Baikonur is 'berth of the universe' associated with names of Gagarin, Korolyov - Medvedev
MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated the Baikonur spaceport staff on the 60th anniversary of the space center.
"The present-day Baikonur is the biggest space center on the planet; it would not be an exaggeration to call it 'a berth of the universe' associated with the names of Gagarin, Korolyov, Tereshkova and Leonov and the launches of Soyuz and Proton rockets. It is a special object of pride of Russia and Kazakhstan. This is not just an asset we have inherited: our countries see it as a bridge to the future and a possibility to implement joint high-tech projects," says the congratulatory message posted on the government website on Tuesday.
The world's first spaceport has become an international cooperation platform proving that the future of cosmonautics lies with combined intellectual and industrial efforts and aspiration for efficient collaboration, it said.
"I am confident that professionalism, modern knowledge and responsible attitude to your work will help you make great achievements and continue space exploration, and Baikonur will be serving mankind for a very long time. I wish you success, good health and all the very best," Medvedev underlined.
Baikonur celebrates the its anniversary on Tuesday. June 2 is also the Day of the Town of Baikonur.
Baikonur was built in the middle of the 1950s as a test range for the first intercontinental ballistic missile R-7. The official date of its establishment is June 2, 1955, when an order was signed to open the fifth state testing range of the Soviet Defense Ministry.
The first ballistic missile was test-fired from Baikonur on May 15, 1957. The testing range was transformed into a spaceport on October 4, 1957, when the first satellite was put into orbit.
The first manned space mission was performed by Yuri Gagarin from the spaceport's first launch pad on April 12, 1961.
Russia has been leasing the Baikonur spaceport from Kazakhstan since 1994.
