The Baikonur Cosmodrome is once again open for visits by organized groups of tourists, according to Roscosmos.

Highlights of the tour

"As part of the tour at the cosmodrome, you can visit Gagarin’s Start, Vostok, Proton, and Zenit launch complexes, Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum, Saturn gauging station, control command posts, as well as tour the assembly and test buildings, Energia-Buran launch complex, and many other facilities," the announcement says.

"During the launch period, visitors have the opportunity to take part in key events of the cosmodrome: removal of the launch vehicle, the grand exit from the hotel, the report of the flight crew, and the culminating event of the launching process - the launch."

The main site of the Baikonur cosmodrome is launchpad No.1 a.k.a Gagarin’s Start. The first rocket, then the first artificial Earth satellite, and the first manned launch with cosmonaut Yuriy Gagarin were all launched there. The launchpad has already sent more than 600 rockets to space. Today it is also used for sending cosmonauts to the ISS. 

Launch pad No.31 is the second most significant site at the Baikonur cosmodrome. It substitutes Gagarin’s Start and usually used for sending cargo ships to the ISS. A heavy cargo is launched on the Proton rocket from the launch pad No.81. 

The museum includes a big building with thousands of exhibits, an open-air exposition with real rocket engines, and the space shuttle Buran, as well as houses of Korolev and Gagarin, where the father of the Russian cosmonautics and the first cosmonaut of the world lived.

To see other facilities, visitors who are planning a trip to the cosmodrome can do so by contacting tour operators from the list on the website Discover.space.