Star City Tour

Star City – an excursion at the training facilities and Museum of the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

The GCTC Museum, owned and managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency, is a treasure trove of artefacts and exhibits showing Man’s exploration of Space. Named after the Soviet Hero and space-pioneer, Yuri Gagarin, the exhibits include the Cosmonaut training centre, photographs, models and histories of rocket design, early satellites and the manned space vehicles.

The Museum reveals the successes and misfortunes of the early space missions. One such Exhibit is dedicated to Yuri Gagarin and we can learn about his short yet eventful life, his work and training and his tragic fate. His work office has been recreated for the public, when he flew his last mission March 27, 1968.

Part of the exposition shows the activities of the international space stations, ‘Intercosmos’ and the co-operation amongst nations in long duration missions in earth orbit.

The tour of the Star City Cosmonaut Training Center gives as near as perfect feel of space-life as can be recreated on Earth. A full size replica of the Mir orbital space station «Mir», all its modules and a Soyuz spacecraft, is submerged in a vast swimming pool. Conditions underwater are as close as can be to the realities and dangers of life in space. Astronauts train for spacewalks and engineering in orbit and learn to live and work in weightless conditions.  The tour includes the world’s largest space centrifuge, which is used to simulate the stress of spaceflight.