History of aviation and astronautics mgtu ha. Aviation history: interesting facts and photos

Filippov Dmitry Alexandrovich, 10th grade student

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History of aviation and astronautics

Questions horizontally

1. An American scientist who in 1923 began developing a liquid-propellant rocket engine, a working prototype of which was created by the end of 1925. (7)

1. a non-motorized, heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight by the aerodynamic lift created on the wing by the incoming air flow. (6)

1. German scientist who laid out the principles of interplanetary flight in the 1920s. (5)

1. Who launched a helicopter without a pilot in 1910? (9)

1. The theory and practice of flight in the atmosphere, as well as the collective name of related activities. (7)

1. What fuel did the plane of the American mechanics brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright run on with an internal combustion engine? (7)

1. Cosmos translated from Greek. (9)

1. In what month was the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, launched? (7)

1. Italian physicist, mechanic, astronomer, philosopher and mathematician, the first to use a telescope to observe celestial bodies. (7)

1. The first practically used jet aircraft was..., which made its first flight in 1939. (7)

1. Who made the first manned orbital flight. (7)

1. Who invented it in 400 BC? e. mechanical bird in Greece. (10)

1. Who took the first step on the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite with the words: “This is a small step for one person, but a huge leap for all humanity.” (9)

1. The first manned helicopter to fly above the ground was designed by a Frenchman... (5)

1. The name of the animal that first went into space. (5)

1. The name of the brothers who in 1783 tested a canvas balloon that flew a distance of 2.5 km at an altitude of 2000 m in 10 minutes; they subsequently launched a balloon with people on board. (10)

1. An automatic observatory in orbit around the Earth. (5)

Vertical questions

1. Rear admiral, sailor who opened the age of world aviation and created the aeronautical projectile. (9)

1. A branch of hydroaeromechanics that studies the equilibrium of gaseous media, mainly the atmosphere. (eleven)

1. A flying machine driven by a clock spring, invented on January 1, 1745 in Russia. (10)

1. The name of the inventor of the first flight and navigation instruments. (7)

1. Russian scientist, one of the first to put forward the idea of ​​​​using rockets for space flights. (eleven)

1. A device that was launched on March 3, 1972 and subsequently left the solar system. (6)

1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (4)

1. To which planet, on March 1, 1966, was the world's first flight of a USSR spacecraft from Earth made? (6)

1. Polish astronomer, author of the heliocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution. (8)

1. Who broke the sound barrier in a Bell X-1 rocket-powered aircraft in October 1947? (5)

1. Who was the first in Russia to study the laws of air movement and develop an aircraft? (9)

1. The name of the world's first female astronaut. (9)

1. In which country did a man fly a kite in 559? (5)

answers

Questions with answers horizontally

4. GODDARD -American scientist who in 1923 began developing a liquid-propellant rocket engine, a working prototype of which was created by the end of 1925.

6. GLIDER - a non-motorized, heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight by the aerodynamic lift created on the wing by the incoming air flow.

7. OBERT -German scientist who laid out the principles of interplanetary flight in the 1920s.

8. SIKORSKY -Who launched a helicopter without a pilot in 1910.

11. AVIATION -Theory and practice of flight in the atmosphere, as well as the collective name of related activities.

12. KEROSENE -What fuel did the plane of the American mechanics brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright run on with an internal combustion engine?

14. UNIVERSE -Cosmos translated from Greek.

15. OCTOBER -In what month was the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik-1, launched?

17. GALILEO -Italian physicist, mechanic, astronomer, philosopher and mathematician, the first to use a telescope to observe celestial bodies.

19. HENKEL -The first practically used jet aircraft was..., which made its first flight in 1939.

21. GAGARIN -Who made the first manned orbital flight.

22. TARENTSKY -Who invented in 400 BC. e. mechanical bird in Greece.

24. ARMSTRONG -Who took the first step on the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite with the words: “This is a small step for one person, but a huge leap for all mankind.”

25. ROOT -The first manned helicopter to fly above the ground was designed by a Frenchman...

26. LAIKA -Name of the animal that first went into space.

27. MONTGOLFIER -The name of the brothers who in 1783 tested a canvas balloon that flew a distance of 2.5 km at an altitude of 2000 m in 10 minutes; they subsequently launched a balloon with people on board.

28. HUBBLE -Automatic observatory in orbit around the Earth.

Questions with answers vertically

1. MOZHAYSKY -Rear Admiral, sailor who opened the age of world aviation and created the aeronautical projectile.

2. AEROSTATICS -Section of hydroaeromechanics, which studies the equilibrium of gaseous media, mainly the atmosphere.

3. HELICOPTER -A flying machine driven by a clock spring, invented on January 1, 1745 in Russia.

5. DOLITTLE -Name of the inventor of the first flight and navigation instruments.

9. TSIOLKOVSKY -Russian scientist, one of the first to put forward the idea of ​​​​using rockets for space flights.

10. PIONEER -A device that was launched on March 3, 1972 and subsequently left the solar system.

13. NASA -National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

14. VENUS -To which planet, on March 1, 1966, was the world's first flight of a USSR spacecraft from Earth made?

16. COPERNIUS -Polish astronomer, author of the heliocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution.

18. YEGER -Who in October 1947, on a plane with a Bell X-1 rocket engine, exceeded the sound barrier.

20. LOMONOSOV -Who was the first in Russia to study the laws of air movement and develop an aircraft?

22. TERESHKOVA -The surname of the world's first female astronaut.

23. CHINA -In which country did a man fly a kite in 559?

In a picturesque and respectable area of ​​the capital, just a five-minute walk from the Dynamo metro station, in an ancient building that once housed the Apollo restaurant, there is one not the most famous, but truly unique museum. There are so many museums in our city that it wouldn’t take a lifetime to see them all, so now we’ll tell you about this amazing house that we opened thanks to the community moscultura . If you are interested in the history of aeronautics, Russian aviation and cosmonautics, then you will probably be interested. If you are far from the romance of “dusty roads” and know aviation only as a means of transport that takes you from point A to point B, then you will also be interested, because you will not get so much rare and diverse information anywhere else.
So, Central House of Aviation and Cosmonautics, Krasnoarmeyskaya street, building 4

We can say with confidence that the sky leaves no one indifferent. Man is so constructed that his cherished dream has always been wings! Daredevils rushed upward and brought closer the day when the first man would fly into space.

Aviation developed rapidly and in 1927, on the initiative of the Second All-Union Conference, the Aviation Museum was founded in Moscow. From the beginning of its opening, the Central Aerochemical Museum (that’s what it was called then) surprised visitors with its unique exhibits. For example, at the entrance there was one of the gliders of Otto Lilienthal, a famous German engineer of the 19th century, who was able to prove that the lift of a wing depends on the angle of attack. This glider is a great rarity, but thanks to Professor Zhukovsky, it was successfully purchased and delivered to Moscow.

Today the museum consists of seven halls and, walking through them, each visitor will see with his own eyes the stages of formation and achievements in aviation construction, the aircraft of Mozhaisky, the Wright brothers-A, Bleriot-XI, Gakkel III, Farmans 4, 16 and 30, Lebed 12, Caudron G -3, MoranZh, “Russian Knight”, “Ilya Muromets”, Slesarev’s heavy aircraft, Grigorovich’s M-5 flying boat, Spad XIII, Spad A-2, “Russia” A, Grizodubov 1 and Yuryev’s helicopter.

In the second hall - “History of Soviet aviation in 1918-1940.” talks about the formation of the aviation industry and shows all the aircraft models of this period.

What are propaganda planes? Here is a vivid example for you. The plane was named after the humorous magazine "Crocodile".

And this is the Maxim Gorky plane. One of a kind. Do you know how he died? This sad event happened not far from the museum, on Khodynka. For a long time, the details of that disaster were kept in archives and only recently were declassified. Come and they will tell you a lot that was unknown to the general public

A tour of the Aviation Museum will help you trace in detail the history of the emergence and improvement of domestic and world aviation and astronautics. The children took part in the guide’s story with genuine interest! Seeing and examining large parts of engines, models of the latest space probes, as well as aircraft - this is something that will remain in the memory for a long time.

Legendary pilots Lyapidevsky, Belyakov, Chkalov, Nesterov. You can listen about each of them endlessly! You can trace the flight route to the USA on a map and find out the details of the rescue of the Chelyuskinites - all this can be done during the excursion.

In the next room “Development of fighters, fighter-bombers and attack aircraft in 1945-1995.” unique exhibits are presented. This is, for example, an ejection seat, which is used on MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27 aircraft.

Altitude-compensating suit. In the event of cabin depressurization at high altitude, it protects the pilot from low pressure.

And the best weapon in the world!

Here you can see and test the fighter's sight

In the third hall “Development of bomber, military transport, naval and civil aviation in 1945-1995.” you can see models of Ruslan, Il-62.

Tell me, why are there these boxes attached to the partitions in front of the first row seats? Did you guess it? Isn't it a gorgeous plane? But he was prohibited from flying due to the high noise level. Although, envy simply played a role here (((It’s unlikely that Airbuses have a lower noise level. Business, nothing personal

The AN-124 Ruslan heavy transport aircraft is the largest serial transport aircraft in the world. When Michael Jackson performed for the first time in Moscow in 1993, his team brought 310 tons of equipment for the concert, renting as many as three Ruslans.

Well, now the history of astronautics. We are all proud of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space. What do we know about what preceded this? Who exactly made it possible that the USSR became a pioneer in the discovery of space? It was here that we learned about dedicated engineers who dreamed of flying to Mars. What is GIRD? How can this be deciphered? A group of engineers working for nothing. Yes exactly! Who is Friedrich Zander? What did he do for rocket science? Who was his student? They will tell you all this on the excursion!

This exhibit is truly rare! This is a descent vehicle that has been in orbit. There are no such things anywhere else, there are only models, and this is the original.

