One of the most outstanding achievements of Soviet science is undoubtedly space exploration in the USSR. Similar developments were carried out in many countries, but only the USSR and the USA were able to achieve real success at that time, ahead of other states for many decades. At the same time, the first steps in space really belong to the Soviet people. It was in the Soviet Union that the first successful launch was carried out, as well as the launch of the carrier rocket with the PS-1 satellite into orbit. Until this triumphant moment, six generations of rockets had been created, with the help of which it was not possible to successfully launch into space. And only the R-7 generation made it possible for the first time to develop the first space velocity of 8 km / s, which made it possible to overcome the force of gravity and put the object into low Earth orbit. The first space rockets were converted from long-range combat ballistic missiles. They were improved, and the engines were boosted.

The first successful launch of an artificial earth satellite occurred on October 4, 1957. However, only ten years later this date was recognized as the official day of the proclamation of the space age. The first satellite was called PS-1, it was launched from the fifth research site, which is under the jurisdiction of the Union Ministry of Defense. By itself, this satellite weighed only 80 kilograms, and in diameter it did not exceed 60 centimeters. This object stayed in orbit for 92 days, during which time it covered a distance of 60 million kilometers.

The device was equipped with four antennas through which the satellite communicated with the ground. The composition of this device included an electric power supply, batteries, a radio transmitter, various sensors, an on-board electrical automation system, and a device for thermal control. The satellite did not reach the earth, it burned up in the earth's atmosphere.

Further space exploration by the Soviet Union was, of course, successful. It was the USSR that first managed to send a man on a space journey. Moreover, the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, managed to return alive from space, thanks to which he became a national hero. However, subsequently, space exploration in the USSR, in short, was restrained. The lag in technical terms and the era of stagnation had an effect. However, the successes achieved in those days, Russia continues to enjoy to this day.

Space exploration in the USSR: facts, results

August 12, 1962 - the world's first group space flight was made on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft.

June 16, 1963 - the world's first flight into space by a female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was made on the Vostok-6 spacecraft.

October 12, 1964 - the world's first multi-seat Voskhod-1 spacecraft flew.

March 18, 1965 - the first human spacewalk was made in history. Alexei Leonov made a spacewalk from Voskhod-2 spacecraft.

October 30, 1967 - the first docking of two unmanned spacecraft "Cosmos-186" and "Cosmos-188" was made.

September 15, 1968 - the first return of the Zond-5 spacecraft to Earth after a flyby of the Moon. On board were living creatures: turtles, fruit flies, worms, bacteria.

January 16, 1969 - the first docking of two manned spacecraft Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 was carried out.

November 15, 1988 - the first and only space flight of the MTKK "Buran" in automatic mode.

Planetary research in the USSR

January 4, 1959 - the Luna-1 station passed at a distance of 60 thousand km from the surface of the Moon and entered the heliocentric orbit. It is the world's first artificial satellite of the Sun.

September 14, 1959 - the station "Luna-2" for the first time in the world reached the surface of the Moon in the region of the Sea of ​​Clarity.

October 4, 1959 - the Luna-3 automatic interplanetary station was launched, which for the first time in the world photographed the side of the Moon invisible from Earth. During the flight, for the first time in the world, a gravitational maneuver was carried out.

February 3, 1966 - AMS Luna-9 made the world's first soft landing on the surface of the Moon, panoramic images of the Moon were transmitted.

March 1, 1966 - the station "Venera-3" for the first time reached the surface of Venus. This is the world's first flight of a spacecraft from Earth to another planet. On April 3, 1966, the Luna-10 station became the first artificial satellite of the Moon.

September 24, 1970 - the Luna-16 station took samples of lunar soil and then delivered them to Earth. This is the first unmanned spacecraft to bring rock samples to Earth from another space body.

November 17, 1970 - soft landing and start of operation of the world's first semi-automatic self-propelled vehicle Lunokhod-1.

December 15, 1970 - the world's first soft landing on the surface of Venus: Venera-7.

On October 20, 1975, the Venera-9 station became the first artificial satellite of Venus.

October 1975 - soft landing of two spacecraft "Venera-9" and "Venera-10" and the world's first pictures of the surface of Venus.

The Soviet Union has done a lot for the study and exploration of outer space. The USSR was many years ahead of other countries, including the US superpower.

