Today Russia celebrates Cosmonautics Day. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin made an orbital flight around the Earth for the first time in history. According to the UN resolution, since 2011, April 12 is also called the International Day of Human Space Flight. Let's together remember the recent successes in its development, follow the key changes in astronautics and plans for its development.

1. These people are hired as astronauts

If the first cosmonauts were chosen among the best military pilots, then the requirements decreased noticeably. In 2012, Russia held an open recruitment of candidates for cosmonaut training for the first time. Based on its results, eight people were enrolled in the OKP 2012 group. Among the future cosmonauts are three managers, one programmer and one radio presenter.

NASA first recruited civilian astronauts in 1977. Thanks to this initiative, Sally Kristen Ride became the first American woman astronaut.

2. Ko(s)mic tourism

Almost any wealthy person can now simply go into earth orbit or on a suborbital flight. Space tourism is rapidly gaining popularity, and there is already competition in this area.

In addition to Roscosmos, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Space Expedition are preparing to provide services in the near future. New players have recently appeared on the scene: Copenhagen Suborbitals and Swiss Space Systems.

3. Space delivery service

The private space sector is not limited to providing expensive attractions. Today, commercial flights can already deliver cargo into orbit, and, very likely tomorrow, the astronauts themselves. Moreover, there are many opportunities to do this more efficiently than using the previous Shuttles or the current Progress and Soyuz.

The first ever flight of a private cargo spacecraft to the orbital station May 22 – 25, 2012. First commercial flight in October 2012. The second time SpaceX Dragon successfully carried cargo to the ISS was in early March 2013.

4. Reusable launch vehicles

Today, disposable launch vehicles are still used, but their life is coming to an end. Over the past year, SpaceX has conducted a series of successful tests of a reusable launch vehicle with a proprietary reentry system.

In the latest test, the modified first stage of the Falcon-9 rocket as part of the Grasshopper project rose eighty meters, was held strictly vertical in the air and smoothly descended back.

In the future, reusable rockets will significantly reduce launch costs due to cost savings on the creation of another launch vehicle and the lack of compensation for environmental damage in the places where the first stage falls.

5. Ore for sale. Pickup from orbit

For the first time, mining is poised to go beyond the Earth and become a highly automated industry. In 2012, Planetary Resources was formed through reorganization. Its co-founder is the head of the X-Prize fund, Peter Diamandis, and key investors include such figures as Google co-founder Larry Page and director James Cameron.

Together with Virgin Galactic, the company will place a series of automatic Arkyd observatories in orbit to detect near-Earth asteroids suitable for industrial development. Asteroids containing valuable ores will be towed into orbit and then sent back to Earth.

6. Disposal of satellites

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in mid-2012 launched a project to recycle failed satellites directly in space.

The goal of the Phoenix program is to create an orbital industrial complex for dismantling faulty (or simply alien) satellites and assembling new models from functional modules directly in orbit.

7. Gravitational anomalies of the Moon

NASA's Ebb and Flow spacecraft map the Moon throughout the year. The GRAIL program identified areas with high and low gravity.

After completely depleting their fuel reserves, the probes routinely collided with the surface of the Moon on December 17, 2012 in the area of its north pole near the Goldschmidt crater. The impact occurred at a speed of about 1700 m/s. A unique video and impact soil sample were obtained. The new map has revealed many cavities in the lunar crust.

8.Updating the list of space powers

In September 2012, India completed its 100th space mission. Today this country is considered the sixth space power, which is actively pushing back the positions of Japan and the European Union. Since 2012, the Indian Space Agency (ISRO) has been using the 394 teraflops SAGA supercomputer.

The volume of investment in creating a network of petaflop supercomputers for Indian scientific centers is approximately a billion dollars.

Not long ago on our resource, dedicated to the greatest figures in the field of space exploration. The list also includes Nicolaus Copernicus and Isaac Newton, whose merits are beyond any doubt, and the “star” of modern space exploration, who promises to make rockets as familiar to earthlings as airplanes. Like our attentive readers, we felt that it would be unfair to ignore Soviet and Russian space leaders, but it would be better to give them more space for memory.

Unfortunately, the road to the stars is strewn with the precious merits of people that only a few remember. Respecting our common space past, we tried to remind you of the people who make the words “Russia” and “space” in some sense synonymous. Let us note that not only Tsiolkovsky and Korolev decided the cosmic destiny of the future, but, alas, only a few people can name a few more names.

You won’t find astronauts on this list, just as we wrote. And let's not forget that this is not a memorial, but an article about ten Russian most important figures in the field of space exploration. No one will be forgotten thanks to our joint efforts.

