Historical facts related to space exploration. Beginning of the space age

September 1967 was marked by the proclamation by the International Astronautical Federation of October 4 as world dawn day. space age humanity. It was on October 4, 1957 that a small ball with four antennas tore apart the near-Earth space and marked the beginning space age, ushered in the golden age of astronautics. How it was, how space exploration took place, what the first satellites, animals and people in space were like - this article will tell you about all this.

Chronology of events

To begin with, we will give a brief description of the chronology of events that are in one way or another connected with the beginning of the space age.

Dreamers from the distant past

As long as humanity has existed, it has been attracted by the stars. Let's look for the origins of astronautics and the beginning of the space age in ancient tomes and give just a few examples amazing facts and insightful predictions. In the ancient Indian epic "Bhagavad Gita" (circa 15th centuries BC), an entire chapter is devoted to instructions for flying to the moon. Clay tablets from the library of the Assyrian ruler Assurbanipal (3200 BC) tell the story of King Etan, who flew to a height from which the Earth looked like “bread in a basket.” The inhabitants of Atlantis left the Earth, flying to other planets. And the Bible tells about the flight on the fiery chariot of the prophet Elijah. But in 1500 AD, the inventor Wang Gu from Ancient China could have become the first cosmonaut if he had not died. He made a flying machine from kites. Which was supposed to take off when 4 powder rockets were set on fire. Since the 17th century, Europe has been delirious about flights to the Moon: first Johannes Kepler and Cyrano de Bergerac, and later Jules Verne with his idea of ​​cannon flight.

Kibalchich, Hanswind and Tsiolkovsky

In 1881, in solitary confinement at the Peter and Paul Fortress, awaiting execution for the assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II, N.I. Kibalchich (1853-1881) drew a jet space platform. The idea of ​​his project is to create jet propulsion using burning substances. His project was discovered in the archives of the Tsarist secret police only in 1917. At the same time, the German scientist G. Hanswied is creating his own spacecraft, where thrust is provided by flying bullets. And in 1883, the Russian physicist K. E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) described a ship with a jet engine, which was embodied in 1903 in the design of a liquid rocket. It is Tsiolkovsky who is considered to be the father of Russian cosmonautics, whose works already in the 20s of the last century received wide recognition from the world community.

Just a satellite

The artificial satellite, which marked the beginning of the space age, was launched by the Soviet Union from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on October 4, 1957. An aluminum sphere weighing 83.5 kilograms and a diameter of 58 centimeters, with four bayonet antennas and equipment inside, soared to a perigee altitude of 228 kilometers and an apogee height of 947 kilometers. They simply called it Sputnik 1. Such a simple device was a tribute to " cold war"with the United States, which developed similar programs. America with their satellite Explorer 1 (launched on February 1, 1958) was almost six months behind us. The Soviets, who launched an artificial satellite first, won the race. A victory that was no longer conceded, because the time had come for the first cosmonauts.

Dogs, cats and monkeys

The beginning of the space age in the USSR began with the first orbital flights of rootless tailed cosmonauts. The Soviets chose dogs as astronauts. America - monkeys, and France - cats. Immediately after Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2 flew into space with the most unfortunate dog on board - the mongrel Laika. It was November 3, 1957, and the return of Sergei Korolev’s favorite Laika was not planned. The well-known Belka and Strelka, with their triumphant flight and return to Earth on August 19, 1960, were not the first and far from the last. France launched the cat Felicette into space (October 18, 1963), and the United States, after the rhesus monkey (September 1961), sent the chimpanzee Ham (January 31, 1961), who became a national hero, to explore space.

Human conquest of space

And here the Soviet Union was first. On April 12, 1961, near the village of Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), the R-7 launch vehicle with the Vostok-1 spacecraft took off into the sky. In it, Air Force Major Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin went on his first space flight. At a perigee altitude of 181 km and an apogee of 327 km, it flew around the Earth and, 108 minutes into the flight, landed in the vicinity of the village of Smelovka (Saratov region). The world was blown up by this event - agrarian and bastard Russia overtook the high-tech States, and Gagarin's "Let's go!" has become an anthem for space fans. It was an event of planetary scale and incredible significance for all humanity. Here America lagged behind the Union by a month - on May 5, 1961, the Redstone launch vehicle with the Mercury-3 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral launched the American astronaut Captain 3rd Rank of the Air Force Alan Shepard into orbit.

During a space flight on March 18, 1965, the co-pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Leonov (the first pilot was Colonel Pavel Belyaev), went into outer space and stayed there for 20 minutes, moving away from the ship at a distance of up to five meters. He confirmed that a person can be and work in outer space. In June, American astronaut Edward White spent just a minute longer in outer space and proved the possibility of performing maneuvers in outer space using a hand-held gun powered by compressed gas, similar to a jet. The beginning of the space age of man in outer space has come to an end.