Sources: antiquehistory.ru, prepbase.ru, badlike.ru, ussr.0-ua.com, www.vorcuta.ru, ru.wikipedia.org

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

I-stage - the first launch of the spacecraft

The date when space exploration began is October 4, 1957 - this is the day when the Soviet Union, as part of its space program, was the first to launch a spacecraft, Sputnik-1, into space. On this day, every year in the USSR, and then in Russia, Cosmonautics Day is celebrated.
The USA and the USSR competed with each other in space exploration and the first battle was left to 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 the first launch of a spacecraft with a man on board, which was Yuri Gagarin.

Gagarin became the first man to go into space and return alive and unharmed to Earth.

Stage III - the first landing on the moon

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

This fateful event occurred on July 21, 1969 as part of NASA's Apollo 11 space program. Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the surface of the earth. Then the famous phrase was said in the news: "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 out of the 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 entering other systems.

V-stage - launch of the reusable spacecraft "Columbia"

In 1981, NASA launches a reusable spacecraft called Columbia, which has been in service for more than twenty years and makes almost thirty trips into outer space, providing incredibly useful information about it to man. The shuttle Columbia retires in 2003 to make way for newer spacecraft.

Stage VI - launch of the space orbital station "Mir"

In 1986, the USSR launched the Mir space station into orbit, which functioned until 2001. In total, more than 100 astronauts stayed on it and there were completely more than 2 thousand most important experiments.

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

April 12, 1961 - The first flight around the Earth of cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin on the Vostok satellite ship (USSR).

August 6, 1961 - Daily flight around the Earth of cosmonaut G. S. Titov on the Vostok-2 satellite ship (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 satellites "Vostok-3" and "Vostok-4" (USSR).

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

November 1, 1962 - Flight of Mars by the Mars-1 automatic interplanetary station on 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-seat Voskhod spacecraft (USSR).

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

March 18, 1965 - Exit of cosmonaut A. A. Leonov from the spacecraft "Voskhod-2", piloted by P. I. Belyaev, into open space (USSR).

March 23, 1965 - The first maneuver in orbit of the artificial satellite of the Gemini-3 spacecraft with astronauts 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 automatic interplanetary station "Zond-3" (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 Gemini-7 and Gemini-6 satellite ships, with cosmonauts 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 the 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 - The launch of the first automatic station of the Lunar Orbiter series into the orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon.

January 27, 1967 - During tests of the Apollo spacecraft, a fire broke out in the cabin of the spacecraft at launch. Cosmonauts V. Grissom, E. White and R. Chaffee (USA) died.

April 23, 1967 - Flight of the satellite "Soyuz-1" with cosmonaut V. M. Komarov. During the descent to Earth due to the failure of the parachute system, the cosmonaut died (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 exploration by the Mariner-5 automatic station (USA).

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

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

5, January 10, 1969-Continuation of the direct study 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 - The first docking in orbit of the Earth's satellite 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 passage of its automatic stations "Mariner-6" on July 31, 1969 and "Mariner-7" on August 5, 1969 (USA).

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

July 16, 1969 - First landing on the moon by a manned spacecraft, Apollo 11. Cosmonauts N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin spent 21 hours 36 minutes on the Moon in the Sea of ​​Tranquility (July 20-21, 1969). M. Collins was in the command compartment of the ship in a 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 a controlled descent (USSR).

October 11, 12, 13, 1969-Group flight with maneuvering 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 Interkosmos series with scientific equipment from the socialist countries (USSR).

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

April 11, 1970 - Flyby of 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 an accident on a ship (USA).

June 1, 1970 - Flight lasting 425 hours 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 automatic station "Venera-7" with scientific equipment (USSR).

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

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

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

January 31, 1971 - Apollo 14 manned spacecraft landing on the moon near the Fra Mauro crater. Astronauts A. Shepard and E. Mitchell spent 33 hours and 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 vehicle of the Mars-3 automatic station and its entry into the orbit of an artificial satellite of Mars on December 2, 1971 (USSR).

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

June 6, 1971 - Flight lasting 570 hours of 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, as a result of depressurization of the spacecraft cabin, the astronauts died (USSR).

July 26, 1971 - Apollo 15 lunar landing. Cosmonauts D. Scott and J. Irwin spent 66 hours and 55 minutes on the Moon (July 30 - August 2, 1971). A. Warden 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 the earth from a section of the mainland adjacent to the Sea of ​​​​Plenty (USSR).

