Baikonur (Karagandy Region)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baikonur
Байқоңыр  (Kazakh)
Байконур  (Russian)
Baikonur is located in Kazakhstan
Baikonur
Baikonur
Location in Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 47°49′23″N 66°2′50″E / 47.82306°N 66.04722°E / 47.82306; 66.04722Coordinates: 47°49′23″N 66°2′50″E / 47.82306°N 66.04722°E / 47.82306; 66.04722
Country Kazakhstan
RegionKaraganda Region
Population
 (2009)
 • Total427
Time zoneUTC+6 (UTC+6)

Baikonur is a small mining town in central Kazakhstan near Jezkazgan. Coal mining began in 1914.

In 1961, the name was appropriated for the Baikonur Cosmodrome about 320 kilometres southwest of the older mining town; some sources state this was done in order to keep the actual location of the cosmodrome secret.[1][2] Leninsk, the town built to support the cosmodrome, was renamed Baikonur in 1995 after the fall of the Soviet Union.

References[]

  1. ^ Suvorov, Vladimir (1997). The first manned spaceflight: Russia's quest for space. Nova Publishers. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-56072-402-5.
  2. ^ "The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project". NASA.
Retrieved from ""