Satellites of the Earth. Artificial. First! And these are not copies, but originals that have passed all tests. Yes, this is the world's first satellite, it was handed over to the museum after bench tests, and its twin brother flew into space.

We all know that dogs were the first to go into orbit. How many were there? These dogs are heroes! They were the ones who made human flight possible!

Here is a special device where the dog was kept before the flight. They will tell you about their fates. There is only one consolation: it was all in the name of science!

And of course, the most interesting! What did the astronauts eat and drink in orbit? Sorry, I can't try...

And this is the lens of a space camera.

The Central House of Aviation and Cosmonautics is a very interesting museum. It contains unique exhibits and employs enthusiastic and erudite people who know history and know how to tell about it. It is unexpected that such a wonderful museum is located very close and is deprived of public attention. Probably the museum of erotic art on Arbat is necessary for our society, I don’t know. But I am sure that our children need the CDAiK to know and be proud of our history! It hurts to look at the deteriorating walls. The people working here are enthusiasts. Does Russia really not need such a museum? Why shouldn’t the state see that in the center of Moscow there is an absolutely stunning collection of exhibits that are directly related to our history? We can rightfully be proud of such museums and show them to our guests. After all, we are the first to go into space! We really hope that DOSAAF and the Ministry of Culture will not neglect the unique museum of our Russian glory.
Come here too! Bring your children, parents, friends! You will take a fascinating excursion and admire Moscow. And leaving the doors of the ancient mansion you will once again realize that you live in a great country!

A section of the history of aviation and astronautics of the National Association of Historians of Natural Sciences and Technology has been created.

The Section of the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics of the Department of the History of Natural Science and Technology of the National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences was an amazingly creative public collective, significantly superior to other similar historical and scientific entities in the number, variety and content of its activities and publications.

The success of the section's activities was predetermined by two factors.

Firstly, the fact that its emergence and activity coincided with the rapid development of astronautics, arousing enormous public interest and corresponding state support for any activity, including historiographical, aimed at satisfying this interest.

Secondly, the section was surprisingly lucky in that from the very beginning its leader, and since 1963 its permanent chairman, was a competent specialist, full of creative strength and aspirations, Viktor Nikolaevich Sokolsky (1924-2002). In 1953, he graduated from the aircraft engineering department of the Moscow Aviation Institute, in 1956, among the first graduate students of the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology, he defended his first dissertation for a candidate of technical sciences in the field of the history of aviation science (supervisor academician B. N. Yuryev), and then became interested in history domestic rocket science. He wrote the first and, in fact, so far the only monograph on this topic (“Solid Fuel Rockets in Russia,” M. 1963, 286 pp.) and completely devoted his life to organizing research on the history of aviation, rocket and space science and technology.

In 1957, in connection with the entry of the Soviet Union into the International Union of History, Philosophy and Science, in the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences, on the basis of the Institute of Electronic Technology, the Soviet National Association of Historians of Natural Sciences and Technology was created, which included all individuals and organizations conducting research in this area. About 20 thematic sections were created in different areas. The section of aviation science and technology was organized on October 16, 1957 under the chairmanship of Professor VVIA named after. N. E. Zhukovsky B. G. Kozlov (1894-1964), whose extensive research and teaching experience, and his extensive creative connections contributed to the fact that a wide creative activist was immediately formed in the section. Unfortunately, his health did not allow him to realize his creative plans, but he managed to fully convey them, along with the methodological foundations and connections to V.N. Sokolsky. Under V.N. Sokolsky, rocket and space subjects took an equal position with aviation, which was immediately reflected in the name of the section.

On July 18, 1964, the Section began publishing a periodic collection “From the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics,” in which the best reports read and discussed at the section meetings began to be published. In just 37 years, 76 issues of the collection were published, in which more than 1,500 articles were published on all areas of the history of the creation of many aircraft and their units, and the biographies of their creators. In addition to the main collection, the works of section members were published in the collections “Aerospace Activities and Society” (3 issues), “From the History of Rocket and Space Science and Technology” (2 issues) and “Research on the History and Theory of the Development of Aviation and Rocket and Space Science and Technology "(8 issues). V.N. Sokolsky was the initiator and active organizer. He was deputy chairman of the organizing committees of scientific Readings: dedicated to the development of the creative heritage and development of the ideas of K. E. Tsiolkovsky, held in Kaluga since 1966, as well as the Readings of F. A. Tsander (from 1971 to 1987) and S. P. Korolev since 1977, which have grown into the largest Academic readings on astronautics. He was also the organizer of the Moscow International Symposium on the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics, held in 2001 for the 13th time. Members of the section took an active part in all these forums and conferences and in the publication of their works.

The role of V.N. Sokolsky in the development of the historiography of astronautics is commensurate with the role of S.P. Korolev in its history.

(The index was prepared based on bibliographic materials from the Bibliography Sector of the History of Technology of the Central Polytechnic Library of the All-Union Society “Znanie”. The list covers literature published in the USSR in Russian. Included are books with reviews available on them, articles from scientific and popular science magazines, and a collection of works from research and educational institutions. Newspaper articles are taken into account selectively. Index sections: scientific literature (with a subsection: literature devoted to individual historical dates); popular science literature; personalities. In cases where literature on a topic belongs to two sections, it is duplicated. Compiled by the chief bibliographer of the Sector B. S. Kogan.)

Aviation and aeronautics in Russia in 1907 - 1914. Vol. 7. An annotated list of the most significant publications published in 1908 - 1914 on the theory, technology, scientific and military application of aviation and aeronautics in Russia: Decree. names Subject-thematic decree/ Comp. N. I. Shaurov. - M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1977 - 79 p. - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national information about historians of natural science and technology; Ch. arch. management, Center, state military history arch.

Agapova V. S. The main periods of development in the USSR of instruments for measuring atmospheric characteristics. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 3 - 10.

Agapova V. S. A method for studying trends in the development of a specific type of technology: (On the example of modeling the development of meteorological instruments in the USSR). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 32, p. 52 - 60.

Antonov O. K., Malashenko L. A., Tseplyaeva T. P. Development of scientific directions of the department of aircraft design. - In the book: Issues in the design of aircraft structures. Kharkov, 1979, issue. 2, p. 3 - 15.- Bibliography: 10 titles. - To the 50th anniversary of Kharkov. aviation institute and department of aircraft structures.

Beregovoy G. T., Nikolaev A. G. 15 years since the flight of Yu. A. Gagarin and the immediate tasks for exploring the Universe. - In the book: Proceedings of the XI Readings of K. E. Tsiolkovsky. Section “Problems of rocket and space technology”. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1977, p. 3 - 10.

Belov B. L. Problems of long-range missile ballistics in the works of G. Oberth. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 32, p. 61 - 67.

Belyaev V.V. The main directions and trends in the development of vertically taking off jet aircraft abroad. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 11 - 23.

Belyaev V.V. Some issues of the development of propeller-driven vertically take-off aircraft (from the end of the 19th century to the second half of the 1970s). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 3 - 18.

Borin A. A. From the history of solving the flutter problem. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 32, p. 68.

Burdakov V. P. S.P. Korolev and problems of traction energy for future space flights. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 26 - 33.

Glushko V. P. The path in rocket technology. - Selected. works, 1924 - 1946. M.: Mashinostroenie, 1977. 504 pp. - Rec.: Mukhin O., Pryanishnikov V. Works of academician V. P. Glushko. - Aviation and Cosmonautics, 1978, No. 5; With. 39.

Gorodinskaya V.S. The development of ideas about biological human life support systems in space objects since the end of the 19th century. until the beginning of the 60s of the XX century - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 19 - 32.

Drozdov O. A. On the development in Russia and the USSR of methods and means of regulating humidity and air temperature in thermal volumes. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 33 - 40.

Duz P.D. History of aeronautics and aviation in Russia (period before 1914). 2nd ed., revised - M.: Mashinostroenie, 1979. 271 p., ill.

Zhurnya L. L. Historical aspects of medical and biological research in conditions of short-term weightlessness, carried out abroad in 1918 - 1957 - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 33 - 43. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 31.- M.: Institute of Computer Science of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978.- 147 p., ill.- In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national collection of historians of natural science and technology. - Bibliography. at the end of the articles. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 32. Dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Pavlovich Makaruk. - M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978. - 178 p., ill. - In the title: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national collection of historians of natural science and technology. - Bibliography. at the end of the articles. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 33. Main historical events (1977). - M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978. - 214 pp., illus. - In the title: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national discussion of historians of natural science and technology. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 34. Dedicated to the memory of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. - M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978. - 180 pp. - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national collection of historians of natural science and technology - Bibliography. at the end of the articles. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 35. Main historical events (1978). - M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978. - 134 p. - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national discussion of historians of natural science and technology. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 36. Main historical events (1979). - M.: IIET AN USSR, 1979. - 230 p. - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national discussion of historians of natural science and technology. From the history of aviation and astronautics. Vol. 37. Main historical events (1979). - M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979. - 152 p. - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national discussion of historians of natural science and technology.

Isaev A. M. The first steps towards Soviet space engines (1941 - 1948).- Question. history, 1979, No. 6, p. 86 - 95.

Karpov I., Frantsev O. Improving the armament of fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery of the country's air defense forces. - Military History. zhurn., 1977, No. 7, p. 92 - 100, ill. - The period of the Great Patriotic War.

Kachur P.I. On the main patterns of development of the concept of reliability of rocket and space technology. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 68 - 81.

Kachur P.I. On the development model of the science of rocket technology reliability. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 44 - 55.

Korolev B.V., Osipov V.G. On the role of S.P. Korolev in the creation of a satellite communication system in the USSR. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 34 - 38. Larchenko P. F., Seleznev V. P. Information approach to assessing the development process of integrated navigation systems. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 82 - 86.

