Situated in theKazakh Steppe, some 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level, it is 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the east of theAral Sea and north of theSyr Darya. It is close toTöretam, a station on theTrans-Aral Railway. Russia, as the official successor state to theSoviet Union, has retained control over the facility since 1991; it originally assumed this role through the post-SovietCommonwealth 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 byRoscosmos and theRussian Aerospace Forces.[citation needed]
In 1955, theSoviet Ministry of Defense issued a decree and founded the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[3] It was originally built as the chief base of operations for theSoviet space program. The Cosmodrome served as the launching point forSputnik 1 andVostok 1. The launchpad used for both missions was renamed "Gagarin's Start" in honour of Soviet cosmonautYuri Gagarin, who piloted Vostok 1 and became the first human in outer space.[4] Under the current Russian management, Baikonur remains a spaceport, with numerous commercial, military, and scientific missions being launched annually.[5][6][7]
The Soviet government issuedScientific Research Test Range No. 5 (NIIP-5;Russian:5-й Научно-Исследовательский Испытательный Полигон, Pyatyy Nauchno-Issledovatel'skiy Ispytatel'nyy Poligon) on 12 February 1955. It was actually founded on 2 June 1955, originally a test center for the world's firstintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM),[8] theR-7 Semyorka. NIIP-5 was soon expanded to include launch facilities for space flights. The site was selected by a commission led by GeneralVasily Voznyuk, influenced bySergey Korolyov, the Chief Designer of the R-7 ICBM, and soon the man behind the Soviet space program. It had to be surrounded by plains, as the radio control system of the rocket required (at the time) receiving uninterrupted signals from ground stations hundreds of kilometres away.[9] Additionally, the missile trajectory had to be away from populated areas. Also, it is advantageous to place space launch sites closer to the equator, as the surface of the Earth has higher rotational speed in such areas. Taking these constraints into consideration, the commission chose Tyuratam, a village in the heart of theKazakh Steppe. The expense of constructing the launch facilities and the several hundred kilometres of new road and train lines made the Cosmodrome one of the most costly infrastructure projects undertaken by theSoviet Union.[citation needed] A supporting town was built around the facility to provide housing, schools, and infrastructure for workers. It was raised to city status in 1966 and namedLeninsk (Russian:Ленинск).
AU-2 spy plane photograph of R-7 launch pad in Tyuratam, taken on 5 August 1957
In April 1975, in preparation for theApollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first NASA astronauts were allowed to tour the cosmodrome. Upon their return to the United States, the crews commented that on their evening flight to Moscow they had seen lights on launch pads and related complexes for more than 15 minutes, and according to astronautThomas Stafford, "that makes Cape Kennedy look very small."
According to most sources, the nameBaikonur was deliberately chosen in 1961 (around the time of Gagarin's flight) to misdirect[9][11][12] theWestern Bloc to a place about 320 kilometres (200 mi) northeast of the launch center, the small mining town and railway station ofBaikonur nearJezkazgan. Leninsk, theclosed city built to support the cosmodrome, was renamedBaikonur on 20 December 1995 byBoris Yeltsin.
According to NASA's history of theApollo-Soyuz Test Project, the nameBaikonur was not chosen to misdirect, but was the name of theTyuratam region before the establishment of the cosmodrome.[11]
One of the main gates at Baikonur Cosmodrome spaceport in Kazakhstan
Russian scientist Afanasiy Ilich Tobonov researched mass animal deaths in the 1990s and concluded that the mass deaths of birds and wildlife in theSakha Republic were noted only along the flight paths of space rockets launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Dead wildlife and livestock were usually incinerated, and the participants in these incinerations, including Tobonov himself, his brothers and inhabitants of his native village of Eliptyan, commonly died from stroke or cancer. In 1997, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation changed the flight path and removed the ejected rocket stages nearNyurbinsky District, Russia.[citation needed]
Scientific literature collected data that indicated adverse effects of rockets on the environment and the health of the population.[13]UDMH, a fuel used in some Russian rocket engines, is highly toxic. It is one of the reasons for acid rains and cancers in the local population, near the cosmodrome. Valery Yakovlev, a head of the laboratory of ecosystem research of the State scientific-production union of applied ecology "Kazmechanobr", notes:"Scientists have established the extreme character of the destructive influence of the "Baikonur" space center on environment and population of the region: 11 000 tons of space scrap metal, polluted by especially toxic UDMH is still laying on the falling grounds".[14] Scrap recovery is part of the local economy.[15]
Many historic flights lifted off from Baikonur: the first operationalICBM; the first man-made satellite,Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957; the first spacecraft to travel close to the Moon,Luna 1, on 2 January 1959; the first crewed and orbital flight byYuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961; and the flight of the first woman in space,Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963. 14 cosmonauts of 13 other nations, includingCzechoslovakia,East Germany,India andFrance have launched from Baikonur under theInterkosmos program as well. In 1960, a prototypeR-16 ICBMexploded before launch, killing over 100 people. Baikonur is also the site from whichVenera 9 andMars 3 were launched.
