State Central Navy Testing Range
64°38′45″N 39°12′34″E / 64.645791°N 39.209518°E The State Central Navy Testing Range (Russian: «Государственный центральный морской полигон», Gosudarstvennyj central'nyj morskoj poligon) at Nyonoksa is the main rocket launching site of the Soviet Navy and later the Russian Navy. The site is located east from in the settlement of Sopka 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the Nyonoksa.
History
editIt was established in 1954.[1]
Since 1965 numerous rockets of the types R-27, R-29, R-39 Rif and R-39M were launched from Nyonoksa.[citation needed]
Accidents
editOn 15 December 2015, an accident during a missile launch test resulted in a block of flats in the village being hit by part of a rocket.[2]
On 8 August 2019 an explosion caused the Nyonoksa radiation accident with several scientists being killed.[3] The incident might be linked to the development of the nuclear-powered cruise missile 9M730 Burevestnik, also known by its NATO reporting name as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.[4]
References
edit- ^ Isachenkov, Vladimir (14 August 2019). "Mysterious missile explosion, radiation spike in Russia raises questions". Star-Advertiser. Honolulu. Associated Press. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Russian cruise missile hits flats". December 15, 2015 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Andrew E. Kramer (10 August 2019). "Russia Confirms Radioactive Materials Were Involved in Deadly Blast". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ "Russian nuclear engineers buried after 'Skyfall nuclear' blast". Al Jazeera. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.