Levin M. A. On the issue of the development of aircraft with variable geometry wings. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 56 - 67. V. I. Lenin and Soviet aviation: Documents, materials, memories / Compiled by: D. S. Zemlyansky, D. Ya. Zilmanovich, V. N. Myagkov and others - M.: Voenizdat, 1979. - 238 p., 5 sheets, fax. - Rec.: Chugunov N. Lenin and aviation. - Wings of the Motherland, 1980, No. 2, p. 8 - 9; Pinchuk V. Pages of the glorious chronicle. - Civil. Aviation, 1980, No. 4, p. 32: Kutakhov P. - Book. review, 1979, No. 44, p. 6; Maryukhin V. - Communist Armed Forces. Sil, 1980, no. 7, p. 86 - 87.

Makaruk L. M. The role of M.P. Makaruk in the creation of the first Soviet aircraft engines “M-4” and “M-5”. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 32, p. 12 - 35.

Merkulov I. A. Test results of the first domestic missiles (1933 - 1941). - In the book: Proceedings of the XII Readings of K. E. Tsiolkovsky. Section "K. E. Tsiolkovsky and the problems of rocket and space technology.” M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, p. 29 - 46.

Mironenko A. Aviation of the Navy in the post-war years. - Military History. zhurn., 1978, No. 12, p. 25 - 32, ill.

Mikhailov V. P. Model of the existence of rocket aircraft: (On the example of long-range ballistic missiles). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 87 - 92.

Mikhailov V. P. Development of railway complexes of intercontinental ballistic missiles. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36. p. 68 - 78.

Mikhailov V. S. Study of the influence of related fields of technology on the development of a specific technical means (using the example of the development of aircraft with rocket engines). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 55 - 63.

Mikhailov V. S. About the works of N. A. Teleshov, the author of the jet aircraft project (1867). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 32, p. 94 - 106.

Mikhailova T. A. Studies of the long-term effects of acceleration on living organisms at the beginning of the 20th century. and their significance for the development of space biology and medicine. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 64 - 74.

Mikhailova T. A. Analysis of the works of the founders of rocket technology to solve the problem of acceleration at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries - In the book: Proceedings of the IV and V Readings of F. A. Zander. Section “Research of the scientific creativity of F. A. Zander.” M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, p. 106 - 114.

Nikolaychuk I. A. The process of replacing old equipment with new ones: (On the example of the introduction of a gas turbine into US aviation). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 75 - 85.

Novikov M. Development of bomber aircraft technology during the war. - Military History. zhurn., 1978, No. 4, p. 35 - 42, ill.

Novichkov N. N. From the background of the creation of unmanned winged aircraft in the United States. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 93 - 104.

Novichkov N. N. Some features of the development of unmanned winged aircraft until the end of the 40s of the XX century. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 79 - 90.

Pankratov E. A. Analysis of the development of autonomous electric starting systems for aircraft engines (before 1955). - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 91 - 106. Pioneers of rocket technology: Hanswindt, Goddard, Esnault-Peltry, Aubert, Homan. - El. works / Ed.-comp. T. M. Melkumov, V. N. Sokolsky. - M.: Nauka, 1977. - 632 p. with illustration, portrait - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Sov. national information about historians of natural science and technology; Institute of Natural History. and technology.

Podzey A.V. Mikhail Pavlovich Makaruk and the formation of the domestic aviation industry. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 32, p. 4 - 11.

Ponomarev A. N. Soviet aviation designers. - M.: Voenizdat, 1977. - 278 p., ill., portrait. - Introduction (pp. 3 - 24) contains an overview of the development of aviation in pre-revolutionary Russia, Soviet aircraft and engine building. - Rec.: Nechaev Yu. Slovo about designers. - Red Star, 1977, December 20; Astashenkov P. Creators of winged machines. - Wings of the Motherland, 1978, No. 5, p. thirty.

Rauschenbach B.V. S.P. Korolev and Soviet rocketry. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 4 - 13.

Sagdeev R. 3. Cosmonautics: achievements and prospects. - Nature, 1977, No. 10, p. 4 - 10.

Salakhutdinov G. M. Analysis of the interaction of science and technology in the process of development of work on cooling liquid rocket engines (1903 - 1975): Author's abstract. dis. ...cand. tech. Sci. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978. 31 p.

Serova E. Ya. The origins of the formation of domestic aviation psychology. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 107 - 116.

Sobolev D. A. Development of aerodynamic perfection of high-speed record-breaking aircraft with piston engines. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 86 - 95.

Sobolev D. A. Questions of classification and periodization of the development of tailless aircraft. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 117 - 126.

Sokolova T. P. History of the development and use of fuel cells on US spacecraft. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 105 - 117.

Sokolova T. P. History of the development and use of solar panels on US spacecraft. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.:IIET AN USSR, 1979, issue. 36, p. 127 - 137.

Sokolsky V. N. Works of R. H. Goddard in the field of theoretical cosmonautics. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 96 - 124.

Titov N. N. Models of development of solid fuel rocket engines in the USA. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 34, p. 118 - 130.

Urmin E.V. Experience in periodizing the history of gas turbine engines. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979, issue. 36, p. 138 - 155. Achievements of the Soviet Union in space exploration: The second space decade, 1967 - 1977 / Editorial Board: S. N. Vernov (chief editor) and others - M.: Nauka, 1978. - 751 pp., ill. . - In the back: USSR Academy of Sciences. Institute of History of Natural Sciences and Technology. - Bibliography at the end of the section.

Fried Yu.V. From the history of the development of domestic aviation lighting technology. - Lighting Engineering, 1979, No. 7, p. 9 - 12, ill.

Zander F. Collected works / Comp. and resp. ed. G. A. Tetere - Riga: Zinatne, 1977. - 566 p., ill., portrait. - In the title: Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Institute of Polymer Mechanics.

Tseplyaeva T. P. KhAI aircraft, their significance in the development of aviation. - In the book: Aircraft Engineering. Air fleet equipment. Kharkov, 1977, p. 3 - 8, ill. - 1931 - 1940

Shavrov V. B. History of aircraft designs in the USSR until 1938: (Materials on the history of aircraft construction). - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M.: Mashinostroenie, 1978. - 576 p., ill.; 1st ed., 1969.

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Shatoba I. Ya. Research by S. I. Lotsmanov in the field of soldering aluminum and its alloys. - In the book: From the history of aviation and astronautics. M.: Institute of Electronic Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1978, issue. 31, p. 125 - 129.

Yakovlev A. S. Soviet aircraft: Krat. essay - 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: Nauka, 1979. - 399 p., ill.

Content:
Introduction
Chapter 1. First steps
Chapter 3. Manned flights
Chapter 4. Moon Race
Chapter 5. Automata explore the planet Moon
Conclusion
List of used literature

Introduction
Perhaps many thousands of years ago, looking at the night sky, a person dreamed of flying to the stars. Myriads of flickering night luminaries forced his thoughts to be carried away into the vast expanses of the Universe, awakened his imagination, and forced him to think about the secrets of the universe. Centuries passed, man acquired more and more power over nature, but the dream of flying to the stars remained as unrealizable as thousands of years ago. Legends and myths of all nations are full of stories about flights to the Moon, Sun and stars. The means for such flights proposed by popular imagination were primitive: a chariot drawn by eagles, wings attached to human hands.
In the 17th century, a fantastic story by the French writer Cyrano de Bergerac about a flight to the moon appeared. The heroes of this story reached the Moon in an iron strip, over which he constantly threw a strong magnet. Attracted to it, the strip rose higher and higher above the Earth until it reached the Moon. Jules Verne's heroes went from a cannon to the moon. The famous English writer Herbert Wales described a fantastic journey to the Moon in a projectile, the body of which was made of a material not subject to gravity.
Various means for carrying out space flight have been proposed. Science fiction writers also mentioned rockets. However, these missiles were a technically unreasonable dream. For many centuries, scientists have not named the only means at a person’s disposal with which one can overcome the powerful force of earth’s gravity and be carried into interplanetary space. The great honor of opening the way to other worlds for people fell to the lot of our compatriot K. E. Tsiolkovsky.
He became interested in the reactive principle of motion very early. Already in 1883 he gave a description of a ship with a jet engine. Already in 1903, Tsiolkovsky, for the first time in the world, made it possible to construct a liquid rocket design. Tsiolkovsky's ideas received universal recognition back in the 1920s. And the brilliant successor of his work, S.P. Korolev, a month before the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, said that the ideas and works of Konstantin Eduardovich would attract more and more attention as rocket technology developed, in which he turned out to be absolutely right!
Back in 1911, Tsiolkovsky uttered his prophetic words: “Humanity will not remain on Earth forever, but, in pursuit of light and space, it will first timidly penetrate beyond the atmosphere, and then conquer all the space around the earth.

