real time web analytics
Report - - Energia launch control 250A Baikonur,Aug 2017 | European and International Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Energia launch control 250A Baikonur,Aug 2017

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

Julian Nowill

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
At long last it is possible to visit Baikonur as part of a tourist group and as the penetration of the abandoned Buran hangar by Ralph Mirebs is a bit too hardcore for me, I paid my money and had 5 days there on a Russian tour.

Of course it is possible to go without a tour but you will be excluded from the launch areas and the town of Baikonur itself, a fading and tatty Russian provincial town. Current launches are either classified or International Space Station supply flights. Progress rockets are for ISS cargo and while Soyuz rockets which started life in the 1960s are smaller and for crew. Tours allow you to 1 mile from a Soyuz launch which is pretty damn close and retinal damage can occur if you do not take care. Fuel is LOX and kerosene, better for the environment than evil hypergolic fuels used elsewhere. The area has however been poisoned in the past by various mystery rocket fuels. Many buildings are derelict and photography is restricted as you might expect. Likewise, solo trips in Russian spaceport territory are not permitted.

Despite these restrictions, tourism is in its infancy and you really get a feel for the largest spaceport on Earth, its history and current space program and you can mingle with NASA/Roscosmos staffers and even the cosmonaut reserve crew who are in less strict quarantine than the guys going into space. It aint cheap and I paid Euro 3,300 for 5 days including the flights from and to Moscow. You will also need a Russian visa.

36522220692_c53fa69cfe_k.jpg


Baikonur town is walled and leased to Russia as is the launch site area to the North. Kazaks and travellers can use the railway station and airport and roads so long as they do not enter Russian leased territory.



The map above shows Leninsk as the old name for Baikonur and the whole area is dotted with launch sites and railways as well as many 'mystery buildings' such as the below involved with tracking possibly.

35882042873_febc8d6d8b_k.jpg

35509733243_5227d35c41_k.jpg

The best way in is on an Alrosa Tu-154, Alrosa being the world's last airline to fly it!

Anyway, on with the Energia launch control bunker finally de-classified in August 2017.

36645493076_7c14a7bb76_k.jpg
35856665704_e262b1b26d_k.jpg
36522246282_ca93b327e5_k.jpg
36296324220_8c981743dd_k.jpg
36522217312_4e22152a8f_k.jpg
Azot = Nitrogen.
36522219462_39c0fc551f_k.jpg
36522242832_1ed2185b5c_k.jpg
36645474436_61f95d2868_k.jpg
36645519626_f4f18883c3_k.jpg
The collapsed roof on the Buran hanger.
36645521996_b6b76765e8_k.jpg
36522216332_5ae0ce1e77_k.jpg
Some years back:when in use.
36522230852_1787a97592_k.jpg
36691506685_5f252f67cf_k.jpg
36183256981_849a4ab131_k.jpg
36318769445_0e4dd82631_k.jpg
35509783823_e807acb785_k.jpg
36275394476_fa3ac8dec2_k.jpg
36150055292_299c5653e0_k.jpg
35509783823_8fc2b5a67b_z.jpg

You do not get this close to a launch anywhere else]
 

Attachments

  • 36691511475_59bd835b53_k.jpg
    36691511475_59bd835b53_k.jpg
    397.9 KB · Views: 62
Last edited by a moderator:
Top