 Baikonur Facts:When founded in 1955, the Cosmodrome was dubbed "Baikonur" as an attempt to mislead the West about its true location. The "original" Baikonur is a mining town about 320 km northeast of the space center.
Administered by Russia and constructed to service the Cosmodrome, the city outside the space center (now called Baikonur as well) went by the name Leninsk until 1995, when it was renamed by then-President Boris Yeltsin. | Gateway to SpaceLocated approximately 2,100 km (1,300 miles) southeast of Moscow, the Baikonur Cosmodrome's modern facilities support all facets of a launch campaign. With a history dating back to 1955, Baikonur has been the site of some of the most important space missions undertaken. Sputnik, the first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth was launched from Baikonur on October 4th 1957, and on April 12th 1961, Yuri Gagarin lifted off from Baikonur to become the first man in space.
Today, the Baikonur Cosmodrome continues to be a key gateway to space. The launch site maintains three launch pads dedicated to Proton, two of which are primarily used for commercial launches. The Proton launch vehicle routinely averages 12 launches per year, enabling International Launch Services to maintain a steady tempo of commercial launches from the Cosmodrome.
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