Perhaps the development of astronautics originates in science fiction: people have always wanted to fly - not only in the air, but also across the endless outer space. As soon as people were convinced that the earth's axis was not capable of flying into the heavenly dome and breaking through it, the most inquisitive minds began to wonder - what is there, above? It is in the literature that one can find many references to various methods of separation from the Earth: not only natural phenomena like a hurricane, but also quite specific technical means — balloons, super-powerful guns, flying carpets, rockets and other superjet suits. Although the first more or less realistic description of a flying vehicle can be called the myth of Icarus and Daedalus.

Gradually, from imitative flight (that is, flight based on imitation of birds), humanity moved to flight based on mathematics, logic and the laws of physics. The significant work of aviators in the person of the Wright brothers, Albert Santos-Dumont, Glenn Hammond Curtis only strengthened man's belief that flight is possible, and sooner or later the cold flickering points in the sky will become closer, and then...

The first mentions of astronautics as a science began in the 30s of the twentieth century. The term “cosmonautics” itself appeared in the title scientific work Ari Abramovich Sternfeld "Introduction to Cosmonautics". At home, in Poland, the scientific community was not interested in his works, but they showed interest in Russia, where the author subsequently moved. Later, other theoretical works and even the first experiments appeared. As a science, astronautics was formed only in the middle of the 20th century. And no matter what anyone says, our Motherland opened the way to space.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is considered the founder of astronautics. He once said: " First inevitably come: thought, fantasy, fairy tale, and behind them comes precise calculation." Later, in 1883, he suggested the possibility of using jet propulsion for the creation of interplanetary aircraft. But it would be wrong not to mention such a person as Nikolai Ivanovich Kibalchich, who put forward the very idea of ​​​​the possibility of building a rocket aircraft.

In 1903, Tsiolkovsky published scientific work"Exploration of World Spaces by Jet Instruments", where he comes to the conclusion that liquid fuel rockets can launch humans into space. Tsiolkovsky’s calculations showed that space flights are a matter of the near future.

A little later, the works of foreign rocket scientists were added to the works of Tsiolkovsky: in the early 20s, the German scientist Hermann Oberth also outlined the principles of interplanetary flight. In the mid-20s, American Robert Goddard began developing and building a successful prototype of a liquid-propellant rocket engine.

The works of Tsiolkovsky, Oberth and Goddard became a kind of foundation on which rocket science and, later, all of astronautics grew. The main research activities were carried out in three countries: Germany, the USA and the USSR. In the Soviet Union research papers conducted by the Jet Propulsion Research Group (Moscow) and the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (Leningrad). On their basis, the Jet Institute (RNII) was created in the 30s.

Specialists such as Johannes Winkler and Wernher von Braun worked in Germany. Their research into jet engines gave a powerful impetus to rocket science after World War II. Winkler did not live long, but von Braun moved to the United States and for a long time was the real father of the United States space program.

In Russia, Tsiolkovsky’s work was continued by another great Russian scientist, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

It was he who created the group for the study of jet propulsion and it was there that the first domestic rockets, GIRD 9 and 10, were created and successfully launched.

You can write so much about technology, people, rockets, the development of engines and materials, solved problems and the path traveled that the article will be longer than the distance from Earth to Mars, so let’s skip some of the details and move on to the most interesting part - practical astronautics.

On October 4, 1957, humanity made the first successful launch of a space satellite. For the first time, the creation of human hands penetrated beyond the earth's atmosphere. On this day, the whole world was amazed by the successes of Soviet science and technology.

What was available to humanity in 1957 from computer technology? Well, it is worth noting that in the 1950s the first computers were created in the USSR, and only in 1957 the first computer based on transistors (rather than radio tubes) appeared in the USA. There was no talk of any giga-, mega- or even kiloflops. A typical computer of that time occupied a couple of rooms and produced “only” a couple of thousand operations per second (Strela computer).

The progress of the space industry has been enormous. In just a few years, the accuracy of the control systems of launch vehicles and spacecraft has increased so much that from an error of 20-30 km when launching into orbit in 1958, man took the step of landing a vehicle on the Moon within a five-kilometer radius by the mid-60s.

Further - more: in 1965 it became possible to transmit photographs to Earth from Mars (and this is a distance of more than 200,000,000 kilometers), and already in 1980 - from Saturn (a distance of 1,500,000,000 kilometers!). Speaking of the Earth, a combination of technologies now makes it possible to obtain up-to-date, reliable and detailed information about natural resources and the state of the environment

Along with the exploration of space, there was the development of all “related directions” - space communications, television broadcasting, relaying, navigation, and so on. Satellite communication systems began to cover almost the entire world, making two-way operational communication with any subscribers possible. Nowadays there is a satellite navigator in any car (even in a toy car), but back then the existence of such a thing seemed incredible.