Few people know about the fate of this brilliant revolutionary of the late 19th century, who came up with the idea of the first rocket aircraft with an oscillating combustion chamber to control the thrust vector. This original project of a flying device was developed by Kibalchich on March 23, 1881, as sources say, shortly before the death penalty by hanging, but (!) after he was arrested and sentenced on March 17, 1881. Together with other Pervomartovites (a group of eight Narodnaya Volya members who participated in the preparation and murder of Emperor Alexander II in March 1881), Kibalchich was executed on April 15, 1881 according to the new style.

It is noteworthy that the engineer’s request to transfer the manuscript to the Academy of Sciences was not satisfied, and the general public learned about the project only in 1918. However, postage stamps dedicated to Kibalchich were issued in the USSR, and a crater on the Moon was named after him.

Sergei Korolev (1906 – 1966)

The name Korolev became a household name for the founder of practical cosmonautics. The Soviet scientist, designer and organizer of the production of rocket and space technology and rocket weapons of the USSR was one of the largest figures of the 20th century in the field of space exploration, in particular, rocketry and shipbuilding. He was directly involved in the pioneering development of ballistic missiles, the creation of the first artificial Earth satellite, preparations for sending the first man into space, the launch of vehicles to the Moon, the development of lunar projects and an orbital station. His contribution to the development of Soviet - and global - cosmonautics is difficult to overestimate, since under his leadership, one might say, it not only became the first and most advanced space power, but also took a long lead in rocket science. The activities of Sergei Korolev, among other things, ensured strategic parity. From the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite to the first cosmonaut, nothing happened without Korolev.

Valentin Glushko (1908 – 1989)

Few people know that Valentin Glushko, the largest Soviet scientist in the field of rocket and space technology, was one of the pioneers in this field, and his work laid the foundation for the domestic liquid-propellant rocket engine industry. You can learn more about solid-fuel and liquid-fuel rocket engines. Since 1977, Glushko was the general designer of the legendary NPO Energia.

The inventions and designs in the creation of which Glushko was directly involved include the world's first electrothermal rocket engine (1928–1933), the first Soviet liquid-propellant rocket engine ORM (1930–1931), a family of liquid-fueled RLA rockets (1932–1933) and powerful liquid rocket engines, which have been installed on almost all domestic rockets that have flown into space to date. These engines launched the first and subsequent Earth satellites, spaceships with Yuri Gagarin and other cosmonauts into orbit, and also participated in flights to the Moon and planets of the Solar System. The basic unit of the Mir orbital station was also developed by Glushko. This man also made a colossal personal contribution to world science, thanks to many years of work on the creation of fundamental reference books on thermal constants, thermodynamic and thermophysical properties of various substances, and others.

Alexey Bogomolov (1913 – 2009)

Alexey Bogomolov was perhaps the first Soviet scientist to understand the need to create large and efficient ground antennas. Under his leadership, in 1960–1965, antennas with a mirror diameter of 32 meters and then 64 meters were built. They provided communication with interplanetary research satellites and devices that studied the Solar System and its planets. Without these antennas, the scientific information of the autonomous vehicles Venera-15, Venera-16, Vega, Phobos and others might have been lost on the outskirts of our system. Moreover, the mapping of the surface of the northern hemisphere of Venus and the creation of an atlas of its surface were carried out precisely by the Venera-15 and Venera-16 spacecraft. Considering the long and agonizing wait associated with hopes for a flourishing surface of this, as it turned out, ferocious planet, a space radar specially created by Bogomolov was extremely necessary.

The work of Bogomolov and the team under his leadership in the fields of radar, television, transmission and storage of information, as well as increasing its reliability and accuracy, formed the basis for the creation of unique complexes of trajectory and telemetry measurements for rocket, space and aviation technology.

Friedrich Zander (1887 – 1933)

In 1909, Friedrich Zander became the first Soviet scientist and inventor working in the field of the theory of interplanetary flights and jet engines, who expressed the idea that it would be advisable to use structural elements of an interplanetary spacecraft as fuel. After ten years of systematic research into the problems of rocket and space science and technology, Zander proposed his basic idea: combine a rocket with an airplane to take off from Earth, then burn the airplane in flight as fuel in the rocket engine chamber to increase the rocket's flight range. In the same year, 1924, Zander developed the idea of using the Moon or other planets, or rather their gravitational field or atmosphere, to increase the speed of flight to other planets. He was the author of the idea of a gliding descent with braking in the planet's atmosphere. A Soviet scientist proposed a diagram and design of an internal combustion engine that did not need air.

These and many other ideas and developments of the prolific scientist and engineer made a contribution to the development of Soviet cosmonautics, which is difficult to overestimate.

Yuri Kondratyuk (Alexander Shargei, 1897 – 1942)

Kondratyuk’s book “The Conquest of Interplanetary Spaces” is on a special shelf for many rocketry enthusiasts. This work became so significant in classical rocketry that it determined the scientific methods of this field for a long time. Kondratyuk's calculations were used by NASA in the Apollo lunar program.

American astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, made a special trip to Novosibirsk to collect a handful of soil near the house where Kondratyuk lived. “This land has no less value for me than lunar soil,” this is how the famous astronaut subsequently commented on his actions. One can understand him: if not for the genius of Kondratyuk, who knows, perhaps Armstrong would not have left the first traces on the dusty lunar surface.

In his 1919 book “For Those Who Will Read to Build,” Kondratyuk, independently of Tsiolkovsky, originally derived the basic equation of rocket motion, described the designs of a four-stage oxygen-hydrogen fuel rocket, a paraboloidal nozzle, and much more. He proposed using atmospheric resistance to slow down the rocket during descent in order to save fuel. When flying to other planets, place the ship into the orbit of an artificial satellite, and use a small take-off and landing ship to disembark a person and return him back. This is exactly what the American space agency NASA implemented during the Apollo missions.

Kondratyuk also came up with the idea of using the gravitational field of oncoming celestial bodies to accelerate or decelerate, the so-called “perturbation maneuver.” Perhaps many of his calculations will still find application - when we closely cross the Solar System. In any case, the contribution of this Soviet scientist cannot be overestimated.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 – 1935)

Many have heard about Tsiolkovsky. Perhaps this self-taught Soviet scientist and eternal space explorer, together with Korolev, shares first place in popularity and, of course, contribution to the development of the Russian space exploration sphere. Who, if not Tsiolkovsky, was the first to propose populating outer space with orbital stations, invented hovercraft, and advocated in every possible way for the development of humanity? It was Tsiolkovsky who believed and knew that one day life on one of the planets of the Universe would become so powerful and developed that it would be able to defeat the eternal force of gravity and spread throughout the Universe. Of course, we are talking about Earth. The ideas of Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky were incredibly simply and beautifully described by the science fiction writer Alexander Belyaev in the book “KETS Star”.

The “father of astronautics” himself claimed that he developed the theory of rocketry simply as an application to his philosophical research. And this, by the way, is more than 400 works, about which the general reader knows little. Initially working on balloons and airships, in 1926–1929 Tsiolkovsky solved a practical question: how much fuel does a rocket need to gain take-off speed and leave the Earth? Tsiolkovsky worked a lot and fruitfully on the theory of flight of jet aircraft, invented his own gas turbine engine, was the first to propose a landing gear “retractable at the bottom,” calculated the optimal descent trajectory of a spacecraft upon return from space, and much, much more. The name Tsiolkovsky and astronautics are complementary things.

Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900 – 1974)

The first Soviet liquid-fuel rocket to fly in 1933 was built to a design by Mikhail Tikhonravov. He is also responsible for the first rockets with a flight altitude of up to 40 kilometers and multi-stage powder rockets for flight into the stratosphere. This is who truly took a “small step” from the Earth, but a giant leap for all humanity - and Russia, in particular.

Tikhonravov’s projects are directly related to the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, to Yuri Gagarin’s flight into orbit, to the first human spacewalk in history; they form the basis of many spacecraft that came out of the design bureau of Sergei Korolev.

Tikhonravov himself for a long time studied the possibility of building a reliable aircraft that flaps its wings - a flywheel. To this end, every summer, when he went on trips with friends on boats, he caught birds, carefully measured them and kept interesting statistics. The work of Tikhonravov, a “cog” in the precise mechanism of Soviet rocketry, gave impetus to the first excursions of people beyond the Earth’s orbit.

Nikolai Pilyugin (1908 – 1982)

At the suggestion of Sergei Korolev, Pilyugin became, in 1946, the chief designer of autonomous control systems at the research institute and a member of the legendary Council of Chief Designers, established by Korolev. However, Nikolai Alekseevich was known to the general public not only and not so much for his defense developments, to which he devoted most of his working time, but as a “navigator of space routes”: with his direct participation, launch vehicle control systems were created, as well as the first and other generations spacecraft for soft landings on the Moon and Venus, for flybys of planets, for satellites of Mars and others.

It is also noteworthy that after the end of World War II, the team under the leadership of Pilyugin enthusiastically continued the development of the domestic R-1 ballistic missile, which was based on the German V-2. We had to go the unbeaten path, manufacture and debug new elements anew and for the first time. But Pilyugin coped with the task, and the R-1 missiles had higher performance characteristics and higher hit accuracy than even the V-2.

Through joint efforts, Soviet leaders in the field of space exploration not only paved the “road to space”, writing all the main chapters in the development of rocket science from scratch, but also managed to make the Soviet Union a leader in the space race. Unfortunately, with the end of the space race and the collapse of the Soviet Union, space exploration (not only in Russia, but also in other countries) at the state level acquired only nominal importance.

