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Today in History, Feb. 12

By The Moscow Times
A Soyuz TMA-21 launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. NASA:Carla Cioffi

Fifty-nine years ago today, on Feb. 12, 1955, the Soviet government passed a resolution to build the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the steppe of Kazakhstan. Founded as a test center for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the cosmodrome has since been used to launch various space flights.

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