, and command uplinks to extend temporal and geometric coverage for spacecraft passes. Its tasks include scheduled support to launch and early orbit operations and routine contact windows, contributing measurement data to centralized orbit determination and command planning.
Integration and Data Flow
Measurement data from subordinate complexes such as the 40th Separate Command and Measurement Complex are transmitted via secure Ministry of Defence communication channels to the headquarters for processing by mission control and flight dynamics teams. Command loads, contingency procedures, and software updates are generated centrally and routed to outstations for uplink during scheduled passes, ensuring coordinated spacecraft control with centralized oversight.
Security, Access Control, and Classification Considerations
The Krasnoznamensk headquarters operates within a closed jurisdiction with controlled access, and the command-and-measurement complexes are protected military sites. Detailed equipment inventories, site layouts, operating frequencies beyond general band designations, and precise coordinates are not publicly disclosed. Where leadership names, military unit numbers, and site designations appear in open sources, they are presented as reported; operational specifics and classified technical parameters are withheld from public release.
Assessment Summary
The 153rd Main Testing Center, military unit 32103, serves as Russia’s principal military organization for the testing and control of space facilities, providing end-to-end TT&C and on-orbit test support from its headquarters in Krasnoznamensk. Its distributed network of command-and-measurement complexes, including the 40th Separate Command and Measurement Complex NIP-16, military unit 81415, enables continuous national coverage and timely early orbit support. Reported leadership includes Major General Andrey Marchuk at the Center level and Colonel Vadim Drosov at the 40th Complex, consistent with open-source identifications.