Soyuz Debris

[crazygood150]

I have always wondered where the strap on boosters of the Soyuz fall or the second stage. Because they're launched from Baikonur which is in the middle of Asia, do they fall onto land? or do they go far enough to land in the pacific.

Just wondered.

[Joe Pinball]

I think they fall on land, but around there it's deserted for hundreds of miles in all directions... which is why they located the launch facility there in the first place hehe

Joe

[Vaisman]

Yes, they fall on land.

This is border between Kazakhstan and Russia

This is Altay

Edited August 21, 2012 by Vaisman

[Twilights favorite quill]

There is actually a nice documentary about it called "Space Tourists" it caputers the fascination for space and manned space flight very well and gives a detailed view on the (post) soviet space programs.

[Johno]

So do they recover them and recycle the materials, or is there an area strewn with hundreds of R-series boosters?

[Vaisman]

No, they don't recover them. Mountains, swamps and forests lays there and you may go 100 km and don't even find signs of human presence. (Except rockets debris and stages, falling on your head, of course) :-D

So, this very expensive.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Vaisman

[Tosh]

Soyuz debris ain't of much problem, as far as I know... Kerosene/LOX are not very dangerous substances. Proton debris with its extremely toxic UDMH/NTO pair is way worse

And -- no, nothing is recovered. First stages are not even equipped with parachutes.

[Johno]

Okay, so it's a bit sparse, but after 50+ years of launching stuff there you'd think it's starting to look like a junkyard . . .

[Twilights favorite quill]

Okay, so it's a bit sparse, but after 50+ years of launching stuff there you'd think it's starting to look like a junkyard . . .

Actually, most of the rocket parts are recovered by rocket part hunters. They then sell the metals to chinese businessmen that then recicle them for other parts.

One of the tanks in the first stage is shaped like a cooking pot. It is tradition under the scrap hunters to cut out the tank first and then make their first meal after the beginning of the cutting of the rocket stage in this tank. Interestingly they bring a cooking top from a regular pot and it fits perfectly on the tank.

[edemlama]

this is pretty useful

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_downrange.html