A hidden astronaut training facility nestled in Russia's birch forest.

Located an hour's drive from Moscow, nestled amidst a birch forest with no signposts, is the Star City astronaut training center.

Tim Peake is nearing the final stages of his training. Photo: BBC

According to the BBC, the center comprises numerous grey concrete buildings with an incredible history. Star City was established in 1961, a time marking the Soviet Union's resounding success when Yuri Gararin became the first person to fly into orbit. Star City also trained other famous astronauts such as Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman to fly into space, and Alexei Leonov – the first person to live on Russia's Mir space station.

The center is decorated with an antique fighter jet instead of a modern rocket. The corridors are lined with images of generations of astronauts who have studied there.

Star City has been a training ground for many astronauts over the years. Currently, at least two American astronauts and British astronaut Tim Peake are diligently completing their training.

The spacious training hall houses simulators of the Soyuz capsule launch system. Tim Peak and his two colleagues, Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Kopra, used these simulators during their final training session before their space flight next month.

Star City features life-sized simulators of the individual compartments on the ISS. Photo: BBC

In the control room, serious faces are creating a test involving more than 10 different emergency scenarios that could occur in space within a three-hour period.

Malenchenko never failed a spacewalk test, and each time he landed successfully despite numerous malfunctions and alarms. Malenchenko was also the first person in the world to get married remotely in space in 2003, when his wife was in Texas and he was in orbit in New Zealand.

The next large room contains equipment simulating the Russian capsule on the International Space Station (ISS). Since NASA disbanded the space shuttle program in 2011, any manned space flight has required the Russian Soyuz rocket.

Even before the space shuttle era ended, American astronauts were sent to Star City for training. However, the real motivation was to promote the sharing of space flight efforts. So the Americans flew on Soyuz spacecraft, the Russians used space shuttles, and both joined forces to build the ISS, a monument symbolizing post-Cold War cooperation.

Throughout the years of space travel, with increasingly assured safety records and decades of preparation, Russia has consistently been present in every mission. One fact is undeniable: Russia currently possesses the only means of launching humans into orbit – the Soyuz rocket.

According to VnExpress