"Baikonur" Museum Complex (Baikonur Cosmodrome History Museum)

Baikonur, Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda Region) · Kazakhstan

Located at Site 2 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, about 2 km from the historic "Gagarin's Start" launch pad, this museum occupies the former club building of a Soviet military unit and documents the history of the Soviet/Russian space program and the cosmodrome itself. Nearly all cosmonauts traditionally visit it before launch. (Note: a newer, smaller "Museum of Aviation" also opened in December 2024 inside Almaty International Airport's new terminal, covering the airport's own history — a possible future candidate for a general/civil-aviation-type Kazakhstan entry, but this Baikonur museum was chosen here for its longer-established identity and deeper, more independently documented collection.)

Founded 1965Address Korolyova Street 14, Baikonur, Kyzylorda Region, Kazakhstan

Notable Exhibits

OK-ML1 (Buran) orbital spacecraft mockup — Full-scale outdoor mockup of the Soviet shuttle, relocated to secured grounds in 2007 after vandalism.
Korolev's radiotelephone — The actual device chief designer Sergei Korolev used to speak with Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961.
Combustion chamber and nozzle of the RD-0110 engine — From a Soyuz rocket third stage.
Ejectable seat and spacesuit mannequin — From a test flight conducted 25 March 1961.
Orlan spacesuit with cooling garment — Plus space food and survival-kit (Granat-6) displays.

✦24 October is observed at Baikonur as a day of remembrance (tied to fatal 1960 and 1963 incidents), with all technical work and launches suspended that day.

✦A spacecraft's crew module makes up only about 5% of a rocket's total volume — the rest is staging that falls away after launch.

Verified 2026-10-16 · Baikonur Cosmodrome History Museum, Attraction listing #283, Cultural walk: Museum of history of Baikonur spaceport