Chinese Cosmonautics Day established
On March 8, the State Council of the People's Republic of China made a decision: from 2016, April 24 will be considered Chinese Cosmonautics Day.
China began its space activities in 1956. For several decades, the country's astronautics has worked wonders. On April 24, 1970, China's first artificial earth satellite, Dongfanghong-1, was successfully launched.
In 1992, the implementation of manned space flight projects began. On October 15, 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei made China's first space flight on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. Today, China is the third country in the world to conduct independent manned space activities. In 2007, China launched its first artificial lunar satellite, Chang'e-1.
On September 27, 2008, astronaut Zhai Zhigang successfully walked into outer space. In June 2012, China's first female astronaut Liu Yang and two other astronauts flew into space on the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and successfully completed automatic and manual docking with China's first manned orbital module, Tiangong-1. This event marked the PRC's progress in fully mastering manned docking technology.
In 2013, the fifth manned spacecraft, Shenzhou 10, was successfully launched, laying the foundation for China's future space station. In November 2014, Beidou Satellite Navigation System, Global Positioning System GPS, Global Navigation Satellite System GLONASS and European Galileo Navigation System were recognized by the UN as four key global satellite navigation systems. On December 17, 2015, China launched the world's first satellite, Wukong, to probe dark matter particles.
In 2016, China set itself a number of important goals in the field of astronautics, and the world is looking forward to their implementation.
2016: more than 20 space launches
According to the China Space Science and Technology Corporation, the country plans to carry out more than 20 launches in 2016. Among them, 15 are designated as special or first. In particular, it is planned to test launch the Long March-5 rocket, launch into orbit the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-11, as well as the manned module Tiangong-2.
AS WELL AS THE CREATION of the Beidou satellite navigation system, the tasks of launching two satellites will be completed to ensure stable operation of the regional system. At the same time, it is planned to launch the Gaofen-3 Earth remote sensing satellite with high-definition equipment to improve the high-resolution observation system of our planet. The first launch of the Long March 5 launch vehicle is of great importance for the implementation of further tasks within the framework of the People's Republic of China's lunar exploration program and the implementation of projects on the space station.
Among China's numerous launches, the most anticipated are the launch of the manned spacecraft and orbital module Tiangong-2. This year, a new period of practical development will begin for the space country in this area. It is worth noting that Tiangong-2 is considered as a kind of laboratory for China's future manned space station, the construction of which is planned to be completed by 2020.
The assembly of the Tiangong-2 laboratory has already been completed, and it is expected that the launch will take place in the third quarter of this year. The dispatch of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft with two astronauts, according to the plan, should take place in the fourth quarter. It is expected that Shenzhou-11 and Tiangong-2 will dock. The Shenzhou 11 crew will spend 30 days in orbit, which is the international norm for an experimental medium-term orbital watch.
The launch of Long March 5 is next
Ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival, tests of the new generation heavy launch vehicle Long March 5 were successfully completed. The general technical equipment of the device has been approved, and this means that the countdown to the first flight of the launch vehicle into space has officially begun. It is planned that the launch of Long March 5 will be carried out in September from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan Province.
The low-orbit carrying capacity of the Long March-5 rocket is 25 tons, the carrying capacity in the transfer orbit is 14 tons, which is more than three times higher than that of other rockets of the same series. Thanks to these indicators, the Chinese device is considered one of the most advanced in the world. Moreover, the Long March 5 rocket uses non-toxic fuel, which will allow China not to harm the environment.
The first flight of the Long March 5 launch vehicle has not yet taken place, but it has already been assigned 10 major tasks, including launching Chang'e 5, the space station cabin and the Mars probing apparatus into space.
Four spaceports
There are four operating spaceports in China: Jiuquan (Gansu Province), Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), Xichang (Sichuan Province) and Wenchang (Hainan Province). The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is mainly responsible for launching return satellites as well as manned programs. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center mainly launches satellites in sun-synchronous orbit. The Sichan Center, being one of the newest cosmodromes, provides emergency launches.
WENCHANG was built in October 2014, it is the largest spaceport in China with the best conditions for launching spacecraft. In addition, this is the country’s first seaside cosmodrome and one of the few space bases located at low latitudes. It is planned that the first launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center will be carried out in June of this year.
