The Baikonur space center was founded 55 years ago. On February 12, 1955, the Soviet Council of Ministers issued a statement on the construction of a facility for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles and launching artificial Earth satellites.
The Baikonur space center was founded 55 years ago. On February 12, 1955, the Soviet Council of Ministers issued a statement on the construction of a facility for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles and launching artificial Earth satellites.
Baikonur today is an international space station and a town in its own right. It is the world’s first and largest operational space launch facility. In the photo: the installation of a carrier rocket with the Soyuz-10 spacecraft on the launch pad.
Baikonur was originally built as a research and testing facility of the Soviet Defense Ministry. In the photo: the installation of a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft on the launch pad.
The facility is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, about 200 km (124 miles) east of the Aral Sea, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level. In the photo: a carrier rocket with the Soyuz-9 spacecraft on the launch pad.
Sergei Korolev, the chief designer of the R-7 ICBM, selected the site, as the radio control system of the rocket required a ground station several hundred kilometers down range of the launch pads. The first launch of the R-7 ICMB took place on May 15, 1957 and on October 4, 1957 the first man-made satellite was launched from Baikonur. In the photo: the satellite’s launch site.
On April 12, 1961, the first manned orbital flight by Yuri Gagarin lifted off from Baikonur.
After April 12, 1961 the facility’s official and secret name State Test Range No. 5 was changed to Baikonur.
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Many historic flights lifted off from Baikonur in the following years. In the photo: a Soyuz-U carrier rocket with the Progress-64 cargo spacecraft.
Today the Baikonur space center occupies a total area of 6,717 sq km measuring 125 km east-west by 85 km north-south. In the photo: the launch of a Proton-K carrier rocket.
Baikonur is fully equipped with facilities for launching both manned and unmanned spacecraft. It supports several generations of Russian spacecraft: Soyuz, Proton, Tsyklon, Dnepr, Zenit and Buran. In the photo: A Proton-M rocket.
Russia has leased the Baikonur space center from Kazakhstan since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the lease treaty will expire in 2050. It pays an annual fee of $115 million for the use of the space center, which has the world's busiest launch schedule. In the photo: the Proton launch pad.
