The Baikonur Cosmodrome, where over one and a half thousand spacecraft were launched over the past half century, continues to lead in 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 the United States behind. 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 whom 62 were foreigners.
What did Baikonur begin with?
The 50s of the 20th century were marked by the ever-increasing rivalry of 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 rivalry, during which the first Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile was to be tested.
Since the projected range of its flight was more than eight thousand kilometers, a need arose for a new route passing through the Asian part of the USSR and at the same time possessing desert areas suitable for eliminating missile stages that had worked out and building measuring points.
The created special commission considered several options: Dagestan, the Mari ASSR, the Astrakhan and Kyzylorda regions. The latter option more than others met the requirements of the developers of the R-7 rocket, as it allowed to optimally position the radio control points of the ballistic missile and use the rotation of the Earth at launch.
In February 1955, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Decree No. 292-181, ordering the construction of the facility to begin. So in the desert of Kazakhstan appeared "Landfill number 5" - the future Baikonur cosmodrome.
Cosmodrome Location
After reconnaissance of the regions of the USSR proposed for the construction of a cosmodrome, the government commission chose the desert part of Kazakhstan, to the left of the Aral Sea, not far from the village of Baikonyr. The allocated site was located between Kazalinsk and Dzhusaly - the regional centers of the Kyzylorda region.
The area was characterized by flat terrain and a small population. In addition, the highway and the Moscow-Tashkent railway line (Tyura-Tam junction) passed nearby, and the Central Asian river Syr Darya also flowed. 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 facilitated the launch of rockets, since the Earth's rotation speed was additionally used.
From the first hut to the first start
At the beginning of 1955, pioneers — military builders consisting of eight battalions — arrived in the area of the future Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The first task of the arrived specialists was the construction of housing. At first, wooden barracks were built.
Further, military and civilian builders were to form a production base, which included concrete plants, units for preparing mortar, warehouses for building materials, as well as woodworking and sawmill.
By the end of 1956, the priority facilities of the cosmodrome 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 to this problem in such a short time was associated with serious difficulties.
Difficulties on the way to space
First of all, builders met with the harsh climate of Kazakhstan and the unsettled way of life. At first it was a tent, then, with the advent of spring, - dugouts. The first wooden huts appeared only in May.
At the end of July 1955, construction of the launch pad No. 1 began. Construction was carried out around the clock, since the completion deadlines were tight.
Initially, there was a shortage of equipment. According to retired colonel Sergei Alekseenko, the builder had only 5 scrapers, 2 bulldozers, 2 excavators and 5 dump trucks at the disposal of the builders. Using these tools, it was necessary to make a foundation 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 could not be taken by an excavator. The situation was saved by twenty tons of explosives. The risk was huge since blasting was prohibited. But everything was done for the first launch of the rocket.
First starts
The first launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome was made 10 days after the signing of the acceptance certificate of the cosmodrome by the state commission.
On May 15, 1957, the 8K71 No. 5L intercontinental ballistic missile successfully launched, which later became the prototype of the Soyuz R-7 launch vehicle. However, it was not until October 4 of the same year that the first artificial Earth satellite was launched into space.
Then there were many more first-of-a-kind starts:
- September 14, 1959 - launch of the Luna-2 automatic station, which descended to the surface of the Earth’s satellite;
- October 4, 1959 - the launch of "Moon-3", photographed the back of the moon;
- August 19, 1960 - launch of the Vostok launch vehicle, which had a returnable capsule with dogs;
- April 12, 1961 - Vostok launch with the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
Phrases: “Baikonur Cosmodrome”, “Rocket Launch”, “Manned Flight” gradually became familiar to citizens of our country.
Cosmodrome development
The construction of the Baikonur Cosmodrome was not limited to one launch complex. Later on, in the territory allotted for it, complexes were designed for missiles of different lifting classes: Cyclone-M light, Soyuz, Zenit, Lightning medium, Proton heavy and Energy superheavy class.
4 years after the first launch complex was commissioned for Soyuz, another one similar to the first was built.
In 1965, the first launcher for the Proton was launched, and a year later the second. In 1967, two units for the Cyclone launch vehicle were commissioned. Further, the construction and commissioning of new facilities ceases until 1979. In 1979, in the Kyzylorda region, where the Baikonur Cosmodrome is located, two more Proton installations began to be operated.
The accompanying spaceport infrastructure continues to develop.
Cosmodrome Overview
The view of the Baikonur Cosmodrome from the air is impressive and allows you to evaluate 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’s correct to talk about the Baikonur complex, which consists of the cosmodrome itself and the city.
Ground-based infrastructure consists of twelve launch complexes. True, only six are in operation: for the Soyuz, Zenit, Proton, Energy, and Energy-Buran missiles.
Eleven assembly and test buildings have been built, where carrier rockets (LV) and booster blocks are being prepared for launch. There is also a measuring complex and a CC, an oxygen-nitrogen plant for the production of cryogenic products.
The measuring points are distributed across the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan according to the flight paths of missiles and areas of incidence of steps.
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.
First of all, the origin of its name is interesting. In the area of the northern spurs of Alatau there was a small Kazakh village Boykonyr (in Russian it sounds like Baikonur).
Since the missile test site was a secret facility, it was decided to start the construction of a false cosmodrome near this village and name 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 training ground No. 5, which for some time was called the Taiga.
Interestingly, the "spaceport" was guarded until the end of the 60s.
When digging one pit under the launch pad, a firewood of ancient people was found (the age of the find was from 10 to 30 thousand years). When the Korolev general designer found out about this, he called this place happy for future missile launches.
There were facts from the field of "jokes from life." Somehow, 12 (twelve!) Tons of alcohol were prescribed for system maintenance. In reality, it took only 7 tons to flush the systems. In order not to cut back on the plan for future deliveries, we decided to secretly drain the remaining alcohol into the pit and fill it up.
However, this secret was somehow revealed by the construction personnel, and the “dry” law that prevailed at the facility was immediately violated. True, this problem was quickly resolved 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 spaceport was beyond the borders of the successor of the USSR of Russia and became the property of Kazakhstan. Naturally, difficulties arose 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. The rocketeers had to work for three.
In 2003, military builders rebelled again. This time, the reason for the riot was the rumor that after the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome Baikonur, the cosmodrome, the site of which was still used to launch Russian LVs, 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 decreased. Many apartments were empty. Residents moved out without even taking furniture. Residents of nearby auls empty apartments occupied by self-capture or plundered.
The landfill rental agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan, concluded in 1994, saved the situation. Enormous funds were allocated to correct it.
Baikonur today
Today, citizens of two countries live in the city: Russia and Kazakhstan. Problems with the "communal apartment" are a thing of the past. Revived Baikonur provides launches of the launch vehicle.
From January 2016 to the present, eight launch vehicles have been successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It is planned to carry out six more launches.
However, not all plans of Russia meet the understanding of the Kazakh side.
The fact is that the launch of the Proton rocket, which runs on highly toxic fuel, continues from Baikonur.
In this regard, each launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome causes discontent from the Kazakh authorities, especially if the launch is unsuccessful. And since this causes damage to the environment, Kazakhstan issues large bills to Russia.
