Baikonur is the world's largest cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. It was built during the Soviet era, and now Russia leases this territory from a neighboring republic. The cosmodrome and the city in the vicinity of which it is located form a complex, which is the subject of a lease, the term of which is currently extended until 2050.
Location of Baikonur
Baikonur is located in the Kyzylorda region, near the village of Tyuratam, which is located between the cities of Kazalinsk and Dzhusaly. In Kazakh, the name of the place sounds like Baikonyr, which means “rich valley”. The area of the complex is 6717 sq. km.
The exact coordinates of the Baikonur cosmodrome: 45.9648438 - north latitude, 63.3050156 - east longitude.
The city of Baikonur is located 35 km from the cosmodrome, built specifically for the residence of the cosmodrome employees.
How much is Baikonur
Renting Baikonur costs Russia about 3.5 billion rubles annually, or 115 million dollars. Approximately one and a half billion rubles is spent on maintaining the objects of the space station, and 1, 16 billion rubles goes every year to maintain order in the city of Baikonur, which is located near the cosmodrome. It turns out that in total, Baikonur costs Russia 6, 16 billion rubles annually.
If we count only the money that is allocated for the lease and maintenance of the cosmodrome itself, then this amount is 4.2% of the Roscosmos budget (as of 2012).
According to data for 2012, Baikonur is the leader in the field of space rocket launches. In 2012, 21 rockets were launched. In second place is the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome, which is located in the United States, from which 10 launches of carrier rockets were carried out in 2012.
Why Baikonur was built in this place
The decree on the construction of Baikonur was signed on February 12, 1955. A research site was established for space and combat missiles. The decision in favor of this particular location is due to a number of reasons, the main of which is rocket flight ballistics. The energy consumption for launching rockets directly depends on the location of the cosmodrome, and they are minimal if the satellite is launched into orbit with the same inclination as the latitude of the location of the cosmodrome.
The advantage is given to rockets launched from the equator in an easterly direction, since they immediately get a speed of 465 m / s due to the rotation of the planet. But sometimes some countries have to make different trajectories from their spaceports, and the reasons are always political. The fact is that the launch of a space rocket looks exactly the same as a combat one, and it is impossible to determine what exactly was launched from the outside. That is why the decision was made to build a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and not in the Far East (although this territory had a number of advantages), since during the Cold War, Soviet missiles directed towards the United States would have been too much of an annoying factor.