March 3, 1972 - Flight by the Pioneer-10 automatic station of the asteroid belt (July 1972 - February 1973) and Jupiter (December 4, 1973) with subsequent exit from the solar system (USA).

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

April 16, 1972 - Apollo 16 lunar landing. 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 stayed on the Moon for 75 hours 00 minutes (December 11-15, 1972). R. Evans was in a selenocentric orbit (USA).

January 8, 1973 Automatic station "Luna-21" delivered January 16, 1973 to the Moon "Lunokhod-2". During 5 lunar days, the lunar rover traveled 37 km (USSR).

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

Space exploration began from the most ancient times, when a person only learned to count by the stars, highlighting the constellations. And only four hundred years ago, after the invention of the telescope, astronomy began to develop rapidly, bringing more and more new discoveries to science.

The 17th century was a transitional age for astronomy, when the scientific method began to be applied in space exploration, thanks to which the Milky Way, other star clusters and nebulae were discovered. And with the creation of the spectroscope, which is able to decompose the light emitted by a celestial object through a prism, scientists have learned to measure the data of celestial bodies, such as temperature, chemical composition, mass and other measurements.

Starting from the end of the 19th century, astronomy entered a phase of numerous discoveries and achievements, the main breakthrough of science in the 20th century was the launch of the first satellite into space, the first manned flight into space, access to open space, landing on the moon and space missions to the planets of the solar system. The inventions of super-powerful quantum computers in the 19th century also promise many new studies, both of already known planets and stars, and the discovery of new distant corners of the universe.

Astronautics 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 story of the birth and development of the idea of ​​space flight, which was initiated by fantasy, and only then did the first theoretical work and experiments appear.

So, initially, in human dreams, flight into space was carried out with the help of fabulous means or 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 cannons 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 the description of space travel.

Everything stated by science fiction writers excited the minds of scientists. So, K.E. Tsiolkovsky said: "At first they inevitably come: a thought, a fantasy, a fairy tale, and after them an exact calculation marches." The publication at the beginning of the 20th century of the theoretical works of the pioneers of astronautics K.E. Tsiolkovsky, F.A. Tsander, Yu.V. Kondratyuk, R.Kh. Goddard, G. Ganswindt, R. Eno-Peltri, G. Oberth, W. Gohmann to some extent limited the flight of fantasy, but at the same time brought to life new directions in science - there were attempts to determine what astronautics can give to society and how it affects him.

It must be said that the idea to combine the cosmic and terrestrial areas of human activity belongs to the founder of theoretical astronautics K.E. Tsiolkovsky. When the scientist said: "The planet is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot live forever in the cradle," he did not put forward an alternative - either the Earth or space. Tsiolkovsky never considered going into space a consequence of some kind of 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 dispose within the solar system, as on the Earth itself, which will remain the home of mankind for an indefinitely long time."

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 specialists from the RNII to develop a project for a manned high-altitude rocket vehicle (a cabin with two astronauts) to study the upper 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-propellant rocket designed for vertical flight to a height of up to 200 km.

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

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

In the BP-190 project, the following solutions were proposed for the first time, which have found application in modern spacecraft:

• parachute descent system, braking rocket engine for soft landing, separation system using pyrobolts;
• electrocontact rod for predictive ignition of the soft landing engine, non-ejection pressurized cabin with a life support system;
• cockpit stabilization system outside the dense layers of the atmosphere using low-thrust nozzles.

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

In a report to the Government in 1954 on the possibility of developing an artificial satellite, S.P. Korolev wrote: "At your instruction, I submit a memorandum by Comrade Tikhonravov M.K. "On an artificial satellite of the Earth ...". In a report on scientific activities for 1954, S.P. Korolev noted: "We would consider it possible to development of the project of the artificial satellite itself, taking into account the ongoing work (the work of M.K. Tikhonravov is especially noteworthy ...) ".

Work began on preparations for the launch of the first satellite PS-1. The first Council of Chief Designers headed by S.P. Ko-rolev, who later carried out the management of the space program of the USSR, which became the world leader in space exploration. Created under the leadership of S.P. The queen of OKB-1 -TsKBEM - NPO Energia has been from the beginning of the 1950s. center of space science and industry in the USSR.