In the second half of the 20th century, the era of manned flights began. In the 1960s and 1970s, Soviet cosmonauts demonstrated the human ability to work outside spaceship, and since the 1980-1990s, people began to live and work in conditions of weightlessness for almost years. It is clear that each such trip was accompanied by many different experiments - technical, astronomical, and so on.

A huge contribution to the development of advanced technologies has been made by the design, creation and use of complex space systems. Automatic spacecraft sent into space (including to other planets) are essentially robots that are controlled from Earth using radio commands. The need to create reliable systems for solving such problems has led to a more complete understanding of the problem of analysis and synthesis of complex technical systems. Now such systems are used both in space research and in many other areas of human activity.

Take, for example, the weather - a common thing; in mobile app stores there are dozens and even hundreds of applications for displaying it. But where can we take photographs of the Earth’s cloud cover with enviable frequency, not from the Earth itself? ;) That's it. Now almost all countries of the world use space weather data for weather information.

Not as fantastic as the words “space forge” sounded 30-40 years ago. In conditions of weightlessness, it is possible to organize such production that it is simply impossible (or not profitable) to develop in conditions of earthly gravity. For example, the state of weightlessness can be used to produce ultrathin crystals of semiconductor compounds. Such crystals will find application in the electronics industry to create a new class of semiconductor devices.

Pictures from my article on processor production

In the absence of gravity, free-floating liquid metal and other materials are easily deformed by weak magnetic fields. This opens the way to obtaining ingots of any predetermined shape without crystallizing them in molds, as is done on Earth. The peculiarity of such ingots is the almost complete absence of internal stresses and high purity.

Interesting posts from Habr: habrahabr.ru/post/170865/ + habrahabr.ru/post/188286/

On at the moment all over the world there are (more precisely, functioning) more than a dozen cosmodromes with unique ground-based automated complexes, as well as testing stations and all sorts of complex means of preparing for the launch of spacecraft and launch vehicles. In Russia, the Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes are world-famous, and, perhaps, Svobodny, from which experimental launches are periodically carried out.

In general... so many things are already being done in space - sometimes they tell you something you won’t believe :)

LET'S COME IN FUCK!

Moscow, VDNKh metro station - no matter how you look at it, the monument to the “Conquerors of Space” cannot be missed.

But not many people know that in the basement of the 110-meter monument there is most interesting museum cosmonautics, in which you can learn in detail about the history of science: there you will find “Belka” with “Strelka”, and Gagarin with Tereshkova, and spacesuits of astronauts with lunar rovers...

The museum houses a (miniature) Mission Control Center, where you can observe the International Space Station in real time and negotiate with the crew. Interactive cabin "Buran" with a mobility system and panoramic stereo image. Interactive educational and training class, designed in the form of cabins. In special areas there are interactive exhibits that include simulators identical to those at the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center: a transport spacecraft rendezvous and docking simulator, a virtual simulator for the International Space Station, and a search helicopter pilot simulator. And, of course, where would we be without any film and photographic materials, archival documents, personal belongings of figures in the rocket and space industry, items of numismatics, philately, philocarty and faleristics, works of fine and decorative art...

Harsh reality

While writing this article, it was nice to refresh my memory of history, but now everything is somehow not so optimistic or something - just recently we were superbisons and leaders in outer space, and now we can’t even put a satellite into orbit... Nevertheless, we we live in a very interesting times— if previously the slightest technical advances took years and decades, now technologies are developing much more rapidly. Take the Internet for example - those times have not yet been forgotten when WAP sites could barely open on two-color phone displays, but now we can do anything on a phone (in which even pixels are not visible) from anywhere. ANYTHING. Perhaps the best conclusion to this article would be the famous speech of the American comedian Louis C. K, “Everything is great, but everyone is unhappy”:

Space exploration is the process of studying and exploring outer space, with the help of special manned vehicles, as well as automatic vehicles.

Stage I – first launch of the spacecraft

The date when space exploration began is considered to be October 4, 1957 - this is the day when the Soviet Union, as part of its space program, was the first to launch a spacecraft into space - Sputnik-1. On this day, Cosmonautics Day is celebrated annually in the USSR and then in Russia.
The USA and the USSR competed with each other in space exploration and the first battle remained with the Union.

Stage II – the first man in space

An even more important day in the framework of space exploration in the Soviet Union is considered the first launch of a spacecraft with a person on board, which was Yuri Gagarin.

Gagarin became the first person to go into space and return safe and sound to Earth.

Stage III – first landing on the Moon

Although the Soviet Union was the first to go into space and even the first to launch a person into Earth orbit, the United States became the first whose astronauts were able to successfully land on the closest space body from Earth - the Moon satellite.

This fateful event occurred on July 21, 1969 as part of NASA's Apollo 11 space program. The first person to walk on the surface of the earth was the American Neil Armstrong. Then it was said on the news famous phrase: “This is a small step for a person, but a huge leap for all mankind.” Armstrong not only managed to visit the surface of the Moon, but also brought soil samples to Earth.

