A tour to a spacecraft launch

Somewhere in Kazakhstan among the almost deserted and unwelcoming land one of the largest spaceports spread out on many miles across. And not only it, but a whole town was founded on a land, previously not inhabited. Yes, you are right: we are talking about Baikonur! Some time ago we already posted some a story about Baikonur spaceport, claiming that a tour there could become one of the most unforgettable tours you ever had.

Manned launches happen not so often – only several times a year, and most of them are usually scheduled on summer time. Although, a space rocket launch has always been a very stressful process for all involved staff, this time everything went safe and clear. On 26^th of July installation of a Russian spacecraft “Souyz-MC-05” was carried out just as planned. Tourists who booked our Baikonur tour accompanied its transportation to a processing facility then they visited “Proton” and Saturn Launching facilities, visit launching site num. 1, from which Yuri Gagarin, a First Man in Space, began his space journey! They had a unique tour to International Space school, walk through a memorable Alley of the Cosmonauts, planted by Russian/Soviet cosmonauts and astronauts from all over the world. And finally, they had a unique opportunity to see off 52^nd international crew before their departure to ISS!

At 18:41 on 28^th of July a Russian spaceship “Souyz-MC-05” successfully launched from a Baikonur spaceport. The crew of the spaceship supplemented a current crew of the International Space Station – USA astronauts Peggy Wilson and Jack Fisher and a Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. This time a rocket carrier delivered Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, NASA astronaut Randolph Bresnik and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy to an ISS. They are the prime crew of the 53^rd expedition. Nespoli, Bresnik and Ryzanskiy are not new to the space: for Nespoli it is this 3^rd flight, while Bresnik and Ryaznskiy have their 2^nd visit to ISS.

If you didn't join this trip, do not be upset! The next manned launch is scheduled on 13th of September. Do not miss your chance to see spacecraft launch by yourself!