A Soyuz rocket is erected into position at the Baikonur Cosmodrome'sPad 1/5 (Gagarin's Start) on 24 March 2009. The rocket launched the crew ofExpedition 19 and a spaceflight participant on 26 March 2009.[16]
Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian space program continued to operate from Baikonur under the auspices of theCommonwealth of Independent States. Russia wanted to sign a99-year lease for Baikonur, but agreed to a US$115 million annual lease of the site for 20 years with an option for a 10-year extension.[17] On 8 June 2005, theRussian Federation Council ratified an agreement betweenRussia andKazakhstan extending Russia's rent term of the spaceport until 2050. The rent price – which remained fixed atUS$115,000,000 per year – is the source of a long-running dispute between the two countries.[18] In an attempt to reduce its dependency on Baikonur, Russia built theVostochny Cosmodrome inAmur Oblast.[19]
Baikonur has been a major part of Russia's contribution to theInternational Space Station (ISS), as it is the only spaceport from which Russian missions to the ISS are launched. It is primarily the border's position (but to a lesser extent Baikonur's position at about the46th parallel north) that led to the 51.6° orbital inclination of the ISS; the lowest inclination that can be reached by Soyuz boosters launched from Baikonur without flying overChina.[20] With the conclusion ofNASA'sSpace Shuttle program in 2011, Baikonur became the sole launch site used for crewed missions to the ISS[2][21] until the launch ofCrew Dragon Demo-2 in 2020.
In 2019,Gagarin's Start hosted three crewed launches, in March, July and September, before being shut down for modernisation for the newSoyuz-2 rocket with a planned first launch in 2023.[22] The final launch from Gagarin's Start took place 25 September 2019. Gagarin's Start failed to receive funding (in part due toRussian invasion of Ukraine) to modernize it for the slightly larger Soyuz-2 rocket. In 2023, it was announced that the Russian and Kazakhstan authorities plan to deactivate the site as a space launch pad and turn it into a museum (in part for tourism purposes).[23]
On 7 March 2023, the Kazakh government seized control of the Baiterek launch complex, one of the launch sites at Baikonur Cosmodrome, banning numerous Russian officials from leaving the country and preventing the liquidation of assets by Roscosmos. One of the reasons for the seizure was due to Russia failing to pay a $29.7 million debt to the Kazakh government. The seizure comes after Russia's relations with Kazakhstan became tense due to its ongoinginvasion of Ukraine.[24][25][26]
Downrange from the launchpad,spent launch equipment is dropped directly on the ground in the Russian far east where it is salvaged by the workers and the local population.[27]
As part of theBuran programme, several facilities were adapted or newly built for the Buran-class space shuttle orbiters:
Site 110 – Used for the launch of the Buran-class orbiters. Like the assembly and processing hall at Site 112, the launch complex was originally constructed for theSoviet lunar landing program and later converted for the Energia-Buran program.
Site 112 – Used for orbiter maintenance and to mate the orbiters to theirEnergia launchers (thus fulfilling a role similar to theVAB atKSC). The main hangar at the site, called MIK RN or MIK 112, was originally built for the assembly of theN1 Moon rocket. After cancellation of the N-1 program in 1974, the facilities at Site 112 were converted for the Energia-Buran program. It was here thatorbiter 1K was stored after the end of the Buran program and was destroyed when the hangar roof collapsed in 2002.[28][29]
Site 251 – Used as Buran orbiter landing facility, also known as Yubileyniy Airfield (and fulfilling a role similar to theSLF atKSC). It features one runway, called 06/24, which is 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) long and 84 metres (276 ft) wide, paved with "Grade 600" high quality reinforced concrete. At the edge of the runway were two specialmate–demate devices; PUA-100 was designed to lift Buran orbiters and complete Energia stages onto theAntonov An-225 Mriya carrier aircraft and the smaller PKU-50 was used with theMyasishchev VM-T Atlant and incomplete orbiters or segments of the Energia core stage. After arrival on one of the transport aircraft, an orbiter was loaded onto a transporter, which would carry the orbiter to the processing building at Site 254.[30] A purpose-built orbiter landing control facility, housed in a large multi-store office building, was located near the runway. Yubileyniy Airfield was also used to receive heavy transport planes carrying elements of the Energia-Buran system. After the end of the Buran program, Site 251 was abandoned but later reopened as a commercial cargo airport. Besides serving Baikonur, Kazakh authorities also use it for passenger and charter flights from Russia.[31][32]
Site 254 – Built to service the Buran-class orbiters between flights (thus fulfilling a role similar to theOPF atKSC). Constructed in the 1980s as a special four-bay building, it also featured a large processing area flanked by several floors of test rooms. After cancellation of the Buran program it was adapted for pre-launch operations of theSoyuz andProgress spacecraft.[33]
A Soyuz TMA-16 launch vehicle being transported to launchpad at Baikonur in 2009.
