Baikonur is the first and largest in the world complex of facilities for launching aircraft in outer space. It covers an area of about 7 thousand square meters. km There are only three such cosmodromes on Earth.
Appearance story
In the early 50s of the last century, at the Special Design Bureau No. 1, under the guidance of designer and scientist Sergei Korolev, a multi-stage R-7 launch vehicle was developed. It was intended for military purposes, and then received space applications. To test a new aircraft, a specialized training ground was needed.
In May 1954, the State Commission began to choose a place for the future cosmodrome. Suitable lands were found in Kazakhstan, which at that time was part of the USSR. There was a vast, sparsely populated flat terrain, and the Syr Darya River - a source of fresh water, and a railway line, and an automobile road. The Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Dagestan and Astrakhan Oblast also had views on the placement of the landfill.
Another advantage is the large number of sunny days per year. And most importantly - the proximity to the equator allows you to use the planet's rotation speed during launches. So in the spring of 1955, not far from the Kazakh village of Tyura-Tam, in the Kyzyl-Kum desert, the launch of the launch site began.
Pace of construction
Near the construction site grew a village where the testers lived. The first building was a wooden hut - the headquarters of military builders. Now in its place is a granite stone with a commemorative inscription. At first, the village was called Zarya, in 1958 it was renamed Leninsky. In the summer of 1966, it became the city of Leninsky, and, finally, at the end of 1955 - Baikonur.
The spaceport was built amazingly fast. Just four months later, the first launcher was ready and installation of equipment began. At the launch site, they began testing the R-7 spacecraft.
First launches
On October 4, 1957, the R-7 Sputnik launch vehicle launched the first artificial satellite into planetary orbit. Thus began the cosmic era of mankind.
April 12, 1961 at 9:07 Moscow time, the Vostok-1 spacecraft with the first astronaut on board launched from Baikonur. They became Yuri Gagarin. The ship made a revolution around the Earth and returned successfully. From this flight began the practical exploration of space by man.
The following missiles became more and more perfect. The pride of Baikonur is the oldest Soyuz rocket and space complex.
Orbital stations Mir and Salyut, as well as communication and television satellites, also started from Baikonur.