Wenchang was built as part of China's strategy for the continued development of the country's space activities in order to carry out the tasks of launching new generation rockets powered by non-toxic and environmentally friendly fuel, as well as new types of spacecraft. This spaceport will mainly be responsible for launching satellites into geosynchronous orbit, massive polar-orbiting satellites, spacecraft for large-capacity space stations, and for sensing purposes. The Long March 5 launch vehicle is expected to depart from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in the second half of this year.
In 2017, the Chang'e-5 spacecraft is also planned to launch from this spaceport as part of the third stage of the Chinese lunar exploration program. The probe will fly around the Moon, “land” on the Earth’s satellite and return back. The main task of this unmanned mission is to collect samples of lunar soil.
The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center is scheduled to play an important role in China's manned lunar exploration program in 2025. “We will be able to land a man on the moon by 2025. The launch of the device will be carried out from the Wenchang Cosmodrome,” said Long Lehao, a full member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Sciences. Recently, the chief designer of the Chang'e-3 probe, Ye Peijian, also noted that the Chang'e-5 spacecraft will launch in 2017 from the Wenchang Cosmodrome. This base has all the conditions for the future launch of Chinese spacecraft to Mars.
According to some experts, after the successful launch of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, China today already has the ability to probe Mars; devices for studying the Red Planet will also be sent from the Wenchang Cosmodrome.
We remember very well the time when only two countries in the world could compete with each other in the conquest of space. It was so, but now nine more powers are rushing into space, which are not going to be wordless extras there who don’t decide anything. Thirty-seven countries in the world can boast that their country has its own cosmonaut, and another fifty countries are rightfully proud of having been able to launch their satellites into space.
Against such a background of activity in space exploration, is it possible to talk about the end of the space race? Certainly not. At the same time, in addition to the two usual leaders in this area, i.e. Russia and the USA, excellent prospects emerge for India and China. The space programs developed in these countries already have a set of good and even unexpected achievements, and the “portfolio of the future” contains many promising and interesting projects.
If we recall history, China's space exploration officially began in 1956. Naturally, not without the help of the USSR, whose support provided the production basis on which the further space successes of this country were based. Having launched the Dongfang Hong-1 satellite in 1970, which completed all its tasks, China joined the list of space powers as a full member.
China's space program
Of all the space programs today, the most difficult is the preparation and conduct of a manned flight. In solving this problem, China managed to take an honorable third place. On October 15, 2003, the first Chinese taikonaut (cosmonaut, astronaut), Yang Liwei, made fourteen orbits around our planet. He returned in a descent module, but he flew around the planet on one of the replicas of the domestic Soyuz spacecraft, called Shenzhou-5.
Today, the Chinese have already created 4 cosmodromes, each equipped with several launch pads.
The largest and only one in China until the mid-eighties was the Jiutsuan Cosmodrome. It was built back in 1958 in the Inner Mongolia region, located in northern China. Nowadays, spaceships of all types are launched from it, including manned ones belonging to the Shenzhou series.
In 1984, the second most important cosmodrome in the country, Sichan, was built in China. Since 1990, this spaceport has regularly provided commercial services. Here, foreign spacecraft are launched using CZ-3 series launch vehicles. For the needs of China, communication satellites are launched into Earth orbit from the Xichang Cosmodrome. This year, it is from this cosmodrome that the Chinese intend to send their new spacecraft Chang'e-3 to the Moon.
The third most important spaceport in China is the Taiyuan Cosmodrome, which is also known as “Base 25”. Our Chinese friends built it in 1988, both to solve military and civilian problems. The military has tested and is testing intercontinental ballistic missiles of various bases on it, and civilians have used it to launch meteorological and scientific satellites that need to be placed into sun-synchronous orbits.
The most ambitious space program of the PRC, associated with the development of heavy launch vehicles from the Long March 5 series, started 12 years ago. The Chinese expect that the three-stage CZ-5 rockets they created, more than 60 meters long, will be able to launch into orbit a payload weighing up to 25 tons. This year it is planned to complete the construction of the Wenchang Cosmodrome on Hainan Island, from where it is planned to make the first launch in 2014. By the way, as is clear from the previous text, Wenchang will become the fourth, southernmost cosmodrome on Chinese territory.
