Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome[a] is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area.[1] All Russian crewed spaceflights are launched from Baikonur.[2]
Baikonur Cosmodrome
Situated in the Kazakh Steppe, some 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level, it is 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the east of the Aral Sea and north of the Syr Darya. It is close to Töretam, a station on the Trans-Aral Railway. Russia, as the official successor state to the Soviet Union, has retained control over the facility since 1991; it originally assumed this role through the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), but ratified an agreement with Kazakhstan in 2005 that allowed it to lease the spaceport until 2050. It is jointly managed by Roscosmos and the Russian Aerospace Forces.
In 1955, the Soviet Ministry of Defence issued a decree and founded the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[3] It was originally built as the chief base of operations for the Soviet space program. The Cosmodrome served as the launching point for Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1. The launchpad used for both missions was renamed "Gagarin's Start" in honour of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who piloted Vostok 1 and became the first human in outer space.[4] Under the current Russian management, Baikonur remains a busy spaceport, with numerous commercial, military, and scientific missions being launched annually.[5][6][7]
ICBM testing[edit]
Although Baikonur has always been known around the world as the launch site of Soviet and Russian space missions, from its outset in 1955 and until the collapse of the USSR in 1991 the primary purpose of this center was to test liquid-fueled ballistic missiles. The official (and secret) name of the center was State Test Range No. 5 or 5 GIK. It remained under the control of the Soviet and Russian Ministry of Defense until the second half of the 1990s, when the Russian civilian space agency and its industrial contractors started taking over individual facilities.
In 2006, the head of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, said that the last Russian military personnel would be removed from the Baikonur facility by 2007. However, on 22 October 2008, an SS-19 Stiletto missile was test-fired from Baikonur, indicating this may not be the case.[33]
In popular culture[edit]
Baikonur Cosmodrome was featured prominently in the 2010 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops. In one mission in the campaign, the main character is tasked by John F. Kennedy with destroying a Soyuz spacecraft and eliminating several high-value targets at the launch complex.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome also serves as the inspiration for a location in the 2014 videogame Destiny.
Baikonour Cosmodrome and its surroundings serve as the setting of the 2022 French TV miniseries Infiniti.
Baikonur Cosmodrome, the city of Baikonur, and the surrounding areas (including the Aral Sea) are featured heavily in Terry Hayes' 2023 spy/thriller novel The Year Of The Locust.