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12/02/1955 Baikonur Cosmodrome is founded

4:16

Why Astronauts Have to Go to Kazakhstan to Get into Space

0:27

Archival Footage of Yuri Gagarin / Launch of Vostok 1

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Launch of Sputnik 1 - October 4, 1957

The Soviet government issued the decree for Scientific Research Test Range near Baikonur city. It was originally established as a test centre for ICBMs but soon expanded to include launch facilities for space flights. Both Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, and Vostok 1, the first human spaceflight, were launched from Baikonur.