First human casualties

Space has given us many discoveries and heroes. However, the beginning of the space age was also marked by sacrifices. The first Americans to die were Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967. The Apollo 1 spacecraft burned down in 15 seconds due to an internal fire. The first Soviet cosmonaut to die was Vladimir Komarov. On October 23, 1967, he successfully deorbited on the Soyuz-1 spacecraft after an orbital flight. But the main parachute of the descent capsule did not open, and it crashed into the ground at a speed of 200 km/h and completely burned out.

Apollo Lunar Program

On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin felt the surface of the Moon under their feet. Thus ended the flight of the Apollo 11 spacecraft with the Eagle lunar module on board. America did take over the leadership in space exploration from the Soviet Union. And although later there were many publications about the falsification of the fact of the American landing on the Moon, today everyone knows Neil Armstrong as the first person to set foot on its surface.

Salyut orbital stations

The Soviets were also the first to launch orbital stations - spacecraft for long-term stays of astronauts. Salyut is a series of manned stations, the first of which was launched into orbit on April 19, 1971. In total, in this project, 14 space objects were launched into orbit under the military program “Almaz” and the civil program “Long-term orbital station”. Including the Mir station (Salyut-8), which was in orbit from 1986 to 2001 (sunk in the spaceship cemetery in Pacific Ocean 23.03.2001).

First international space station

The ISS has a complex history of creation. It began as the American Freedom project (1984), became the joint Mir-Shuttle project in 1992, and today is an international project with 14 participating countries. The first module of the ISS was launched into orbit by the Proton-K launch vehicle on November 20, 1998. Subsequently, the participating countries brought out other connecting blocks, and today the station weighs about 400 tons. It was planned to operate the station until 2014, but the project has been extended. And it is jointly managed by four agencies - the Space Flight Control Center (Korolev, Russia), the Flight Control Center named after. L. Johnson (Houston, USA), European Space Agency Control Center (Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany) and Aerospace Exploration Agency (Tsukuba, Japan). There is a crew of 6 astronauts at the station. The station program provides for the constant presence of people. According to this indicator, it has already broken the record of the Mir station (3664 days of continuous stay). The power supply is completely autonomous - solar panels weigh almost 276 kilograms, power up to 90 kilowatts. The station contains laboratories, greenhouses and living quarters (five bedrooms), a gymnasium and bathrooms.

A few facts about the ISS

The International Space Station is currently the most expensive project in the world. More than $157 billion has already been spent on it. The station's orbital speed is 27.7 thousand km/h, with a weight of more than 41 tons. Cosmonauts observe sunrise and sunset at the station every 45 minutes. In 2008, the “Disc of Immortality” was delivered aboard the station, a device containing digitized DNA of outstanding representatives of humanity. The purpose of this collection is to preserve human DNA in the event of a global catastrophe. In the laboratories of the space station, quails are born and flowers bloom. And viable bacterial spores were found on its skin, which makes us think about the possible expansion of space.

Commercialization of space

Humanity can no longer imagine itself without space. In addition to all the advantages of practical development outer space, the commercial component is also developing. Since 2005, construction of private spaceports has been underway in the USA (Mojave), UAE (Ras Alm Khaimah) and Singapore. Virgin Galactic Corporation (USA) is planning space cruises for seven thousand tourists at an affordable price of 200 thousand dollars. And the famous space businessman Robert Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, announced the project of the first orbital Skywalker hotel. For $35 billion, Space Adventures (a partner of Roscosmos Corporation) will take you on a space journey for up to 10 days tomorrow. By paying another 3 billion, you will be able to go into outer space. The company has already organized tours for seven tourists, one of them is the head of the Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte. The same company is preparing a new tourism product for 2018 - a trip to the moon.

Dreams and fantasies became reality. Once overcoming gravity, humanity is no longer able to stop in its quest for stars, galaxies and universes. I would like to believe that we will not get too carried away, and that we will continue to be surprised and delighted by the myriads of stars in the night sky. All as mysterious, alluring and fantastic as in the first days of creation.

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Cosmonautics as a science, and then as a practical branch, was formed in the middle of the 20th century. But this was preceded by a fascinating history of the birth and development of the idea of ​​​​flying into space, which began with fantasy, and only then did the first theoretical works and experiments appear.

Thus, initially in human dreams, flight into outer space was carried out with the help of fabulous means or forces of nature (tornadoes, hurricanes). Closer to the 20th century, technical means were already present for these purposes in the descriptions of science fiction writers - Balloons, super-powerful guns and, finally, rocket engines and the rockets themselves. More than one generation of young romantics grew up on the works of J. Verne, G. Wells, A. Tolstoy, A. Kazantsev, the basis of which was a description of space travel.

