The Vostochny Cosmodrome, a spaceport on Russian territory, is currently being built in the Amur region in the Russian Far East. As part of the project, Mammoet was contracted to unload 14 pieces of heavy and oversized equipment from a barge and transport them to the construction site 60 km away.
The cargo included parts of two different big structures - the launch pad and a vacuum chamber for the launch complex of the Angara space rocket complex, with a total weight of about 600t. The vacuum chamber alone had a diameter of 9 meters.
“This was a very big and important project for us,” said Alexey Zhugan, Mammoet’s project manager on site. “Our client trusted us to deliver multiple crucial pieces of equipment to the construction site over a rather large distance. We did so not only in the safest, but also in the most efficient way possible, adhering to the given time frame."
The transport of the cargo took place in two parts and in a total of four days.
The fact that Mammoet had all the necessary lifting and transportation equipment available locally was an added benefit, too. For unloading the cargo, the company used two heavy-lift cranes, the LR-11350 and LR-1750, and Goldhofer trailers and semi-trailers for delivering it to the construction site.
“For every piece of equipment, we needed special permits,” said Zhugan. “There are also quite complex logistics involved in moving such large cargo. We had to block regional roads as well as the federal road that connects Moscow with Vladivostok for a couple of hours during the night to transport the loads. All this requires careful planning and approval of every detail of the project.”
Being involved in such a big project resonates on several different levels. For Mammoet as a company, it is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a key development in the region. For the team on the ground and for Zhugan in particular, it is even more than that. It is an opportunity to contribute to the local economy and to his country.
It is what he calls “a moment of pride”.