Cosmonautics is unique in that much of what was predicted first by science fiction writers and then by scientists has come true with cosmic speed. Just over forty years have passed since the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, October 4, 1957, and the history of cosmonautics already contains a series of remarkable achievements, obtained initially by the USSR and the USA, and then by other space powers.

Already many thousands of satellites are flying in orbits around the Earth, the devices have reached the surface of the Moon, Venus, Mars; scientific equipment was sent to Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn to obtain knowledge about these remote planets of the solar system.

The triumph of cosmonautics was the launch on April 12, 1961 of the first man into space - Yu.A. Gagarin. Then - a group flight, a man's spacewalk, the creation of the orbital stations "Salyut", "Mir" ... The USSR for a long time became the leading country in the world in manned programs.

Indicative is the trend of transition from the launch of single spacecraft to solve primarily military tasks to the creation of large-scale space systems in the interests of solving a wide range of problems (including socio-economic and scientific ones) and to the integration of space industries of various countries.

What has space science achieved in the 20th century? Powerful liquid-propellant rocket engines have been developed to communicate cosmic speeds to launch vehicles. In this area, the merit of V.P. Glushko. The creation of such engines became possible due to the implementation of new scientific ideas and schemes, which practically exclude 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 equipment, 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. Rauschenbakh and others developed mathematical laws and navigation and ballistic support for space flights.

The tasks 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 perfect 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 - the dynamics of space flight.

Design bureaus headed by N.A. Pilyugin and V.I. Kuznetsov, created unique control systems for rocket and space technology with high reliability.

At the same time, V.P. Glushko, A.M. Isaev created the world's foremost 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. And now the leading positions of Russia in this area are preserved.

Thanks to the intense creative work of the design bureaus under the leadership of V.M. Myasishcheva, V.N. Chelomeya, D.A. Polukhin, work was carried out to create large-sized especially strong 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, modules of the twenty-ton class Kvant, Kristall, "Nature", "Spektr", modern modules for the International Space Station (ISS) "Zarya" and "Zvezda", carrier rockets of the "Proton" family. Creative cooperation between the designers of these design bureaus and the machine-building plant named after. M.V. Khrunichev made it possible by the beginning of the 21st century to create the Angara carrier family, a complex of small spacecraft and to manufacture ISS modules. The merger of the design bureau and the plant and the restructuring of these divisions made it possible to create the largest corporation in Russia - the State Space Research and Production Center. M.V. Khrunichev.

A lot of 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 is unparalleled in world cosmonautics. In the same design bureau under the leadership of V.F. Utkin created a medium-class launch vehicle "Zenith" - a representative of the second generation of launch vehicles.

For four decades, the capabilities of control systems for launch vehicles and spacecraft have increased significantly. If in 1957-1958. when launching artificial satellites into orbit around the Earth, an error of several tens of kilometers was made, then by the mid-1960s. the accuracy of the control systems was already so high that it allowed the spacecraft launched to the moon to land on its surface with a deviation of only 5 km from the intended point. Control systems designed by N.A. Pilyugin were among the best in the world.

The 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 to Earth photographs of the planet Mars from a distance exceeding 200 million km, and in 1980 the image of Saturn was transmitted to Earth from distances of about 1.5 billion km. Scientific and Production Association of Applied Mechanics, headed by M.F. Reshetnev, was originally created as a branch of the OKB S.P. Queen; this NGO is one of the world leaders in the development of spacecraft for this purpose.

Satellite communication systems are being created that cover almost all countries of the world and provide two-way operational communication with any subscribers. This type of communication has proved to be the most reliable and is becoming more and more profitable. Relay systems make it possible to control space constellations from one point on Earth. Satellite navigation systems have been created and are being operated. Without these systems, the use of modern vehicles is no longer conceivable today - merchant ships, civil aviation aircraft, military equipment, etc.

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

The most important are research in the field of space medicine and life support systems. It is necessary to deeply study man and life support in order to determine what can be entrusted to a man in space, especially during a long space flight.

One of the first space experiments was photographing the Earth, which showed how much observations from space can provide for the discovery and rational use of natural resources. The tasks of developing complexes for photo- and optoelectronic sensing of the earth, mapping, researching natural resources, environmental monitoring, as well as creating medium-class launch vehicles based on R-7A missiles are carried out by the former branch No. GRNPC "TsSKB - Progress" headed by D.I. Kozlov.