Stage IV - humanity goes beyond the solar system

In 1972, a spacecraft called Pioneer 10 was launched, which, after passing near Saturn, went beyond solar system. And although Pioneer 10 did not report anything new about the world outside our system, it became proof that humanity is capable of reaching other systems.

Stage V – launch of the reusable spacecraft Columbia

In 1981, NASA launched a reusable spacecraft called Columbia, which has been in service for more than twenty years and makes almost thirty trips to open space, providing incredible useful information about him to a person. The shuttle Columbia retires in 2003 to give way to newer spacecraft.

Stage VI – launch of the Mir space orbital station

In 1986, the USSR launched the Mir space station into orbit, which operated until 2001. IN total More than 100 cosmonauts stayed on it and there were more than 2 thousand important experiments.

On April 12, our country celebrated the 50th anniversary of space exploration - Cosmonautics Day. This is a national holiday. It seems familiar to us that spaceships launch from Earth. In the high celestial distances, spacecraft dockings take place. For months at a time space stations Astronauts live and work, automatic stations go to other planets. You might say “what's so special about this?”

But just recently they talked about space flights as science fiction. And so on October 4, 1957 it began new era- era of space exploration.

Constructors

Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich -

Russian scientist who was one of the first to think about flying into space.

The fate and life of a scientist are unusual and interesting. The first half of Kostya Tsiolkovsky’s childhood was ordinary, like all children. Already in old age, Konstantin Eduardovich recalled how he liked to climb trees, climb onto the roofs of houses, jump from great heights to experience the feeling of free fall. My second childhood began when, having contracted scarlet fever, I almost completely lost my hearing. Deafness caused the boy not only everyday inconveniences and moral suffering. She threatened to slow down his physical and mental development.

Kostya suffered another grief: his mother died. The family was left with a father, a younger brother and an illiterate aunt. The boy was left to his own devices.

Deprived of many joys and impressions due to illness, Kostya reads a lot, constantly comprehending what he read. He invents something that was invented a long time ago. But he invents himself. For example, a lathe. In the courtyard of the houses he built are spinning in the wind windmills, self-propelled sailing carts run against the wind.

He dreams of space travel. He voraciously reads books on physics, chemistry, astronomy, and mathematics. Realizing that his capable but deaf son would not be accepted into any educational institution, the father decides to send sixteen-year-old Kostya to Moscow for self-education. Kostya rents a corner in Moscow and sits in free libraries from morning to evening. His father sends him 15 - 20 rubles a month, but Kostya, eating black bread and drinking tea, spends 90 kopecks a month on food! With the rest of the money he buys retorts, books, and reagents. The following years were also difficult. He suffered a lot from bureaucratic indifference to his works and projects. I was sick and discouraged, but I got myself together again, made calculations, and wrote books.

Now we already know that Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is the pride of Russia, one of the fathers of astronautics, a great scientist. And many of us are surprised to learn that the great scientist did not go to school, did not have any scientific degrees, recent years lived in Kaluga in an ordinary wooden house and no longer heard anything, but all over the world the one who first outlined the path to other worlds and stars for humanity is now recognized as a genius:

Tsiolkovsky's ideas were developed by Friedrich Arturovich Zander and Yuri Vasilyevich Kondratyuk.

All the most cherished dreams of the founders of astronautics were realized by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

Friedrich Arturovich Zander (1887-1933)

Yuri Vasilievich Kondratyuk

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev

Tsiolkovsky's ideas were developed by Friedrich Arturovich Zander and Yuri Vasilyevich Kondratyuk. All the most cherished dreams of the founders of astronautics were realized by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

On this day the first artificial satellite Earth. Started space age. The first satellite of the Earth was a shiny ball made of aluminum alloys and was small - with a diameter of 58 cm and a weight of 83.6 kg. The device had a two-meter mustache antenna, and two radio transmitters were placed inside. The satellite's speed was 28,800 km/h. In an hour and a half, the satellite flew around the entire globe, and during the day of flight it made 15 revolutions. Nowadays there are many satellites in earth's orbit. Some are used for television and radio communications, others are scientific laboratories.

Scientists were faced with the task of putting a living creature into orbit.

And dogs paved the way to space for humans. Animal testing began in 1949. The first "cosmonauts" were recruited in the gateways - the first squad of dogs. A total of 32 dogs were caught.

They decided to take the dogs as test subjects because... scientists knew how they behaved and understood the structural features of the body. In addition, dogs are not capricious and are easy to train. And the mongrels were chosen because the doctors believed that from the first day they were forced to fight for survival, moreover, they were unpretentious and very quickly got used to the staff. The dogs had to meet specified standards: no heavier than 6 kilograms and no higher than 35 cm tall. Remembering that the dogs would have to “show off” on the pages of newspapers, they selected “objects” that were more beautiful, slimmer and with smart faces. They were trained on a vibration stand, a centrifuge, and a pressure chamber: For space travel a hermetic cabin was made, which was attached to the nose of the rocket.

