1st State Testing Cosmodrome (Plesetsk)
Identification
The metadata aligns with the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast—the Russian Ministry of Defense facility associated with Mirny’s official First State Test Launch Site designation and with recent Defense Ministry references to the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome. ([mirniy.ru](https://www.mirniy.ru/official/cityinfo/14-english.html))
Operational role
As of February 5, 2026, Plesetsk remained active under Russian Space Forces/Aerospace Forces crews, which launched a Soyuz-2.1b mission for the Defense Ministry from the site. The cosmodrome’s high latitude and clear northern debris corridor make it especially suitable for high-inclination and polar-orbit missions. ([aa.com.tr](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/russia-launches-military-satellites-to-serve-interests-of-defense-ministry/3821956))
Infrastructure
A dated but detailed 2011 Rockot user guide described Plesetsk as a 1,752 km² complex including Mirny, the non-civilian Pero Airport, a railhead/rail station, tracking stations, LOX/LN2 facilities, technical integration buildings, and launch pads, with key facilities connected by rail and road. ESA imagery likewise shows a broad, dispersed installation embedded in forest rather than a single compact pad area. ([eurockot.com](https://www.eurockot.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Ch10UsersGuideIss5Rev0.pdf))
Launch capability
Open sources confirm continued multi-family launcher use at Plesetsk: ESA documented Rockot operations from the site in 2017, ILS identified Plesetsk as the launch base for Angara 1.2, and TASS reported an Angara-A5 launch with Defense Ministry satellites from Plesetsk on June 19, 2025. Russian officials further said in January 2026 that a 2025 Angara-A5 mission from Plesetsk placed a Defense Ministry payload into geostationary orbit for the first time from this cosmodrome; that GEO claim is official but was not independently verified in the reviewed sources. ([esa.int](https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P/About_the_launch))
Garrison support
Mirny’s official site says the closed town hosts the launch-site headquarters, military construction elements, multiple military units, a computing center, a communications center, a military hospital, and a garrison officers’ center. This supports assessing Plesetsk as a fully garrisoned launch-and-test complex with organic command, communications, medical, and support functions. ([mirniy.ru](https://www.mirniy.ru/official/cityinfo/14-english.html))
Test-range context
Secondary but credible analysis from NTI describes Plesetsk as both a space launch facility and a missile test/training complex, with START-era declarations covering a missile test range, a mobile ICBM training facility, and a space launch facility. That broader role is relevant to interpreting remote support or measurement points, but the reviewed open sources did not independently confirm most of the specific unit numbers or section titles in the supplied placemark list. ([nti.org](https://www.nti.org/education-center/facilities/plesetsk-cosmodrome/))