CHAPTER 1. First steps
The founder of modern cosmonautics is rightfully considered the great Russian self-taught scientist K. E. Tsiolkovsky, who at the end of the 19th century put forward the idea of ​​the possibility of the need for man to explore outer space. Initially, these thoughts were published by him in the form of science fiction stories, and then, in 1903, the famous work “Exploration of World Spaces by Jet Instruments” was published, in which he showed the possibility of achieving cosmic speeds and other celestial bodies using a liquid fuel rocket . Subsequently, Tsiolkovsky published a number of works on rocketry and space exploration.
Tsiolkovsky gained followers and popularizers both in our country and abroad. In America - Professor Goddard, who in 1926 built and tested in flight the world's first liquid fuel rocket. In Germany, Oberth and Senger. In our country, the popularizer of Tsiolkovsky’s ideas was, in particular, Ya. I. Perelman (author of “Entertaining Physics” and other books of the entertaining genre). Some engineers and scientists began to further develop his ideas.
In 1918, the book by Yu. V. Kondratyuk “For those who will read in order to build” was published in Novosibirsk, in which the author gives the original conclusion of the Tsiolkovsky formula, proposes a diagram of a three-stage oxygen-hydrogen rocket, an orbital spacecraft, aerodynamic braking in the atmosphere, a gravitational maneuver , the flight plan to the Moon (it was exactly this flight plan that the Americans followed because it turned out to be optimal). It is a pity that this talented engineer could not take part in the creation of rocket technology - in the 30s he was sent to prison “for sabotage” (he was then engaged in the construction of elevators), then released, but he died during the war.
In 1924, the work of another engineer, passionate about the idea of ​​interplanetary communications, F. A. Zander, “Flights to Other Planets,” appeared, in which he proposed a combination of an airplane and a rocket. In 1931, two public groups for the study of jet propulsion (GIRD) were organized - in Moscow - under the chairmanship of Zander and in Leningrad under the chairmanship of V.V. Razumov. Initially, they were intended only for propaganda and educational activities.
Back in 1929 as part of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) (funded by the state), Glushko’s division was formed for the development of electric and liquid rockets (even earlier Glushko proposed the “Helioraketoplan” project - a disc plane equipped with an electric rocket engine powered by solar panels - a rather bold project for the 20s) . In 1932, the Moscow GIRD was provided by the state with an experimental base for building and testing rockets, and a young graduate of the Moscow Higher Technical School, an active participant in the creation of the GIRD, S.P. Korolev, was appointed its head. The following year, on the basis of this group and on the basis of the GDL, the Jet Scientific Research Institute (RNII) was created. The state supported the rocket scientists not out of a desire to bring humanity closer to the world, but for “defense” reasons - even then it was clear that the rocket was a formidable weapon, and other countries, especially Germany, were conducting active research in this direction. The military was also interested in the possibility of using rocket boosters on combat aircraft, which were not far from jet aircraft.
The newly created institute actively set to work. In 1933 The first Soviet rocket using hybrid fuel (solid and liquid) GIRD-09, designed by M. K. Tikhonravaov, was launched. In the same year, the first domestic liquid fuel rocket, GIRD-X, designed by Zander, was launched. At the end of the 30s, under the leadership of Korolev, the RP-318-1 rocket plane with an engine designed by Glushko was built and tested. At the same time, the first automatic cruise missile 212, designed by Korolev, also with a Glushko engine, was tested. In 1939-1941, Katyusha multiple rocket launchers were built at the RNII under the leadership of Yu. A. Pobedonostsev. As we see, the RNII worked mainly for the military; in other countries, a similar situation arose at that time - jet vehicles, which would later take man to heaven, were initially created to destroy their own kind.
It is also impossible not to mention such an important event as the creation in our country of perhaps the first educational institution for training specialists for the rocket and space industry - in 1932, engineering and design courses were organized in Moscow on the initiative of GIRD. Prominent Soviet scientists gave lectures at the courses, in particular, the creator of the theory of air-breathing engines B. S. Stechkin, one of the founders of aviation medicine N. M. Dobrotvorsky (even then they taught a course in the physiology of high-altitude flight). A graduate of these courses was, in particular, I. A. Merkulov, the creator of a ramjet engine (ramjet engine). In 1939, the world's first two-stage rocket with a ramjet engine of its design was tested. Although these engines have not been used either in aviation or in astronautics, interest in them has recently renewed in connection with the creation of reusable space transport systems, since a ramjet engine that draws oxygen from the environment will dramatically reduce the required amount of fuel on board .

