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Baikonur Cosmodrome

Also known as Baykonur Cosmodrome, Tyuratam, State Test Range No. 5, 5 GIK, GIK-5

cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used by Russia

AI overview

Baikonur Cosmodrome is a rocket launch facility located in Kazakhstan that Russia uses to send spacecraft and astronauts into space. It is one of the world's most important spaceports and has been the primary launching point for Russian space missions for decades.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: spaceport
Has part: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 250
Named after: Baikonur
Country: Soviet Union
Located in: Kyzylorda Region
Elevation: 90
Operator: Roscosmos State Corporation
Image: Soyuz expedition 19 launch pad.jpg

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Commons category: Baikonur Cosmodrome
topic's main category: Category:Baikonur Cosmodrome
place served by transport hub: Baikonur
inception: 1955-06-02
date of official opening: 1955-00-00
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4

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Encyclopedic overview

The Baikonur Cosmodrome 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. All Russian crewed spaceflights are launched from Baikonur.

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Baikonur Cosmodrome” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.