But what will happen tomorrow? Will there be new Tsiolkovskys, Korolevs, Kondratyuks and Tsanders who will not just use their hands, but with the power of thought, take people beyond the solar system and beyond? You, dear readers, will have to answer this question.

“Two things strike my imagination:
starry sky overhead
and the moral law is within us"
I. Kant

The mysterious and unknown has always attracted and captivated the human mind and imagination. Apologists for science say that this property of the mind is just one of the instincts transmitted genetically. For a religious person, the reason for the craving for creativity and research lies in the realm of metaphysics; It is this quality that opens up the opportunity for a person to become a co-creator of the Almighty. The third will say that creativity and research are the objective needs of people, since they ensure the active transformation of the surrounding space in accordance with their needs and desires. We believe that all these points of view not only do not contradict each other, but also complement each other. They reflect those facets of truth that have been revealed to a particular person.

Be that as it may, it was the starry sky and space that represented one of the greatest secrets that people tried to understand from the very beginning of their existence. Already the first civilizations known to us made attempts to explore space. But only with the invention of the telescope in 1608 by John Lippershey, humanity was able to more thoroughly engage in space exploration. And the exponential development of technology and technology in the 20th century made it possible not only to contemplate the starry sky, but also to “touch” it with your hand. The Soviet Union became the leader in this process.

In this article we will talk about the formation of astronautics in the USSR.

COSMONAUtics IN THE USSR

“What seemed impossible for centuries, what yesterday was just a daring dream, today becomes a real task, and tomorrow - an accomplishment.”

S.P. Korolev

Cosmonautics as a science, and then as a practical branch, was formed in the middle of the 20th century. But this was preceded by a fascinating history of the birth and development of the idea of flying into space, which began with fantasy, and only then did the first theoretical works and experiments appear. Thus, initially in human dreams, flight into outer space was carried out with the help of fairy tales or the forces of nature (tornadoes, hurricanes). Closer to the 20th century, technical means were already present in the descriptions of science fiction writers for these purposes - balloons, super-powerful guns and, finally, rocket engines and rockets themselves. More than one generation of young romantics grew up on the works of J. Verne, G. Wells, A. Tolstoy, A. Kazantsev, the basis of which was a description of space travel.

Everything described by science fiction writers excited the minds of scientists. So, K.E. Tsiolkovsky said:

“First inevitably comes: thought, fantasy, fairy tale, and behind them comes precise calculation.”

Tsiolkovsky and designer of the first Soviet liquid-propellant rocket GIRD-09 M.K. Tikhonravov

The publication at the beginning of the 20th century of the theoretical works of astronautics pioneers K.E. Tsiolkovsky, F.A. Tsandera, Yu.V. Kondratyuk, R.Kh. Goddard, G. Hanswindt, R. Hainault-Peltry, G. Aubert, V. Homan to some extent limited the flight of fancy, but at the same time gave rise to new directions in science - attempts appeared to determine what astronautics can give to society and how it affects him.

It must be said that the idea to connect the cosmic and terrestrial directions of human activity belongs to the founder of theoretical cosmonautics K.E. Tsiolkovsky. When the scientist said:

“The planet is the cradle of reason, but you cannot live forever in the cradle”

He did not put forward alternatives - either Earth or space. Tsiolkovsky never considered going into space as a consequence of some hopelessness of life on Earth. On the contrary, he spoke about the rational transformation of the nature of our planet by the power of reason. People, the scientist argued,

“will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, atmosphere, plants and themselves. They will control the climate and will rule within the solar system, as on the Earth itself, which will remain the home of humanity for an indefinitely long time.”

THE BEGINNING OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPACE PROGRAM IN THE USSR

In the USSR, the beginning of practical work on space programs is associated with the names of S.P. Koroleva and M.K. Tikhonravova. At the beginning of 1945, M.K. Tikhonravov organized a group of RNII specialists to develop a project for a manned high-altitude rocket vehicle (a cabin with two cosmonauts) to study the upper layers of the atmosphere. The group included N.G. Chernyshev, P.I. Ivanov, V.N. Galkovsky, G.M. Moskalenko and others. It was decided to create the project on the basis of a single-stage liquid rocket, designed for vertical flight to an altitude of up to 200 km.

One of the launches within the framework of the “VR-190 Project”

This project (it was called VR-190) provided for the solution of the following tasks:

study of weightlessness conditions in short-term free flight of a person in a pressurized cabin;
studying the movement of the center of mass of the cabin and its movement around the center of mass after separation from the launch vehicle;
obtaining data on the upper layers of the atmosphere;
checking the functionality of the systems (separation, descent, stabilization, landing, etc.) included in the design of the high-altitude cabin.

