I learned this week that the largest space launching site in the world is in Kazakhstan. Not terribly far from us, as the crow flies. It is to the South, nearer to the Aral Sea, several hundred kilometers North of the border with Uzbekistan. It encompasses thousands of square miles all told. It has dozens of launch sites, for every conceivable type of rocket and satellite. Last week it even had Martha Stewart, as she came to see off her ‘friend’, billionaire Charles Simonyi, as he became the 5th civilian in space, to the tune of $25 million dollars.

Baikonur Cosmodrome is the largest launch site in the world, encompassing thousands of square kilometers of the Kazakh Steppe. In fact, the entire center covers 6,717 square kilometers and extended 75 kilometers from north to south and 90 kilometers from east to west. [i] Baikonur is the heart of the entire Russian space program. They launch dozens of times a year here. And the ones that return to earth land on the vast empty Steppe outside of Arkalyk.

The Kazakh Steppe is a perfect location because of it’s remote nature and the dearth of inhabitants. During the early days of Baikonur, it hosted the testing of missiles, and secrecy was paramount. As the ‘Race to Space’ took off, it was again critical to the Soviets that the site remain secret. As a result, Baikonur was named after another Kazakh town of the same name to create confusion about it’s location. The first launch from the site was in May of 1957, and in October 1957 the world’s first artificial satellite was launched from here. The first person to travel to space left from Baikonur in 1961 on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. Over the years, hundreds of ballistic and other missiles were launched from the 15 to 20 different launch pads at the site. The site also contains facilities for the construction and fueling of the rockets, as well as extensive communications facilities and roads and rail facilities. The center was under the control of the Russian Defense complex well into the 1990’ s, even after ‘independence’ was declared by Kazakhstan. The Russian civilian space agency has slowly been taking over the center, but Russian military personnel remain. Despite this, you can get remarkably clear pictures of Baikonur on Google Earth.

So, what all this leads to is me wondering exactly where that Charles guy is going to land. You would think it would be big news in a small town like Arkalyk, when a rocket is going to come crashing back to Earth. I started asking around. “Well,” I was told first, “the Cosmonauts come to Arkalyk after they land and stay at the hotel” (there is only one in town). “Cool,” I thought. “We could see actual Cosmonauts.” “What about the actual rocket, do they truck it somewhere? Is there a parade or something?” Now, I guess realistically we don’t do this in the U.S., why should they be any less jaded about space travel here? But a town with one movie theater and nothin’ else doin’, I was hoping to hear they jumped at the chance for a celebration. Nope. With a rocket coming back to Earth on the Kazakh Steppe every few months, the days of Cosmonauts holding bouquets of flowers in front of their adoring crowd are over I guess. But maybe we could still see the Cosmonauts. I try to find out when they arrive in town after the landing. “I don’t know.” I wonder how long they will stay. “I don’t know.” I am curious how far it is to the landing site. “I don’t know.” This wasn’t going the way I had hoped.

So, Bruce tried asking Habiba one day in the car. She asked her cousin Ceric, who was driving. “Oh,” came the reply, “it is very far, 30 or 40 kilometers.” When I heard this I thought “Wow! Only 20 or 30 miles?!? That’s so close! We should definitely try to go!” So I tried Habiba again. “Can we hire a driver to go and see? Can we find out where this is?” The answer was evasive, like so many here are. She remembers when she was young, and the airport in Arkalyk functioned. They were part of the ‘Young Pioneers’, the communist Scouts. They dressed in their uniforms, with their red ties. Her father was the first assistant to the Mayor of Arkalyk she tells me. They went to the airport with flowers, to meet the returning Cosmonauts. The first Kazakh Cosmonauts were among them. It was very exciting. But no, she doesn’t think anyone will give us permission to see the rocket land.

She is, however, incensed that no money from this space program goes to Arkalyk. “This man paid $20 million dollars,” she tells me, “Why should he not pay $1 million to Arkalyk? The orphanages, the hospitals, the common people see nothing,” she informs me. “Kazakhstan gets nothing from this. It is Russian.” “But surely the Russians pay the Kazakh government something?” I wondered. “Yes,” she says, “But I think it is from their President to our President.” And there the conversation ends. I wonder why they should pay something to Arkalyk, as nothing actually happens here, other than maybe a hotel rental and a meal. And I can’t think of another way to ask about going, or anyone else who might have information. The landing date and location have changed because of the incessant rains I tell her, for no particular reason. I have Googled it and can find nothing about where the new location will be. Or where the old one was for that matter.

This last bit of information about the rains raises another point she needs to make about the rockets landing here. They change the weather. I am not sure whether she is joking when she says this, and I want to laugh, but I have a horrible suspicion she is serious. She is. She tells me next, “We say that when one day it is shiny, and the next day raining, there will be a rocket coming.” “Really?” I asked, “How do they do that?” “I don’t know how they do it, but many people talk about this, the weather did not used to be this way before the rockets. And they give people sore throats and they have strange thoughts.” Well, the last part seems plausible at least. Now the conversation really is over. I don’t know if we will see the Cosmonauts, but I haven’t given up trying!! Anyone have any connections out there that can give us a lead? We will give you naming rights to the Blog post that ensues as result- how’s that for a deal?!?

For more information on Baikonur, check out :

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur.html

Photos are of the space capsule outside of the Arkalyk Museum. No information about it's date of launch or destination is available, oddly.