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The Story of Baikonur, Russia's Space City

Posted by Zonk on from the you're-the-rocket-man dept.

eldavojohn writes "There's an article up on Physorg about Russian space launch city Baikonur, rented by Russia from Kazakhstan. Although it is essentially the same as it was in the 60's and 70's, it is amazingly efficient and still operational. 'Even the technology hasn't changed much. The Soyuz spacecraft designed in the mid-1960s is still in service, somewhat modified. It can only be used once, but costs just $25 million. The newest Endeavor space shuttle cost $2 billion, but is reusable. Life and work in Baikonur and its cosmodrome are also pretty much what they were in the Soviet era. The town of 70,000 - unbearably hot in summer, freezing cold in winter and dusty year round - is isolated by hundreds of miles of scrubland.'" We last discussed Baikonur back in 2005.

3 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Soviet Russia by nacturation · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I know this may be a little controversial, but can we just skip all the "In Soviet Russia..." jokes? So... in Stormx2's Slashdot, Soviet Russia jokes skip you?
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  2. tro7l by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    and shouting thAt

  3. Re:The Space Shuttle is GREAT by JK_the_Slacker · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    That's nothing. It took us over 200 years to figure out the government isn't economical.

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