In 1967, during the automatic docking of two unmanned artificial earth satellites Kosmos-186 and Kosmos-188, the largest scientific and technical problem of rendezvous and docking of 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 (USA). In 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle (USA) reusable space transport system was completed, and in 1991 the domestic Energia-Buran system was launched.

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

Spacecraft launched to the Moon transmitted pictures of its surface, photographed, including its invisible side from the Earth, with a resolution that significantly exceeds 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.

Automatic spacecraft 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 on the mass, shape and orbit of the moon. The masses of Venus and Mars have also been refined using observations of spacecraft flight paths.

A great contribution to the development of advanced technology was made by the design, manufacture and operation of very complex space systems. Automatic spacecraft sent to the planets are, in fact, robots controlled from the Earth by 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 find application both in space research and in many other areas of human activity. The requirements of cosmonautics necessitated the design of complex automatic devices under severe restrictions caused by the carrying capacity of launch vehicles and the conditions of outer space, which was an additional incentive for the rapid improvement of automation and microelectronics.

The design bureaus led by G.N. Babakin, G.Ya. Guskov, V.M. Kovtunenko, D.I. Kozlov, N.N. Sheremetevsky and others. Cosmonautics brought to life a new direction in technology and construction - spaceport construction. The founders of this direction in our country were teams led by prominent scientists V.P. Barmin and V.N. Solovyov. Currently, there are more than a dozen spaceports in the world with unique ground-based automated complexes, test stations and other sophisticated means of preparing spacecraft and launch vehicles for launch. Russia is intensively carrying out launches from the world-famous Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes, as well as conducting experimental launches from the Svobodny cosmodrome being created in the east of the country.

Modern needs for communication and remote control over long distances have led to the development of high-quality command and control systems, which have contributed to the development of technical methods for tracking spacecraft and measuring their movement parameters at interplanetary distances, opening up new areas of satellite application. In modern astronautics, this is one of the priority areas. Ground-based automated control system developed by M.S. Ryazansky and L.I. Gusev, and today ensures the functioning of the Russian orbital constellation.

The development of work in the field of space technology has led to the creation of space meteorological support systems, which, with the required periodicity, receive images of the Earth's cloud cover and conduct observations in various spectral ranges. Meteorological satellite data are the basis for compiling operational weather forecasts, primarily for large regions. At present, almost all countries of the world use space weather data.

The results obtained in the field of satellite geodesy are especially important for solving military problems, mapping natural resources, improving the accuracy of trajectory measurements, and also for studying the Earth. With the use of space tools, a unique opportunity arises to solve the problems of ecological monitoring of the Earth and global control of natural resources. The results of space surveys proved to be an effective means of monitoring the development of agricultural crops, identifying plant diseases, measuring certain soil factors, the state of the aquatic environment, etc. The combination of various methods of satellite imagery provides practically reliable, complete and detailed information about natural resources and the state of the environment.

In addition to the already defined directions, obviously, new directions for the use of space technology will also develop, for example, the organization of technological industries that are impossible under terrestrial conditions. Thus, weightlessness can be used to obtain crystals of semiconductor compounds. Such crystals will find application in the electronics industry to create a new class of semiconductor devices. Under non-gravity conditions, freely floating liquid metal and other materials are easily deformed by weak magnetic fields. This opens the way for obtaining ingots of any predetermined shape without their crystallization in molds, as is done on Earth. The peculiarity of such ingots is the almost complete absence of internal stresses and high purity.

The use of space facilities plays a decisive role in creating a single information space in Russia, ensuring the globalization of telecommunications, especially during the period of mass introduction of the Internet in the country. The future in the development of the Internet is the widespread use of high-speed broadband space communication channels, because in the 21st century the possession and exchange of information will become no less important than the possession of nuclear weapons.

Our manned cosmonautics is aimed at the further development of science, the rational use of the Earth's natural resources, and the solution of problems of ecological monitoring of land and ocean. For this, it is necessary to create manned vehicles both for flights in near-Earth orbits and for the realization of the age-old dream of mankind - flights to other planets.

The possibility of implementing such ideas is inextricably linked with solving the problems of creating new engines for flights in outer space that do not require significant fuel reserves, for example, ion, photon, and also use natural forces - gravity, torsion fields, etc.

