Modification of the ICBMs into launch vehicles was carried out by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT), which also designed the Topol missile. On March 25, 1993 (13:15 UTC), the first Start-1 rocket was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome with a non-commercial payload. The first commercial launch was conducted almost four years later on March 4, 1997 from Svobodny Cosmodrome with a Russian payload. Since that time all flights of the Start-1 have been conducted from Svobodny. Currently, the Russian company United Start Launch manages the Start-1 program.