The first dog race took place on July 22, 1951 - the mongrels Dezik and Gypsy successfully completed it! Gypsy and Dezik rose to 110 km, then the cabin with them freely fell to a height of 7 km.

Since 1952, they began to practice animal flights in spacesuits. The spacesuit was made of rubberized fabric in the form of a bag with two blind sleeves for the front paws. A removable helmet made of transparent plexiglass was attached to it. In addition, they developed an ejection cart, on which the tray with the dog was placed, as well as the equipment. This design was fired at a high altitude from a falling cabin and descended by parachute.

On August 20, it was announced that the descent module had made a soft landing and the dogs Belka and Strelka had returned safely to the ground. But not only that, 21 gray and 19 white mice flew off.

Belka and Strelka were already real cosmonauts. What were the astronauts trained for?

The dogs passed all types of tests. They can remain in the cabin for quite a long time without moving, and can endure large overloads and vibrations. Animals are not afraid of rumors, they know how to sit in their experimental equipment, making it possible to record the biocurrents of the heart, muscles, brain, blood pressure, breathing pattern, etc.

Footage of the flight of Belka and Strelka was shown on television. It was clearly visible how they tumbled in weightlessness. And, if Strelka was wary of everything, Belka was joyfully furious and even barked.

Belka and Strelka became everyone's favorites. They were taken to kindergartens, schools, and orphanages.

There were 18 days left before man's flight into space.

Male cast

In the Soviet Union only on January 5, 1959. a decision was made to select people and prepare them for space flight. The question of who to prepare for the flight was controversial. The doctors argued that only they, the engineers, believed that a person from among them should fly into space. But the choice fell on fighter pilots because, of all professions, they are closer to space: they fly at high altitudes in special suits, endure overloads, can jump with a parachute, and keep in touch with command posts. Resourceful, disciplined, know jet aircraft well. Out of 3,000 fighter pilots, 20 were selected.

A special medical commission was created, mainly consisting of military doctors. The requirements for astronauts are as follows: firstly, excellent health with a double or triple safety margin; secondly, a sincere desire to take up a new and dangerous business, the ability to develop the principles of creativity in oneself research activities; thirdly, meet the requirements for certain parameters: age 25–30 years, height 165–170 cm, weight 70–72 kg and no more! They were eliminated mercilessly. The slightest disturbance in the body was immediately suspended.

The management decided to allocate several people out of 20 cosmonauts for the first flight. On January 17 and 18, 1961, the cosmonauts were given an exam. As a result admissions committee allocated six to prepare for flights. In front of you are portraits of astronauts. They included in order of priority: Yu.A. Gagarin, G.S. Titov, G.G. Nelyubov, A.N. Nikolaev, V.F. Bykovsky, P.R. Popovich. On April 5, 1961, all six cosmonauts flew to the cosmodrome. Choosing the first cosmonaut equal in health, training, and courage was not easy. This problem was solved by specialists and the head of the cosmonaut group N.P. Kamanin. It was Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. On April 9, the decision of the State Commission was announced to the cosmonauts.

Baikonur veterans claim that on the night of April 12, no one slept at the cosmodrome except the cosmonauts. At 3 a.m. on April 12, final checks of all systems of the Vostok spacecraft began. The rocket was illuminated by powerful spotlights. At 5.30 am, Evgeny Anatolyevich Karpov raised the cosmonauts. They look cheerful. We started physical exercises, then breakfast and medical examination. At 6.00 a meeting of the State Commission, the decision was confirmed: Yu.A. will be the first to fly into space. Gagarin. They sign him a flight assignment. It was a sunny, warm day, tulips were blooming around in the steppe. The rocket sparkled dazzlingly brightly in the sun. 2-3 minutes were allotted for goodbye, but ten passed. Gagarin was put on the ship 2 hours before the launch. At this time, the rocket is filled with fuel, and as the tanks are filled, it “dresses” like a snow coat and soars. Then they provide power and check the equipment. One of the sensors indicates that there is no reliable contact in the lid. Found... Made... Closed the lid again. The site was empty. And Gagarin’s famous “Let’s go!” The rocket slowly, as if reluctantly, spewing out an avalanche of fire, rises from the start and quickly goes into the sky. Soon the rocket disappeared from sight. An agonizing wait ensued.

Female cast

Valentina Tereshkovaborn in the village of Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Yaroslavl region in peasant family immigrants from Belarus (father - from near Mogilev, mother - from the village of Eremeevshchina, Dubrovensky district). As Valentina Vladimirovna herself said, as a child she spoke Belarusian with her family. Father is a tractor driver, mother is a textile factory worker. Drafted into the Red Army in 1939, Valentina's father died in the Soviet-Finnish War.

