Ostankino Tower

Ostankino Tower (Russian: Останкинская телебашня, Ostankinskaya telebashnya) is a television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia, owned by the Moscow branch of unitary enterprise Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network. Standing 540.1 metres (1,772 ft), Ostankino was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. It is currently the tallest free-standing structure in Europe and 11th tallest in the world. Between 1967 and 1974, it was the tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing structure to exceed 500 m (1,600 ft) in height. Ostankino was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It is named after the surrounding Ostankino district of Moscow.[4][5]

Ostankino Tower
Останкинская телебашня
Ostankino Tower in May 2015
Location in Moscow
Record height
Tallest in the world from 1967 to 1974^[I]
Preceded by	Empire State Building
Surpassed by	CN Tower
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Observation, telecommunications, tourism
Location	Moscow, Russia
Coordinates	55°49′11″N 37°36′42″E
Construction started	1963
Completed	1967
Owner	unitary enterprise Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network
Height
Antenna spire	540.1 m (1,772.0 ft)
Roof	385.4 m (1,264.4 ft)
Top floor	360.4 m (1,182.4 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	120 (equivalent)
Floor area	15,000 m^2 (160,000 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	11[1]
Design and construction
Structural engineer	Nikolai Nikitin
References
[2][3]

Construction began in 1963 and was completed in 1967. Extensive use of prestressed concrete resulted in a simple and sturdy structure. It surpassed the Empire State Building to become the tallest free-standing structure in the world. It held this record for eight years until it was overtaken by the CN Tower in Canada in 1975, which surpassed its height by 13 metres (43 ft).[6] The Ostankino Tower remained the second-tallest free-standing structure in the world for another 32 years until the Burj Khalifa surpassed both it and the CN Tower in height in 2007. The Ostankino Tower has remained the tallest structure in Europe for over 50 years.

A 1994 plan to increase the tower's height to 561 metres (1,841 ft) by adding an antenna was not implemented for lack of funding.[7]

Comparison of the Ostankino Tower with the world's seven tallest towers

Transmissions

TV stations

The tower compared to high-rise apartments

Ostankino Tower at night

View from Ostankino Tower towards Moscow City

On 15 April 2019 12:00 UTC+3 all analog TV channels were turned off. This table is for historical reasons only.

Station	Channel	Frequency	ERP
Channel One	1	MHz	40 kW
TV Tsentr	3	MHz	40 kW
Match TV	6	MHz	1 kW
NTV	8	MHz	40 kW
Russia 1	11	MHz	60 kW
Che	23	MHz	10 kW
360* Podmoskove	25	MHz	10 kW
STS-Moscow	27	MHz	5 kW
Disney Channel (Russia)	29	MHz	10 kW
Domashniy	31	MHz	20 kW
Russia K	33	MHz	20 kW
TNT	35	MHz	5 kW
Channel Five	44	MHz	5 kW
TV-3	46	MHz	10 kW
REN TV	49	MHz	20 kW
U	51	MHz	20 kW
Zvezda	57	MHz	5 kW
2×2	60	MHz	5 kW

TV stations (DVB-T2)

Station	Channel	Frequency	ERP
Second multiplex: (REN-TV, Spas, STS, Domashniy, TV-3, Sport Plus, Zvezda, Mir, TNT, Muz-TV	24		10 kW
First multiplex: (Channel One, Russia 1, Match TV, Russia K, Russia 24, Karusel, NTV, Channel 5, OTR, TV Center)	30		10 kW
ООО «Цифровое ТРВ» (encoded): (DVisionLive, DVisionNews, DVisionSpice, TV1000)	32		1 kW
Third multiplex (special for Moscow and Moscow region): Lifenews (24 hours), Sport 1 (24 hours), Nash Futbol (encoded), Doverie (0:00-12:00)/Euronews (12:00-0:00), Sport (00:00—06:00)/Boytsovskiy Klub (06:00—12:00)/Moya Planeta (12:00—18:00)/Nauka 2.0 (18:00—00:00), Russkiy Roman (00:00—05:00)/Russkiy Bestseller (05:00—10:00)/Russkiy Detective (10:00—15:00)/Istoriya (15:00—20:00)/Mult (20:00—00:00), Sarafan (00:00—12:00)/Strana (12:00—00:00), Zhivaya Planeta (00:00—06:00)/IQ HD (06:00—09:00)/24 Doc (09:00—12:00)/Techno 24 (12:00—15:00)/Mama (15:00—18:00)/NST (18:00—21:00)/Park Razvlecheniy (21:00—00:00), Dom Kino (01:30—02:30)/Vremya (02:30—04:30)/Telecafe (04:30—06:30)/Muzyka Pervogo (06:30—01:30), 365 dney TV (00:00—02:00)/TNT-Comedy (02:00—04:00)/ Mnogo TV (04:00—06:00)/HD Life (06:00—08:00)/STV (08:00—10:00)/India TV (10:00—12:00)/Boets (12:00—14:00)/Comedia TV (14:00—16:00)/La Minor(16:00—18:00)/Interesnoe TV (18:00—20:00)/Kukhnya TV (20:00—22:00)/Auto Plus (22:00—00:00)	34		10 kW

