The Journal
Practical guides to visiting a cosmodrome, and reporting from inside one: permits, costs, and when the next launches are.
GuidesCan you visit Baikonur independently? Every workaround, honestly assessed
On a map it looks solvable: a rail line through the Kazakh steppe, a station called Tyuratam, trains from Almaty. You can absolutely get that far on your own. You cannot get past it — the town and the cosmodrome sit behind a checkpoint and two permits that are not issued to private individuals at all. Here is every workaround people suggest, and which of them actually work.
18 Aug 2026 · 8 min
LaunchesGagarin's Start: the history of Site No. 1 at Baikonur
The first satellite left from this pad. So did the first human being, and 518 other rockets after them. In September 2019 it took its last launch, and in 2025 it was removed from the Russian lease and handed back to Kazakhstan. The history of Gagarin's Start — and what stands there now.
17 Aug 2026 · 5 min
GuidesThe Baikonur permit for foreign visitors: what changed in 2026 and what it still costs you in time
In June 2026 Kazakhstan cut Baikonur permit processing for foreign tourists from two months to ten days. That is true, widely reported, and the most misread fact about visiting the cosmodrome — because the paperwork got faster while the viewing platform stayed the same size.
16 Aug 2026 · 6 min
LaunchesBaikonur launch schedule 2026–2027: every date, and how to be there
Four cargo launches, one of the last Protons ever to fly, and humans in March. The full 2027 calendar at Baikonur, Vostochny and Wenchang — and how to choose the date you actually want to be standing under.
13 Aug 2026 · 6 min
GuidesWhat a Baikonur tour actually costs: what's included, and what isn't
A launch expedition starts at €1,750; Baikonur between launches is €900. Neither includes getting to Kazakhstan, which for most visitors is the largest single line in the budget. Here is the whole cost, honestly assembled.
5 Aug 2026 · 5 min