Direction-Space!

Cosmonauts have lived and trained in Star City since the 1960s. In the Soviet era, it was one of the most top secret locations in the Soviet Union. Also known as The Yuri Gagarin Russian State Science Research Cosmonauts Training Centre) it is still a military research facility and consists of a training facility and a residential area for the cosmonauts and their families as well as the military and civilian personnel serving the facility. Baikonur, situated in Kazakhstan, was the world's first space launch facility and it is still the largest. Nowadays, the site is rented and administered by Russia. Direction-Space! is a fascinating study of Star City and Baikonur. Incorporating unique archive materials, it explores the reality of the space community at first hand, investigating the physical and psychological space as well the routine and lives of its residents. It offers a new insight into a subject central to the Cold War history of the Soviet Union and raises questions over attitudes and perceptions that have been formed over the years.