Ernst Krenkel Observatory (Russian: Обсерватория имени Эрнста Кренкеля), also known as Kheysa, was a former Soviet rocket launching site located on Heiss Island, Franz Josef Land.[1] It is named after a famous Arctic explorer Ernst Krenkel, a member of the crew of the North Pole-1 drift ice station and other notable Soviet polar expeditions.
It served the MR-12 from 1956 to 1980 for the start of research in rocketry.[2]
| Climate data for Ernst Krenkel Observatory, Heiss Island | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) |
0.0 (32.0) |
1.6 (34.9) |
0.7 (33.3) |
2.6 (36.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.3 (50.5) |
8.4 (47.1) |
5.6 (42.1) |
3.8 (38.8) |
1.3 (34.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
10.3 (50.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −19.2 (−2.6) |
−19.5 (−3.1) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−15.6 (3.9) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
2.1 (35.8) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−13.9 (7.0) |
−18.4 (−1.1) |
−9.9 (14.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −22.7 (−8.9) |
−23.1 (−9.6) |
−23 (−9) |
−18.7 (−1.7) |
−8.7 (16.3) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
0.7 (33.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−17.4 (0.7) |
−21.8 (−7.2) |
−12.4 (9.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −26.2 (−15.2) |
−26.5 (−15.7) |
−26.5 (−15.7) |
−21.6 (−6.9) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−20.3 (−4.5) |
−25.1 (−13.2) |
−14.9 (5.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −42.1 (−43.8) |
−44.4 (−47.9) |
−43.5 (−46.3) |
−39.6 (−39.3) |
−27.7 (−17.9) |
−12.3 (9.9) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−23.2 (−9.8) |
−32.3 (−26.1) |
−39.5 (−39.1) |
−41.5 (−42.7) |
−44.4 (−47.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 32 (1.3) |
31 (1.2) |
20 (0.8) |
15 (0.6) |
13 (0.5) |
10 (0.4) |
18 (0.7) |
22 (0.9) |
26 (1.0) |
21 (0.8) |
24 (0.9) |
27 (1.1) |
259 (10.2) |
| Average rainy days | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0 | 34 |
| Average snowy days | 20 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 209 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 83 | 82 | 80 | 81 | 85 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 90 | 86 | 84 | 83 | 85 |
| Source: pogoda.ru.net[3] | |||||||||||||