# Baikonur Cosmodrome | Kazakhstan



## Evertraveller (Nov 23, 2006)

*Baikonur Space Launch Facility | Kazakhstan*

*Wikipedia.com:*


> The Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakh: Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, Bayqoñır ğarış aylağı; Russian: Космодром Байконур, Kosmodrom Baykonur), also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan, about 200 kilometers (124 mi) east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level. The facility derives its name from a wider area known as Baikonur and is also traditionally linked with the town of Jezkazgan. It is leased by the Kazakh government to Russia (currently until 2050) and is managed jointly by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian Space Forces. The shape of the area leased is an ellipse, measuring 90 kilometres east-west by 85 kilometres north-south, with the cosmodrome at the centre. It was originally built by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s as the base of operations for its ambitious space program. With the fall of Soviet Union, the Russian Space Program has fallen into decline[1], but Baikonur remains central to international space ambitions.[2]
> Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft in human history, was launched from one of Baikonur's launch pads, which is presently known as Gagarin's Start.












The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad Monday, Sept. 28, 2009 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is scheduled to launch the crew of Expedition 21 and a spaceflight participant on Sept. 30, 2009. 
































































*Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)*


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## Evertraveller (Nov 23, 2006)

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_town.html


> A new hotel, called the Sputnik (Sputnik Hotel, +7336-2270650), catering to the foreign visitors of the launch center, offered conveniences also unknown before. Among them were such "firsts" for Baikonur as irrigated and trimmed lawns, a large swimming pool, a western-style gym, perfectly purified water, and, reportedly, ... "full-body massage" offered upon request. The $250-per-night rate for Sputnik's rooms and its gated property ensure that the hotel is essentially reserved for the foreign guests of the cosmodrome. On the eve of major manned launches, in the Sputnik's bar one can see a US astronaut, a French space official, or a British reporter, drinking Stoli and flirting with Russian women.
> 
> In the meantime, on the central square of the city a former officer's club has been converted into a discotheque. Open to locals and foreign visitors alike, the place has become a center of Baikonur's nightlife. Local folklore abound with stories about broken hearts and stolen valets in and around this discotheque, however, the majority Baikonur veterans agree that walking around at night in the town has become a lot safer in the past five years.


*Wikitravel:*


> The easiest way to visit Baikonur (and the only way to visit the cosmodrome) is by guided tour. Prices vary wildly but are always steep: a one-day tour starting from Almaty starts from US$700 per person, while a multi-day excursion from Moscow can easily cost US$5000. As the cosmodrome area (6000 sq.km.) is rented by Russia, no Kazakh visa is needed if you fly in directly from Moscow.
> 
> *By plane*
> Baikonur's two airports, Krainiy (in city) and Yubileyniy (in cosmodrome) serve only semi-regular chartered flights from Almaty and Moscow. The nearest town with scheduled service is Kzyl-Orda (267 km away), which has scheduled daily flights to Almaty and Astana on Air Astana.
> ...


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