FM stations

Station	Frequency	ERP
"Radio Russia", "Radio Podmoskovie" (5:00–1:00)	66.44 MHz	15.0 kW
"Radio Mayak"	67.22 MHz	15.0 kW
"Radio Yunost"	68.84 MHz	15.0 kW
"Pi-FM"	71.30 MHz	10.0 kW
"Orpheus"	72.14 MHz	15.0 kW
"Radio Radonezh"	72.92 MHz	15.0 kW
"Echo of Moscow"	73.82 MHz	10.0 kW
"Business FM"	87.50 MHz	5.0 kW
"Radio Retro"	88.30 MHz	1.0 kW
"Echo of Moscow"	91.20 MHz	5.0 kW
"Culture"	91.60 MHz	5.0 kW
"Kommersant FM"	93.60 MHz	5.0 kW
"My family"	94.80 MHz	5.0 kW
"Rock FM"	95.20 MHz	5.0 kW
"Vesti FM"	97.60 MHz	5.0 kW
"Kino FM"	98.00 MHz	10.0 kW
"Free radio"	98.40 MHz	5.0 kW
"Orpheus"	99.20 MHz	5.0 kW
"Finam FM"	99.60 MHz	5.0 kW
"Classic Radio"	100.90 MHz	5.0 kW
"Dance FM"	101.2 MHz	10.0 kW
"Monte Carlo"	102.10 MHz	5.0 kW
"Radio Maximum"	103.7 MHz	10.0 kW
"Russian Radio"	105.70 MHz	10.0 kW
"Europa Plus"	106.2 MHz	10.0 kW

MW stations

None

Accidents

The tower on fire on 27 August 2000

The tower caught fire on 27 August 2000, killing three people. A firefighter and lift operator died when their elevator cabin crashed to the ground level due to the fire. In addition, television and radio signals were disrupted around Moscow. The fire broke out at a height of about 458 m (1,502.6 ft), or approximately 98 metres (322 ft) above the observation platform and the Seventh Heaven restaurant, after a short-circuit in wiring belonging to a paging company.[8] The fire necessitated an evacuation of all visitors and staff from those locations. According to Russian news agencies, the evacuation was complete 90 minutes after the start of the fire. The loss was substantial due to the age and poor maintenance of the electronic equipment, much of which was installed in the 1960s. In addition, the tower had become increasingly packed with equipment.[9]

The failure of the fire suppression systems allowed the fire to destroy most of the tower's interior. Although more than 300 firefighters and other emergency workers were called in, firemen were forced to haul heavy equipment, including chemical fire extinguishers, by hand up the tower to halt the fire. Temporary firewalls of asbestos placed 70 metres (230 ft) up stopped further spread.[8] The fire knocked out virtually all television broadcasts in Moscow and the surrounding regions. The only television station unaffected was the private NTV station, but the government decreed that state channels took priority, and as such, the RTR TV channel began transmitting to several Moscow districts.[10]

The fire caused the tower's upper spire to tilt slightly, triggering fears the tower might collapse. The subsequent inspection determined that although the structure sustained heavy damage, the tower was not in danger of collapse. Efforts began immediately to rebuild the tower, which proved to be a long and expensive task.[11][12]

