Editing Baikonur

{{Short description|City in Kazakhstan with a Russian spaceport}}
{{For|other meanings|Baikonur (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Baikonur
| native_name        = {{native name|kk|Baiqoñyr / Байқоңыр}}<br/>{{native name|ru|Байконур}}
| other_name         = 
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = <!-- images and maps  -----------> {{multiple image
| border              = infobox
| perrow              = 1/2/2/2/2
| total_width         = 250
| image1              = Baikonuriss.jpg
| image2              = Expedition 61 Soyuz Rollout (NHQ201909230040).jpg
| image3              = Baykonur sity Gagarin prospect Leninsk stella 2005.jpg
| footer              = From the top, View over Baikonur, [[Gagarin's Start]], Gagarin Avenue}}
| image_caption      = An aerial view of Baikonur
| image_flag         = Флаг города Байконур.svg
| image_seal         = Baikonur seal.png
| image_map          = 
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Kazakhstan#Asia#Eurasia
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize    = 280
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Kazakhstan
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of Kazakhstan|City]]
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name   = [[Kazakhstan]]<br />[[Russia]] {{small|(administered)}}
| subdivision_name1  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| established_title2 = Founded
| established_date2  = 1955
| established_title3 = Incorporated ([[city]])
| established_date3  = 1966
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = Administrator
| leader_name        = Konstantin Dmitrievich Busygin
| area_total_km2     = 57
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT355258|title=Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на начало 2020 года|publisher=Комитет по статистике Министерства национальной экономики Республики Казахстан|accessdate=27 April 2020|archive-date=23 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723084204/http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Documents/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C%20%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_total   = 39,341
| population_urban   = 
| population_metro   = 
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone           = [[UTC+05:00]]<ref>[http://www.baikonuradm.ru/index.php?mod=all/news&ID=7130 On the time change in the city of Baikonur and Kyzylorda region], Administration of the city of Baikonur, 13 December 2018 {{in lang|ru}}.</ref>
| timezone_DST       = 
| utc_offset_DST     = 
| coordinates        = {{Coord|45|37|0|N|63|19|0|E|region:KZ|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m        = 100
| elevation_footnotes = 
| postal_code_type   = [[Postal code]]
| postal_code        = 710501
| area_code          = +7 73622
| registration_plate = N, 11 ([[Kazakhstan]]), 94 ([[Russia]])
| blank1_name        = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank1_info        = [[Desert climate#Cold desert climates|BWk]]
| website            = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes          = 
| image_map1         = Baikonur in Kazakhstan.svg
}}

'''Baikonur''' ({{langx|ru|Байконур}} {{IPA|ru|bəjkɐˈnur|}}; {{langx|kk|Байқоңыр|Baiqoñyr}} {{IPA|kk|bɑjqoˈŋɤr|}}) is a city in [[Kazakhstan]] on the northern bank of the [[Syr Darya]] river. It is currently leased and administered by the [[Russia|Russian Federation]] as an [[enclave and exclave|enclave]] until 2050.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-russia-to-keep-using-baikonur-until-at-least-2050 | title=Kazakhstan: Russia to keep using Baikonur until at least 2050 &#124; Eurasianet }}</ref> It was constructed to serve the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] with administrative offices and employee housing. During the Soviet period, the town was known as '''Leninsk''', and was sometimes referred to as '''Zvezdograd''' ({{Langx|ru|Звездоград|4=Star City|links=no}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barensky |first1=C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWRIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189 |title=The Soyuz launch vehicle the two lives of an engineering triumph |last2=Lardier |first2=Stefan |date=2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1461454595 |location=New York |page=189}}</ref> It was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]] on December 20, 1995. 

The Russian controlled area is an ellipse measuring {{Convert|90|km}} east to west by {{Convert|85|km|abbr=on}} north to south, with the cosmodrome situated at the area's centre.

Foreign visitors and tourists can visit the cosmodrome and city but need to obtain a specific permit from [[Roscosmos]].