Chapter 2. The first satellite. Historical milestone
The first attempt to raise the issue of creating an artificial satellite was made in December 1953 during the preparation of a draft resolution of the Council of Ministers on the R-7 rocket. It was proposed: “To organize a research department at NII-88 with the task of developing problem tasks together with the Academy of Sciences in the field of flight at altitudes of about 500 km or more, as well as developing issues related to the creation of an artificial Earth satellite and the study of interplanetary space using a product ".
This task was considered by the Design Bureau not as a one-time task, but with the expectation of creating a special direction in the development of rocketry. The draft resolution of the Council of Ministers, proposed for discussion on August 27, 1955, had the following preamble: “In order to develop scientific research work, which should lay the foundation for the practical implementation of the task of creating artificial Earth satellites and subsequently solving the problem of interplanetary communications. The Council of Ministers decides ".
Such a large-scale formulation of the issue was by that time based on serious preliminary preparation of opinions in various government bodies. At this stage, an important service to the OKB was provided by M.K. Tikhonravov’s group, which carried out numerous surveys, including estimating the cost of the upcoming work on creating an artificial satellite.
On March 16, 1954, a meeting was held with M.V. Keldysh and a range of scientific problems to be solved with the help of satellites was determined. The President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, A.N. Nesmeyanov, was informed about these plans. It should be noted that at first there was talk of creating a satellite weighing 1100-1400 kg, which was also called the simplest and was called PS in correspondence. This name was synonymous with an unoriented satellite, which had the index D, and the oriented index OD.
May 27, 1954 SP. Korolev turned to D.F. Ustinov with a proposal to develop an artificial satellite and sent a memorandum “On an artificial Earth satellite” prepared by M.K. Tikhonravov.
When planning work on artificial satellites, information about US work in this area served as a certain guideline. Korolev sent the translated materials to Ustinov on May 27, 1954. The initiators of work on artificial satellites also cared about communicating the necessary information on this matter to other decision-makers: issues of priority remained the main argument throughout the subsequent period of development of astronautics. Therefore, the May report, first of all, gives a detailed overview of the state of work abroad. At the same time, one might say, the fundamental idea is expressed that “AES is an inevitable stage in the development of rocket technology, after which interplanetary communications will become possible.” Attention is drawn to the fact that over the past 2-3 years, the attention of the foreign press to the problem of creating satellites and interplanetary communications has increased.
The most remarkable thing in the documents on this topic is the judgments about the prospects for work on artificial satellites. The development of a simple satellite is only the first stage. The second stage is the creation of a satellite that will support the flight of one or two people in orbit. This option required the development of a third stage for the R-7 rocket. It was believed that in order to gain experience with the landing system, human flights along ballistic trajectories should first be carried out using RF and R-2 missiles.
The third stage of work is the creation of a satellite station for long-term stay of people in orbit. When implementing this project, it was proposed to assemble a satellite station from separate parts, delivered one by one into orbit.
A list of scientific problems with comments was given that could be solved using satellites, which was determined at a meeting with M.V. Keldysh in March 1954. These are data on the ionosphere, information on primary cosmic radiation, observations of the ultraviolet part of the spectrum of stars and the Sun, which is impossible to do under terrestrial conditions, testing some consequences of the general theory of relativity, etc. Experiments with animals were planned to study their behavior in conditions of a long absence of gravity.
The issues of obtaining information from orbit, including using drop cassettes, were considered. Their design features are discussed. It is shown, to a first approximation, how conditions for photographing from orbit can be provided.
Among the initiators of raising the issue of artificial satellites, confidence gradually matured that it would be possible to achieve a positive solution to the issue.
As directed by SP. Korolev, OKB employee I.V. Lavrov prepared proposals for organizing work on space objects. A memo on this topic, dated June 16, 1955, contained numerous notes from Korolev, which make it possible to judge his attitude to individual provisions of the document.
Most of all, he liked the following thought: “The creation of satellites will have enormous political significance as evidence of the high level of development of our domestic technology.”
In government authorities, a transition to practical matters on artificial satellites was planned. Apparently, having received the appropriate instructions, M.K. Tikhonravov prepared another memorandum and sent it to G.N. Pashkov on August 8, 1955. Subject of the note: "Basic data on the scientific significance of the simplest satellite and the expected costs." The meeting with the chairman of the military-industrial complex V.M. Ryabikov on August 30, 1955 was important for a positive resolution of the issue.
Korolev went to the meeting with Ryabikov with new proposals. On his instructions, OKB employee E.F. Ryazanov prepared data on the parameters of the spacecraft for the flight to the Moon. Two versions of the third stage for the R-7 rocket were studied - with the components oxygen-kerosene and fluorine monoxide - ethylamine. The weight of the apparatus delivered to the Moon in the first version is 400 kg, in the second - (800 - 1000) kg. Apparently there was little time to conduct such research, because the final data did not even have time to be printed and Korolev took the manuscript to the meeting. On the back of this manuscript, Korolev made notes that now turned out to be very valuable. They allow you to determine the date of the meeting, as well as the positions taken by the meeting participants. M.V. Keldysh, for example, supported the idea of ​​​​creating a three-stage rocket in a lunar version.
The position of engineer - Colonel A. G. Mrykin reflected the customer’s concern about the timing of the development of the R-7 rocket. He believed that the development of the satellite would distract attention from the main work, and proposed postponing the creation of the satellite until the completion of testing of the R-7 rocket. Having written down Mrykin’s opinion, Korolev summed it up: “It’s too late!”
The resolution of the Council of Ministers on work on artificial satellites was signed on January 30, 1956. The creation was envisaged in 1957-58. based on the R-7 rocket, an unoriented satellite (object D) weighing 1000-1400 kg with equipment for scientific research weighing 200-300 kg. The date for the first test launch of the D-1957 facility was set.
The planned dates were determined by the decisions of the International Geodetic and Geophysical Union (MGTS) to hold the International Geophysical Year (IGY) from 07/01/57 to 12/31/58, during which 67 countries of the world were to conduct geophysical observations and research according to a unified program and methodology.
By July 1956, the preliminary design of the satellite was ready. By the time the project was completed, the composition of scientific problems to be solved with the help of the satellite had been determined, which, one might say, constituted the main ideological component of the new development.
The first sample of the satellite was supposed to serve as the basis for the development of new, more advanced spacecraft, so it was planned to determine data on the thermal regime of the satellite, its braking in the upper layers of the atmosphere and the duration of orbit in orbit, features of the satellite’s movement relative to the center of mass, the accuracy of determining the coordinates and orbital parameters , issues of power supply of on-board equipment using solar panels.
Research has shown that to obtain complete data when operating a satellite, 12-15 ground-based measuring stations are needed, located at various points in the territory of the USSR. However, the desire to carry out the first launch of the satellite as quickly as possible imposed severe restrictions on the technical equipment of the experiment. It was necessary, first of all, to ensure minimal modifications to the design of the R-7 rocket. At this stage, the third additional stage was completely excluded. It was necessary to use the existing heavy and energy-intensive telemeasurement system and use electrochemical current sources, which sharply limited the operating time of the equipment. Unfortunately, we did not have to rely on specially created observation points, but were limited to the means intended for the R-7 missile. Due to such forced limitations, it was necessary to count on only 7-10 days of useful operation of the satellite with a theoretical lifetime of 2-12 weeks, limit the amount of information received and not hope for sufficient accuracy of orbital measurements.
This pre-limited approach was justified by the fact that object D was only a prerequisite for the development of an OD object, equipped with an orientation system, a drop cassette for delivering results from orbit to Earth, lightweight small-sized equipment, as well as a solar battery as an energy source. SP. Korolev took every opportunity to emphasize the promising nature of the work begun on the creation of satellites, and in a report defending the preliminary design he noted: “There is no doubt that work on the creation of the first artificial Earth satellite is an important step towards man’s penetration into the Universe, and there is no doubt that we We are entering a new area of ​​work in rocketry related to the creation of interplanetary rockets."
The starting points that determined the scope of modifications to the R-7 rocket were the given weight of the vehicle and the orbital parameters - an altitude of 200 km, which ensured a sufficiently long existence of the satellite.
The relevance of the development of artificial satellites became increasingly obvious. On July 24, 1956, a meeting of the Chief Designers took place, at which Korolev announced an international conference on the satellite, which was to be held in Barcelona and Rome. Then they came to the conclusion that “based on real circumstances, it is necessary to send (to the conference) not a direct participant in the work, but a major scientist who could understand what is being discussed.” During the discussion, more general issues were raised. It turned out that the Chief Designers do not have a common point of view regarding the prospects for work on artificial satellites. The joint venture expressed strong views on this matter. Korolev and V.P. Glushko. The position of M. S. Ryazansky, who considered this work temporary and forced, was distressing and proposed to focus all attention on developing the R-7 rocket. This opinion was not an accidental slip of the tongue. Back in November 1955, in response to Korolev’s letter about work on satellites, the director of the Research Institute for Control Systems, M. S. Ryazansky, citing a lack of experience in this area, refused to participate in work on control systems for spacecraft. This circumstance did not bother Korolev and did not even change (for an outside observer) his attitude towards Ryazansky. Korolev only took measures to organize these works in the OKB in the future and invited a group of specialists led by B.V. Rauschenbach.
The consistency of the OKB's position on issues of astronautics was also expressed in the fact that in the "Regulations on the activities of the OKB" in connection with its separation from NII-88 at the end of 1956, it was clearly written: "The main goal of the OKB's activities is the creation of long-range ballistic missiles , both for armament of the Soviet Army, and for research of the upper layers of the atmosphere on the subject of the USSR Academy of Sciences and, first of all, the creation of object D (artificial Earth satellite)."
By the end of 1956, it became clear that there was a real threat of disruption to the planned plans for artificial satellites. Korolev outlined his understanding of the situation in a letter to D.F. Ustinov dated January 7, 1957. At the same time, Korolev showed himself to be a subtle politician. He did not propose to change the deadlines established by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of January 30, 1956 on the development of object D. He even took on additional work without violating the established deadlines. The motives for this were the most convincing: “...In the United States of America, very intensive preparations are underway for the launch of an artificial Earth satellite. The most famous project is called “Avangard” based on a three-stage rocket. The satellites are a spherical container with a diameter of 50 cm and weighing about 10 kg.
In September 1956, the United States attempted to launch a three-stage rocket and satellite from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, while keeping it secret. According to some information available in the press, the United States is preparing in the coming months for new attempts to launch an artificial Earth satellite, obviously wanting to achieve priority at any cost."
Korolev did not hide the fact that “preparatory work for the first rocket launches is proceeding with significant difficulties and behind schedule.” At the same time, he expressed confidence that “with hard work, missile launches will begin in March 1957.” The main idea that he wanted to present was that “the rocket, through some modifications, can be adapted for launch as an artificial Earth satellite, having a small payload in the form of instruments weighing about 25 kg and a detachable spherical container of the satellite itself with a diameter of about 450 mm and weighing 40-50 kg."
The above facts gave Korolev the basis to pose the question as follows: “We ask for permission to prepare and conduct the first launches of two rockets adapted as artificial Earth satellites in the period April-June 1957 before the official start of the International Geophysical Year, held from July 1957 to December 1958 G. ".
At the same time, Korolev drew attention to the fact that the first launch of object D “given the great difficulty in creating and testing equipment for scientific research, can be carried out at the end of 1957.”
In connection with the new proposal of the OKB, a corresponding Resolution of the Council of Ministers was adopted on 02/07/57, in which the purpose of the experiment was defined as follows: “Launching the simplest unoriented Earth satellite (PS object) into orbit, testing the possibility of observing the PS in orbit and receiving signals, transmitted from the PS object." In addition, it was envisaged to simultaneously accumulate experience on the R-7 rocket, the development of which would take the entire year of 1957. This circumstance significantly contributed to the positive decision on the artificial satellite, the role of which was not understood by everyone.
During the testing of the R-7 rocket, circumstances emerged that highlighted the wise foresight of the OKB's proposals to create a PS as the predecessor of object D. In addition to the difficulties with testing the scientific equipment, which has already been discussed, the design power of the rocket engines turned out to be lower. It would have been possible to achieve the required characteristics - 309-310 units of specific thrust in a vacuum no earlier than the beginning of 1956. But the available power - 304 units - was enough to launch a satellite weighing 80-100 kg into orbit.
The need to reduce the weight of the satellite inevitably led to a reduction in the volume of scientific research. To adapt the R-7 rocket for launching a PS, the modifications provided for in the design of object D were generally sufficient.
The rocket with the first satellite launched on October 4, 1957 at 22:28. by Moscow time. The launch vehicle (2nd stage - block "A" - Ed.) made 882 revolutions and ceased to exist on December 2, 1957, the satellite - 1440 revolutions and ceased to exist on January 4, 1958.
The highest reward for the teams that created the first artificial Earth satellite for initiative, perseverance, ingenuity, and fulfillment of civic duty was public opinion, which may not yet be fully realized. It was a universal shock.
The American aviation magazine American Aviation wrote: “The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union was not only a major scientific achievement, but also one of the greatest events in the history of the entire world.” Newsweek magazine's assessment is in the same spirit: "This is the greatest technical victory achieved by man since the first explosion of an atomic bomb in the American desert." There were opinions confirming the predictions of the joint venture. Korolev on the role of satellites: observers of Western newspapers noted that in public opinion, military-political aspects pushed into the background the actual scientific significance of launching artificial satellites.
Particularly important for the prestige of the creators of the first satellite was the opinion of Time magazine, published in response to the assertion that the Soviet satellite was created by German scientists: “The launch of the satellite is a merit of Soviet science. Although after the Second World War, German specialists were taken to the USSR (as and the USA), but most of them have already been repatriated or are being used as teachers. The level of rocket technology in the USSR has far exceeded the level achieved during the war in Germany. The Russians are now going their own way."
You should think about the message of the Madrid correspondent of the English newspaper Manchester Guardian, commenting on the response in Spain to the launch of Soviet artificial Earth satellites. He began his article with the phrase: “The regime of General Franco ends the cold war with Russia.”
The words of Indian Prime Minister Nehru, spoken after the launch of the first satellite, were prophetic, reflecting with amazing accuracy the realities of today: “In the light of such stunning scientific achievements, military alliances have become obsolete. There is an urgent need to control international politics in order to preserve humanity.”
Following the first satellite, on November 3, a second one was sent (a three-stage version of the rocket), weighing 508 kg, and also launched into a fairly high orbit. On this satellite was the first “cosmonaut” - the dog Laika. The vital activity of the animal in space conditions was studied. The third satellite had a mass of 1327 kg, and was intended for space exploration and geophysical research. Solar panels were installed on the satellite for the first time.
The launches of the first satellites pursued not only scientific goals, but were also intended to demonstrate the power of our ballistic missiles. The capabilities of American rockets at that time left much to be desired - the Explorer satellite launched by the Jupiter-S rocket in February 1958 had a mass of only 14 kg.
In January, the Molniya launch vehicle (R-7, supplemented with two more stages) for the first time reached the second escape velocity, and launched the Luna-1 station, weighing 1472 kg, into space. Luna-1, having traveled 6 thousand km, entered orbit around the sun from the surface of our satellite. Communication with the station was maintained up to a distance of 600 thousand km. (a record for that time). In September of the same year, the Luna-2 station reached the surface of the Moon (simply fell on it). For the first time, a man-made apparatus has reached the surface of another celestial body. By the way, Goddard, back in the 20s, was going to “send a projectile to the Moon,” but then this project rightly aroused skeptical comments from scientists.
Both of these launches, as we see, did not give much to science and were more of a “sporting” and propaganda character. However, in October of the same “lunar” year, the Luna-3 station, equipped with a camera, went to our celestial neighbor. It flew around the moon and transmitted back to earth photographs of the lunar surface, including its reverse side, invisible from Earth.

