Baikonur is a city in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered by the Russian Federation as an enclave until 2050. It was constructed to serve the Baikonur Cosmodrome with administrative offices and employee housing. During the Soviet period, the town was known as Leninsk, and was sometimes referred to as Zvezdograd. It was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.
NASA astronaut and Russian crewmates arrive at the International Space Station
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and two Russian..