In 1945, the girl entered secondary school No. 32 in the city of Yaroslavl, where she graduated from seven classes in 1953. To help her family, in 1954 Valentina went to work at the Yaroslavl Tire Factory as a bracelet maker, while simultaneously enrolling in evening classes at a school for working youth. Since 1959, she has been involved in parachuting at the Yaroslavl flying club (performed 90 jumps). Continuing to work at the Krasny Perekop textile mill, from 1955 to 1960 Valentina worked distance learning at the College of Light Industry. Since August 11, 1960 - released secretary of the Komsomol committee of the Krasny Perekop plant.
In the cosmonaut corps

After the first successful flights of Soviet cosmonauts, Sergei Korolev had the idea of ​​launching a female cosmonaut into space. At the beginning of 1962, a search began for applicants according to the following criteria: parachutist, under 30 years of age, up to 170 centimeters tall and weighing up to 70 kilograms. Out of hundreds of candidates, five were chosen: Zhanna Yorkina, Tatyana Kuznetsova, Valentina Ponomareva, Irina Solovyova and Valentina Tereshkova.

Immediately after being accepted into the cosmonaut corps, Valentina Tereshkova, along with the other girls, was called up for compulsory military service with the rank of private.
Preparation

Valentina Tereshkova was enrolled in the cosmonaut corps on March 12, 1962 and began training as a cosmonaut student of the 2nd squad. On November 29, 1962, she passed her final exams in OKP with “excellent marks.” Since December 1, 1962, Tereshkova has been a cosmonaut of the 1st detachment of the 1st department. On June 16, 1963, that is, immediately after the flight, she became an instructor-cosmonaut of the 1st detachment and held this position until March 14, 1966.

During her training, she underwent training to test her body’s resistance to the factors of space flight. The training included a thermal chamber, where she had to be in a flight suit at a temperature of +70 ° C and a humidity of 30%, and a soundproof chamber - a room isolated from sounds, where each candidate had to spend 10 days.

Zero-gravity training took place on the MiG-15. When performing a special aerobatics maneuver - a parabolic slide - weightlessness was established inside the plane for 40 seconds, and there were 3-4 such sessions per flight. During each session, it was necessary to complete the next task: write your first and last name, try to eat, talk on the radio.

Particular attention was paid to parachute training, since the astronaut ejected before landing and landed separately by parachute. Since there was always a risk of the descent vehicle splashing down, training was also carried out on parachute jumps into the sea, in a technological, that is, not adjusted to size, spacesuit.

Savitskaya Svetlana Evgenievna- Russian cosmonaut. Born on August 8, 1948 in Moscow. Daughter of a Twice Hero Soviet Union Air Marshal Evgeny Yakovlevich SAVITSKY. After graduation high school entered college and at the same time sits at the controls of an airplane. Mastered the following types of aircraft: MiG-15, MiG-17, E-33, E-66B. I was engaged in parachute training. She set 3 world records in group parachute jumps from the stratosphere and 15 world records in jet aircraft. Absolute world champion in aerobatics on piston aircraft (1970). For your sporting achievements in 1970 she was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. In 1971 she graduated from the Central Flight Technical School under the Central Committee of DOSAAF of the USSR, and in 1972 from the Moscow Aviation Institute named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze. After studying, she worked as a pilot instructor. Since 1976, having completed a course at the test pilot school, he has been a test pilot for the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry. During her work as a test pilot, she mastered more than 20 types of aircraft and has the qualification “Test Pilot 2nd Class”. Since 1980, in the cosmonaut corps (1980 Group of Women Cosmonauts No. 2). Passed full course preparation for space flights on Soyuz T type spacecraft and the Salyut orbital station. From August 19 to 27, 1982, she made her first flight into space as a research cosmonaut on the Soyuz T-7 spacecraft. She worked on board the Salyut-7 orbital station. The flight duration was 7 days 21 hours 52 minutes 24 seconds. From July 17 to July 25, 1984, she made her second flight into space as a flight engineer on the Soyuz T-12 spacecraft. While working on board the Salyut-7 orbital station on July 25, 1984, she was the first woman to perform a spacewalk. The time spent in outer space was 3 hours 35 minutes. The duration of the space flight was 11 days 19 hours 14 minutes 36 seconds. During 2 flights into space she flew 19 days 17 hours 7 minutes. After the second space flight, she worked at NPO Energia (Deputy Head of the Chief Designer Department). He is qualified as a 2nd class test cosmonaut instructor. In the late 80s, she was engaged in public work and was the first deputy chairman of the Soviet Peace Fund. Since 1989, he has become increasingly involved in political activities. In 1989 - 1991 she was a people's deputy of the USSR. In 1990 - 1993 she was a people's deputy of the Russian Federation. In 1993 she left the cosmonaut corps, and in 1994 she left NPO Energia and focused entirely on political activities. Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the first and second convocations (since 1993; faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation). Member of the Defense Committee. From January 16 to January 31, 1996, she headed the Temporary Commission for Control over electronic system voting. Member of the Central Council of the All-Russian socio-political movement “Spiritual Heritage”.

