Baikonur: everyday life and a new start

Writes blogger Maxim Zarubin aka ffisheye: The construction of Baikonur began seven years before the first manned flight into space, in 1955. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the cosmodrome and the city adjacent to it ended up on the territory of another state, but Russia leases this site from Kazakhstan until 2050, investing more than 6 billion rubles a year in it.

The city of Baikonur can be safely called space: almost everything here is connected with the flight theme - monuments, names of cafes and shops, and even schools. Now Russia and Kazakhstan are agreeing on the future of Baikonur: the Kazakh side wants to participate in space programs. Russia puts a condition: in this case, it is necessary to participate in the financing of the life of the city.

(Total 17 photos)

1. Baikonur is unique in that any phenomenon here has two “sides” – Russian and Kazakh. This applies to legislation, law enforcement agencies, courts. The most interesting thing is that the mayor of the city is appointed by a joint decision of the presidents of the two countries.

2. Schools in the city of Baikonur are also divided into Russian and Kazakh. This is the biology room at the International Space School. V. N. Chelomeya. The lesson was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov, who heads the Russian side of the intergovernmental commission on the cosmodrome.

3. No new housing has been built in the city since the late 1980s. - apartments and houses here still cannot be privately owned. At the suggestion of Shuvalov, this law will be amended, and by the end of the year all the accumulated problems in the field of cooperation in the space complex and the life of the city of Baikonur will be resolved. Permission to privatize housing should stimulate the construction of new homes.

4. Baikonur has its own pedestrian Arbat. Yes, that's what this place is called; however, unlike in Moscow, they do not sell souvenirs here, and there are no street artists with musicians.

5. Medical center in Baikonur, built under the Russian program.

6. City monuments, as you can see in this picture, are not only related to the space theme.

7. And now - the crucial moment: the Soyuz is being prepared for flight. Tanks with fuel approached along the tracks, it takes a lot to take off: for example, one of the most powerful modern rocket engines RD-701 consumes fuel at a speed of 491 kg / s.

8. Spaceport. Russian-Kazakh delegation at the research and production association "Energy" March 28, 2013. Igor Shuvalov noted that this year the Russian Federation will coordinate with the Kazakh side the schedules of manned launches for 2014-2015. Kazakhstan and Russia choose joint space projects. “We agreed that in the coming months we will try to decide between the governments what promising space projects will be interesting for joint use, when Kazakhstan will be able to use its scientific, educational potential to participate in Russian space programs, what could be the interest for joint projects here in Baikonur or elsewhere,” Shuvalov said.

9. Immediately there was a meeting with cosmonauts who are about to go to the International Space Station: to conduct a series of scientific experiments and prepare to receive Russian transport ships. The meeting is held “behind the glass” - this is what the doctors demand, the astronauts have strict quarantine before the start.

10. Team: NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin. Pavel Vinogradov - Hero of Russia, the most experienced member of the crew. Pavel will celebrate his 60th birthday in space. And for Alexander Misurkin, this is the first flight.

11. Michael Hopkins, Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky are due to replace their colleagues in September of this year.

12. Everything is ready to fly. This time, the launch of the ship with the crew is carried out according to the "short" scheme, when the flight time of the ship from the cosmodrome to the station is six hours, and not two days, as it was before. The ship has to make only four orbits around the Earth instead of the usual 30.

13. Photo before launch - astronauts together with the intergovernmental delegation.

14. Farewell until September. During this time, the crew members plan to go out into open space four times.

15. Let's go! The launch vehicle "Soyuz-FG" was launched on March 29, 2013 at 00:43 Moscow time.

16. The flight to the ISS was successful. Christopher Cassidy, Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin transferred from Soyuz TMA-08M to the International Space Station at 08:35 Moscow time, two hours after docking.