The site was opened in February 1962, and used as a launch site for suborbital meteorological sounding rockets. From 25 May 1969 and 26 December 1990, 1104 M-100 model research sounding rockets were launched from Molodyozhnaya Station.[7] On 28 February 1979, the MMR06 model was launched from Molodyozhnaya. This was the only instance of this model rocket being launched from Molodyozhnaya Station.[8]
Funding for meteorological research became scarce during the late 1980s, as the Soviet Union was collapsing. Launches of the M-100 abruptly ended in 1990, and the station was mothballed. In the 1990s, several scientific and environmental studies were undertaken in the area to fulfill the requirements of the Protocol for the Defence of Nature in the Antarctic Treaty System, but the station wasn't reopened.
In February 2006, Valeriy Lukin, the head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition (RAE), said:
There are plans to open the mothballed stations Molodyozhnaya, Leningradskaya and Russkaya in the 2007-2008 season. This will bring great benefits because these stations are located in the Pacific section of Antarctica, which is poorly covered by scientific studies.
Since 2006, it has operated on a seasonal basis.[2][3] When open during the Antarctic summer there is occasional amateur radio operation by station personnel.
