Chkalovsky is a military

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

near

Shchyolkovo Shchyolkovo ( rus, Щёлково, p=ˈɕːɵlkəvə) is a city and the administrative center of Shchyolkovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River ( Oka's tributary), northeast of Moscow. Population: 112,865 ( 200 ...

, Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located 31 km northeast of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. In 1932-35, the state flight testing institute was relocated here from Khodynka, the Central Airfield. A reorganisation in December 1960 saw most testing arrangements moved to

Akhtubinsk Akhtubinsk (russian: Ахту́бинск; kk, Ақтөбе, ''Aqtóbe'') is a town and the administrative center of Akhtubinsky District in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Akhtuba River (a tributary of the Volga), north ...

in Astrakhan Oblast. Chkalovsky provides air support for Star City,

Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian language, Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility res ...

, and other elements of the

Soviet space program The Soviet space program (russian: Космическая программа СССР, Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR) was the national space program of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), active from 1955 until the dissoluti ...

and

Russian Federal Space Agency The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...

. It is also a major transport base, with the 8th Special Purpose Aviation Division (since 2009–10, the 6991st Air Base) operating the Antonov An-12,

Antonov An-72 The Antonov An-72 (NATO reporting name: Coaler) is a Soviet/Ukrainian transport aircraft, developed by Antonov. It was designed as an STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as comme ...

Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...

, Ilyushin Il-76, and Il-86VKP. Chkalovsky received USSR's first Il-76K for cosmonaut training on 23 July 1977. On 27 March 1968,

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. T ...

and

Vladimir Seryogin Vladimir Sergeyevich Seryogin (russian: Владимир Сергеевич Серёгин; 7 July 1922 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet test pilot. Vladimir Seryogin became a volunteer of the Red Army after grammar school. His flying abilities re ...

died in a MiG-15UTI that set off from this base, when it crashed near the town of

Kirzhach Kirzhach (russian: Киржа́ч) is a town and the administrative center of Kirzhachsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Kirzhach River in the west of the oblast, west of Vladimir and south of Alexandrov. Population: Et ...

. The airport name is also given as Chkalovskoye. The facility should not be confused with

Kaliningrad Chkalovsk Kaliningrad Chkalovsk (also Chkalovskoye, Tchalov, or Prowehren) is a naval air base in Chkalovsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia located 9 kilometers northwest of Kaliningrad. Most instances in Russian aviation literature of Chkalovsk or Chkalovskoy ...

or Omsk Chkalovsk airfields.

References

External links

Airports in Moscow Oblast Soviet Air Force bases Soviet and Russian space program locations Soviet Military Transport Aviation Russian Air Force bases {{Russia-airport-stub