Overview of the Baikonur Cosmodrome: description, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

The Baikonur Cosmodrome, where over the past half century a thousand and a half spacecraft have been launched, is still the leader in terms of the number of launches. Thanks to him, the Soviet Union was able to take a leading position in the development of the space industry and science, leaving behind the United States. The Kyzylkum desert became the historical place from where the first cosmonaut of the planet Yuri Gagarin flew into space, paving the way for more than a hundred cosmonauts, of which 62 people are foreigners, into the Earth's orbit.

How Baikonur started

The 50s of the 20th century were marked by ever-increasing rivalry between the USSR and the USA in the military sphere, in particular, in the creation of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The construction of the Baikonur cosmodrome was one of the stages of the rivalry, during which the first Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile was to be tested.

Since the design range of its flight was more than eight thousand kilometers, there was a need for a new route passing through the Asian part of the USSR and at the same time having desert areas suitable for the elimination of spent rocket stages and the construction of measuring points.

The established special commission consideredseveral options: Dagestan, Mari ASSR, Astrakhan and Kyzylorda regions. The latter option met the requirements of the developers of the R-7 rocket more than the others, as it made it possible to optimally position the ballistic missile radio control points and use the Earth's rotation at launch.

In February 1955, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Resolution No. 292-181 ordering the construction of the facility to begin. So in the desert of Kazakhstan appeared "Polygon No. 5" - the future Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Location of spaceport

After carrying out reconnaissance of the regions of the USSR proposed for the construction of the cosmodrome, the government commission chose the desert part of Kazakhstan, located to the left of the Aral Sea, not far from the village of Baikonyr. The selected site was located between Kazalinsk and Dzhusalami - district centers of the Kyzylorda region.

The area was flat and sparsely populated. In addition, the automobile route and the Moscow-Tashkent railway line (Tura-Tam junction) passed nearby, as well as the Central Asian Syrdarya River. These factors solved the problems with the delivery of building materials, and in the future - missiles and equipment.

But the most important factor was the location of the object near the equator, which made it easier to launch rockets, since the speed of the Earth's rotation was additionally used.

From the first barrack to the first start

At the beginning of 1955, the area of the future Baikonur cosmodrome arrivedthe pioneers are military builders in eight battalions.

The first task of the arrived specialists was the construction of housing. Wooden barracks were built first.

Next, military and civilian builders had to form a production base, which included concrete factories, mortar preparation units, warehouses for building materials, as well as woodworking and sawmilling.

By the end of 1956, the priority objects of the spaceport were built. Preparatory work has begun for testing missile systems.

By the spring of 1957, a measuring complex was created throughout Baikonur. On May 5, 1957, the first launch complex was commissioned to the government commission. The spaceport was ready for the launch of an intercontinental rocket.

The solution of this task in such a short time was associated with serious difficulties.

Difficulties on the way to space

First of all, the builders met with the harsh climate of Kazakhstan and the disorder of life. At first it was tents, then, with the advent of spring, dugouts. The first wooden barracks appeared only in May.

At the end of July 1955, the construction of launch pad No. 1 began. Construction was carried out around the clock, as the deadlines for the completion of the facility were tight.

Initially there was a shortage of equipment. According to retired colonel Sergei Alekseenko, a participant in the construction of the cosmodrome, the builders had at their disposal only 5 scrapers, 2 bulldozers, 2 excavators and 5dump trucks. With the help of these funds, it was necessary to make a pit 50 meters deep in a short time. And this is more than 1 million cubic meters of rock!

There was also scrap clay, which was impossible to take with an excavator. The situation was saved by twenty tons of explosives. The risk was enormous, as blasting was prohibited. But everything was done for the sake of the first rocket launch.

First starts

The first launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome was made already 10 days after the signing of the certificate of acceptance of the Cosmodrome by the State Commission.

On May 15, 1957, the 8K71 No. 5L intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully launched, which later became the prototype of the R-7 Soyuz launch vehicle. However, it was only on October 4 of the same year that the first artificial Earth satellite was launched into space.

Further there were many more first-of-its-kind starts:

• September 14, 1959 - the launch of the automatic station "Luna-2", which descended to the surface of the Earth's satellite;
• October 4, 1959 - launch of "Luna-3", photographing the far side of the moon;
• August 19, 1960 - the launch of the Vostok launch vehicle, which had a return capsule with dogs;
• April 12, 1961 - the launch of the Vostok launch vehicle with the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Phrases: "Baikonur Cosmodrome", "Rocket launch", "Manned flight" gradually became familiar to the citizens of our country.

Development of the Cosmodrome

One startingthe complex was not limited to the construction of the Baikonur cosmodrome. In the future, on the territory allotted for it, complexes were built designed for missiles of different classes of carrying capacity: light Cyclone-M, Soyuz, Zenit, Molniya medium, Proton heavy and Energiya super-heavy class.