The VR-190 project was the first to propose the following solutions that have found application in modern spacecraft:

parachute descent system, soft-landing braking rocket engine, separation system using pyrobolts;
electric contact rod for pre-ignition of the soft landing engine, non-ejection sealed cabin with a life support system;
cabin stabilization system outside the dense layers of the atmosphere using low-thrust nozzles.

In general, the VR-190 project was a complex of new technical solutions and concepts, now confirmed by the progress of development of domestic and foreign rocket and space technology. In 1946, the materials of the VR-190 project were reported to M.K. Tikhonravov I.V. Stalin. Since 1947, Tikhonravov and his group have been working on the idea of a rocket package and in the late 1940s - early 1950s showed the possibility of achieving the first cosmic speed and launching an artificial Earth satellite (AES) using the rocket base being developed at that time in the country. In 1950 - 1953, the efforts of members of the group M.K. Tikhonravov were aimed at studying the problems of creating composite launch vehicles and artificial satellites.

Work began to prepare for the launch of the first satellite PS-1. The first Council of Chief Designers was created, headed by S.P. Korolev, who later led the space program of the USSR, which became the world leader in space exploration. Created under the leadership of S.P. Korolev OKB-1-TsKBEM-NPO Energia has become the center of space science and industry in the USSR since the early 1950s.

Cosmonautics is unique in that much that was predicted first by science fiction writers and then by scientists has truly come true at cosmic speed. Already on October 4, 1957 - just 12 years after the end of the most destructive Great Patriotic War - a launch vehicle called Sputnik was launched from a comic airfield located in the city of Baikonur, which was subsequently launched into low-Earth orbit - it was the very first satellite created by human hands and launched from Earth. The launch of this rocket marked a new era in the development of space research. A month later, the USSR launched the second artificial Earth satellite. Moreover, the unique feature of this satellite was that the first living creature taken outside the Earth was placed in it. A dog named Laika was placed on board the satellite.

The triumph of astronautics was the launch of the first man into space on April 12, 1961 - Yu.A. Gagarin (http://inance.ru/2015/04/den-cosmonavtiki/). Then - a group flight, manned spacewalk, the creation of the Salyut and Mir orbital stations... The USSR for a long time became the leading country in the world in manned programs. The trend of transition from launching single spacecraft intended primarily for military purposes was indicative. tasks, towards the creation of large-scale space systems in the interests of solving a wide range of problems (including socio-economic and scientific).

Yuri Gagarin in an astronaut suit

Other important achievements of astronautics in the USSR

But besides such world-famous achievements, what else has Soviet space science achieved in the 20th century?

Let's start with the fact that powerful liquid rocket engines were developed to propel launch vehicles to cosmic speeds. In this area, the merit of V.P. is especially great. Glushko. The creation of such engines became possible thanks to the implementation of new scientific ideas and schemes that practically eliminate losses in the drive of turbopump units. The development of launch vehicles and liquid rocket engines contributed to the development of thermo-, hydro- and gas dynamics, the theory of heat transfer and strength, metallurgy of high-strength and heat-resistant materials, fuel chemistry, measuring technology, vacuum and plasma technology. Solid propellant and other types of rocket engines were further developed.

In the early 1950s. Soviet scientists M.V. Keldysh, V.A. Kotelnikov, A.Yu. Ishlinsky, L.I. Sedov, B.V. Rauschenbach and others developed mathematical laws and navigation and ballistic support for space flights.

The problems that arose during the preparation and implementation of space flights served as an impetus for the intensive development of such general scientific disciplines as celestial and theoretical mechanics. The widespread use of new mathematical methods and the creation of advanced computers made it possible to solve the most complex problems of designing spacecraft orbits and controlling them during flight, and as a result, a new scientific discipline arose - space flight dynamics.

Design bureaus headed by N.A. Pilyugin and V.I. Kuznetsov, created unique control systems for rocket and space technology that are highly reliable.

At the same time, V.P. Glushko, A.M. Isaev created the world's leading school of practical rocket engine building. And the theoretical foundations of this school were laid back in the 1930s, at the dawn of domestic rocket science.

UR-200 missile

Thanks to the intense creative work of the design bureaus under the leadership of V.M. Myasishcheva, V.N. Chelomeya, D.A. Polukhin carried out work on creating large-sized, especially durable shells. This became the basis for the creation of powerful intercontinental missiles UR-200, UR-500, UR-700, and then manned stations “Salyut”, “Almaz”, “Mir”, twenty-ton class modules “Kvant”, “Kristall”, “Priroda” , "Spectrum", modern modules for the International Space Station (ISS) "Zarya" and "Zvezda", launch vehicles of the "Proton" family.

