Chernobyl - 2 Bashny.Net

After reading the theme of "7 Wonders of the Soviet Union abandoned" remarked Doug interest in the object-1. Since he is a lover of the Chernobyl threads I could not pass, and decided to make a theme of OTH-Radar "Chornobyl - 2".
For these purposes, the material found on the tour in the "Chernobyl-2".

"A week ago I was contacted by my good friend, an ecologist from Chornobyl" Eco-Center ", Sergey Paskevich and asked if I wanted to visit the legendary and mysterious" Chornobyl - 2 ", could I contemplate? View this masterpiece of design effort nearby, to feel the spirit of a bygone era with its "cold war", bombastic slogans and tube-transistor radio equipment. All week I literally "sitting on their suitcases," in anticipation of news from Sergey. And finally, all arranged already, the permission is obtained, and the admission is signed ...
October 17, 2007, 6:30 am I get in the car and go to the Zone ... »

"9:30 in the morning. I drive up to Chornobyl. At the entrance to the city, the right of the road the lonely figure of the person in spotty camouflage pants and a khaki jacket - Sergey waiting for me. And we together ride through a check point "Leliv" (workers of the Zone persistently name it on "local" manners - "Lelov & quot ;, we drive a couple of kilometers in the direction of Chernobyl and turn off the road on betonku surrounded on two sides by pine forests. Between the trees appeared on the horizon the familiar outlines of cyclopean antennas of Ch-2. Turn right to the check point. On check point Ch-2 two persons - man years about 50 and young guy of 20 years, in the room o check point heated and smells, as in the usual rural hut ... They check ours admissions ... Yes, converges ... We leave the car near a check point and pass on territory, once confidential object USSR Ministry of Defense, horizon radar station "Chernobyl - 2».
Platz & quot;

He ...

Platz

Billboards

Another

The road to the antenna pad

PPC

Here you need to add a little of the "Chernobyl-2" or, if the official - center for remote radio:
Chernobyl-2 - the "shadow" of the ancient, small and peaceful town Polessky Chernobyl. As was customary in the country of victorious socialism, all sensitive sites, working to ensure the military tasks, called the names of the ordinary urban neighbors. Perhaps this simple way the military tried to confuse enemy intelligence.
Twenty years ago, it was a top-secret facility - the pearl of the dream of space exploration and the military, allows you to monitor the movement of all types of aerial purposes, not only over Europe, but also made it possible to "see" potential enemy missile launches in North America. With the help of powerful and ultra-modern (at the time) military radars could, literally, look beyond the horizon.

Obviously, thanks to his ability, this complex was named - the-horizon radar (OTH-Radar) or "Duga 1" (Radio Centre-distance telecommunications Chernobyl-2). In the Soviet Union it was created only three such radar - Nikolaev, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Chernobyl.
The unique ability of the radar lie in the innovative ideas of designers embodied in the gigantic size of structures and receiving antenna masts. It is difficult to talk about the exact geometrical sizes ZGLRS. His huge, towering above the forest openwork antenna visible for many kilometers. - The height of a large antenna -150 meters, and a small - 90, the total length of 900 meters.

The receiving antenna Duga "Chernobyl - 2»

The receiving antenna Duga "Chernobyl - 2»

"We are standing on a sandy crest at the foot of one hundred fifty meter huge receiving antenna. And I in every way try to feel the enormity of design ... I, as a mantra, repeat to yourself: "146 meters - the height of the" big "antenna (five usual nine-storey houses, placed on each other ... Half of height of the Eiffel Tower), 90 meters height of" small " the length of both aerials together about 750 meters away, thousands of tons of metal, a masterpiece of engineering-design thought ... & quot; ... The truth is hard to say, "Big is seen from far away." Reason receives, and his eyes do not believe ...
It is said that on a windy day, the whole constriction drone and creak, and occasionally with crack noise breaks rusted bolts of fastening ... Today is a splendid quiet and warm autumn day and silence reigned around the antennas. & Quot;