4 years after the commissioning of the first launch complex for the Soyuz, another one similar to the first one was built.

In 1965, the first launcher for the Proton was put into operation, and a year later, the second. In 1967, two installations for the Cyclone launch vehicle were put into operation. Further, the construction and commissioning of new facilities ceased until 1979. In 1979, two more Proton installations began to operate in the Kyzylorda region, where the Baikonur cosmodrome is located.

The spaceport infrastructure continues to develop.

Cosmodrome overview

Aerial view of the Baikonur Cosmodrome is impressive and allows you to appreciate its scale. First of all, its area is impressive - 6717 square kilometers. The length from south to north is 75 km, from east to west - 90 km.

In this case, it is correct to talk about the Baikonur complex, which consists of the cosmodrome itself and the city.

The ground infrastructure consists of twelve launch complexes. True, only six are in operation: for Soyuz, Zenit, Proton, Energia, Energia-Buran rockets.

Eleven assembly and testing buildings were built,where the preparation of launch vehicles (LV), upper stages for launch is carried out. There is also a measuring complex and a computer center, an oxygen-nitrogen plant for the production of cryogenic products.

Measuring points are spaced across the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan according to the flight paths of missiles and areas where steps fall.

Interesting details

What else can be said about such an object as the Baikonur Cosmodrome? The history of the spaceport has preserved many interesting facts of that time.

It is interesting first of all the origin of its name. In the region of the northern spurs of the Alatau, there was a small Kazakh village of Boykonyr (in Russian it sounds like Baikonur).

Since the missile range was a secret facility, it was decided to start building a false cosmodrome near this village and call it Baikonur in order to confuse American intelligence. The Soviet media indicated the village of Baikonur as the place for subsequent launches of satellites, although in reality this was carried out from test site No. 5, which for some time had the code name "Taiga".

Interestingly, the "cosmodrome" was guarded until the end of the 60s.

When digging one pit for the launch pad, a bonfire of ancient people was found (the age of the find was from 10 to 30 thousand years). When General Designer Korolev found out about this, he called this place happy for future rocket launches.

There were facts from the realm of "life anecdotes". Somehow, 12 (twelve!) tons of alcohol were prescribed for the maintenance of systems. In reality, it took only 7 tons to flush the systems. To not cut the planfuture supplies, they decided to secretly pour the remaining alcohol into the pit and fill it up.

However, this secret was somehow revealed by the construction staff, and the "dry" law that prevailed at the facility was instantly violated. True, this problem was quickly solved by the leadership of the Baikonur Cosmodrome: the alcohol in the pit was burned out.

Baikonur after the collapse of the USSR

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the cosmodrome ended up outside the borders of the successor of the USSR, Russia, and became the property of Kazakhstan. Naturally, there were difficulties in its operation. The living and working conditions of military builders deteriorated sharply. This caused a riot on their part. Many of them, having received a vacation, did not return back.

A similar story happened in 1993 with the soldiers preparing the Proton launch vehicle. The reason for their indignation was the understaffing of the unit. Rocketeers had to work for three.

In 2003, military builders rebelled again. This time, the cause of the riot was a rumor that after the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome, Baikonur, the cosmodrome, the site of which was still used for launches of Russian launch vehicles, would be closed, and its military contingent would be sent to Siberia.

As a result of the uncontrolled outflow of military personnel, the population of the city of Baikonur has decreased. Many apartments were empty. The tenants moved out without even taking the furniture. Residents of nearby villages occupied empty apartments by squatting or plundered.

Agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan on the lease of the landfill, concluded in 1994year, saved the situation. Enormous funds were allocated for its correction.

Baikonur today

Citizens of two countries live in the city today: Russia and Kazakhstan. Gone are the problems with the "communal". Revived Baikonur provides launch vehicles.

From January 2016 to the present, eight launch vehicles have been successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Six more launches are planned.

However, not all of Russia's plans meet the understanding of the Kazakh side.

The fact is that launches of the Proton rocket, which runs on highly toxic fuel, continue from Baikonur.

In this regard, every launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome causes dissatisfaction on the part of the Kazakh authorities, especially if the launch fails. And since this causes damage to the environment, Kazakhstan issues large bills to Russia.

Baikonur humor

At the entrance to the city, you can see a monument with a picture of miners coming out of the mine in the lower part, and the first satellite in the upper part. "From the cave to space" - this is the name given to the monument by the inhabitants of Baikonur.

There are "Japanese Islands", "Malaya Zemlya", and "Damansky" in the city - these are its microdistricts. It is easy to guess what caused the appearance of these names. Of course, those difficult situations that the residents of Baikonur, the builders of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, had to go through.