All Baikonur'slogistics are based on its own intra-site1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)gaugerailway network, which is the largestindustrial railway on the planet. The railway is used for all stages of launch preparation, and all spacecraft are transported to the launchpads by the specialSchnabel cars. Once part of theSoviet Railroad Troops, the Baikonur Railway is now served by a dedicated civilian state company. There are several rail links connecting the Baikonur Railway tothe public railway of Kazakhstan and the rest of the world.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome has two on-site multi-purposeairports, serving both the personnel transportation needs and the logistics of space launches (including the delivery of the spacecraft by planes). There are scheduled passenger services fromMoscow to the smallerKrayniy Airport (IATA:BXY,ICAO:UAOL), which however are not accessible to the public. The largerYubileyniy Airport (Юбилейный аэропорт) (IATA:UAON) was where theBuran orbiter was transported to Baikonur on the back of theAntonov An-225Mriya cargo aircraft.
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-fueledballistic missiles. The official (and secret) name of the center wasState Test Range No. 5 or5 GIK. It remained under the control of the Soviet andRussian 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.[citation needed]
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, anSS-19 Stiletto missile was test-fired from Baikonur, indicating this may not be the case.[34]
OK-MT (foreground) andOK-1.02 (background) in storage at Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2020.
On 22 December 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia signed a contract establishing the "Russia–Kazakhstan Baiterek JV" joint venture, in which each country holds a 50% stake. The goal of the project was the construction of theBayterek ("poplar tree") space launch complex, to facilitate operations of the RussianAngara rocket launcher.[35] This was anticipated to allow launches with a payload of 26 tons tolow Earth orbit, compared to 20 tons using theProton system. An additional benefit would be that the Angara uses kerosene as fuel and oxygen as the oxidiser, which is less hazardous to the environment than the toxic fuels used by older boosters. The total expenditure on the Kazakh side was expected to be US$223 million over 19 years.[36] As of 2010, the project was stalling due to insufficient funding, but it was thought that the project still had good chances to succeed because it would allow both parties – Russia and Kazakhstan – to continue the joint use of Baikonur even after the construction ofVostochny Cosmodrome.[37] As of 2025, the first test launch of the Baiterek Rocket and Space Complex is scheduled for December 2025.[38][39]
The Baikonur Cosmodrome has a small museum, next to two small cottages, once residences of the rocket engineerSergei Korolev and the firstcosmonaut,Yuri Gagarin. Both cottages are part of the museum complex and have been preserved. The museum is home to a collection of space artefacts. A restored test article from the SovietBuran programme sits next to the museum entrance. The onlycompleted orbiter, which flew a single orbital test mission in 1988, was destroyed in a hangar collapse in 2002.[40][41][42] For a complete list of surviving Buran vehicles and artefacts, seeBuran programme § List of vehicles.
The museum also houses photographs related to the cosmodrome's history, including images of all cosmonauts. Every crew of every expedition launched from Baikonur leaves behind a signed crew photograph that is displayed behind the glass.
TheSputnik 1 satellite test model is shown at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum of Space History in Kazakhstan.
Baikonur's museum holds many objects related to Gagarin, including the ground control panel from his flight, his uniforms, and soil from his landing site, preserved in a silver container. One of the museum rooms also holds an older version of the Soyuz descent capsule.
In 2021, the Baikonur space complex was named as one of the top 10 tourist destinations in Kazakhstan.[43]
In 2023, a plan was announced to add theGagarin's Start launch complex to the museum complex at Baikonur.[23]
^Vorontsov, Dmitri; Igor Afanasyev (10 November 2009)."Angara getting ready for launch".Russia CIS Observer.3 (26).Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved3 January 2010.
"Look back and look ahead. Notes of a military engineer" – Rjazhsky A. A., 2004, SC. first, the publishing house of the "Heroes of the Fatherland"ISBN5-91017-018-X.
"Rocket and space feat Baikonur" – Vladimir Порошков, the "Patriot" publishers 2007.ISBN5-7030-0969-3
"Unknown Baikonur" – edited by B. I. Posysaeva, M.: "globe", 2001.ISBN5-8155-0051-8
"Bank of the Universe" – edited by Boltenko A. C.,Kyiv, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix",ISBN978-966-136-169-9
