Baikonur Cosmodrome

The words

1. Aral Sea

   A U-2 photographed the Soviet launch range east of the Aral Sea on August 5, 1957. American analysts identified the site as Tyuratam.

   pp. 135–137 · CIA history: finding the launch range (opens a new tab)

2. Baikonur

   ESA attributes the name Baikonur to an attempt to conceal the launch complex’s location by borrowing a distant mining town’s name.

   ESA: Baikonur’s site and naming account (opens a new tab)

3. Barmin

   Vladimir Barmin led the design of the R-7’s launch complex. His organization developed the support system used for Sputnik and later members of the rocket family.

   Did you know?

   Siddiqi credits Vasily Mishin with the initial idea for the R-7’s unusual launch support. Barmin’s organization developed the launch complex around that concept.

   pp. 131–132 · Siddiqi: the R-7 launch range (opens a new tab)

4. Cosmodrome

   A space-launch base.

   Construction at Baikonur began in 1955 as a secret missile-test site. The complex later launched Earth satellites, scientific spacecraft and human missions.

   ESA: Baikonur’s site and naming account (opens a new tab)

5. Dugouts

   Dugouts gave early personnel and families shelter at Tyuratam while permanent housing was scarce. Many also lived in railway cars or tents amid severe heat.

   pp. 310–311 · Chertok: early life and the R-16 accident (opens a new tab)

6. Kazakhstan

   Baikonur was built in the Kazakh Soviet republic. The cosmodrome lies in Kazakhstan, which became an independent country after the Soviet Union dissolved.

   ESA: Baikonur’s site and naming account (opens a new tab)

7. Kyzylorda

   Kyzylorda was the region selected for the new Soviet launch range. Its location near the Syr Darya and the Moscow–Tashkent railway helped determine the choice.

   pp. 133–135 · Siddiqi: the R-7 launch range (opens a new tab)

8. Leninsk

   Renamed Baikonur on December 20, 1995.

   Leninsk became a city in 1966 after developing from the settlement of Leninskiy, the cosmodrome’s administrative center.

   Facts 9–11 · Kazakhstan archive: Leninsk’s names (opens a new tab)

9. Nedelin

   Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin led the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces. He and many others died in the R-16 launch-pad fire on October 24, 1960.

   pp. 605–607, 618–625, 634 · Chertok: early life and the R-16 accident (opens a new tab)

10. Periscope

    During Sputnik’s launch, personnel in the command bunker watched the pad through periscopes. These instruments gave them a view while they remained inside the bunker.

    p. 166 · Siddiqi: the R-7 launch range (opens a new tab)

11. Railway

    The R-7 traveled horizontally by rail from its assembly building to Pad 1, where it was raised upright for launch.

    Did you know?

    ESA recounts that Korolev and his team walked in front of the rocket carrying Sputnik as it moved by rail toward Launch Pad 1.

    ESA: Baikonur’s early launches (opens a new tab) · Siddiqi: the R-7 launch range (opens a new tab)

12. Site One

    Launch Pad 1 sent Sputnik 1 into orbit on October 4, 1957. Yuri Gagarin began the first human spaceflight from the same pad on April 12, 1961.

    ESA: Baikonur’s early launches (opens a new tab)

13. Steppe

    Baikonur was built in the flat grasslands of Kazakhstan. The continental climate meant long, cold winters and hot, dry summers for people working at the launch base.

    ESA: Baikonur’s site and naming account (opens a new tab)

14. Syr Darya

    Early construction crews lacked dependable drinking water despite the nearby Syr Darya. Chertok recalled that its water was not potable and local wells were salty.

    p. 311 · Chertok: early life and the R-16 accident (opens a new tab)

15. Tulip

    Four support arms held the R-7 near its middle and opened outward at liftoff. Engineers nicknamed the system Tyulpan, Russian for “tulip,” after its petal-like motion.

    pp. 131–132 · Siddiqi: the R-7 launch range (opens a new tab)