The eight were repairing the roof of one of the hangars - used for assembling and testing space vehicles - when three out of five segments crashed 80 metres (260 feet) to the ground.

• Built in 1955, the location of the Baikonur cosmodrome - Russia's only base used for manned launches - was kept secret from the West for many decades.
  
• It remains the world's largest space launch facility.
  
• The cosmodrome runs for 85 km (52 miles) from north to south, and for 125 km (77 miles) from east to west - an area of land the size of Moldova.
  
• The base includes dozens of launch pads, five tracking-control centres, nine tracking stations, and a 1500 km (932 miles) rocket test range.