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Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a space launch site on the steppe of southern Kazakhstan, near the Syr Darya. Built by the Soviet Union from 1955, it launched Sputnik 1 in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, in 1961. Since 1991 Russia has leased it from Kazakhstan and continues to use it for crewed flights.

Baikonur Cosmodrome
Image: Bill Ingalls · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Kazakh SSR

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Baikonur Cosmodrome. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/baikonur-cosmodrome
MLA
“Baikonur Cosmodrome.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/baikonur-cosmodrome. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Baikonur Cosmodrome.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/baikonur-cosmodrome.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Baikonur Cosmodrome’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/baikonur-cosmodrome (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