China's current successes in space are already obvious to everyone, as is the fact that its continued use of outside assistance may no longer be necessary. Since 2000, the PRC has been developing and using a national satellite navigation system, called Beidou/Compass. The frequency at which it operates is 1561 MHz. By 2020, it is planned that the formation of a satellite constellation, as well as the achievement of the estimated capacity, will be successfully completed by the Chinese. Currently, 16 satellites have already been launched into orbit.
In addition, China is generously funding two more projects in parallel. Thus, Tsinghua University is currently completing large-scale work on the creation of its own space observatory HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope), working in this direction hand in hand with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The observatory will begin its work within the next three years.
Five years ago, the Chinese spacecraft Chang'e-1 flew around the Moon. As a result of its work, more than one and a half terabytes of data were transmitted to Earth and a complete and voluminous map of the Moon was obtained. Around the same time, China created interceptor missiles to destroy satellites.
The second Chinese AMS Chang'e-2, sent into space in 2010, also successfully completed all its scientific tasks. Thanks to her work, it was possible to increase the resolution of the lunar map to seven meters. Additionally, it was possible to create a map of the distribution of elements of the lunar crust and, in addition, photograph the asteroid Tautatis from a distance of only three kilometers.
In 2011, on the wave of success, China managed not only to make its first docking in space, but also to surpass the United States in the number of completed launches. Another year and a half later, the crew of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, which included the first female taikonaut of the PRC, Liu Yang, docked with the Chinese orbital station Tiangong-1.
Russians, without whom the Chinese, since the times of the USSR, simply could not do for a long time, continue to make contributions to the development of astronautics in this huge country, but calling them successful can only be done with a certain degree of exaggeration. For example, in January 2012, the first Chinese probe for Mars exploration, Yingho-1, burned up in the atmosphere together with the Russian Phobos-Grunt probe. The reason is a failure of the propulsion system.
China's next major step into space will likely be the completion of the development of the Giant Solar Telescope (CGST). This is the largest telescope designed to observe the sun, both in the infrared and in the optical range. The main goal is to study the magnetic field of the Sun and the phenomena of its atmosphere using high resolution. The cost of the project is truly “Chinese” in scale – 90 million. dollars. It is assumed that the Chinese will be able to begin construction in three years, in 2016.
A trend that is obvious: every year China’s ambitions in space are growing, and the amount of funding is increasing. By the end of the decade, China plans to replace the Tiangong-1 orbital station with a more advanced one. In addition, the Chinese are eager to send their taikonauts to the Moon and then to Mars, and these prospects do not look fantastic.
Indian space program
India, which is the sixth in a row to be included in the list of space powers, today has every chance of displacing such giants as Japan and/or the European Union “on the pedestal” of the space race. Today, Indian engineers working within the framework of the national space program launch communications satellites into geostationary orbit, know how to return spacecraft and satellites, and enter into lucrative contracts with foreigners, providing them with their launch pads and launch vehicles.
The Indian Space Agency (ISRO) plans to send its own Mars rover into space this November. The concept of the Avatar space transport system, which the Indians are also vigorously developing, is no less admirable.
ISRO came into existence through the takeover of the National Space Research Committee in 1969. The first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was built with the help of the USSR and launched into orbit in 1975. However, Indian engineers did not apprentice for long; in 1980 they launched their own satellite, Rohini, launched into orbit by the SLV-3 launch vehicle, created in India.
Subsequently, India managed to develop two more types of launch vehicles. With their help, it consistently launched its satellites into polar and geosynchronous orbits, and not so long ago, in 2008, it sent the PSLV-XL of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to the Moon. Moreover, 6 of the 12 scientific instruments placed on board this spacecraft were developed at ISRO.
Since last year, ISRO has been using the world's top 500 supercomputer SAGA, powered by 640 Nvidia Tesla accelerators. Thanks to it, it became possible to guarantee peak performance of up to 394 teraflops. It is known that in addition to the space race, India is successfully asserting itself in the supercomputer race, investing billions of dollars in it. This country does not yet have a program of its own manned flights, but by 2016, as I plan here, this shortcoming will finally be corrected.
Currently, China is one of the top five space powers in the world. Successful exploration of outer space is largely determined by the level of development of satellite launch facilities, as well as cosmodromes with launching and control complexes. China has four spaceports (one is under construction).