Elena Vladimirovna Kondakova (born 1957 in Mytishchi) was the third Russian female cosmonaut and the first woman to make a long flight into space. Her first flight into space took place on October 4, 1994 as part of the Soyuz TM-20 expedition, returning to Earth on March 22, 1995 after a 5-month flight at the Mir orbital station. Kondakova's second flight was as a specialist on the American space shuttle Atlantis as part of the Atlantis expedition STS-84 in May 1997. She was included in the cosmonaut corps in 1989.

Since 1999 - deputy State Duma RF from the United Russia party.

Cosmonautics in Russia largely inherits the space programs of the Soviet Union. The main governing body of the space industry in Russia is the state corporation Roscosmos.

This organization controls a number of enterprises, as well as scientific associations, the vast majority of which were created during the Soviet era. Among them:

• Mission control center. Research division of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering (FSUE TsNIIMash). Founded in 1960 and based in a science city called Korolev. The mission of the Mission Control Center is to control and manage the flights of spacecraft, which can be serviced simultaneously by up to twenty devices. In addition, the MCC carries out calculations and research aimed at improving the quality of apparatus control and solving certain problems in the field of management.
• Star City is a closed urban-type settlement, which was founded in 1961 on the territory of the Shchelkovsky district. However, in 2009 it was separated into a separate district and removed from Shchelkovo. On an area of ​​317.8 hectares there are residential buildings for all personnel, Roscosmos workers and their families, as well as all cosmonauts who undergo space training at the Cosmonaut Training Center here. As of 2016, the number of residents of the town is more than 5,600.
• Cosmonaut training center named after Yuri Gagarin. Founded in 1960 and located in Star City. Cosmonaut training is provided by a number of simulators, two centrifuges, a laboratory aircraft and a three-story hydro laboratory. The latter makes it possible to create weightless conditions similar to those on the ISS. This uses a full-size mock-up of the space station.
• Baikonur Cosmodrome. Founded in 1955 on an area of ​​6,717 km² near the city of Kazaly, Kazakhstan. Currently leased by Russia (until 2050) and is the leader in the number of launches - 18 launch vehicles in 2015, while Cape Canaveral is one launch behind, and the Kourou spaceport (ESA, France) has 12 launches per year. The maintenance of the cosmodrome includes two amounts: rent - $115 million, maintenance - $1.5 billion.
• The Vostochny cosmodrome began to be created in 2011 in the Amur region, near the city of Tsiolkovsky. In addition to creating the second Baikonur on Russian territory, Vostochny is also intended for commercial flights. The cosmodrome is located close to developed railway junctions, highways, and airfields. Moreover, due to good location“Vostochny”, the separated parts of the launch vehicles will fall in sparsely populated areas or even in neutral waters. The cost of creating the cosmodrome will be about 300 billion rubles; a third of this amount was spent in 2016. On April 28, 2016, the first rocket launch took place, which launched three satellites into Earth orbit. The launch of the manned spacecraft is scheduled for 2023.
• Cosmodrome "Plesetsk". Founded in 1957 near the city of Mirny, Arkhangelsk region. Occupies 176,200 hectares. "Plesetsk" is intended for launches of strategic defense complexes, unmanned space scientific and commercial vehicles. The first launch from the cosmodrome took place on March 17, 1966, when the Vostok-2 launch vehicle took off with the Kosmos-112 satellite on board. In 2014, the newest launch vehicle called Angara was launched.

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Chronology of the development of domestic cosmonautics

The development of domestic cosmonautics dates back to 1946, when Experimental Design Bureau No. 1 was founded, the purpose of which is to develop ballistic missiles, launch vehicles, and satellites. In 1956-1957, through the efforts of the bureau, the launch vehicle R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile was designed, with the help of which the first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, was launched into Earth orbit on October 4, 1957. The launch took place at the Tyura-Tam research site, which was developed specifically for this purpose, and which would later be named Baikonur.

On November 3, 1957, the second satellite was launched, this time with a living creature on board - a dog named Laika.

Laika is the first living creature in earth's orbit

Since 1958, launches of interplanetary compact stations began to study, within the framework of the program of the same name. On September 12, 1959, for the first time, a human spacecraft (Luna 2) reached the surface of another cosmic body - the Moon. Unfortunately, Luna 2 fell onto the lunar surface at a speed of 12,000 km/h, causing the structure to instantly turn into a gas state. In 1959, Luna 3 received photographs reverse side The Moon, which allowed the USSR to name most of its landscape elements.

February 12, 1961 - Flyby of Venus by the automatic interplanetary station "Venera-1"; May 19-20, 1961 (USSR).

