Post #2693

🎙Video address by President of Russia Vladimir Putin on 70th anniversary of Baikonur Space Centre (June 2, 2025) Baikonur has witnessed more than 2,500 launches and has sent over 200 cosmonauts into orbit. From its launch pads, representatives of numerous countries have embarked on space missions, many of them scientists conducting groundbreaking experiments and advancing both fundamental and applied research. It is fitting that the space centre was named Baikonur, meaning “rich land” in Kazakh. Indeed, its contribution to international scientific and technological progress is immense, truly rich in every sense, and beyond measure. Today, Baikonur remains one of the largest and most advanced spaceports in the world. With a workforce of around seven thousand, this versatile complex plays an active role in the space programmes of Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and numerous other countries. It was on June 2, 1955, that a historic policy decision was made to create a unique missile test range in the Soviet Union, destined to become the world’s first spaceport. Just a decade after the end of the Great Patriotic War, the multiethnic Soviet nation, having endured immense tragedy and devastating losses, achieved the remarkable. The Soviet people not only rebuilt cities and towns from the ruins and ignited powerful economic and technological progress, but also took a bold leap into the future, launching visionary and ambitious plans that opened the path to space, to the stars. The creation of Baikonur, along with the entire space programme, stands as a true feat, a testament to courage, determination, and heroic spirit. We honour the monumental, selfless labour of the hundreds of thousands from all the republics of the Union who envisioned, designed, and built Baikonur, and who worked at the cosmodrome from its earliest days. 🔗http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/77085