Chapter 3. Manned flights
The launches of the first satellites and “lunars” certainly made a huge impression on the world community and demonstrated the high level of development of science and technology in the Soviet Union. But a human flight into space would, of course, be an even more spectacular event, and our space “firms” began designing the first manned spacecraft. Moreover, the Americans also worked on a similar project, and N.S. Khrushchev firmly decided to surpass America in everything.
It was necessary in a short time (less than four years passed from the first satellite to the first cosmonaut) to build a device in which a person could stay in space for several days and then return safely to earth. Under such conditions, priority was given to development speed and reliability rather than to the perfection of technical solutions. The Vostok ship was designed relatively simply, but reliably (remember, not a single manned Vostok suffered an accident).
The ship was a ball covered with a thick layer of thermal insulation (with a large margin), to which an instrument compartment with a braking engine was attached using two metal strips. The balloon contained an astronaut and life support systems. The spherical shape was chosen because its behavior during reentry was well studied, and there was no time for aerodynamic studies of other shapes. The landing system was also quite simple - the nozzle of the braking engine was aimed strictly at the Sun, the engine was turned on and the device rushed towards the Earth. Then a single squib fired, tearing the metal strips separating the instrument compartment, and the “ball” performed aerodynamic braking in the atmosphere. There was no soft landing system, and therefore the pilot ejected at an altitude of several kilometers. In order for the braking engine to give an impulse in the desired direction, the moment of descent was chosen so that the sun would occupy at this time the appropriate position relative to the ship. There was no spare engine, and therefore the ship was supposed to be launched into an orbit such that in a week or two it would itself enter the dense layers of the atmosphere.
The first ships of this series were unmanned. They practiced deorbiting, and also studied the behavior of experimental dogs. Belka and Strelka flew safely on one of these ships. The other two "dog" crews could not be returned to the ground due to malfunctions in the landing systems. The ships of the next series were intended for humans, but, firstly, on two flights their passengers were a mannequin and experimental dogs. During the flight, two-way radio communications were tested, for which a recording of the human heartbeat was transmitted from orbit. These radio signals were picked up by a number of radio amateurs, which gave rise to rumors about allegedly unsuccessful attempts to launch a man into space, undertaken in the USSR even before Gagarin’s flight.
At the beginning of 1960 The Cosmonaut Training Center was created and the first squad of cosmonauts was recruited from fighter pilots. The first human flight was supposed to take place in December 1960. but was postponed due to the terrible disaster at Baikonur - an R-14 ballistic missile (Yangel Design Bureau) exploded on the launch pad. Dozens of people died, including members of the state commission led by Marshal Indivisible (it was officially announced that he died in a car accident). There was a danger that the Americans would overtake us - their flight was scheduled for May 1961. (although it was a suborbital flight, the first person in space would still be an American).
However, on April 12, 1961 On the third ship in the series "Vostok" Yu. A. Gagarin made the first space flight and returned safely to Earth. True, the flight did not go as smoothly as TASS reported. The ship was launched into too high an orbit, and if the braking engine had failed, it would have fallen to Earth not after 10 days, as expected, but after 50, for which the life support system resources were not designed. Fortunately, the braking engine worked normally, and the ship rushed towards the Earth, but one of the connectors connecting the descent vehicle did not separate from the instrument compartment, and the compartment dragged behind the descent vehicle until the ill-fated wire burned out in the atmosphere.
At an altitude of approximately 7 km, the astronaut ejected and landed calmly. For a long time, we somehow hid the fact that the pilots of the first ships had to eject. So in one work it is said “the astronauts could either remain in the ship until landing, or eject.” If the astronaut remained in the ship, it would be difficult to envy him - this is eloquently evidenced by the dents and cracks left on the descent vehicles after a hard landing. This half-truth occurs because, according to the rules of the International Aeronautical Federation, a record is recorded only in the case (and Gagarin’s flight was, of course, a record) when the pilot was in the aircraft at the time of landing. Therefore, the official countdown vaguely stated that the pilot landed together with the descent module.
We achieved our goal - Alan Shepard's flight took place almost a month after Gagarin, and the "real" orbital flight of J. Glen took place only in February of the following year. By that time, the Union had already carried out its second orbital flight - the flight of G.S. Titov, which lasted more than a day. During this flight, the effects of a long stay in space on the human body were determined. Titov was the first to encounter “satellite sickness” - when a person begins to feel “sick” in zero gravity. It is now known that these symptoms appear in the first days of flight and are caused by the body’s adaptation to weightlessness, but then this caused great concern, and special methods for training the vestibular apparatus of astronauts were developed.
In August 1962 two ships appeared above the planet at once, “Vostok-3,” piloted by A. G. Nikolaev and “Vostok-4,” piloted by P. A. Popovich, which launched a day later. The ships flew at a short distance, so the astronauts could see each other's ships and two-way communication was established between them. For the first time, an image of an astronaut in the cockpit during a flight was broadcast on central television. The astronauts spent four and three days in space, respectively.
Next year we decided to prove to the whole world that every cook in our country not only knows how to manage a state, but also a spaceship. Back in 1961 Women were recruited into the cosmonaut corps. And in June 1963 former textile industry worker and amateur parachutist V. N. Tereshkova made a flight on the Vostok-6 ship. She made a joint flight with V.F. Bykovsky, who was in Vostok-5, launched into space two days earlier. After a three-day group flight, the cosmonauts landed safely, and Tereshkova thus became the first female cosmonaut.
In 1961 Immediately after Gagarin's flight, US President J.F. Kennedy announced a national program whose goal was to land astronauts on the Moon. The first step towards achieving this goal was to be the Gemmini project, which involved launching ships with crews of two people and practicing such activities as spacewalks, docking and undocking. 14-day stay of people in space required for lunar missions.
Since we were trying with all our might to maintain a leading position in space exploration (or at least the appearance of leadership), it was also necessary to develop a fundamentally new multi-seat ship. But Gemini flights were planned already in 1965. and our new Soyuz ship clearly did not meet this deadline. Then it was decided to send the modernized Vostok, designed for a crew of three people, into flight.
In October 1964 a new Soyuz launch vehicle (built on the basis of the same R-7) launched the Voskhod spacecraft into orbit, which for the first time in the world carried three cosmonauts at once: commander V. M. Komarov, cosmonaut-researcher K. P. Feoktistov and doctor B.B. Egorov. For the first time, cosmonauts flew without spacesuits (otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have fit into the cramped cabin), the ship had a backup braking engine and a soft landing system (ejecting three would have been problematic). After spending a day in space, the ship landed safely. It is noteworthy that that year there was a certain lull - this was the only manned flight (on both sides).
In March 1965 Voskhod-2 launched with P.I. Belyaev and A.A. Leonov on board. The ship was equipped with a sliding airlock chamber for spacewalks, which was successfully carried out by Leonov. He stayed in free space for 12 minutes. and at the same time moved away from the ship at a distance of up to 5 m. When returning to the ship, however, problems arose - the spacesuit was swollen from internal pressure; it did not fit into the hatch; fortunately, the astronaut figured out to relieve the pressure and returned safely to the ship. When returning to Earth, an unforeseen situation also arose - the automatic landing control system failed and the astronauts had to use manual control for the first time. The descent was successful, but the ship landed in the wrong area, and the crew could not be found for a long time. Thus, with spacewalks, we were ahead of the Americans, but then the Americans in 1965-1966 made very successful 10 flights under the Gemini program and took leading positions in manned astronautics (in 1966, the total flight time of our cosmonauts was about 500 hours, while the Americans spent about 2000 hours and 12 hours in outer space, all the experiments planned by the Gemini program were successfully completed).
Our answer came only in 1967. - On April 23, a new Soyuz spacecraft, piloted by Komarov, went into space. Unfortunately, Chief Designer S.P. Korolev did not see the launch of the new ship - in January 1966. he died suddenly at the age of 59. The Soyuz was designed for three people and consisted of three compartments: the instrument compartment, which contained the engine and fuel supply for maneuvering and landing; the descent module in which the crew was at launch and in which they returned to the ground; and an orbital compartment, which was designed to conduct various experiments in space and, if necessary, could serve as an airlock for spacewalks. The ship was equipped with a docking system, which made it possible to create an orbital station from two Soyuzs. The next step in space exploration after human flight was to be the creation of a long-term manned orbital station. The Soyuz series ships were intended for research in this direction.
The first flight of the Soyuz ended in the first space tragedy - during descent into the atmosphere, the parachute system did not work and the descent vehicle with the astronaut was literally flattened by hitting the ground. Komarov became the first cosmonaut to die in flight. The analysis of the causes of the accident dragged on and the second flight of the Soyuz took place only a year and a half later. A kind of consolation for us could be the fact that things were not going well for the Americans with Apollo either - in the same year, during ground tests, a fire broke out on the ship and three astronauts died: V. Grissom, E. White, R. Chaffee.
After the failure of the first Soyuz in October 1968. A number of unmanned spacecraft were launched, and then the unmanned Soyuz-2, and three days later Soyuz-3, piloted by G. T. Beregov. (It should be noted that since then, every new ship has been launched first in an unmanned version.) In orbit, the astronaut approached the unmanned spacecraft and checked the operation of the onboard systems. Three days after the launch, the Soyuz-2 descent module landed, and two days later Beregovoy also landed safely.
In January 1969 a significant event occurred - Soyuz-4 (V. A. Shatalov) and Soyuz-5 (B. V. Volynov, A. S. Eliseev, E. V. Khrunov) were launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome with an interval of one day. In orbit, the ships docked (!) and formed the first orbital station - a prototype of future orbital complexes (for which our country still holds first place in the world). Eliseev and Khrunov made the transition from ship to ship, albeit in a rather strange way - through outer space. Official documents say that this was planned, but I have great doubts about this; perhaps this decision was made due to the fact that the tightness of the transition was not ensured.
In October of the same year, an entire squadron of three ships was launched - Soyuz-6, Soyuz-7 and Soyuz-8 were launched at intervals of 24 hours, which made a joint flight, mutual maneuvering and rendezvous. Soyuz 6 was the first to conduct experiments on welding, cutting and processing of materials in space.
While our flight duration did not exceed five days, serious work at orbital stations (and, in the future, for interplanetary flights) required much more. Work to extend the flight period was already underway; for example, a biosatellite was launched with two dogs on board. who spent 22 days in space, a series of ground-based experiments were conducted to simulate weightlessness. In June 1970, the first long-term flight took place - A.G. Nikolaev and V.I. Sevastyanov stayed in space for almost 18 days and returned safely to earth. Now it sounds funny, but then they were called “cosmic centenarians,” because the effect of weightlessness on the human body was still poorly understood and such a flight required a fair amount of courage.
However, let’s digress for a while from the successes of our manned cosmonautics, which soon led to the creation of the first orbital stations (more on them later), and look at one little-known (until recently). but a most interesting episode of our cosmic history.