The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is China's first spaceport and missile test site and has been operating since 1958. The cosmodrome is located on the edge of the Badan-Jilin Desert in the lower reaches of the Heihe River in Gansu Province, named after the city of Jiuquan, located 100 kilometers from the cosmodrome. The testing ground at the cosmodrome has an area of 2800 km².
The Jiuquan Cosmodrome is often called the Chinese Baikonur. This is the country's very first and, until 1984, only rocket and space test site. It is China's largest spaceport and the only one used in the national manned program. It also launches military missiles. For the period from 1970-1996. 28 space launches were carried out from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome, 23 of which were successful. Mainly reconnaissance satellites and spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth were launched into low orbits.
Google Earth satellite image: Jiuquan Cosmodrome
In the 90s, China had the opportunity to provide commercial services to other states for launching payloads into low-Earth orbits. However, due to its geographical location and limited launch azimuth sector, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is not capable of providing a wide range of such services. Therefore, it was decided to make this space center the main base for launching controlled spacecraft.
For this purpose, a new launch complex and a building for the vertical assembly of new powerful CZ-2F launch vehicles were built at the Jiuquan cosmodrome in 1999. This building makes it possible to simultaneously assemble three or four launch vehicles with subsequent transportation of rockets to the launch site on a movable launch pad in a vertical position, as is done in the USA with the Space Shuttle system.
On the territory of the existing launch complex there are two launchers with ground power towers and a common service tower. They provide launches of the CZ-2 and CZ-4 launch vehicles. It is from here that manned spacecraft are launched.
Launch vehicle "Long March-2F"
After the successful launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft on October 15, 2003, China became the world's third largest manned space power.
Launch vehicle "Long March-4"
To implement the manned program in China, a new control complex was created, including a control center (MCC) in Beijing, ground and command and measurement points. According to cosmonaut V.V. Ryumin, the Chinese Mission Control Center is better than those in Russia and the USA. There is no such center in any country in the world. In the main hall of the MCC, there are more than 100 terminals for presenting information to specialists of the control group in five rows, and on the end wall there are four large display screens on which a three-dimensional synthesized image can be displayed.
In 1967, Mao Zedong decided to begin developing his own manned space program. The first Chinese spacecraft, Shuguang-1, was supposed to send two astronauts into orbit as early as 1973. Especially for him, construction of a cosmodrome, also known as “Base 27,” began in Sichuan province, near the city of Xichang.
The location of the launch site was chosen based on the principle of maximum distance from the Soviet border; moreover, the cosmodrome is located closer to the equator, which increases the load thrown into orbit.
After funding for the project was cut in 1972 and several leading scientists were repressed during the Cultural Revolution, the project was closed. Construction of the cosmodrome resumed a decade later, ending in 1984.
The cosmodrome is capable of producing 10-12 launches per year.
The cosmodrome has two launch complexes and three launchers.
The first launch complex provides: assembly, pre-launch preparation and launch of medium-class launch vehicles of the CZ-3 family (“Long March-3”), launch weight up to: 425,800 kg.
Google Earth satellite image: Sichan cosmodrome
The CZ-3B/E modification missiles are currently in operation. The first launch took place on February 14, 1996, but it turned out to be an emergency. 22 seconds after launch, the rocket fell on a village, destroying the Intelsat 708 satellite on board and killing several villagers. Nine subsequent launches of the CZ-3B and two launches of the CZ-3B/E were successful, with the exception of one that was partially unsuccessful. In 2009, the CZ-3B launch vehicle, due to abnormal operation of the third stage, launched the Indonesian Palapa-D satellite into a lower orbit than planned. However, the satellite was later able to automatically adjust its orbit.
The first launch of CZ-3B/E took place on May 13, 2007, when the NigComSat-1 telecommunications satellite was launched into geosynchronous orbit. On October 30, 2008, the Venesat-1 satellite was launched into orbit.
Launch vehicle "Long March 3"
The second launch complex has two launchers: one is designed for launching the CZ-2 family of heavy class launch vehicles, the other – CZ-3A, CZ-3B, CZ-3C launch vehicles.
The three-stage heavy-class launch vehicle CZ-2F (“Long March-2F”), with a launch weight of up to: 464,000 kg, like many other Chinese missiles, is a direct successor to ballistic missiles that were developed in China. The main difference is the ability to carry a larger payload thanks to additional upper stages on the first stage of the launch vehicle.