Much work on the creation of launch vehicles based on ballistic missiles was carried out at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, headed by M.K. Yangel. The reliability of these light-class launch vehicles had no analogues in the world astronautics at that time. In the same design bureau under the leadership of V.F. Utkin created the Zenit medium-class launch vehicle - a representative of the second generation of launch vehicles.

Over the four decades of development of cosmonautics in the USSR, the capabilities of control systems for launch vehicles and spacecraft have increased significantly. If in 1957 - 1958. When placing artificial satellites into orbit around the Earth, an error of several tens of kilometers was allowed, then by the mid-1960s. The accuracy of the control systems was already so high that it allowed a spacecraft launched to the Moon to land on its surface with a deviation from the intended point of only 5 km. Design control systems N.A. Pilyugin were one of the best in the world.

Great achievements of astronautics in the field of space communications, television broadcasting, relaying and navigation, the transition to high-speed lines made it possible already in 1965 to transmit photographs of the planet Mars to Earth from a distance exceeding 200 million km, and in 1980 an image of Saturn was transmitted to Earth from a distance of about 1.5 billion km. The Scientific and Production Association of Applied Mechanics, headed for many years by M.F. Reshetnev, was originally created as a branch of the S.P. Design Bureau. Queen; Today this NPO is one of the world leaders in the development of spacecraft for this purpose.

Qualitative changes have also occurred in the field of manned flights. The ability to successfully operate outside a spacecraft was first proven by Soviet cosmonauts in the 1960s and 1970s, and in the 1980s and 1990s. the ability of a person to live and work in conditions of weightlessness for a year was demonstrated. During the flights, a large number of experiments were also carried out - technical, geophysical and astronomical.

In 1967, during the automatic docking of two unmanned artificial Earth satellites “Cosmos-186” and “Cosmos-188”, the largest scientific and technical problem of meeting and docking spacecraft in space was solved, which made it possible to create the first orbital station (USSR) in a relatively short time and choose the most rational scheme for the flight of spacecraft to the Moon with the landing of earthlings on its surface.

In general, solving various problems of space exploration - from launching artificial Earth satellites to launching interplanetary spacecraft and manned spacecraft and stations - has provided a lot of invaluable scientific information about the Universe and the planets of the Solar System and has significantly contributed to the technological progress of mankind. Earth satellites, together with sounding rockets, have made it possible to obtain detailed data about near-Earth space. Thus, with the help of the first artificial satellites, radiation belts were discovered; during their research, the interaction of the Earth with charged particles emitted by the Sun was further studied. Interplanetary space flights have helped us to better understand the nature of many planetary phenomena - solar wind, solar storms, meteor showers, etc.

Spacecraft launched to the Moon transmitted images of its surface, photographing, among other things, its side invisible from Earth with a resolution significantly superior to the capabilities of terrestrial means. Samples of lunar soil were taken, and automatic self-propelled vehicles Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2 were delivered to the lunar surface.

Lunokhod-1

Automatic spacecraft have made it possible to obtain additional information about the shape and gravitational field of the Earth, to clarify the fine details of the shape of the Earth and its magnetic field. Artificial satellites have helped to obtain more accurate data about the mass, shape and orbit of the Moon. The masses of Venus and Mars were also refined using observations of spacecraft flight trajectories.

The design, manufacture and operation of very complex space systems have made a major contribution to the development of advanced technology. Automatic spacecraft sent to the planets are, in fact, robots controlled from Earth via radio commands. The need to develop reliable systems for solving problems of this kind has led to a better understanding of the problem of analysis and synthesis of various complex technical systems. Such systems today find application both in space research and in many other areas of human activity. The requirements of astronautics necessitated the design of complex automatic devices under severe restrictions caused by the carrying capacity of launch vehicles and space conditions, which was an additional incentive for the rapid improvement of automation and microelectronics.

The undoubted success of the world cosmonautics was the implementation of the ASTP program, the final stage of which - the launch and docking in orbit of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft - was carried out in July 1975.

Soyuz-Apollo docking

This flight marked the beginning of international programs that successfully developed in the last quarter of the 20th century and the undoubted success of which was the manufacture, launch and assembly in orbit of the International Space Station. International cooperation in the field of space services has acquired particular importance, where the leading place belongs to the State Research and Production Space Center named after. M.V. Khrunicheva.

REASONS FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE USSR IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY

What were the main reasons that the USSR became the flagship in the exploration and development of near space? What features of the Soviet approach to the development of astronautics provided such a breakthrough?