All-seeing eye of the complex tracking, part of the early warning of a missile attack, serves several hundred officers. Experts were fixed and educational launches and starts "Shuttle", and all that is of interest to missile defense forces in the Soviet Union ... "Chernobyl-2" has been invested, according to various estimates, from 500 million. 1, 5 billion. Dollars. According to some sources, the cost of capital amounted to seven billion Soviet rubles (although there is information about 600-700 mln. Rubles). For comparison - it is twice as expensive as the construction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It is obvious that the construction of a nuclear power plant near Duga explained in the energy needs of a large object. According to available information Duga consume about 10 megawatts.
Importantly, Duga Chernobyl-2 was intended only for reception. To transfer there was another radar - near the town of Ljubech, Chernihiv region, 60 km from the Chernobyl-2. Radar Lyubech was smaller and lower its height is 85 meters. At the moment, this radar is destroyed.

"We go into the room. Interior - traditional "Zona like": fragments disemboweled by collectors of metal hardware, scattered on the floor technical documentation, interspersed with ideological literature of that time. »

"Satellite Communications Center»

"According to a rusty ladder climb onto the roof. These empty platforms from satellite aerials is well visible on Google *'s pictures. »

Roof

Expensive unique good mouth guard several Special Forces. Gribnikov ignore forbidden signs in the woods, quickly sent back home reinforced police patrols. Near the radar, built in the Chernobyl area, it was established a garrison, where they lived the military and their families. It should be noted that except for a garrison town houses, social facilities included such as a school, kindergarten, club, stadium, shops and even Voyentorg hotel. The garrison was stationed military unit individual space communication number 74939, which was commanded by Colonel Vladimir Musiets.
The fate of the "Chernobyl-2" was sealed in the morning of April 26, 1986, when it became clear that due to high levels of radiation can be disabled by computing appliances. After powerful ventilation system with air sucked all the "dirt" that covered them in the first hours after the accident. Commander Vladimir object Musiets received "good" of Moscow, ordered to lock all systems. Thereafter Center distant radio and was not included in the work. Came from the Leningrad Military District team tried to decontaminate chemical protection, but to no avail.
The tragedy of Chernobyl-2 is aggravated by the fact that Duga was adopted on alert air defense of the USSR in 1985, and in 1986 the system has been fully modernized and began to pass state acceptance. Before upgrading, use of Duga was difficult because of the range of operating frequencies match the frequency of operation of aviation systems. (For a distinctive sound in the air produced when (knocking) was named Russian Woodpecker - «Russian Woodpecker.") Some sources claim that after the Chernobyl radar robots number of Western governments have declared the inadmissibility of this system, which interferes with the safe operation of civil Air in Europe. While developers Duga rejected the charges and said that the outrage of European governments is that the Soviet Union covered "cap" all airspace over Europe and NATO could not give it anything. After modernization, the problem of coincidence of operating frequencies Duga frequencies of civil aviation has been resolved.
The complete closure of Chernobyl-2 was carried out at once - until 1987 it was closed down. But over time it became clear that it operated under the exclusion zone is impossible. The basic units of Duga were dismantled and removed in Komsomolk. "The next stop of our small expedition -" Circle & quot; (Station of back-inclined sounding of the ionosphere).
"Circle" - an auxiliary system for OTH-Radar. It looks like two circles with a diameter of 300 meters, consisting of 240 aerials (120 by each circle). At the center of the circle is a low one-story building with reception equipment on the roof of the building there is a central antenna. This is a unique designator for "large" antenna Duga ... But as far as I know, for its intended purpose, this system is not used, but on it various experiments of passive radar in the short-wave range. At one time "Circle" - interested ubiquitous KGB (still! This unique finder idle). But military men were greedy and "Circle" are not given.

The entrance to the position and PPC

Switchboard

cooling tower cooling system

"Ecologist Sergey Paskevich near one of unmounted antennas.»

Antennas outer circle.

Screen grid

Antennas inner circle dismantled.

The central premise

"A little unexpected to meet here a fire engine. Although she looks very "Rossoha" no excess gamma background near it, or beta contamination on the surface - the car is quite clear ... Anyway, in the territory of Ch-2 and here the position of BIS, gamma background level, and the amount of beta decays completely normal. Only in one place, between "big" and "small" antennas Duga W-2 dosimeter showed 50 mR / hr. »

The central premise was obviously the fire

The walls and ceiling are smoked

On the roof ...