Today, the launch vehicle of this modification is the most “load-lifting”. It has repeatedly launched satellites into orbit, and has also been used for manned flights.
Over the years of its existence, the Sichan cosmodrome has already successfully carried out more than 50 launches of Chinese and foreign satellites.
Taiyuan Cosmodrome is located in the northern province of Shanxi, near the city of Taiyuan. In operation since 1988.
The area of its territory is 375 sq. km. It is designed to launch spacecraft into polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
Google Earth satellite image: Taiyuan Space Launch Center
From this cosmodrome, remote sensing, meteorological and reconnaissance spacecraft are launched into orbit. The cosmodrome houses a launcher, a maintenance tower and two liquid fuel storage facilities.
Here launches of launch vehicles of the following types: CZ-4B and CZ-2C/SM are carried out. The CZ-4 launch vehicle is built on the basis of the CZ-2C launch vehicle and differs from it by a new third stage using long-lasting fuel.
The fourth Wenchang spaceport under construction is located near the city of Wenchang on the northeastern coast of Hainan Island. The choice of this place as a site for the construction of a new cosmodrome was determined primarily by two factors: firstly, its proximity to the equator, and secondly, its location on the seashore with convenient bays, which facilitates the delivery of CZ-5 launch vehicles (the Great March -5) heavy class with a launch weight of 643,000 kg, from the Tianjin plant. The future space center according to the project will occupy an area of up to 30 km2. The first launch of the CZ-5 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center is scheduled for 2014.
Today, China demonstrates the highest rates of space exploration. The volume of investments and the number of scientific programs in this area significantly exceed the indicators in Russia. To speed up work, every year hundreds of Chinese specialists receive education in specialized educational institutions around the world. The Chinese do not disdain direct copying; so much in the Chinese manned spacecraft Shenzhou is repeated by the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Descent module of the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft
The entire design of the ship and all its systems are almost completely identical to the Soviet spacecraft of the Soyuz series, and the orbital module was built using technologies used in the series of Soviet space stations Salyut.
France
The Kourou spaceport is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, on a strip approximately 60 km long and 20 km wide between the towns of Kourou and Sinnamary, 50 km from the capital of French Guiana - Cayenne.
The Kourou cosmodrome is located very well, just 500 km north of the equator. The rotation of the Earth gives the carrier an additional speed of 460 meters per second (1656 km/h) during the launch trajectory in an easterly direction. This saves fuel and money, and also extends the active life of satellites.
Launch of the Ariane 5 rocket
In 1975, when the European Space Agency (ESA) was formed, the French government proposed using the Kourou spaceport for European space programs. ESA, considering the Kourou spaceport as its integral part, financed the modernization of the Kourou launch sites for the Ariane spacecraft program.
Google Earth satellite image: Kourou Cosmodrome
There are four launch complexes for launch vehicles at the cosmodrome: heavy class - Ariane-5, medium class - Soyuz, light class - Vega, and sounding rockets. In 2012, 10 launch vehicles were launched from the Kourou spaceport, which corresponds to the number of launches from Cape Canaveral.
Launch of the Vega launch vehicle
In 2007, as part of Russian-French cooperation, work began on the construction of launch sites for Russian Soyuz-2 rockets at the Kourou cosmodrome. The first launch of the Russian Soyuz-STB launch vehicle took place on October 21, 2011. The next launch of the Russian Soyuz-STA class launch vehicle took place on December 17, 2011. The last launch of the Soyuz-STB launch vehicle from the cosmodrome took place on June 25, 2013.
Based on materials:
http://geimint.blogspot.ru/2007/07/fire-from-space.html
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmodrome
http://georg071941.ru/kosmodromyi-ssha
http://www.walkinspace.ru/blog/2010-12-22-588
http://sea-launch.narod.ru/2013.htm
All satellite images courtesy of Google Earth
People's Daily online - There are four spaceports in China: Jiuquan (Gansu Province), Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), Xichang (Sichuan Province) and Wenchang (Hainan Province).
The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is mainly responsible for launching return satellites as well as manned programs.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center mainly launches satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.
The Xichang Center, being one of the newest spaceports, is responsible for emergency launches.
