Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( Russian Космодро́м Байкону́р Baykonur Cosmodrome , Kazakh Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы Baiqoŋyr ğaryş ailağy ) is a rocket launch site in southern Kazakhstan north of the city of Baikonur . It is the world's first and currently the largest spaceport . The Baikonur Cosmodrome was both the launch site for the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 and for the first manned space flight. The launch pad for both missions was renamed Gagarin's Launch in honor of Yuri Gagarin , the first human in space.
The Baikonur spaceport was originally built by the Soviet Union as a test area for military developments, but has been used more and more within the Soviet space program since 1957, and in this role it became known worldwide. It is leased to Russia by the Kazakh government until 2050 and is managed by the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the Russian Air Force .
Between the end of the space shuttle program in July 2011 and the start of SpaceX Demo-2 in May 2020, all non-Chinese manned space flights started from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
history
Soviet Union
The Baikonur spaceport was originally built as a test area for military developments. In 1955, the Soviet government signed the decree establishing the Scientific Research and Test Area Number 5 (NIIP-5; Russian: Научно-исследовательский испытательный полигон № 5 , Nautschyno-issledowatelski polyteln.5 ). On June 2, 1955, the first facilities were put into operation.
Originally, the area of Sergei Koroljow , who was later also responsible for the manned Soyuz space program, was intended as a test area for the world's first ICBM R-7 . After a few months, the area was expanded with further facilities for future manned space travel.
When choosing the site, several points had to be taken into account that were of great importance for space travel at the time. At that time, the rockets, which were still controlled from the ground, had to be able to receive signals from the control center several hundred kilometers away, which required a large area. In addition, the restricted military area had to be some distance from the populated area. In addition, the launch facility should be set up as far south as possible, since the earth has the highest rotational speed at the equator. Taking all these points into account, the responsible commission decided to build in the Kazakh steppe.
The construction later turned out to be one of the most expensive projects in Soviet times. The reason for this was, for example, the high transport costs for goods and materials from the start. New roads and tracks had to be built over several hundred kilometers especially for the cosmodrome.
A village was built near the restricted area for the families of the employees and members of the military; this was declared a city in 1966 and was named Leninsk .
On August 5, 1957, the restricted area was discovered and photographed by a US U-2 reconnaissance aircraft .
The main outer belt asteroid (2700) Baikonur was named after the spaceport.
Russia
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian space agency continued work in Baikonur. The contracts required for this were negotiated in talks with the Kazakh government. So Russia wanted to secure the area for 99 years, but finally agreed to a lease period of 20 years with the option for ten more years. Russia pays Kazakhstan $ 115 million a year for this. On June 8, 2005, after talks with Kazakhstan, Russia extended the term of the agreement to 2050. The fee of 115 million dollars remained the same, which led to a persistent dispute between the countries. Russia is now trying to reduce its dependency on Baikonur by building the Vostochny spaceport in its own country. For safety reasons, no manned space flights are currently permitted from the new spaceport, which is why Russia is still dependent on Baikonur.
With the discontinuation of the American space shuttle program , Baikonur became the only launch site for manned space flights to the international space station ISS. In 2012–2019, Russian missiles were the only way people could get to the ISS. Baikonur was the only non-Chinese take-off site for manned space flights.
area
The spaceport is located in southern Kazakhstan in the middle of the steppe near the city of Baikonur , around 200 kilometers east of the Aral Sea and north of the Syr Darya River . It is around 90 meters above sea level.
The area of the spaceport is around 7700 square kilometers. The area extends over 90 kilometers in width, the north-south extension is around 85 kilometers. The original train station with the Gagarin ramp is in the middle. To the east of this, launch complex 6 was built with ramp 31, which is also used. The area also includes missile building facilities and its own transport system. In addition, Baikonur has two airports, one of which is not open to the public.
Central region (Korolyov area) and launch pad 1
In the middle of the area is the original spaceport. The launch pad 1 used for manned space travel is arranged centrally. A building to watch the rocket launch and a souvenir sales point have been set up for visitors and the press. There is also the Cosmodrome Museum about the history of the spaceport.
The central part is the oldest part of the station. The part, originally called R-7 , was renamed the Korolev area after the expansion of the station . The area was first used as a test area, but after a short time the corresponding facilities were converted into launch ramps. In addition, buildings for manufacturing the missiles, a bunker for flight control and a system for transporting the missiles were developed.
On May 15, 1957, the first R-7 rocket was launched into space from Ramp 1 . On October 4, 1957, the world's first man-made satellite was launched from the same ramp.
After Yuri Gagarin was the first person ever to successfully launch into space, ramp 1 was renamed “Gagarin's Start” in his honor. In September 2019, the Soyuz MS-15 mission, the last rocket for the time being , was launched from here .
Area 2
At the end of 1955, after a delay of several months, the planned work on the second area of the spaceport began. The reason for the delay were several technical problems that arose during the construction of the Korolev area.
Two years later the first buildings in the second area were completed. A launch ramp was not planned for this area; instead, barracks were built for the staff until it was commissioned in 1957. A hotel for civil scientists and technicians was also built in area 2. At the end of 1957, three small houses were built for the most senior officers and those in charge. Yuri Gagarin also spent the night before the first space flight in one of the houses.
The various activities in area 2 were gradually outsourced. For example, the refueling process is no longer centralized as it used to be, but takes place directly on the launch pad. For this reason, among other things, area 2 is no longer required today.
