Baikonur (Kazakh: Байқоңыр, Baiqoñyr, Kazakh pronunciation: [bɑjqoŋəɾ]; Russian: Байконур, romanized: Baykonur, [bəjkɐˈnur]), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered by the Russian Federation as an enclave until 2050. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995. During the Soviet period, it was sometimes referred to as Zvezdograd (Звездоград), Russian for Star City.The rented area is an ellipse measuring 90 kilometres (56 mi) east to west by 85 km (53 mi) 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.
If you're on an official tour, there are hotels in Baikonur in which you can sleep. However, if you are visiting the area in a private capacity, then you will struggle for accommodation.
The easiest way to visit Baikonur, and the only way to visit the cosmodrome, is by guided tour. Prices vary wildly but are always steep: a one-day tour starting from Almaty starts from US$700 per person, while a multi-day excursion from Moscow can cost US$5,000. As the cosmodrome area (6,000 kmsup2/sup) is rented by Russia, no Kazakh visa is needed if you fly in directly from Moscow.
Baikonur is famous worldwide for its cosmodrome, the site of many spacefaring feats including the first operational ICBM, the launch of Sputnik and the launch of the first manned orbital flight by Yuri Gagarin. The modern town of Baikonur was built near the existing village of Toretam (Төретам), the name still used by the railway station, and was known as Leninsk (Ле́нинск) until renamed in 1995 by then-president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.
The cosmodrome is rented by Russia with a contract extension until 2050 signed in 2005. Russia and Kazakhstan are both unhappy with the US$115,000,000 yearly rent and thus Russia is building another spaceport on Russian territory to be less dependent on Kazakhstan. The replacement spaceport has already had its first launch in 2016 and was planned to be fully operational by 2018, taking over most launches now handled in Baikonur through the 2020s.
Baikonur was a closed city during the Soviet era, and remains one today. However, unlike during the Soviet era, it is now possible to visit on a guided tour.