Wenchang was built in October 2014 and is China's largest spaceport with the best conditions for launching spacecraft. This is China's first coastal spaceport, as well as one of the few space bases located at low latitudes. It is planned that the first launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center will be carried out in June 2016.
Wenchang was built as part of China's strategy for the continued development of China's space activities in order to achieve the goals of launching a new generation of rockets powered by non-toxic and environmentally friendly fuel, as well as launching a new type of spacecraft. This spaceport will mainly be responsible for launching satellites into geosynchronous orbit, massive polar-orbiting satellites, spacecraft for large space stations, and for sensing purposes. The Long March 5 launch vehicle is expected to be launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in the second half of 2016.
In 2017, the Chang'e-5 spacecraft is also planned to be launched from this spaceport as part of the third stage of the Chinese lunar exploration program. The probe will fly around the Moon, land on the Earth's satellite, and return back. The main task of this unmanned mission is to collect samples of lunar soil.
The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center is scheduled to play an important role in China's manned lunar exploration program in 2025. “We will be able to land a man on the moon by 2025. The launch of a manned spacecraft to the Moon will be carried out from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center,” said Long Lehao, a full member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Sciences. Recently, the chief designer of the Chang'e-3 probe, Ye Peijian, also noted that the Chang'e-5 probe will be launched in 2017 from the Wenchang Cosmodrome. This base also has all the conditions for the future launch of Chinese spacecraft to Mars.
According to some experts, after the successful launch of Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2, China now already has the ability to probe Mars, and devices for studying the Red Planet will also be launched from the Wenchang Cosmodrome.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is the first and largest in the world, the most popular cosmodrome, located on the territory of Kazakhstan, in the Kyzylorda region. In 1994, the cosmodrome with the city of Leninsk (now Baikonur) was leased by Kazakhstan to Russia until 2050. The cosmodrome covers an area of 6717 km². The world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the world's first satellite, the first cosmonaut of the Earth, Yu. A. Gagarin, and the first automatic interplanetary stations to the planets Mars and Venus were launched from here.
The cosmodrome was called differently at different times: Research Test Site No. 5 of the Ministry of Defense, Kazalinsky Test Site, Tyura-Tam Test Site, Southern Test Site, State Test Cosmodrome No. 5, but became best known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
It was originally created as a test site for the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile. Very high requirements were placed on the location of the landfill. For example, there should not be large settlements nearby, and the alienation of land plots for landfill construction should not cause significant damage to the national economy. Several possible locations for the test site were examined, including in the Far East, the North Caucasus, and the Caspian region. As a result, on February 12, 1955, a government decree was issued on the creation of a new training ground in the area of the Tyura-Tam junction in the Kzyl-Orda region of Kazakhstan. The presence of the Moscow-Tashkent railway, a dismantled narrow-gauge railway from Tyura-Tama to the future launch site and the presence of a river were big advantages of this place.
In the spring of 1955, military construction brigades and detachments numbering more than 3 thousand people were concentrated in the bare desert. At first, the builders lived in tents, then the first dugouts appeared on the banks of the Syr Darya, and on May 5, 1955, the first permanent (wooden) building of a residential town was laid. Despite the difficult conditions, in the first months a road and railway were laid and construction began on the main facility - the future first launch complex.
On May 5, 1957, a special commission accepted the first launch complex of the test site, and on May 6, the first R-7 rocket was already installed at this complex. On May 15, testing of the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile began at the test site.
The birth of Baikonur as a cosmodrome took place and was recognized by the whole world on October 4, 1957, when the first artificial Earth satellite PS-1 was launched into orbit.
On April 12, 1961, the Vostok-1 spacecraft (8K72K launch vehicle) was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with the first person on Earth on board - cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin.
Over the years of its existence, 45 main types of rockets and their modifications, 142 main types of spacecraft and their modifications (of which 34 types of automatic interplanetary stations and their modifications) have been launched and tested at Baikonur.
Launching any satellite from Baikonur is cheaper than from other cosmodromes in the country, due to its greater proximity to the equator. From here it is more profitable to launch satellites into a stationary orbit and it is safer to launch manned spacecraft.
Currently, several dozen technical and launch complexes have been created and are operating at the cosmodrome, designed for the assembly and preparation of launches of launch vehicles such as Soyuz, Proton, Cyclone, Zenit, Energia with various space objects.