Launch pad 31
After the first successful starts on ramp 1, it was decided to build a second platform in the east of the area. Due to the experiences made previously, various changes have been made compared to the first ramp; For example, the buildings for the completion of the rockets and the service facilities have been moved closer to the ramp. Launch pad 31 was completed in 1960 and the first launch took place on February 27, 1961.
From 1985 ramp 31 was only used for manned flights. Between 2005 and 2009 the ramp was given a general overhaul. The reason for this was the introduction of the new Soyuz-2 missile.
After the decision in 2009 to increase the number of board members on the International Space Station from three to six, Baikonur had to be re-planned. No longer just two, but four manned rockets a year should be launched. As a result, both ramp 1 and ramp 31 have been revised. Among other things, a new system for refueling, a new bunker for flight control and new cables for communication were installed and laid. In fact, from 2012 to 2018 only three manned missions will start from launch position 31. It will only be used regularly from 2020 after ramp 1 has been taken out of service.
Starting place overview
In the 1960s to 1980s, numerous new launch ramps were built at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, most of them for military use only. The following places have so far been used for the launch of orbital launchers ; the first number denotes a launch complex and the second a launch ramp located there:
| ramp | rocket | Usage period | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/5 | R-7 / Soyuz | 1957-2019 | also manned launches |
| 31/6 | R-7 / Soyuz | since 1961 | active; also manned launches |
| 45/1 | Zenith | 1985-2017 | |
| 45/2 | Zenith | 1990 | |
| 81/23 | proton | 1965-2004 | |
| 81/24 | proton | since 1967 | active |
| 90/19 | Zyklon-2A / 2 | 1967-1997 | |
| 90/20 | Zyklon-2A / 2 | 1968-2006 | |
| 109/95 | Dnepr | 1998-2015 | |
| 110L |
N1 Energija |
1971-1972 1988 |
|
| 110R | N1 | 1969 | |
| 161/35 | Cyclone-1 | 1967-1968 | |
| 162/36 | Cyclone-1 | 1966-1968 | |
| 175/59 |
Rockot Strela |
1994 2003-2014 |
|
| 200/39 | proton | since 1980 | active |
| 200/40 | proton | 1977-1991 | |
| 250 | Energija | 1987 |
In the future, the new Soyuz-5 and Soyuz-6 rockets will also launch from Baikonur . For this purpose, a separate launch site will be prepared, which will be named "Nazarbayev launch site" after the former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev .
transport
railroad
All logistical transport within the cosmodrome is handled by rail. The specially developed rail network is the largest industrial rail operator in the world. The railroad is used for all areas of the launch preparations, among other things, the rockets are driven to the launch ramps with specially developed beaked carriages.
While the railroad used to be under the control of the Soviet Union, it is now an independent operation. The rail network of the cosmodrome is connected to the Kazakh public rail network.
Airport
There are two airports in the Baikonur Cosmodrome that connect the spaceport with the outside world. Both civilian transports and flights for space travel are carried out, for example the individual components of the rocket are delivered by aircraft.
The larger Jubileiny Airport (Юбилейный аэропорт; ICAO: UAON) is open to the public. There are also scheduled flights from Moscow to the smaller Kraini Airport (Крайний; IATA: BXY, ICAO: UAOL), but these are not intended for the public.
Web links
- Baikonur Cosmodrome website (Russian)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Baikonur Cosmodrome: Russian Launch Complex on space.com, accessed June 22, 2017
- ↑ a b Tuong Tran: Baikonur Cosmodrome. NASA, accessed June 2, 2017 .
- ↑ R-7 in Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed June 22, 2017
- ↑ Vladimir Suvorov, Alexander Sabelnikov: The First Manned Spaceflight: Russia's Quest for Space . Nova Publishers, 1997, ISBN 978-1-56072-402-5 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. Ed .: Lutz D. Schmadel. 5th edition. Springer Verlag , Berlin , Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7 , pp. 186 (English, 992 pp., Link.springer.com [ONLINE; accessed September 7, 2019] Original title: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . First edition: Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1992): “1976 YP 7 . Discovered 1976 Dec. 20 by NS Chernykh at Nauchnyj. "
- ↑ Russia, Kazakhs reach Baikonur lease deal. (Baikonur Cosmodrome launch complex) ( September 24, 2015 memento on the Internet Archive ) on highbeam.com, March 30, 1994, accessed June 22, 2017
- ↑ Baikonur as a bone of contention. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017 ; accessed on June 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Gerhard Kowalski: Putin's spaceport has a problem. Retrieved June 22, 2017 .
- ↑ Supplies for the ISS on mdr.de, accessed on June 22, 2017
- ↑ Travels In Orbit: Map of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. December 19, 2015, accessed June 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Baikonur Cosmodrome - Gateway to Space on travelsinorbit.com, December 19, 2015, accessed on June 22, 2017
- ↑ a b Anatoly Zak: Gagarin's pad. Retrieved June 2, 2017 .
- ^ Anatoly Zak: Site 2 in Baikonur Cosmodrome. Retrieved June 2, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Anatoly Zak: R-7 ICBM / Soyuz rocket launch facilities in Baikonur. Retrieved June 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
- ↑ Anatoly Zak: Baiterek renamed Nazarbaev Pad . Russian Space Web, accessed September 8, 2019.
- ↑ Baikonur Cosmodrome | Gateway to Space. International Launch Services, archived from the original on June 30, 2018 ; accessed on June 2, 2017 .
Coordinates: 45 ° 57 ′ 54 ″ N , 63 ° 18 ′ 18 ″ E