As someone deeply affected first by the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, and second by the most recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, I witnessed first-hand how the Baikonur Cosmodrome fell into Kazakh hands. This marked a historic moment and entirely reshaped the geopolitical landscape. However, given the recent unprovoked attack against Ukraine by Russia, I am calling upon the international community to reconsider Russia's lease and administration over the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

With over 4,000 rocket launches since its establishment, the Baikonur Cosmodrome plays a critical role in global space exploration (WorldAtlas, 2016). It has acted as a neutral hub of interstellar activities, symbolizing peace, cooperation, and shared aspirations amongst nations. Today, this mission is threatened due to the actions of the Russian government . 

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. Where All Russian crewed spaceflights are launched from Baikonur

Situated in the Kazakh Steppe, some 300 ft above sea level, it is 120 miles to the east of the Aral Sea and north of the Syr Darya. It is close to Töretam, a station on the Trans-Aral Railway. Russia, as the official successor state to the Soviet Union, has retained control over the facility since 1991; it originally assumed this role through the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), but ratified an agreement with Kazakhstan in 2005 that allowed it to lease the spaceport until 2050. It is jointly managed by Roscosmos and the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Baikonur has been a major part of Russia's contribution to the International Space Station (ISS), as it is the only spaceport from which Russian missions to the ISS are launched. It is primarily the border's position (but to a lesser extent Baikonur's position at about the 46th parallel north) that led to the 51.6° orbital inclination of the ISS; the lowest inclination that can be reached by Soyuz boosters launched from Baikonur without flying over China

With the conclusion of NASA's Space Shuttle program in July 2011, Baikonur became the sole launch site used for crewed missions to the ISS for 9 years until the launch of SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 from the Kennedy Space Center On May 30, 2020.

On 7 March 2023, the Kazakh government seized control of the Baiterek launch complex, one of the launch sites at Baikonur Cosmodrome, banning numerous Russian officials from leaving the country and preventing the liquidation of assets by Roscosmos. One of the reasons for the seizure was due to Russia refusing to pay a $29.7 million debt to the Kazakh government. The seizure comes after Russia's relations with Kazakhstan became tense due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

the Vostochny Cosmodrome is a Russian space launch facility in the Amur Oblast, located above the 51st parallel north in the Russian Far East. 

The motive of the Vostochny Cosmodrome is to enable Russia to launch most missions from its own land, and reduce the dependency of Russia on the Baikonur Cosmodrome which is leased from the government of Kazakhstan.  Baikonur is the launch site operated by Russia with the legacy capability to launch crewed missions to ISS or toward lower inclination and geostationary orbits. The Russian government pays a yearly rent of $115 million to Kazakhstan for its usage. Satellites bound for high inclination orbits can be currently launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia.

The new site is intended mostly for civilian launches. As of 2011, Roscosmos planned to move 45% of Russia's space launches to Vostochny by 2020, while the share from Baikonur was expected to drop from 65% to 11%, and Plesetsk to account for 44%. In 2012, the share of space launches on Russian soil stood at 25%, and was projected to increase to 90% by 2030.

Through this petition, I appeal to international bodies like NASA, to review Russia's control over the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the name of preserving peace and promoting international sovereignty in space operations. Let it serve again as a beacon of international cooperation, rather than a testament to political conflict and aggression. I kindly ask you to sign this petition and stand with us in this cause.