Baikonur cosmodrome tour – Progress unmanned launch

Having booked this trip with a travel company in Russia I set off from London wondering what to expect. As I arrived at the airport, as promised, was the travel rep with the sign ‘Vegitel Biaknour’. During our programme we visited numerous launch sites, some current and some from the past, from the Proton to Moon N-1 to the Buran Space Shuttle, to a space capsule where you could enter and feel at home! The museums were numerous and captivating, including visiting and using equipment form the 1980’s Buran Mission Control Centre, seeing all the space equipment, spacesuits, engines from over the years, visiting the International Space School where I had the privilege of launching a rocket. As a 10-year-old kid watching Apollo and Soyuz programmes on TV I never thought I would get the chance to view a Soyuz launch ‘live’. Well that only part of it, viewing the rollout of the space craft from its hanger, its transit and erection into the launch position was unbelievable and all at such a close distance with the various partners of Roscosmos in attendance. For the launch we were about 2kms away what a sight, I took some pictures of the first few seconds and then just watched in awe as the astronaut and cosmonaut lifted off into the distance as the rocket flames contrasted against the deep blue sky. The logistics of obtaining all the necessary passes were very well led by the Vegitel team, with an excellent hotel, transport arriving on time taking us to and from the cosmodrome for each day’s activity. For the launch we had a great location as the Soyuz rose above the ground, however a much better location for the launch of Soyuz MS10 would have been from the International Space Station as it flew over the site, I can but dream. The trips provided by Vegitel are to be recommended.

Chris D Jones
London
October 2018, Soyuz MS-10

Hi Ksenia

Thank you for a wonderful tour to Baikonur. I enjoyed all items of the itinerary and soaked up all the space rocket history there is at both the Cosmodrome and in town.

Thanks very much to the team who looked after us, security (Olga), tour guides and the respective museum guides, teachers (international School), and launch site ( Proton) staff, all of whom did a great job.

I enjoyed the staff, food and facilities at the Sputnik Hotel which was great.

Overall, the tour experience was above my expectation and I just wanted to say thanks.

All the best.

Kind regards
Pete

Peter Conrad
Australia
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

Dear Ksenia,

As well we would like to say THANK YOU very much for this very, very special and fazinating time in Baikonur – we will never forget this trip and we will keep all the impressions in our heart our lifetime.

Daniel Kubler
Germany
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

A brilliant experience, if you’re interested in space flight this is a tour you should do! Our guides and tour organisers – Ksenia, Elena and Anna – were excellent…. well organized, knowledgeable and attentive. Plenty of visits and activities arranged for each day ….all the guides in the cosmodrome highly knowledgeable about their specialism.

The ‘after launch’ chocs and russian champagne on the coach back..were a enjoyable suprise!

Thanks again for a unique vacation!!

Gillian White
Great Britain
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

Dear Ksenia, Elena and Anna,

It was a pleasure to travel with you. Due to your excellent English language it was easy to follow all your detailed information about Russian space flights.

Everything was perfect organized. As a German resident I traveled on my own from Frankfurt via Astana to Kyzyloda. On this route an extra Russian visa was not necessary. From Kyzyloada airport we travelled together with the complete group to Baikonur. The Soyuz MA-09 launch tour was very varied. My personal highlight was watching the international Soyuz crew in front of the “Cosmonaut Hotel” early in the morning. Beside Sergei Prokopyev (Russia) and Serena Aunon-Chancellor (USA), our German astronaut Alexander Gerst was a member of the crew. Also the transportation of the Soyus rocket to the launch pad, the preparations of the rocket and the launch was impressive. The City of Baikonur was safe, the residents very friendly and curious to know about us tourists.

Andreas Barowski
Frankfurt, Germany
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

I had two amazing experiences, one to witness and experience the tension and exhilaration of the landing of MS07 Expedition 55 on the steppe.

And two, wit a dash across Kazakhstan to the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the Launch of MS09 Expedition 56.

My entire Vegitel adventure ran to plan, right on time always.

Thank you Vlad & Ksenia for your professionalism and dedication in fulfilling my 2 dreams in one adventure

John Begg
USA
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

Hello Ksenia, Elena and Anna,

It was also for us a pleasure to meet you!

Your team did an excellent job on-site! We enjoyed every single Moment of the tour. Beside the great and professional organization of the tour itself, your team was also a huge help and support for ALL requests raised by the tour participants. I also explicitly support the emotional but good reaction regarding those tour participants who did not behave so well.

I would recommend to all people who are interested to witness a rocket start in Baikonur the Vegitel team! It was not just a tour, it was a mission! The Vegitel team made it complete!

Thanks so much and all the best!

Thomas Breit
Germany
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

Please accept my thanks for the good work you, Anna, and Ksenia did during the recent tour to Baikonur. Everything (except maybe for the long bus rides) was very interesting and well presented.

I will not hesitate to recommend Vegitel to my colleagues.

