Christophe Posted April 12, 2009 Posted April 12, 2009 Hi to all,After a recent visit in Moscow, where I went from -65 meters deep to 59th floor high...; from the Taganskii Nuclear Bunker (-65 meters) to the top of the 59th floor at "Moscow City" new restaurant, see thread here :http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=35078I will now take even more height !! Last week-end, I was in Baikonur for a Proton M rocket launch. This is a very special chance to get this opportunity to see a launch, live in Baikonur, such a mythic place, the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The launch vehicle lifted off from Pad 39. Really impressive, and one experience you will never forget!!!! I have taken a lof of pics. I will post some of them in the coming days, here. These firsts will give you a small flavour. Enjoy!!! Cheers.Ch.
Christophe Posted April 12, 2009 Author Posted April 12, 2009 Some launch pads.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted April 12, 2009 Author Posted April 12, 2009 Proton launch area.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted April 12, 2009 Author Posted April 12, 2009 Buran space shuttle.And more to come...Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 8, 2009 Author Posted May 8, 2009 Flying above Kazakhstan and approaching Baikonur.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 8, 2009 Author Posted May 8, 2009 Baikonur airport. Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 8, 2009 Author Posted May 8, 2009 Launch pads.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 Baikonur site map.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 Other launch facilities.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 This is the hangar where a drama occured exactly 7 years ago, beginning of May 2002.The roof of this hangar collapsed, with 8 dead workers as a consequence.Several reasons have been given for this accident : something falling on one of the massive fuel tanks kept inside the hangar, which would have produced a huge blast of air that caused the roof to swell and collapse, or a design miscalculation when the building, built in the 1960s, was renovated in the 1980s. The hangar was originally built for the Soviet moon exploration program and was later used for assembling Energia booster rockets and the Buran. A full-scale test model of the Buran was trapped beneath debris after the collapse.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 Same hangar.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 Close-up pic.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 Our escort, on the way to the center of Baikonur... Are the cosmonauts escorted in the same way ? Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 Baikonur's historical center.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Guest Rick Research Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 The immensity is awe inspiring. The ruined building appears to have just collapsed... last week. No signs of rust, decay...How active is Baikonur, these days?Your photos seem to show a vast desert installation... with no people. :cheers:
Christophe Posted May 10, 2009 Author Posted May 10, 2009 Hi Rick,Yes, you're right... When one lands in Baikonur, seems quite desertic, what my pics show... I landed in the North airport (there are two in Baikonur), the Yubileyny Airfield, the one used by Buran and Antonov 124 and 225. BTW, there was an Antonov 124 taking off with us when leaving Baikonur back to Moscow (pics will follow). It just had delivered military stuff...In the 80s, Baikonur was said to reach a peak of more than 100.000 inhabitants. Today, officially, there are 70.000 persons. The North-West quarter of the city is called the "ghost-city". Totally empty, abandoned, and decaying... We saw it from far, but accesses are blocked by Checkpoint #1. Even in other areas of Baikonur, you can see abandoned buildings and flats. That's the case in the Proton area (the second pic I posted). I don't know if this figure of 70.000 people is real. For sure, when we visited the city, we did not meet a lot of people... Even in the local / central market (as future pics will show) there were really few people, and the market did not seem the right size for such a big city of 70.000... Few public transports as well... No, or few private cars... So... I have gone several times in Far-East Russia, even easter than Siberia, and never saw such a deserted city... The only real new industrial building I saw (showing signs of investement) is the Starsem one. Very new, and stylish in blue and white. It is very close to the ruined building of which I posted some photos. The air in baikonur seems very dry; maybe this explains why this ruined building seems like it has exploded yesterday...More to come, though pics...Cheers.Ch.
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 On the way to the Space Museum.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 At the entrance of the Museum.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Entrance.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Gagarin.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Soyuz rocket model.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Oudoors of the Museum, where the Buran shuttle is displayed.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Buran Space Shuttle.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
Christophe Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Buran's cockpit.Ch.Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection
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