Coordinates: 45°59′46″N 63°33′51″E / 45.99611°N 63.56417°E
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. From 2011 onwards, it was supposed to be the launch site for crewed Soyuz missions to the International Space Station, when launches switched from the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle to the Soyuz-2, which was unable to use the launch pad at Site 1/5. However, Site 1/5 has undergone modifications that allow the crewed ISS missions to be launched from it. Only a few crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS) are launched from Site 31/6 (Soyuz TMA-06M, Soyuz TMA-15M, Soyuz MS-02), when Site 1/5 is unavailable.
It was first used on 14 January 1961, for an R-7A ICBM test mission. It is currently used for commercial Soyuz-FG/Fregat missions, and Soyuz-2 launches. In the 1970s and early 1980s, several crewed missions were launched from the site.