In the left part of the building is enough big turbine building the cooling installation USO ...

... Placed completely underground.

"We go back to Chernobyl, what to visit," Chernobyl radar "(radio location station).
In the former position of the radar near Chernobyl is not difficult to get there ... The main thing - to know where she is. It is situated very close to road Chornobyl - Pripyat, at the left, just beyond the crossroads Korogod - Paryshiv. A couple of steps on a roadside - and we have in place. "

PPC

Bath

Central alley

Billboards near the parade ground.

Barracks.

Warehouse

... And a bomb shelter.

And here is the remains of the radar P-14 "Lena"

Ostatkilokatora P-14 "Lena"

And the underground bunker, for its equipment.

"We stand with Denis on the edge positions. We climb to the top half of a buried tank (fuel for diesel generators RLS). To the west a wonderful view. "This is the famous Chernobyl fallow! They can be seen even from space "- says Denis. The sun hides for horizon, light day came to an end and I with some simplification hide the camera in a bag. Today - everything. On overgrown avenue we wandered back to the road. From what he saw and heard from today, there is a slight fatigue.
Chernobyl Street School, SE "Eco Centre". Denis treats me coffee in his office and tells about vipers, old Chernobyl cemeteries and spectrometer laboratory ... Outdoors has already darkened. I have time to gather in the way back ... I 20.30 in the heart shining evening fires and inutile advertising Kiev, and somewhere, just 120 kilometers from here, there is a small "state" on behalf of the zone. With its capital, laws, traditions. There's time to offer twenty-one years ago, has not been able to recover and continue its run in the right direction. There on their cars license plates, and all the people, not the military, dressed in camouflage "national suits". They live and work in the abandoned homes of others, and dinner is not "fast food" or restaurants, but in the "dining room" "coupons". And somewhere in the heart of the country, not far from the stopped atomic power station and the world-infamous name, surrounded by pine forest is a huge masterpiece of engineering-design thought - rusty, one hundred fifty meter heights, the military aerial. Legacy defunct army nonexistent country. & Quot;

Many thanks for organizing the trip and support:
S. Paskevich, D. Wisniewski (SE "Eco Centre").

Chernobyl-2. Summer 2010
"We did not have any special plans and the objectives for this trip. We decided that we would look at the situation. I've noticed that the most interesting and productive trip is obtained when no grandiose plans, and are acting on intuition.
7.30 We leave from Kiev. The week was hot. Forecasters say that these days even the temperature record was beaten, kept in '64! Early morning, and the sun bakes and has air conditioning in the car is running at full capacity. People in shorts and slippers lazy stretches of the beach, and we are in a closed clothes (NRB inexorable - Radiation Safety Standards) going to the Chernobyl zone.
In the reportage three years ago there were almost no photos themselves antennas. I thought that such grand designs pointless pictures of close, and photos of these giant antennas published abound. Later, I became a little regret that in my photo archive Zone no one of their sensible pictures. It's like in India has been, and Taj Mahal are not photographed. This time, I decided to fill this gap.

Photo 2

"I wrote in my previous report on the general state of metal structures antennas. For three years, it is clear it has not improved. & Quot;

"In this feature I would like to touch on such a complex topic as the fate of these unique dishes. We must honestly admit that their fate is actually a foregone conclusion. »

"No one will be their to restore, maintain more or less normal. In fact, the fact that the antenna has not yet been removed - just a matter of time and money searching technology. »

"Cheaper and easier to dismantle, and quite simply" throw "a construction explosion.»

"That's what brought down a similar, though smaller antenna near the city of Nikolayev.»

"Just was dismantled in the 90's transmitting antenna near Liubech.»

"But here, in the Chernobyl zone, just 10 km from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, drilling work can not be carried out - a drop in multi-ton colossus will cause a small earthquake, and a cloud of dust rise no small ...»

"In general, this embodiment is eliminated. It remains a neat dismantling using special cranes. Such for example as huge Demag-and through which built "sarcophagus" destroyed Unit 4. In short, we need expensive equipment, a lot of people and money. »

"In the meantime, none of the above me at the" complex "(an organization which is in charge of the property) no antenna quietly rusting, creaking in the wind, and are dreams roupdzhamperam, paragliders and just extremals around the world.»