Site 81 at the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

is a launch site used, along with Site 200, by Proton rockets. It consists of two launch pads, areas 23 and 24. Area 24 is used for

Proton-K The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, 8K82K, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and ...

and

Proton-M The Proton-M, (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or , is an expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet-developed Proton. It is built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kaz ...

launches, while Area 23 is inactive. Several planetary probes have been launched from Site 81. Area 23 was used to launch

Mars 3 Mars 3 was a robotic space probe of the Soviet Mars program, launched May 28, 1971, nine days after its twin spacecraft Mars 2. The probes were identical robotic spacecraft launched by Proton-K rockets with a Blok D upper stage, each consisting ...

Mars 4 Mars 4 (), also known as 3MS No.52S was a Soviet Union, Soviet spacecraft intended to explore Mars. A 3MS spacecraft launched as part of the Mars programme, it was intended to enter orbit around Mars in 1974. However, computer problems prevented ...

Mars 6 Mars 6 (), also known as 3MP No.50P was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft launched as part of the Mars program, it consisted of a lander, and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew past. Spacecr ...

and

Venera 11 The Venera 11 (russian: Венера-11 meaning ''Venus 11'') was a Soviet uncrewed space mission which was part of the Venera program to explore the planet Venus. Venera 11 was launched on 9 September 1978 at 03:25:39 UTC. Separating from its ...

, whilst Area 24 was used by

Mars 2 The Mars 2 was an uncrewed space probe of the Mars program, a series of uncrewed Mars landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union beginning 19 May 1971. The Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft, each with an orbit ...

Mars 5 Mars 5 (), also known as 3MS No.53S was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MS spacecraft launched as part of the Mars programme, it successfully entered orbit around Mars in 1974. However, it failed a few weeks later. Spacecraft T ...

Mars 7 Mars 7 (), also known as 3MP No.51P was a Soviet Union, Soviet spacecraft launched in 1973 to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft which comprised the final mission of the Mars programme, it consisted of a Lander (spacecraft), lander and a coast st ...

Venera 9 Venera 9 (russian: Венера-9, lit=Venus-9), manufacturer's designation: 4V-1 No. 660, was a Soviet uncrewed space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 8, 1975, at 02:38:00 UTC and had a m ...

Venera 10 Venera 10 (russian: Венера-10 meaning ''Venus 10''), or 4V-1 No. 661, was a Soviet uncrewed space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 14, 1975, 03:00:31 UTC and had a mass of 5033 kg (1 ...

and

Venera 12 The Venera 12 (russian: Венера-12 meaning Venus 12) was an uncrewed Soviet space mission designed to explore the planet Venus. Venera 12 was launched on 14 September 1978 at 02:25:13 UTC. After separating from its flight platform on 19 ...

. Several

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

probes were also launched from both areas. The

Zarya Zarya may refer to: *Zorya, personification of dawn in Slavic mythology * Zarya (antenna), a type of medium-wave broadcasting antenna used in former Soviet Union *Zarya (ISS module) is a module of the International Space Station. * ''Zarya'' (magazi ...

and Zvezda modules of the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

, as well as

Salyut 2 Salyut 2 (OPS-1) (russian: Салют-2 meaning ''Salute 2'') was a Soviet space station which was launched in 1973 as part of the Salyut programme. It was the first Almaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of its launch, the statio ...

, 3 and 5, and the

Spektr Spektr (russian: Спектр; en, Spectrum) (TKM-O, 77KSO, 11F77O) was the fifth module of the Mir Space Station. The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment containing atmospheric and surface research equipment. Sp ...

and

Priroda The Priroda (russian: Природа; en, Nature) (TsM-I, 77KSI, 11F77I) module was the seventh and final module of the Mir Space Station. Its primary purpose was to conduct Earth resource experiments through remote sensing and to develop and ...

modules of

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

, were launched from Area 23. Area 24 was used to launch

Salyut 1 Salyut 1 (DOS-1) (russian: Салют-1) was the world's first space station launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program followed this with five more successful launches of seven more stations. The fi ...

, 4 and 6. On 2 July 2013, a

/ DM-03 launched from Site 81/24 carrying three

GLONASS GLONASS (russian: ГЛОНАСС, label=none, ; rus, links=no, Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система, r=Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, t=Global Navigation Satellite System) is ...

navigation satellites. Immediately after liftoff, the rocket began to pitch over, and rolled out of control. The rocket fell close to the launch pad and exploded, the extent of any damage to Site 81 or the Baikonur Cosmodrome is unclear. On 25 February 2020, Roscosmos announced that Site 81/24 will be deactivated by late 2022 or early 2023; any remaining Proton-M launches on the manifest after that time will be transferred to Site 200/39.

References

* * Baikonur Cosmodrome {{rocketry-stub