Undoubtedly, the formation and development of astronautics in the USSR was influenced by a number of factors. These are the historical traditions of the development of science and technology, the theoretical heritage of earlier periods, the innovative activities of individual outstanding individuals - the founders of RCT, their ability to take scientific risks; a combination of the required level of development of the theoretical base and the economic possibilities of their practical implementation; a sufficient amount of fundamental scientific research - but all these factors could not work so effectively without the participation of the country’s party-economic management mechanism, which is commonly called the administrative-command system. At the same time, this dependence is also inverse; the “system” can set a task, mobilize resources, tighten the political regime, that is, promote or hinder, but not generate scientific and design thought. By improving the education system and providing access to it to all segments of the population, the government has only opened up the opportunity for the development of cognitive and creative potential. The main task fell on the shoulders of Soviet workers. And for the time being, they coped with this task with dignity. That is, success in space exploration was determined mainly not by the system, but by the genius of the people.

Space is alive! Space cannot be dead. There are many innovative projects being developed around the world that are set to expand our understanding of the universe. They are using incredible technology, but many of them still need a lot of time to come to fruition. Although on an astronomical scale this is not much at all.

When significant budget cuts began at NASA, when the space race ended, when the USSR collapsed, people's hopes for space exploration around the world burst at the seams. But through the efforts of private companies and innovative breakthroughs from space agencies around the world, space will still be explored. There are a lot of projects that drive progress in the field of planetary science, deep space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life forms.

WorldView-3 offers extremely detailed images of the Earth. It was created by DigitalGlobe, whose satellites were used by Google Earth. The company currently has five satellites orbiting the Earth. WorldView-3 weighs 2 tons, is 6 meters tall and scans 120,000 square kilometers every day. The level of detail varies from 40 to 20 centimeters, allowing people to see individual plants or distinguish the make of a car. The satellite also collects data on crops and helps determine which plants lack water and which are already ripe. Researchers compare images and possible development scenarios. WorldView-3 has been called “the supercomputer of satellites.”

2. Solar Probe Plus

This NASA spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will launch in 2018. Among its tasks will be the study of the atmosphere of the Sun, and almost closely - up to 2 million kilometers from the star. The device will circle the Sun 24 times. The first revolution will take place 2 months after launch at a distance of 7 million kilometers from the Sun, and after that the approach will begin. Ultimately, the device will come closer to the Sun than Mercury. The mission will last three years. The probe is equipped with a special thermal shield made of carbon composite, which will protect it from temperatures up to 2550 degrees Celsius.

3. Deep space battery

No space agency would turn down a fuel cell that could be used on missions. The new energy storage device is essential to advance NASA's research, which is why the organization recently awarded four contracts to develop it. Energy storage is critical for missions to asteroids, Mars, or beyond. Proposals for this project are being made by a variety of NASA development centers, government research centers and academic institutions.

EmDrive is an experimental propulsion technology that is in its early stages of development. It was created by Robert Scheuer in 2006, but this year NASA became interested in the installation. An experiment conducted by Harold White showed that, although no one knows how. Researchers around the world began making their own versions of the engine.

EmDrive is a microwave propulsion engine powered by solar electricity that can be launched into deep space without liquid fuel and accelerate a spacecraft to speeds far exceeding those available today. No one actually knows how this engine works - essentially, it violates the law of conservation of momentum. There is an opinion that the engine will not work because an error crept into the experiment.

5. Hello Kitty messages

Japan is trying to get children and students interested in learning astrophysics by sending Hello Kitty into space on a satellite and receiving messages from the toy on Earth. One of the goals of the project is to attract investment from private companies in satellites. Since Hello Kitty is one of the most popular characters in Japan, her cultural popularity will help raise awareness of space technology. Sanrio, Hello Kitty's parent company, is also running a contest that will allow people to send messages to their loved ones from space.

6. "Rosetta"

Comet hunter Rosetta orbits a comet heading toward the Sun at 40,000 kilometers per hour. The spacecraft traveled to the comet for 10 years to land a small probe on its surface in November and sample material from the comet. The ship's goal is to understand how planets could be formed from comets.

7. Japanese space elevator

Tokyo-based Obayashi Corporation plans to build a space station 36,000 kilometers above Earth by 2050. The company plans to send tourists up in a carbon nanotube elevator at speeds of about 200 kilometers per hour (the journey will take about a week) and power the entire device with solar panels on a space station floating as a counterweight just above. Obayashi says he has no idea how much such a project would cost, but is working on it.

Tethers Unlimited has been awarded a $500,000 contract to develop a tool called SpiderFab, which will use 3D printers to create structures to help us search for extraterrestrial life. SpiderFab's main goal will be to free us from the need to send anything from Earth - everything will be assembled directly in space.

3D printing offers many beneficial benefits for space exploration: reduced travel time, cost, waste, increased customizability and sizing of parts. The only thing missing was materials. NASA has developed a 3D printer that can choose between different types of alloys to print spacecraft parts. SpaceX recently printed the main oxidizer valve for one of its rockets using such a printer. The company said it will use the technology for three years and will soon try to print a propulsion chamber.

