![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Soyuz_2_metop.jpg/640px-Soyuz_2_metop.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
![]() A Soyuz-2 rocket at LC-31/6 | |||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||
Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Kazakhstan | ||||||||||||
Operator | RVSN, VKS, Roscosmos | ||||||||||||
Total launches | TBC | ||||||||||||
Launch pad(s) | 1 | ||||||||||||
Orbital inclination range | 49° – 99° | ||||||||||||
|
Baikonur Site 31, also known as Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, is a launch site used by derivatives of the R-7 Semyorka missile. Since Roscosmos' change from flying crew on the Soyuz-FG to the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle for crewed flights in 2020, it has served as the primary launch site for Soyuz flights to the International Space Station. It took over from Site 1/5 (Gagarin's Start) since it failed to receive funding to modernize it for the slightly larger Soyuz-2 rocket.[1]
Before that, it only saw a handful of crewed flights when Site 1/5 was unavailable (Soyuz TMA-06M, Soyuz TMA-15M, Soyuz MS-02).
It was first used on 14 January 1961, for an R-7A ICBM test mission. As of 2023 it is currently used for Soyuz-2 launches. In the 1970s and early 1980s, several crewed missions were launched from the site.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Baikonur_Cosmodrome_site_31.jpg/640px-Baikonur_Cosmodrome_site_31.jpg)