Excerpt:
On November 20th, 1998 the first module of the new International Space Station (IS(I)S) was launched at 6:40 AM GMT from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. The timing of this launch was evidently designed to coincide with a number of significant celestial alignments consistent with NASA's long established ritual pattern. The precise nature and meaning of these alignments took on different characteristics depending on just where you stood within the vast Cosmodrome.
Located just north of the former city of Leninsk in central Kazakstan, initial construction of the Baikonour facility was commenced on May 5th, 1955 and the first launch was in 1957. By 1989, the Cosmodrome encompassed an incredible 1560 square km. and over 80 launch pads.