The Baikonur Cosmodrome

The "Vostok-1" spacehip, carrying Yury Gagarin on his historic first manned flight into space, blasts off on top of an R-7 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 12, 1961.

A Russian-made space rocket is transported by rail to the Baikonur launch site in October 1994.

The Soyuz TMA-13 on its way to being readied for launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in October 2008.

A Russian policeman stands guard near a Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft as it is delivered to its Baikonur launchpad in March 2010.

A Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft crosses the bleak Kazakh steppes on its way to the Baikonur launch pad in July 2012.

A Proton M carrier rocket with a Nimiq 5 satellite makes its way to the Baikonur launch pad in September 2009. 

International Space Station crew member, cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, is put through his paces in a Soyuz spacecraft during training at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in October 2012. 

A Russian Orthodox priest conducts a blessing service in front of a Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft at its Baikonur launch pad in October 2012. 

A camel grazes in front of antennas used for space communication at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in July 2012.