Chapter 4. Moon Race
Immediately after the successful flights of the first lunar explorers at the end of the 50s, we began preparations for manned flights to Selene. First, we started designing the flyby, which was carried out in parallel in two design bureaus - Korolev and Chelomey. The “Kings” project provided for the launch of parts of the ship into low-Earth orbit by a carrier based on the R-7, followed by their docking and flight around the Moon. Chelomey envisioned a direct flight, for which it was necessary to use the Proton carrier being designed in his design bureau. After Gagarin's flight, Chelomey's team received the project to fly around the Moon, and Korolev Design Bureau - the landing on the surface. Later, management of both programs was concentrated in the Korolev Design Bureau.
The flyby of the moon was supposed to be carried out with the help of a Proton rocket and an upper stage, which would launch a spacecraft made on the basis of the Soyuz L1, which was being designed, onto an orbital trajectory. To reduce mass, the orbital compartment and rendezvous and docking systems were removed from it. It was assumed that the astronauts would spend a week in a descent module with a volume of 2.5 cubic meters. m. in a sitting position all the time - an unpleasant prospect for the first conquerors of the Moon.
The ships intended for landing were to be launched into orbit by the new super-powerful carrier N-1. Since the carrying capacity of our rocket was about 100 tons, they decided to make the ship’s crew a minimum of 2 people (the Americans needed a system weighing 135 tons to deliver 3 people to the Moon). This was quite risky because only one cosmonaut landed on the Moon, and in the event of an “emergency situation” there was no one to help him (here even an accidental fall on his back could become deadly - in a bulky spacesuit a person could not get up without outside help) . The lunar ship, designated LZ, was supposed to be built on the Soyuz base.
While our “firms” were rocking and proposing various projects, the Americans had already begun manufacturing and testing prototypes of machines (remember that in 1961 the moon landing program was declared national by J.F. Kennedy). As a result, we fell far behind and the design of the system was carried out based on the maximum use of existing units; this, of course, accelerated the construction and testing time, but also made the carrier and ship heavier. So, at that time we could not produce engines of the required power, and technological re-equipment of production would have taken too much time. As a result, 30 engines were placed in the first stage of the N-1, which did not contribute to reducing the mass of the system. Due to similar costs, the N-1 had almost the same launch mass as the American “lunar” carrier “Saturn-5” (2750 and 2800 tons, respectively), having a payload capacity of 97 tons versus 135 tons for the Saturn. (By the way, the Saturn 5 rocket was built under the leadership of... Wernher von Braun, the creator of the V-2).
The situation with the engines was further complicated by disagreements that arose between Korolev and Glushko, whose design bureau was the main “supplier” of powerful rocket engines. Korolev considered it necessary to use liquid oxygen and hydrogen as fuel, which give a very high specific impulse. Glushko believed that it was necessary to use fluorine and nitric acid, since hydrogen has too low a density. And it will require too large fuel tanks. However, the components proposed by Glushko were extremely toxic, and such a system could cause enormous damage to the environment. As a result of all these disputes, Glushko refused to make engines for the N-1 and they were taken over by the N.D. Kuznetsov Design Bureau, which had previously developed only aircraft engines. As a result, the engines were made, but a lot of time was lost (let's not forget that there was a real race going on). In the midst of work on the lunar carrier and ships, S.P. Korolev died, which also could not but affect the progress of work.
The lunar flyby project was delayed due to difficulties in testing the Proton. In 1968-69, overflights of our satellite were carried out by L1 spacecraft in an unmanned version, which received the name “Zond 5-8”. But in December 1968 Apollo 8 entered satellite orbit, the Moon, and the manned lunar flyby program was canceled because priority was lost. Although it was already clear then that it would most likely not be possible to get ahead of the Americans with the landing, work on this project was not curtailed, hoping for unplanned failures of their rivals.
The first flight tests of the N-1 carrier took place in February 1969. and were unsuccessful - a fire broke out on board. The re-launch, which took place 5 months later, also failed - the engines switched off spontaneously, the rocket that had risen into the air crashed onto the launch pad and exploded, destroying the launcher. It took a lot of time to restore it, and the next launch took place only in July 1971. - and again failure, in November 1972. – the launch finally took place, but at 107 seconds the flight had to be stopped due to a malfunction.
By that time, in July 1969, the Apollo-P crew, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldren, had already successfully landed on the Moon, and our attempts to be the first to reach the Moon became meaningless. But after the unsuccessful flight of Apollo 13, which almost ended in disaster, work was resumed. When the Americans managed to recover from the accident and complete the lunar epic with honor, work was frozen, and then, in 1974, completely stopped. Three completed N-1 rockets were destroyed, a special detachment of cosmonauts was disbanded, and almost finished lunar ships crawled into closed museums. Some people thought this was not enough, and the main part of the technical documentation for the project was destroyed.
As we can see, on both sides the flight program to the Moon was viewed primarily not as a scientific research expedition, but as a kind of sporting event designed to once again demonstrate the high scientific and technical potential of the country. Why didn't we manage to defend our priority? The underestimation of our opponent also had an effect: after our great achievements (the first satellite, the first man in space, the first soft landing on the Moon), our rocket and space “firms” allowed themselves to sway for a long time and argue with each other, while the Americans sharply “went ahead” and got ahead of us. By the end of the 60s, the attempt to “shake up” the economy - the Kosygin reform - had happily stalled and the country’s economy was actually already in crisis (which clearly manifested itself during perestroika), and existed mainly due to the sale of oil, gas, forests and other natural resources. The expedition to the Moon turned out to be too expensive (the Americans spent more than $25 billion on their program), which our country could no longer afford (if we remember the expensive “construction projects of the century” taking place at that time).
After the Americans landed on the Moon, it was officially announced that we had a different space exploration program - with the help of automatic vehicles. Let's see what successes our automata have achieved in exploring other planets.