April 12, 1961 - First flight around the Earth by cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin on the Vostok satellite (USSR).

August 6, 1961—Daily flight around the Earth by cosmonaut G. S. Titov on the Vostok-2 satellite (USSR).

April 23, 1962 - Photographing and reaching the surface of the Moon on April 26, 1962 by the first automatic station of the Ranger series (USA).

August 11 and 12, 1962 - The first group flight of cosmonauts A. G. Nikolaev and P. R. Popovich on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 satellites (USSR).

August 27, 1962 - Flyby of Venus and its study by the first automatic interplanetary station "Mariner" December 14, 1962 (USA).

November 1, 1962 - Flyby of Mars by the automatic interplanetary station "Mars-1" June 19, 1963 (USSR).

June 16, 1963 - Flight around the Earth of the first female cosmonaut V.V. Tereshkova on the Vostok-6 spacecraft (USSR).

October 12, 1964 - Flight around the Earth of cosmonauts V. M. Komarov, K. P. Feoktistov and B. B. Egorov on the three-seater Voskhod spacecraft (USSR).

November 28, 1964 - Flyby of Mars on July 15, 1965 and its study by the automatic interplanetary station Mariner 4 (USA).

March 18, 1965 - Cosmonaut A. A. Leonov exited the Voskhod-2 satellite, piloted by P. I. Belyaev, into outer space (USSR).

March 23, 1965 - First maneuver in satellite orbit of the Gemini 3 spacecraft with cosmonauts V. Griss and J. Young (USA).

April 23, 1965 - The first automatic communication satellite in a synchronous orbit of the Molniya-1 series (USSR).

July 16, 1965 - The first automatic heavy research satellite of the Proton series (USSR).

July 18, 1965 - Repeated photography of the far side of the Moon and transmission of the image to Earth by the Zond-3 automatic interplanetary station (USSR).

November 16, 1965 - Reaching the surface of Venus on March 1, 1966 by the automatic station "Venera-3" (USSR).

December 4 and 15, 1965 - Group flight with close approach of the satellites Gemini 7 and Gemini 6, with astronauts F. Borman, J. Lovell and W. Schirra, T. Stafford (USA).

January 31, 1966 - The first soft landing on the Moon on February 3, 1966 of the Luna-9 automatic station and transmission of a lunar photo panorama to Earth (USSR).

March 16, 1966 - Manual docking of the Gemini 8 satellite, piloted by cosmonauts N. Armstrong and D. Scott, with the Agena rocket (USA).

August 10, 1966 - Launch of the first automatic station of the Lunar Orbiter series into orbit of an artificial lunar satellite.

January 27, 1967 - During testing of the Apollo spacecraft at launch, a fire broke out in the ship's cabin. Cosmonauts V. Grissom, E. White and R. Chaffee (USA) were killed.

April 23, 1967 - Flight of the Soyuz-1 satellite with cosmonaut V. M. Komarov. During the descent to Earth, the astronaut died due to a failure of the parachute system (USSR).

June 12, 1967 - Descent and research in the atmosphere of Venus on October 18, 1967 by the automatic station "Venera-4" (USSR).

June 14, 1967 - Flyby of Venus on October 19, 1967 and its study by the Mariner 5 automatic station (USA).

September 15, November 10, 1968 - Flight around the Moon and return to Earth of the Zond-5 and Zond-6 spacecraft using ballistic and controlled descent (USSR).

December 21, 1968 - Flight of the Moon with the entry into orbit of a lunar satellite on December 24, 1968 and the return to Earth of the Apollo 8 spacecraft with cosmonauts F. Borman, J. Lovell, W. Anders (USA).

January 5, 10, 1969 - Continuation of direct research of the atmosphere of Venus by the automatic stations "Venera-5" (May 16, 1969) and "Venera-6" (May 17, 1969) (USSR).

January 14, 15, 1969 - First docking in Earth satellite orbit of the manned spacecraft Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 with cosmonauts V. A. Shatalov and B. V. Volynov, A. S. Eliseev, E. V. Khrunov . The last two cosmonauts went into space and transferred to another ship (USSR).

February 24, March 27, 1969 - Continuation of the study of Mars during the flyby of its automatic stations "Mariner-6" on July 31, 1969 and "Mariner-7" on August 5, 1969 (USA).

May 18, 1969 - Flight of the Moon by Apollo 10 with cosmonauts T. Stafford, J. Young and Y. Cernan with entry into selenocentric orbit on May 21, 1969, maneuvering there and returning to Earth (USA).

July 16, 1969 - First manned Moon landing, Apollo 11. Cosmonauts N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin stayed on the Moon in the Sea of ​​Tranquility for 21 hours 36 minutes (July 20-21, 1969). M. Collins was in the command compartment of the ship in selenocentric orbit. Having completed the flight program, the astronauts returned to Earth (USA).

August 8, 1969 - Flight around the Moon and return to Earth of the Zond-7 spacecraft using controlled descent (USSR).

