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City in Kazakhstan with a Russian spaceport
Photo: NASA, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Baikonur (Kazakh: Байқоңыр Bayqongyr, Russian: Байконур Baykonur) is a city in Kazakhstan but is administered by the Russian government.
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A lot of Russia's space exploration missions were launched from here. Permits are necessary and must be arranged at least 45 days in advance; the only practical way of doing this is through a specialist travel agency. Visits during space launches are particularly popular, but scheduling is subject to unpredictable delays.
This is one of the few options available. They seemed to have hiked the prices up for Westerners, and the rooms are inferior quality: slightly salty shower water, no locking doors and unclean bedding. However, the staff were friendly.
By plane
Baikonur's two airports, Krainiy (in city) and Yubileyniy (in cosmodrome) serve only semi-regular chartered flights from Almaty and Moscow.
By train
Baikonur's station, Toretam, is on the Moscow-Almaty main line. The station is 1445 km from Almaty and the trip takes around 27 hours on an express train.
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Baikonur · International · BXY
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