Chapter 5. Automata explore the planets Moon
After the first launches to the Moon in 1959. There has been some lull in the exploration of the Moon by spacecraft - all efforts have been devoted to conducting manned flights. But in the early 60s, work began on creating a device capable of making a soft landing on the Moon. In 1963 - 1965, five stations went to the Moon one after another, but failed to land - the devices crashed. A soft landing on the Moon is generally quite difficult to achieve because it has no atmosphere and braking is carried out by the jewelery operation of the engine. In January 1966 The Luna 9 station finally made a soft landing on the Moon. The first panorama of the lunar surface was transmitted to earth. Contrary to the expectations of scientists, who believed that the Moon was covered with dust, the soil turned out to be quite hard - the station did not sink into it, and stones were clearly visible on the television image. Luna-9 was five months ahead of the American Surveyor-2 apparatus - as we see, the race was going on not only in the field of manned flights, but also in the field of automatic flights. In the same year, the first artificial satellite of the Moon, Luna-10, and the Luna-11-13 stations were launched, of which Luna-13 made a soft landing on the Moon.
In 1970 the Luna-16 station drilled and took soil samples, which were then delivered to the ground. Thus, our scientists also had samples of lunar soil in their hands (their American colleagues acquired them after successful flights of astronauts). In 1972 and 1976, the Luna-20 and Luna-24 stations also delivered to the Earth samples of lunar soil from the mountainous and marine areas, respectively. In 1974 Two artificial lunar satellites were also launched - Luna-22 and Luna-23, which conducted long-term studies of the Moon and near-Earth space.
The most interesting part of our lunar exploration program was certainly the study of the night star with the help of lunar rovers. In November 1970 The Luna-17 station (same type as Luna-16, only without a return stage) delivered to the lunar surface the six-wheeled Lunokhod-1, equipped with television cameras and controlled by an operator from the ground. The self-propelled vehicle traveled more than 10 km on the Moon. He transmitted excellent television images and the results of studying the physical properties of the soil to the ground. In 1972 The improved Lunokhod-2 was delivered to the Moon by the Luna-21 station, which carried out similar research in another area of ​​the Moon.
Lunokhods and stations that delivered lunar soil to earth were created at the design bureau, which was led by the talented designer and organizer G.N. Babakin. The creation of these machines shows that it is possible to perfectly explore other planets using machines without putting astronauts at risk, not to mention the fact that unmanned flights are much cheaper than manned ones.
Mars began to excite the minds of earthlings from the second half of the 19th century. when the famous canals were opened, and for the first time the idea of ​​the existence of a civilization on Mars arose. Astronomers later determined that the "channels" were an optical illusion. But in the 40s of our century, a hypothesis appeared about the artificial origin of the satellites of Mars, since the peculiarities of their movement and calculations showed that the Martian Moons should be hollow (these calculations, as it turned out later, were erroneous).
The first launch of a spacecraft to Mars took place in 1962. - it was the Mars-1 apparatus, which passed at a distance of 195 thousand km. from the planet. , (contact with him was interrupted three months before). But systematic research of the red planet began only in the 70s, when sufficiently powerful launch vehicles and perfect automation appeared.
In 1971 - in the year of the great opposition (when flights to Mars require the least amount of energy), the Mars-2 and Mars-3 stations went to Mars. Which entered the orbit of artificial satellites of the planet. By this time, the American spacecraft Mariner 9, which became the first artificial satellite of Mars, was already circling there. The fact is that our apparatus, which was supposed to become an artificial satellite of Mars, and which Mariner could not have overtaken due to an error in the on-board computer, was not put on the flight path to the planet, and the lighter American apparatus overtook ours on the way stations.
“Mars-2” dropped our country’s pennant onto the planet, and a descent module separated from “Mars-3”, making the first ever landing on the red planet. The descent vehicle began to transmit a “picture” from the surface, but, for a still unclear reason, the signal from the surface of the planet disappeared. In general, our researchers were simply fatally unlucky with Mars.
The orbital vehicles of our stations operated successfully and transmitted images of the planet’s surface to Earth, but nothing could be seen on them - a dust storm was raging on Mars. By the time it was over, our cameras were already out of order, and only the American apparatus was transmitting the image. But our satellites conducted studies of the surface and atmosphere of the planet in the infrared, ultraviolet and radio wave ranges. The temperature and pressure were determined (it turned out to be 200 times less than on Earth) at the surface of the planet.
In the next launch window (1973), the flight conditions to Mars were worse, and we could not launch a station similar to Mars-3 due to mass restrictions. Then it was decided to use two stations instead of one - a “pure” satellite and a station that would “drop” a descent module on Mars and fly further without slowing down near the planet. To be reliable, two such pairs should have been launched.
Our engineers and production workers managed to do the almost impossible - to manufacture and test as many as four stations for the next launch window. Shortly before the start, it suddenly becomes clear. that in the microcircuits that were used in the equipment of the stations, after a year and a half, cavities form and they fail. Yes, the domestic industry failed. It was unrealistic to remodel the stations. The American Vikings were scheduled to launch in the next launch window, and we really wanted to be the first to get images from the surface of Mars. It was decided to launch the station - after all, there is hope that they will come out. that they will not fail immediately, and will have time to transmit valuable information to Earth.
In August 1973 The orbiters “Mars-4” and “Mars-5” and the landing vehicles “Mars-5” and “Mars-6” - an entire space squadron - went to Mars. On Mars-4, the braking engine did not work, and the station passed by the planet. "Mars-5" managed to enter the orbit of an artificial satellite, but it worked there much less than the estimated period. The Mars-6 lander entered the planet's atmosphere and during the descent stage probed the atmosphere and determined its chemical composition. Shortly before landing, communication with the device was interrupted. The Mars-7 lander separated from the station, but did not enter the atmosphere and passed by the planet. Thus, the flight program was basically not completed.
After this unsuccessful expedition, there was a long break in our flights to Mars. It was connected, first of all, with the fact that intensive development of a project for delivering the Martian pound to earth was underway.
It was known that the Americans were also developing a similar project, and we, as we know, had to be the first in everything, so almost all the forces of the “interplanetary” design bureaus were thrown into the development of this topic. For this reason, other programs were curtailed - Lunokhod-3, a delay in work on Luna-24. As a result, both we and the Americans came to the conclusion that it was practically impossible to implement this project with the current level of technological development, and it was closed.
In 1988 Finally, a new expedition to Mars took place - the Phobos program. The devices were supposed to explore the planet and its satellites from near-Martian orbit. For the first time, it was planned to deliver research probes to the surface of Phobos. This would be not just the first landing on a satellite of Mars, but the first landing on an asteroid, which Phobos essentially is. Unfortunately, this project became a continuation of our failures on Mars.
Even on the way to Mars, a program was sent to Phobos-1 that was supposed to turn on one scientific instrument. But the operator who compiled it made a mistake (one letter), and the orientation system at the station was turned off. The solar panels turned away from the Sun, the batteries were discharged and communication with the device was lost. The second station successfully reached its target and entered the orbit of the Mars satellite. Through clever ballistic maneuvers, the station approached Phobos, and based on its photographs they began to select a rendezvous area. Unexpectedly, the station did not start its next communication session; after hard work, we managed to catch a signal from the station, but it soon disappeared. What caused the loss of communication with the station literally “out of the blue” remains a mystery.
Our last failure on Mars was the unsuccessful attempt to launch the Mars-96 station last year. As is known, the station did not reach the flight path to Mars and burned up in the earth’s atmosphere. Venus
When creating spacecraft, designers often cannot begin designing the next machine until the flight of the previous one has ended, since the conditions under which it must operate are still unknown. This is most clearly illustrated by the history of the study of Venus, information about which before the flights of space stations was generally very scarce, since this planet is covered with a thick blanket of clouds, under which no telescopes can look.
The first station "Venera-1" went to the morning star back in early 1961. and covered 100 thousand km. from the planet. The mission of the station was mainly to study interplanetary space. In 1965 The Venera-2 station flew near Venus, photographing the planet, and the Venera-3 station dropped a descent module onto the planet, which collapsed in the planet’s atmosphere. In 1967 Venera 4 delivered to the planet a descent module designed for a pressure of 10 atm. . He descended to a height where the pressure reached 18 atm. , and then collapsed. The descent vehicles of the Venera 5 and Venera 6 stations also did not reach the surface of the planet, being crushed in the atmosphere, although they were designed for 25 atm.
In 1970 The descent module of the Venera 7 station finally reached the surface of the planet and transmitted information from there for 23 minutes. The pressure at the landing site turned out to be more than 90 atm. , and the temperature is about 500C. It is easier to reach Venus than Mars; a soft landing in a dense atmosphere also does not cause much difficulty, but the difficulties of ensuring the operation of devices in truly hellish conditions make the study of Venus extremely difficult. They say that if the designers had known from the very beginning what conditions they would encounter, they would not have taken on this task.
In 1972 the Venera-7 station also successfully landed on the surface of the planet and 50 min. transmitted information from there. This was the end of the flights of the first generation stations. The President of the USSR Academy of Sciences M.V. Keldysh set a new task for the designers - to obtain an image of the surface of Venus. The designers coped with this most difficult (if we remember the conditions on the planet) task - in 1975. The descent modules of the Venera-9 and Venera-10 stations transmitted photographs of the Venusian surface to Earth through their orbital blocks.
Success! But Keldysh did not let up: the next task was to obtain color images and take soil samples. In 1978 For this purpose, the Venera-P and Venera-12 stations headed towards the morning star. The descent vehicles safely reached the surface, but they were unable to take pictures - the protective covers of the cameras were not removed. It was also not possible to carry out a soil analysis - the soil intake did not work. The design was improved in 1981. The Venera-13 and Venera-14 stations successfully completed the program - they examined soil samples and transmitted color photographs of Venus to the ground.
In 1983 The first cartographers appeared near Venus - the stations "Venera -15" and "Venera -16" carried out its radar mapping. which made it possible to create fairly detailed maps of the planet’s northern hemisphere.
In 1984 The Vega project began, in which, in addition to Soviet scientists, scientists from France and other countries took part. The following year, the station's landers carried out a study of the planet's atmosphere and took soil samples. In addition to the descent vehicles, balloons were delivered to Venus for the first time, drifting in the atmosphere at an altitude of about 50 km and studying the atmosphere of the planet. Making these balloons was not easy, considering that the clouds of Venus are made of concentrated sulfuric acid!
After dropping the descent vehicles on Venus, the stations "Vega-1" and "Vega-2" continued their flight - their goal was to meet Halley's comet, which was approaching the earth that year. The stations passed at a distance of several thousand kilometers from the comet's nucleus and transmitted its color image to the ground - it turned out to be a shapeless piece of ice, and conducted research in various frequency ranges of wavelengths.
As we can see, we were much more lucky with Venus. than with Mars. Perhaps it was also due to the fact that the Americans were not very successful in exploring this planet - they limited themselves mainly to research from flyby trajectories and from orbit. Therefore, we had no competition with them here and politicians did not interfere in the implementation of programs that were built mainly following the requests of scientists who wanted to study the morning star in order to better understand the mechanisms of the formation and evolution of our Earth and the entire solar system.

Conclusion
Science needs astronautics - it is a grander and more powerful tool for studying the Universe, the Earth, and man himself. Every day the scope of applied space exploration is expanding more and more.
Weather service, navigation, saving people and saving forests, worldwide television, comprehensive communications, ultra-pure medicines and semiconductors from orbit, the most advanced technology - this is both today and the very near future of astronautics. And ahead are power plants in space, removal
harmful production from the surface of the planet, factories in low Earth orbit and the Moon. And many many others.
Many changes have occurred in our country. The Soviet Union collapsed and the Commonwealth of Independent States was formed. Overnight, the fate of the Soviet cosmonautics became uncertain. But we must believe in the triumph of common sense. Our country has been a pioneer in space exploration. For a long time, the space industry has been a symbol of progress and a source of legitimate pride for our country. Cosmonautics was part of politics - our space achievements were supposed to “once again demonstrate the advantage of the socialist system.” Therefore, official reports and monographs described our achievements with great pomp and modestly kept silent about the failures, and most importantly, about the successes of our main opponents - the Americans. Now, finally, publications have appeared truthfully, without unnecessary pomposity and with a fair amount of self-criticism, telling about how our exploration of interplanetary space took place and we see that not everything went easily and smoothly. This in no way detracts from the achievements of our space industry - on the contrary, it testifies to the strength and spirit of people who, despite the failures, were pursuing their goals.
Our achievements in space will not be forgotten and will be further developed in new ideas. Cosmonautics is vital for all humanity!
This is a huge catalyst for modern technology, which in an unprecedentedly short time has become one of the main levers of the modern world process. It stimulates the development of electronics, mechanical engineering, materials science, computer technology, energy and many other areas of the national economy.
Research carried out on satellites and orbital complexes, research on other planets allows us to expand our understanding of the Universe, the Solar system, our own planet, and understand our place in this world. Therefore, it is necessary to continue not only the exploration of space for our purely practical needs, but also fundamental research at space observatories, and research of the planets of our solar system.

List of used literature:
1. S. G. Umansky, “A Space Odyssey”, Moscow, “Mysl”, 1988.
2. I. Artemyev, “Artificial Earth Satellite”, Moscow, “Children’s Literature”, 1957.
3. S. Kolesnikov “The Path to Parity”, “Technology for Youth”, 1993 – 5.
4. I. Afanasyev, V. Bundurkin, “...For the sake of the flag on the moon,” “Youth Technology,” 1992 – 8.
5. S. Zagunenko, “Rumour and space is full”, “Technology for Youth”, 1993 -4.
6. Yu. V. Kolesnikov, “You Build Starships”, Moscow, “Children’s Literature”, 1990.
7. V. L. Barusokov “Space exploration in the USSR”, 1982.
8. M. A. Gerd, N. N. Gurovsky, “The first cosmonauts and the first space reconnaissance”, Moscow, ANSSSR, 1962.
9. A. D. Koval, V. P. Senkevich, “Far and Near Space,” 1977.