October 11, 12, 13, 1969 - Group flight with maneuvering of the satellites Soyuz-6, Soyuz-7 and Soyuz-8 with cosmonauts G. S. Shonin, V. N. Kubasov; A. V. Filipchenko, V. N. Volkov, V. V. Gorbatko; V. A. Shatalov, A. S. Eliseev (USSR).

October 14, 1969 - The first research satellite of the Intercosmos series with scientific equipment from the socialist countries (USSR).

November 14, 1969 - Apollo 12 manned spacecraft lands on the Moon in the Ocean of Storms. Cosmonauts C. Conrad and A. Bean stayed on the Moon for 31 hours 31 minutes (November 19-20, 1969). R. Gordon was in a selenocentric orbit (USA).

April 11, 1970 - Fly around the Moon with the return to Earth of the Apollo 13 spacecraft with astronauts J. Lovell, J. Swigert, F. Hayes. The planned flight to the moon was canceled due to a ship accident (USA).

June 1, 1970 - A 425-hour flight of the Soyuz-9 satellite with cosmonauts A. G. Nikolaev and V. I. Sevastyanov (USSR).

August 17, 1970 - Soft landing on the surface of Venus of the automatic station "Venera-7" with scientific equipment (USSR).

September 12, 1970 - The automatic station "Luna-16" performed a soft landing on the Moon in the Sea of ​​Plenty on September 20, 1970, drilled, took samples of lunar rock and delivered them to Earth (USSR).

October 20, 1970 - Flight around the Moon with a return to Earth from the Northern Hemisphere of the Zond-8 spacecraft (USSR).

November 10, 1970 - The automatic station "Luna-17" delivered the radio-controlled self-propelled vehicle "Lunokhod-1" with scientific equipment to the Moon from the Earth. Over the course of 11 lunar days, the lunar rover covered 10.5 km, exploring the region of the Sea of ​​Rains (USSR).

January 31, 1971 - Apollo 14 manned spacecraft lands on the Moon in the area of ​​the Fra Mauro crater. Cosmonauts A. Shepard and E. Mitchell spent 33 hours 30 minutes on the Moon (February 5-6, 1971). S. Rusa was in a selenocentric orbit (USA).

May 19, 1971 - Reaching the surface of Mars for the first time by the descent vehicle of the automatic station "Mars-2" and its entry into orbit of the first artificial satellite of Mars on November 27, 1971 (USSR).

May 28, 1971 - The first soft landing on the surface of Mars of the descent module of the automatic station "Mars-3" and its entry into orbit of the artificial satellite of Mars on December 2, 1971 (USSR).

May 30, 1971 - The first artificial satellite of Mars - the automatic station Mariner 9. The satellite was launched into orbit on November 13, 1971 (USA).

June 6, 1971 - Flight lasting 570 hours by cosmonauts G. T. Dobrovolsky, V. N. Volkov and V. I. Patsaev on the Soyuz-11 satellite and the Salyut orbital station. During the descent to Earth, due to depressurization of the ship's cabin, the cosmonauts died (USSR).

July 26, 1971 - Apollo 15 lands on the moon. Cosmonauts D. Scott and J. Irwin spent 66 hours 55 minutes on the Moon (July 30 - August 2, 1971). A. Worden was in a selenocentric orbit (USA).

October 28, 1971 - The first English satellite "Prospero" launched into orbit by an English launch vehicle.

February 14, 1972 - The Luna-20 automatic station delivered lunar soil to earth from a section of the continent adjacent to the Sea of ​​Plenty (USSR).

March 3, 1972 - Flyby of the asteroid belt (July 1972 - February 1973) and Jupiter (December 4, 1973) by the automatic station "Pioneer 10" with subsequent exit beyond the Solar System (USA).

March 27, 1972 - Soft landing on the surface of Venus of the automatic station "Venera-8" July 22, 1972. Study of the atmosphere and surface of the planet (USSR).

April 16, 1972 - Apollo 16 lands on the moon. Cosmonauts J. Young and C. Duke stayed on the Moon for 71 hours 02 minutes (April 21-24, 1972). T. Mattingly was in a selenocentric orbit (USA).

December 7, 1972 - Apollo 17 landing on the moon. Cosmonauts Y. Cernan and H. Schmitt spent 75 hours 00 minutes on the Moon (December 11-15, 1972). R. Evans was in a selenocentric orbit (USA).

January 8, 1973 - The Luna-21 automatic station delivered Lunokhod-2 to the Moon on January 16, 1973. During 5 lunar days, the lunar rover covered 37 km (USSR).

May 14, 1973 - Long-term manned orbital station Skylab. Cosmonauts C. Conrad, P. Weitz and J. Kerwin stayed at the station for 28 days from May 25. On July 28, the crew arrived at the station: A. Bean, O. Garriott, J. Lusma for two months of work (USA).