Why did Baikonur, the former Soviet Space Center, turn from prosperity to decline?

Baikonur space launch site was once one of the most mysterious places in the former Soviet Union, and it was the launch site of the spacecraft and missile experimental base.

After the split of the former Soviet Union, the building was owned by Kazakhstan because it was located in Kazakhstan.

However, Kazakhstan's own economic and technological strength cannot support the operation of this large-scale project. This place has been abandoned for many years and leased to Russia for use.

Photographer Ralph Mirebs accidentally discovered a huge hangar where two former Soviet space shuttles were parked while visiting the Baikonur launch base in Kazakhstan.

"Bran" means snowstorm in Russian. This is one of the most famous space shuttles in the former Soviet Union, Blizzard, which has been abandoned for many years.

Due to poor maintenance, the hangar of Baikonur space launch site collapsed after a big storm, and no one has stayed since then.

At that time, the former Soviet Union made this plan in order to conduct an arms race with the United States and respond to the American spacecraft plan. This is also the largest and most expensive project in the history of space exploration of fighting nations.

The orbit of the space shuttle is installed outside the dilapidated space launch site building.

The interior of the whole building is also rusty.

This is the cockpit of one of the space shuttles, and thick dust covers the console.

Baikonur Space Launch Site is located in Arda, Qizil, southwest of Kazakhstan, 45 kilometers west of Aral Sea, 288 kilometers north of Baikonur Town and 24 kilometers south of Chulatan City. The altitude here is 90 meters, and the temperature varies from -40℃ to 50℃ a year. The temperature difference between day and night is large, and it is often windy, but the rainfall is very small. The former Soviet Union chose Baikonur to build a launch site, mainly because it was far away from densely populated areas and industrialized cities.

The Baikonur space launch site has a total area of 67 17 square kilometers, 75 kilometers from north to south and 90 kilometers from east to west, with 60,000 residents. The world's first man-made earth satellite "Putnik-1" was launched here, opening a new era of human spaceflight. The world's first manned spaceship "Orient" set sail from here, sending astronaut yuri gagarin into Earth orbit, making him the first human messenger to fly into space.