==History==
{{Quote box
| width = 20em
| align = left
| bgcolor = GhostWhite
| title = Historical affiliations
| quote = {{flag|Soviet Union}}1955–1991<br>
∟ [[File:Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (1953–1991); Flag of Kazakhstan (1991–1992).svg|25px]] [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]]<br>
{{flag|Kazakhstan}} 1991–present<br>
∟ {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russian Federation]] lease 1991–2050
}}

The original [[Baikonur (Karagandy Region)|Baikonur]] (Kazakh for "wealthy brown", i.e. "fertile land with many herbs") is a [[mining]] town 320 kilometres northeast of the present location, near [[Dzhezkazgan]] in Kazakhstan's [[Karagandy Region]]. Starting with [[Vostok 1]] in April 1961, the launch site was given this name to cause confusion and keep the location secret. (The original Baikonur's residents took advantage of the confusion by ordering and receiving many scarce materials before government officials discovered the deception.)<ref name=siddiqi2000>{{cite book | last = Siddiqi | first = Asif A. | url = https://history.nasa.gov/printFriendly/series95.html | title = Challenge To Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974 | pages=284 | publisher = [[NASA]]}}</ref> Baikonur's railway station predates the base and retains the old name of [[Tyuratam]]. This was the original Soviet railway station (railhead) on the [[Trans-Aral Railway|Moscow to Tashkent Railway]] that the Cosmodrome was initially named after.

The fortunes of the city have varied according to those of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] or [[Russia]]n space program and its [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]. 

Due to the city's military and scientific significance, it was [[closed city|closed off]] by Soviet authorities. It did not appear on maps available to the general public during the Soviet period prior to [[perestroika]].

The Soviet government established the Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii Ispytatel'nyi Poligon N.5 (NIIIP-5), or Scientific-Research Test Range N.5 by its decree of 12 February 1955. The [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] high-altitude [[surveillance aircraft|reconnaissance plane]] found and photographed the Tyuratam missile test range (cosmodrome Baikonur) for the first time on 5 August 1957.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baikonur Cosmodrome - Tyuratam Missile Range. History. Mug and T-shirt |url=http://www.astronauticsnow.com/tt/index.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.astronauticsnow.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-02-13 |title=The U-2 Program: A Russian Officer Remembers — Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter98_99/art02.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |archive-date=2008-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213072059/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter98_99/art02.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The town has unique ties with space, and hence the history of the rocket building and space binds all the sights in the area and the cosmodrome. However, there are only a few exceptions: old locomotive, an Orthodox Church and a new mosque.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Baikonur|url=https://samarkandtours.com/kazakhstan/baikonur/|url-status=dead|access-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414205303/https://samarkandtours.com/kazakhstan/baikonur/ |archive-date=2021-04-14 }}</ref>

The city administratively belongs to the [[Odintsovsky District]] of [[Moscow Oblast]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=odi_love |title=Знаете что связывает космодром Байконур и Одинцовский район? |url=https://odi-city.livejournal.com/37621.html |website=LiveJournal |access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Obukhov |first1=Aleksei |title=Самым безопасным городом Подмосковья оказался Байконур в Казахстане |url=https://www.mk.ru/social/2016/12/20/samym-bezopasnym-gorodom-podmoskovya-okazalsya-baykonur-v-kazakhstane.html |website=MKRU |date=20 December 2016 |access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref>

==Climate==
Baikonur features a [[cold desert climate]] (''BWk''). Summers are hot with July highs averaging slightly over {{cvt|34|C}}, while winters are cold, with longer periods of sustained below-freezing temperatures.<ref name="Climate-data.org"/>

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location=Baikonur
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|Jan high C = -5.6
|Feb high C = -4.2
|Mar high C = 4.2
|Apr high C = 17.5
|May high C = 26.3
|Jun high C = 31.9
|Jul high C = 34.1
|Aug high C = 31.5
|Sep high C = 24.9
|Oct high C = 14
|Nov high C = 4.5
|Dec high C = -2.2
|year high C =

|Jan mean C = -9.6
|Feb mean C = -8.7
|Mar mean C = -0.6
|Apr mean C = 11.4
|May mean C = 19.4
|Jun mean C = 24.8
|Jul mean C = 27.2
|Aug mean C = 24.4
|Sep mean C = 17.9
|Oct mean C = 8.2
|Nov mean C = 0.3
|Dec mean C = -5.8