The creation of new unique samples of rocket and space technology, as well as methods of space research, space experiments on automatic and manned spacecraft and stations in near-Earth space, as well as in orbits of the planets of the solar system, are fertile ground for combining the efforts of scientists and designers from different countries.

At the beginning of the 21st century, tens of thousands of objects of artificial origin are in space flight. These include spacecraft and fragments (last stages of launch vehicles, radomes, adapters and detachable parts).

Therefore, along with the acute problem of combating the pollution of our planet, the question of combating the contamination of near-Earth outer space will arise. Already at present, one of the problems is the distribution of the frequency resource of the geostationary orbit due to its saturation with KA for various purposes.

The tasks of space exploration were and are being solved in the USSR and Russia by a number of organizations and enterprises headed by a galaxy of heirs of the first Council of Chief Designers Yu.P. Semenov, N.A. Anfimov, I.V. Barmin, G.P. Biryukov, B.I. Gubanov, G.A. Efremov, A.G. Kozlov, B.I. Katorgin, G.E. Lozino-Lozinsky and others.

Along with carrying out experimental design work, the mass production of space technology also developed in the USSR. More than 1,000 enterprises were included in the cooperation for this work to create the Energia-Buran complex. Directors of manufacturing plants S.S. Bovkun, A.I. Kiselev, I.I. Klebanov, L.D. Kuchma, A.A. Makarov, V.D. Vachnadze, A.A. Chizhov and many others in a short time debugged production and ensured the release of products. Particularly noteworthy is the role of a number of leaders in the space industry. This is D.F. Ustinov, K.N. Rudnev, V.M. Ryabikov, L.V. Smirnov, S.A. Afanasiev, O.D. Baklanov, V.Kh. Doguzhiev, O.N. Shishkin, Yu.N. Koptev, A.G. Karas, A.A. Maksimov, V.L. Ivanov.

The successful launch of Kosmos-4 in 1962 began the use of outer space in the interests of the defense of our country. This problem was solved first by NII-4 MO, and then TsNII-50 MO was separated from its composition. Here, the creation of military and dual-use space systems was substantiated, in the development of which the famous military scientists T.I. Levin, G.P. Melnikov, I.V. Meshcheryakov, Yu.A. Mozzhorin, P.E. Elyasberg, I.I. Yatsunsky and others.

It is generally recognized that the use of space assets makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of the armed forces' operations by 1.5-2 times. Features of the conduct of wars and armed conflicts at the end of the 20th century showed that the role of outer space in solving the problems of military confrontation is constantly increasing. Only space means of reconnaissance, navigation, communications provide the ability to see the enemy in the entire depth of his defense, global communications, high-precision operational determination of the coordinates of any objects, which makes it possible to conduct combat operations practically "on the move" in militarily unequipped territories and remote theaters of military operations. Only the use of space means will make it possible to ensure the protection of territories from a nuclear missile attack by any aggressor. Space becomes the basis of the military power of each state - this is a bright trend of the new millennium.

Under these conditions, new approaches are needed to the development of promising samples of rocket and space technology, which are fundamentally different from the existing generation of space vehicles. Thus, the current generation of orbital vehicles is mainly a specialized application based on pressurized structures, with reference to specific types of launch vehicles. In the new millennium, it is necessary to create multifunctional spacecraft based on unpressurized platforms of a modular design, to develop a unified range of launch vehicles with a low-cost, highly efficient system for their operation. Only in this case, relying on the potential created in the rocket and space industry, Russia in the 21st century will be able to significantly accelerate the development of its economy, provide a qualitatively new level of scientific research, international cooperation, solving socio-economic problems and tasks of strengthening the country's defense capability, which in ultimately strengthen its position in the world community.

The leading enterprises of the rocket and space industry have played and continue to play a decisive role in the creation of Russian rocket and space science and technology: GKNPTs im. M.V. Khrunichev, RSC Energia, TsSKB, KBOM, KBTM, etc. This work is managed by Rosaviakosmos.

At present, Russian cosmonautics is going through hard times. Funding for space programs has been drastically reduced, and a number of enterprises are in an extremely difficult situation. But Russian space science does not stand still. Even in these difficult conditions, Russian scientists are designing space systems for the 21st century.

