Mesmerizing 75 Second Clip of Vostochny Cosmodrome Filmed by A Drone

Summary: On Jan. 21, Russian government-funded news channel RT released via YouTube a mesmerizing 75 second clip of Vostochny Cosmodrome filmed by a drone.

Vostochny Cosmodrome construction site at night: Gizmodo @Gizmodo, via Twitter July 4, 2015

On Thursday, Jan. 21, 2106, Russian government-funded news channel RT released via YouTube a mesmerizing 75 second clip of Vostochny Cosmodrome filmed by a drone during ongoing construction of the new Russian spaceport in Amur Oblast in the Russian Far East.

The summary that RT includes on YouTube for the brief, mesmerizing footage of Vostochny Cosmodrome filmed by a drone states: “RT has captured spectacular drone footage of Russia’s ongoing project -- the Vostochny Cosmodrome, which promises to further cement the country’s self-sufficiency with regard to space travel. The first launch at the site could be as soon as April.”

The clip of Vostochny Cosmodrome captures a snow-packed landscape dotted with structures that have almost a futuristic style. No audio disturbs or explains the astounding, slightly eerie construction site. Moving automobiles and walking workers confirm a purposeful human presence amidst nature’s sparsely populated, largely undeveloped backdrop in southern Amur Oblast.

On Monday, July 19, 2010, five and one-half years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled the reality of a new cosmodrome via a televised announcement at Russia’s leading rocket-space enterprise, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, also known as RSC Energia.

“The government has made a decision to earmark 24.7 billion rubles ($809 million) over the next three years for the start of the full-blown construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome,” President Putin stated.

Construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome reduces Russia’s dependency upon the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world’s largest and oldest spaceport. Founded on June 2, 1955, Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in southwestern Kazakhstan near the village of Tyuratam in the vast openness of the Kazakh Steppe. A Kazakh-Russian agreement signed Jan. 9, 2004, extends the original 1994 lease for another 50 years, to 2050. The agreement requires Russia to make annual payments at the fixed rate of US $115 million for use of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Vostochny Cosmodrome is expected to handle 40 percent of Russia’s space activity by 2020. Russia’s activity at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is estimated to drop from 65 percent down to 11 percent.

Geographical coordinates place the Vostochny Cosmodrome (“Eastern Spaceport”) at 51 degrees 49 minutes north latitude and 128 degrees 15 minutes east longitude. The site is located on the watershed of the Zeya River and its tributary, the Bolshaya Pyora River. The nearest inhabited area is Uglegorsk, a restricted settlement located about 68 miles (110 kilometers) from Russia’s border with northeastern China’s Heilongjiang Province.

Originally slated for December 2015, Vostochny Cosmodrome’s first launch, a Soyuz-2 rocket, is now scheduled for spring 2016. In announcing the postponement of the first launch during a visit Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, to Vostochny Cosmodrome, President Putin referenced the 55th anniversary of the first manned space flight, achieved April 12, 1961, by Yuri Gagarin and commemorated annually since 2011 as Cosmonautics Day.

“If you do this by Cosmonauts Day, that will be fine,” President Putin stated.

screenshot from footage captured during drone's hovering over Vostochny Cosmodrome's construction site near Uglegorsk village in the Amurskaya Oblast, Russian Far East; image credit RT: Massimo @Rainmaker1973, via Twitter Jan. 21, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Vostochny Cosmodrome construction site at night: Gizmodo @Gizmodo, via Twitter July 4, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Gizmodo/status/617408179580874752

screenshot from footage captured during drone's hovering over Vostochny Cosmodrome's construction site near Uglegorsk village in the Amurskaya Oblast, Russian Far East; image credit RT: Massimo @Rainmaker1973, via Twitter Jan. 21, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/690130108078800896

For further information:

Atherton, Kelsey D. "Drone Films Russia's New Cosmodrome." Popular Science > Space. Jan. 25, 2016.
Available @ http://www.popsci.com/drone-films-russias-in-works-cosmodrome

"Baikonur Cosmodrome." ILS International Launch Services Inc. > Launch Services.
Available @ http://www.ilslaunch.com/launch-services/baikonur-cosmodrome

Bodner, Matthew. "Putin Delays First Launch From Russia's Troubled Vostochny Cosmodrome." The Moscow Times > Business. Oct. 14, 2015.
Available @ http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/putin-delays-first-launch-from-russias-troubled-vostochny-cosmodrome/539029.html

Gizmodo @Gizmodo. "Russia's new spaceport is looking pretty darn awesome." Twitter. July 4, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Gizmodo/status/617408179580874752

kuschk. "Vostochny Cosmodrome." The Basement Geographer. April 21, 2011.
Available @ http://basementgeographer.com/vostochny-cosmodrome/

Massimo ‏@Rainmaker1973. "Drone footage of Russia’s mighty new Vostochny Cosmodrome." Twitter. Jan. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/690130108078800896

Moskvitch, Katia. "Russia to kick off construction of a new spaceport." BBC News > Science & Environment. July 20, 2010.
Available @ http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-10698433

Nagy, Attila. "Check Out Russia's New Spaceport Being Built." Gizmodo. July 4, 2015.
Available @ http://gizmodo.com/check-out-russias-new-spaceport-being-built-1715445543

RT. "Raw: Drone footage of Russia's new Vostochny Cosmodrome (Exclusive)." YouTube. Jan. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bwM69nn_4E

RT @RT_com. "Watch exclusive drone footage of Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome." Twitter. Jan. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/690129574370226176

Zak, Anatoly. "Centers: Svobodny." Russian Space Web. Last update April 15, 2016.
Available @ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/svobodny.html