Thanks again. All the best. Bradley

Bradley Kerr
USA
June 2018, Soyuz MS-09

I would like to acknowledge and congratulate Vegitel, Stephanie and you for the great time I spent during the Baikonur Cosmodrome tour.

Everything run smoothly. Visits and events were timely and well organized. Hotel Sputnik was comfortable, clean, with good food and kind employees.

I will certainly recommend Vegitel to friends willing to enjoy this experience.

With my warmest regards.

Jordi Bozzo
Spain

I liked:

Tour organisation and operation was trouble free. Accomodation in Baikonur was good.

Wolfgang Daniel
Germany, Berlin

What a tremendous week you have given to us …

Preparations for launching, rocket moved out of the hangar, the roll-out, vibrations of the air and ground as close to the firing point as the rocket cracks at night.

And the moments shared with friends and family of Thomas Pesquet as well as with the formers French astronauts present in the same hotel as us. Claudie Haigneré, Jean Pierre Haigneré and Jean Francois Clervoy.

Really great.

An attentive and professional Russian team.

Hello to colleagues from USA, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, England with whom I spent the week.

Do it again and this time I will come with my wife, frustrated to have stayed at home. We would have liked to share these great moments together.

Roger Gucciardi
France, Normandy

Probably the best thing is the access. You can get very close to hardware, people, cosmonauts. For a few days one has the feeling to be part of the space business without any real restrictions. The first time in 2013 we travelled with a group that included people from Star City and NASA, including astronauts. This time we travelled with an air force plane again with people from Star City, press, etc. During both tour we could meet NASA, ESA, and cosmonauts during the various events.

It would be very, very sad if any of the access or authenticity would be lost. One can visit museums and theme parks in a lot of places, but there is only one place where you can experience real space travel this close and that is Baikonur/Kazakhstan.

Ton Schudelaro and Janneke van de Westelaken
Netherlands, Tilburg

This week was completely amazing to all of us. To be honest we only realise now, that we will remember this trip for the rest of our life. The programme was fine, the timing perfect and each day we were more and more impressed by the tour.

I thank you a lot for your availability during the tour. There were no time wasted and no activity that could be skipped. We enjoyed each day. And the final day was awesome.

To be honest we are still above the clouds and haven’t landed yet 😉

I listen a lot the “Trava Y Doma” song, this reminds me good moments of the tour. I even have watched The white sun of the desert, i think i’m almost ready for the nest cosmonaut selection 😉

I hope we will have new opportunity to come with vegitel. I d like to show the tour to my family and other friends.

Thanks for having perfectly organised our trip.

Pierre-Yves Pariselle
Paris, France

Visiting Baikonur was very special for me (I really love space exploration and Baikonur is a kind of Mecca) and the launch was, for sure, the best.

Also, it was great to hang out with the taxi driver (Nurlibyek), he showed me all around and I explored how people lives in Baikonur town, wich is great for my book.

Ksenia I really want to give thanks to you again. I know that you make some efforts to help me and to match my personal schedule with the group schedule and the transport and all. I am really glad and I appreciate your help.

About the Baikonur tour, I should said that although is very expensive, is… “unique and especial”. I really enjoyed it (I smiled a lot during the lift off and still now 🙂

Pablo Morales Andreau
Corrientes, Argentina

Our family trip to witness the Soyuz TMZ 17M launch from Baikonur was truly out-of-this-world experience. It offered us an exclusive membership into the world of passionate zealots of Space Exploration.

We highly recommend this trip as a family adventure. Our boys, ages 9 and twins of 7, were beyond wowed by everything and everyone. While they might not become astronauts, they surely appreciated the privilege of being part of history.

Timmerman family
Netherlands, Roderkirk

The tour was as wonderful as it had been previous time.

The Vegitel and its attendants organized the tour very well. Thank you so much!

Kaneko Ryoko
Japan, Tokyo

I wanted to again extend my appreciation for how you handled all the details of my trip to Baikonur to watch the rocket launch. I would highly recommend Starcity Tours and you if you ever require a reference. I would also like to sincerely thank you for getting the tickets to Swan Lake, we went to many cultural events during our time in Russia and this was by far the best ballet that we got to experience.

Again, thank you for all your assistance during the visa application process, the details of the trip and then the actual trip itself. You always responded to all my questions in a timely and efficient way.

Constance Dean-Milino
Canada, Oxbow

Thank you for a great tour; you did a great job arranging everything. It was great to have such good access to all the activities. And thanks for arranging the Moscow and Star City sightseeing for me too. I really enjoyed those tours.

My trip to Baikonur with you was the highlight of my year

Richard Robison
USA, New Orleans

Thanks for a great trip. I thought you did a fantastic job organising everything, and I had a wonderful time.

I shall certainly be recommending this!

Peter Brogden
Great Britain, London

I wish to thank you and everyone from Vegitel who helped make my trip to Moscow and Baikonur such a success.

I had wanted to get to Baikonur for many decades and I am so glad I did and that the launch went beautifully.

Mark Rigby
Australia, Brisbane