Baikonur Cosmodrome

• Introduction
• Object of the Baikonur Cosmodrome
• Baikonur Cosmodrome today
• Scheduled launches for 2019
• How can I visit the Cosmodrome?
• How can I get there?

You must been heard about Baikonur from News or Hollywood movies. Let me introduce you with this amazing and unique place on our small planet.

The word “Baikonur” comes from the kazakh language, “Bai” and “Konur” means “Rich valley”. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a unique complex consisting of the most complicated technical structures, the first and largest cosmodrome in the world which has international importance. Located in Southern of Kazakshstan near the Tyuratam village.

The territory of the cosmodrome is MEGA HUGE, the total area is 6717 square kilometers!!!

For better understanding of the scale, the total length of railways passing through the cosmodrome is about 510 kilometers (470 kilometers of general and 40 kilometers of special-purpose tracks). There are 22 railway stations on the territory of Baikonur, for example: Western, Yubileinaya, Progress, Northern, Kuban and Eastern. Each station is either a launch pad, or a building, or a plant. The journey from the Gorodskaya station located within the city to the most remote station of the cosmodrome railway network takes three hours.

Baikonur began to be built on January 12, 1955, became a cosmodrome in 1957. In the 1970s and 80s it was the largest cosmodrome of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s, the spaceport went to Kazakhstan. Leased by Russia until 2050.

The world’s first artificial Earth satellite (October 4, 1957) and the world’s first artificial satellites of the Sun, Moon and Venus were launched from Baikonur. It was from Baikonur that the world’s first manned flight into space was carried out on April 12, 1961 – the flight of Yuriy Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft.

Objects of the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur has 12 launch sites (6 of which are in operation) and 11 assembly and test buildings for the assembly, testing and prelaunch of launch vehicles, booster blocks and spacecraft.

It has four gas stations, a measuring complex with a computer center, an oxygen-nitrogen plant.

Its infrastructure also includes two first-class aerodromes, more than 400 km of railways, 1 thousand km of roads, more than 600 transformer substations, 6 thousand km of power lines, 2.5 thousand km of communication lines. The cosmodrome employs more than 10 thousand employees. Isn’t it fascinating!

Baikonur Cosmodrome today

Currently, the Soyuz-FG launch vehicles (since 2001), Soyuz-2.1a (2006), Soyuz-2.1b (2006), Proton-M (2001) are being launched from the launch site. Until recently, launches of the Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr were carried out (1999-2015; from the silo launcher of the ICBM RS-20, on the basis of which the space rocket was created) and Zenit-3SLБ (2008-2013; as part of the Land Launch project )

Only from Baikonur russian manned launches can be carried out. Soyuz MS manned spacecraft (from 2016) with crews on the ISS and Progress MS cargo ships (2015) serving the station will be launched from the cosmodrome into orbit.

Scheduled launches for 2019 – beginning of 2020

Each year Roscosmos planning at least 6 launches. Here are scheduled launches for 2019 – 2020:

• 31.12.2019 – Progress MS-12 cargo spacecraft
• 22.08.2019 – Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft
• 25.09.2019 – Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft with crew: Oleg Skripochka, Jessica Meir and Hazza Al Mansouri.
• 06.12.2019 – Progress MS-13 cargo spacecraft
• 20.03.2020 – Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft

How can I visit the Cosmodrome?

The best way to visit Cosmodrome is to organize your trip through agency. You need to plan and book your tour at least a month before the launch. There are many agencies who organize tours with a duration of 2 to 6 days (includes rocket transportation to the launch pad), depending on what type of tour you prefer.

How can I get to the Cosmodrome?

Mainly, it depends on where you are going to fly from. The closest airports locate in Kyzylorda town and Tyuratam village, from which further you can reach your hotel next to cosmodrome by train, bus or personal taxi (might be costly). The agencies usually includes transfers from airport to the hotels.

The easiest way to reach Kyzylorda or local airport UAOO are:
– From Astana capital (Nur-Sultan) you can get to Baikonur by train directly to the railway station of Tyuratam village just next to Baikonur cosmodrome, the train trip takes around 34 hours. Another fast option is to reach by plane the nearest town Kyzylorda and then take a train, taxi or free transfer through the agency.

– From Almaty city you can get directly to the Tyuratam station a bit faster, the train takes about 26 hours. You can also get by plane to the city of Kyzylorda and then travel by train, bus or free tranfer.

– From Moscow operates a direct flight to Baikonur (Domodedovo Airport – Krainy Airport) three times a week. This option might be the best if you are travelling from another countries directly to Baikonur, due to Moscow airports have various connection flights with all the world.