Russia plans to return Gagarin's Start, a historical launch pad, to Kazakhstan by June 1, 2023. Decommissioned since 2019 due to its lack of compatibility with the new Soyuz-2 rockets, the site will be transformed into a museum. Funding for modernization had previously come through a trilateral agreement with the UAE, but geopolitical issues have complicated progress. Despite continuing to lease Baikonur from Kazakhstan, Russia is shifting to other launch sites while the relevance of Baikonur and the pace of Kazakhstan's Baiterek space complex developments face uncertainties.
"Gagarin's Start was decommissioned due to its unsuitability for launching the new Soyuz-2 rockets, which are now launched from the 31st platform of the cosmodrome."
"The Russian side will continue to use the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the future. A total of nine launches were planned for 2025, of which two were completed."
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