The Skylon spaceplane, designed by a British engineer, can be used for a variety of purposes, from emergency response to space missions. The Skylon's landing and takeoff principle is similar to that of a conventional plane - except it needs a larger runway - but the engines run on liquid oxygen and hydrogen. The team of inventors claims that Skylon will be ready to fly in 2018.

10. 3D printed space telescopes

One NASA aerospace engineer is working on building a space telescope entirely from 3D printed parts. Using rapid prototyping for metal 3D printing, NASA says it can complete one project in just three months. difficult to manufacture, so 3D printing all parts - from mirrors to cameras - will help overcome material and operational challenges.

People began to talk about such a concept as the history of astronautics in the mid-twentieth century. The first serious theoretical works appeared later, but it was in the fifties of the last century that key events related to the conquest of space by man took place.

One of the first domestic theorists of the industry was K. E. Tsiolkovsky, who in his work clarified that accurate calculation is always preceded by fantasy. This is the most accurate reflection of astronautics, since at first it was described only in works of fiction and seemed like a pipe dream, but today it is part of everyday life and an absolute reality.

The main stages of the development of astronautics in the USSR

In order to understand how dynamically cosmonautics developed, it is enough to turn to the chronology of events in the second half of the last century. Famous people who are fifty or sixty years old today are actually the same age as space exploration.

The short sequence is as follows:

The fourth of October 1957 - the launch of the first satellite - symbolized the scientific and technological progress of the country and its transition from an agrarian state.
Since November 1957, satellites began to be regularly launched aimed at studying astrophysics, natural resources and meteorology.
April 12, 1962 - the first human flight into space. Yu. A. Gagarin became the first in history who was able to observe the earth from the orbit of the planet. A month later, the second pilot took a photo of the Earth.
Creation of a manned Soyuz spacecraft to explore the earth's natural resources from orbit.
In 1971, the first orbital station was launched, providing the opportunity for long-term stay in space - Salyut.
Since 1977, a complex of stations began operating, which made it possible to make a flight lasting almost five years.

Salyut orbital station

In parallel with the study of the Earth, research was carried out on cosmic bodies, including the nearest planets: Venus and. Even before the nineties, more than thirty stations and satellites were launched for them.

Founder and father of Russian cosmonautics

The title of the father of Russian cosmonautics and its founder belongs to Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. He created a theoretical justification for the use of rockets for space flights. And his idea of using rocket trains later resulted in multi-stage installations.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) - Russian and Soviet self-taught scientist and inventor, school teacher. Founder of theoretical cosmonautics.

Based on his works, rocket science developed in the initial stages.

The self-taught scientist conducted his research at the end of the nineteenth century. His conclusions boiled down to the fact that it is the rocket, as a structure, that is capable of making space flight. In his article, he even presented a project for such a device.

However, his achievements did not find a response from either his compatriots or his foreign colleagues. Its developments were turned to only in the twenties and thirties of the last century. Episodes of his thoughts are still addressed to this day, so the role of the academician is great.

The name of the Russian scientist should be known, since for children his research work is relevant in the 21st century. Nowadays, the profession of a physicist-inventor is not so relevant, although new prospects are opening up with space exploration.

Achievements of modern cosmonautics and prospects for its development

Modern astronautics has stepped far ahead compared to the developments of the Soviet period. Today, life in space is no longer something fantastic; it is a reality that can be fully realized in practice. Currently, there are already tourism destinations, and research on bodies and objects occurs at the highest level.

Along with this, it is difficult to predict the further development of technology; this is largely due to the rapidly developing branches of physics.

The main directions and developments of this industry in Russia include:

creation of solar power plants;
transfer of the most dangerous industries to space;
influencing the earth's climate.

So far, the above areas are only at the development stage, but no one excludes the possibility that in a few years they will become as much a reality as regular flights into orbit.

The importance of astronautics for humanity

Since the middle of the last century, humanity has significantly expanded its ideas not only about our planet, but also about the Universe as a whole. The flights themselves, although not yet so distant, open up prospects for people to explore other planets and galaxies.

On the one hand, this seems to be a distant prospect, on the other hand, if we compare the dynamics of technology development over the past decades, it seems possible for our contemporaries to become a witness and participant in the events.

Thanks to space exploration, it became possible to look at some familiar sciences and disciplines not just more deeply, but also from a completely different angle, and to apply previously unknown research methods.

Practical space engineering contributed to the rapid development of complex techniques that would not have been used under other circumstances.

Today, astronautics is a part of every person’s life, even if people don’t think about it. For example, communicating on a mobile phone or watching satellite television is possible thanks to developments in the second half of the twentieth century.

The main areas of study of the last twenty years include: near-Earth space, the Moon and distant planets. Speaking about how old cosmonautics is, we will count down from the launch of the first satellite, which means sixty-one years in 2018.