The fire was the third disaster in Russia in a month, following an explosion in a Moscow underground passage that killed 12 people and the sinking of the submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea, in which 118 died. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that "This latest accident shows the shape of our vital installations and the overall state of our country. We should not fail to see major problems in the country behind this accident, and we should not forget the economy. Whether or not such accidents happen again in the future will depend on how we work in this vital direction."[13][14]

On 1 July 2004, Australian BASE jumper Christina Grubelnik struck the tower during her descent, receiving a concussion and losing consciousness. Her parachute snagged on a lower-level service platform and she was rescued by Russian emergency services.[15][16][17]

On 25 March 2005 the first new elevators since the August 2000 fire, made by the German company ThyssenKrupp, were tested and put into service. The new elevators travel at a speed of 6 metres per second (20 ft/s).

On 25 May 2007, the Ostankino again caught fire, though it was less serious this time and isolated to a platform on the outside of the tower. All people inside the tower were evacuated and the fire was successfully extinguished, with no casualties.[18]

Activities

In April 2009, the observation platform reopened.[19] The Seventh Heaven restaurant reopened in November 2016.[20]

On 21 July 2018, there was a race up the Tower, which athletes from 12 countries took part in. They ran up the narrow, spiral staircase and reached the location at an altitude of 337.0 meters. The fastest of the 28 athletes were German Christian Riedl, who made it to the top in 9 minutes and 51 seconds. The women's winner was Cynthia Harris (USA), who reached the top in 12 minutes and 15 seconds. Absolute records were then broken into the categories of men and women.[21]

360° panorama from observation deck of the Ostankino TV tower

See also

• Ostankino Technical Center
• List of tallest buildings and structures in the world
• List of tallest structures in the former Soviet Union
• List of towers
• Fernsehturm Stuttgart – first TV tower built from concrete and prototype for many similar towers built later

References

1. Ostankino Tele Tower at Skyscraperpage.com
2. Ostankino Tower at Emporis
3. "Ostankino Tower". SkyscraperPage.
4. Fire at television tower offers new evidence of Russia's decay, Associated Press (reprinted by the Independent), 28 August 2000. Archived 25 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Russia's Tallest TV Tower Was Created as Symbol of USSR's Power". Pravda.ru. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
6. "What if the CN Tower Caught Fire?". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 November 2000. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
7. "Ostankino Tower". Emporis Research. Archived from the original on 17 June 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
8. Firefighters struggle against a blaze in Moscow television tower by Nick Wadhams, The Independent, 28 August 2000.
9. Russian TV knocked out as fire rages through 1,800ft tower by Barry Renfrew, The Independent, 28 August 2000 Archived 25 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
10. Bodies recovered from Moscow TV tower fire. CNN.com, 28 August 2000. Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
11. Russia tower fire 'under control', CNN.com, 28 August 2000. Archived 3 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
12. Four feared trapped in burning Moscow tower, CNN.com, 28 August 2000. Archived 3 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
13. Fire in 1,800ft TV tower adds to Russians' feeling of doom by Helen Womackin, The Independent, 29 August 2000. Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
14. August, the Cruelest Month by Yuri Zarakhovich, CNN.com. 4 September 2000. Archived 8 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
15. Article about the accident (in Dutch). radio.nl
16. Hector Rim (12 March 2012). "moscow tv tower jump accident-Moscú Torre de tv,accidente en salto..wmv". Retrieved 4 October 2018 – via YouTube.
17. AP Worldstream (1 July 2004) Austrian parachutist injured, knocked unconscious in jump from Moscow TV tower. www.highbeam.com
18. Fire out at Moscow landmark tower. BBC News
19. "Московский Региональный Центр : Экскурсии". Retrieved 4 October 2018.
20. "В Останкинской башне открылся ресторан "Седьмое небо"". 18 November 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
21. "News detail". Retrieved 4 October 2018.

External links

• Ostankino Television Tower
• A visit to the Ostankino Television Tower at redpenguin.net
• BBC: Moscow's TV tower saved
• Ostankino Tower at Structurae
• Ostankino Tower Above the Clouds at EnglishRussia.com
• Ostankino Tele Tower at Skyscraperpage.com
• Building Tallest Tower at EnglishRussia.com

Records
Preceded by Empire State Building	World's tallest free-standing structure 540 m (1772 ft) 1967–1975	Succeeded by CN Tower