|Jan low C = -13.6
|Feb low C = -13.2
|Mar low C = -5.3
|Apr low C = 5.3
|May low C = 12.6
|Jun low C = 17.8
|Jul low C = 20.3
|Aug low C = 17.4
|Sep low C = 10.9
|Oct low C = 2.5
|Nov low C = -3.9
|Dec low C = -9.3
|year low C =

|Jan precipitation mm = 12
|Feb precipitation mm = 9
|Mar precipitation mm = 15
|Apr precipitation mm = 17
|May precipitation mm = 12
|Jun precipitation mm = 6
|Jul precipitation mm = 5
|Aug precipitation mm = 5
|Sep precipitation mm = 6
|Oct precipitation mm = 14
|Nov precipitation mm = 14
|Dec precipitation mm = 16

|source 1 = Climate-data.org<ref name="Climate-data.org">{{cite web
| url = https://en.climate-data.org/asia/kazakhstan/kyzylorda-province/baikonur-28012/
| title = Climate: Baikonur
| access-date = October 23, 2018}}</ref>
|date = October 23
}}

==Places of interest==
South of city center, near the Syr Darya River there is a large park with several sports and amusement facilities. Among these is a ferris wheel, which is no longer in use. The park is located at coordinates {{coord|45|36|42|N|63|19|06|E|region:KZ|display=inline}}.

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="275px">
file:Baikonur CIA U-2.gif|[[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] photograph of R-7 Launch Pad in Toretam
file:Baikonur from top 2002.jpg|Baikonur and Syr Darya River
file:Baykonur city entry 2008.jpg|Entrance to the city
file:Kazakh boy with a small camel. Baikonur-city, march 2007.JPG|Kazakh boy wearing a national costume at the celebration of [[Nowruz|Nauryz]] event in Baikonur with a camel 
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of closed cities]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* "Testing of rocket and space technology - the business of my life" Events and facts - [[Arkady Ostashev|A.I. Ostashev]], [[Korolyov, Moscow Oblast|Korolyov]], 2001.[http://cosmosravelin.narod.ru/r-space/bibliografia.html];
* "Baikonur. Korolev. Yangel." - M. I. Kuznetsk, [[Voronezh]]: IPF "Voronezh", 1997, {{ISBN|5-89981-117-X}};
* [http://epizodsspace.airbase.ru/bibl/tul/zona/obl.html «At risk»] – A. A. Toul, [[Kaluga]], "the Golden path", 2001. {{Listed Invalid ISBN|5-7111-0333-1}}
* "Unknown Baikonur" - edited by B. I. Posysaeva, M.: "globe", 2001. {{ISBN|5-8155-0051-8}}
* "Rocket and space feat Baikonur" - Vladimir Порошков, the "Patriot" publishers 2007. {{ISBN|5-7030-0969-3}}
* [[Arkady Ostashev|A.I. Ostashev]], ''Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov - The Genius of the 20th Century'' — 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL {{ISBN|978-5-8135-0510-2}}.
* "Bank of the Universe" - edited by Boltenko A. C., [[Kyiv]], 2014., publishing house "Phoenix", {{ISBN|978-966-136-169-9}}
* "We grew hearts in Baikonur" - Author: Eliseev V. I. M: publisher OAO MPK in 2018, {{ISBN|978-5-8493-0415-1}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_town.html RussianSpaceWeb.com on Baikonur town]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929231112/http://www.rollnzoom.com/places/matish/173/baikonur_cosmodrome.htm Baikonur cosmodrome placemark] 
<!-- * [http://www.bestrussiantour.com/space/tour_baikonur Launch of the manned spacecraft Soyuz from the Baikonur Cosmodrome]{{deadlink}} -->
* {{Wikivoyage-inline|Baikonur}}

{{Kyzylorda Region}}
{{Regions of Kazakhstan}}
{{Cities of Kazakhstan}}
{{Military testing centers in Kazakhstan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Baikonur| ]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1955]]
[[Category:Populated places in Kyzylorda Region]]
[[Category:Closed cities]]
[[Category:Regions of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:1955 establishments in the Soviet Union]]