Abroad, the beginning of outer space exploration was laid by the launch on February 1, 1958 of the American spacecraft Explorer-1. Wernher von Braun, who until 1945 was one of the leading specialists in the field of rocket technology in Germany, headed the American space program, and then worked in the USA. He created the Jupiter-S launch vehicle on the basis of the Redstone ballistic missile, with the help of which the Explorer-1 was launched.

On February 20, 1962, the Atlas launch vehicle, developed under the leadership of C. Bossart, launched the Mercury spacecraft, piloted by the first US astronaut J. Tlenn, into orbit. However, all these achievements were not full-fledged, as they repeated the steps already taken by the Soviet cosmonautics. Based on this, the US government has made efforts to win a leading position in the space race. And in certain areas of space activity, in certain areas of the space marathon, they succeeded.

Thus, the United States was the first in 1964 to put a spacecraft into geostationary orbit. But the greatest success was the delivery of American astronauts to the Moon on the Apollo 11 spacecraft and the exit of the first people - N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin - to its surface. This achievement became possible due to the development of Saturn-type launch vehicles, created in 1964-1967, under the leadership of von Braun. under the Apollo program.

The Saturn launch vehicles were a family of two- and three-stage carriers of heavy and super-heavy class, based on the use of unified blocks. The two-stage Saturn-1 version made it possible to launch a payload weighing 10.2 tons into low Earth orbit, and the three-stage Saturn-5 - 139 tons (47 tons per flight path to the Moon).

A major achievement in the development of American space technology was the creation of the reusable space system "Space Shuttle" with an orbital stage with aerodynamic quality, the first launch of which took place in April 1981. And, despite the fact that all the possibilities provided by reusability were not fully used, of course, it was a major (albeit very expensive) step forward in space exploration.

The first successes of the USSR and the USA prompted some countries to intensify their efforts in space activities. American carriers launched the first English spacecraft "Ariel-1" (1962), the first Canadian spacecraft "Aluet-1" (1962), the first Italian spacecraft "San Marco" (1964). However, spacecraft launches by foreign carriers made the countries - owners of spacecraft dependent on the United States. Therefore, work began on creating their own media. The greatest success in this field was achieved by France, which already in 1965 launched the A-1 spacecraft with its own carrier Diaman-A. In the future, building on this success, France has developed a family of carriers "Arian", which is one of the most cost-effective.

The undoubted success of 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. This flight marked the beginning of international programs that successfully developed in the last quarter of the 20th century. century and the undoubted success of which was the manufacture, launch and assembly in orbit of the International Space Station. Of particular importance is international cooperation in the field of space services, where the leading place belongs to the GKNPTs them. M.V. Khrunichev.

In this book, the authors, based on their many years of experience in the design and practical creation of rocket and space systems, analysis and generalization of the developments in astronautics known to them in Russia and abroad, set out their point of view on the development of astronautics in the 21st century. The immediate future will determine whether we were right or not. I would like to express my gratitude for valuable advice on the content of the book to Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences N.A. Anfimov and A.A. Galeev, Doctors of Technical Sciences G.M. Tamkovich and V.V. Ostroukhov.

The authors are grateful for the help in collecting materials and discussing the manuscript of the book, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor B.N. Rodionov, candidates of technical sciences A.F. Akimova, N.V. Vasilyeva, I.N. Golovaneva, S.B. Kabanova, V.T. Konovalova, M.I. Makarova, A.M. Maksimova, L.S. Medushevsky, E.G. Trofimova, I.L. Cherkasov, candidate of military sciences S.V. Pavlov, leading specialists of the Research Institute of KS A.A. Kachekan, Yu.G. Pichurina, V.L. Svetlichny, as well as Yu.A. Peshnin and N.G. Makarov for technical assistance in preparing the book. The authors express their deep gratitude for valuable advice on the content of the manuscript to Candidates of Technical Sciences E.I. Motorny, V.F. Nagavkin, O.K. Roskin, S.V. Sorokin, S.K. Shaevich, V.Yu. Yuryev and program director I.A. Glazkova.

The authors will accept with gratitude all the comments, suggestions and critical articles that, we believe, will follow after the publication of the book and once again confirm that the problems of astronautics are really relevant and require close attention of scientists and practitioners, as well as all those who live in the future.