Everything described by science fiction writers excited the minds of scientists. So, K.E. Tsiolkovsky said: “First inevitably come: thought, fantasy, fairy tale, and behind them comes precise calculation.” The publication at the beginning of the 20th century of the theoretical works of astronautics pioneers K.E. Tsiolkovsky, F.A. Tsandera, Yu.V. Kondratyuk, R.Kh. Goddard, G. Ganswindt, R. Hainault-Peltry, G. Aubert, V. Homan to some extent limited the flight of fancy, but at the same time gave rise to new directions in science - attempts appeared to determine what astronautics can give to society and how it affects him.

It must be said that the idea to connect the cosmic and terrestrial directions of human activity belongs to the founder of theoretical cosmonautics K.E. Tsiolkovsky. When a scientist said: “The planet is the cradle of reason, but you cannot live forever in a cradle,” he did not put forward alternatives - either the Earth or space. Tsiolkovsky never considered going into space as a consequence of some hopelessness of life on Earth. On the contrary, he spoke about the rational transformation of the nature of our planet by the power of reason. People, the scientist argued, “will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, atmosphere, plants and themselves. They will control the climate and will rule within the solar system, as on the Earth itself, which will remain the home of humanity for an indefinitely long time.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

In a report to the Government in 1954 on the possibility of developing satellites, S.P. Korolev wrote: “On your instructions, I present the report of Comrade M.K. Tikhonravov “On an artificial Earth satellite...” In the report on scientific activities for 1954, S.P. Korolev noted: “We would consider it possible to carry out a preliminary design development of the project of the satellite itself, taking into account the ongoing work (the work of M.K. Tikhonravov is especially noteworthy...)."

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

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

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

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

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

What has space science achieved in the 20th century? Powerful liquid rocket engines have been developed to propel launch vehicles to cosmic velocities. In this area, the merit of V.P. is especially great. Glushko. The creation of such engines became possible thanks to the implementation of new scientific ideas and schemes that practically eliminate losses in the drive of turbopump units. The development of launch vehicles and liquid rocket engines contributed to the development of thermo-, hydro- and gas dynamics, the theory of heat transfer and strength, metallurgy of high-strength and heat-resistant materials, fuel chemistry, measuring technology, vacuum and plasma technology. Solid propellant and other types of rocket engines were further developed.

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

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

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

At the same time, V.P. Glushko, A.M. Isaev created the world's leading school of practical rocket engine building. A theoretical basis This school was founded back in the 1930s, at the dawn of domestic rocket science. And now Russia’s leading positions in this area remain.

Thanks to the intense creative work of the design bureaus under the leadership of V.M. Myasishcheva, V.N. Chelomeya, D.A. Polukhin carried out work on creating large-sized, especially durable shells. This became the basis for the creation of powerful intercontinental missiles UR-200, UR-500, UR-700, and then manned stations “Salyut”, “Almaz”, “Mir”, twenty-ton class modules “Kvant”, “Kristall”, "Nature", "Spectrum", modern modules for the International Space Station (ISS) "Zarya" and "Zvezda", launch vehicles of the "Proton" family. Creative cooperation between the designers of these design bureaus and the machine-building plant named after. M.V. Khrunichev made it possible by the beginning of the 21st century to create the Angara family of launch vehicles, a complex of small spacecraft and manufacture ISS modules. The merger of the design bureau and the plant and the restructuring of these divisions made it possible to create the largest corporation in Russia - the State Space Research and Production Center named after. M.V. Khrunicheva.

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

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

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

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

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

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

One of the first space experiments was photographing the Earth, which showed how much observations from space could provide for discovery and intelligent use. natural resources. Tasks for the development of complexes for photo- and optoelectronic sensing of the earth, mapping, research of natural resources, environmental monitoring, as well as the creation of medium-class launch vehicles based on R-7A missiles is carried out by the former branch No. 3 of the OKB, transformed first into TsSKB, and today into the State Research and Production Center "TsSKB - Progress" headed by D.I. Kozlov.

In 1967, during the automatic docking of two unmanned artificial Earth satellites “Cosmos-186” and “Cosmos-188”, the largest scientific and technical problem of meeting and docking spacecraft in space was solved, which made it possible to create the first orbital station in a relatively short time (USSR) and choose the most rational scheme for the flight of spacecraft to the Moon with the landing of earthlings on its surface (USA). In 1981, the first flight of the reusable space transport system "Space Shuttle" (USA) was made, and in 1991 the domestic system "Energia" - "Buran" was launched.

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

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

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

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

Design bureaus led by G.N. made a great contribution to the implementation of these programs. Babakin, G.Ya. Guskov, V.M. Kovtunenko, D.I. Kozlov, N.N. Sheremetyevsky and others. Cosmonautics gave birth to a new direction in technology and construction - spaceport construction. The founders of this direction in our country were teams led by prominent scientists V.P. Barmina and V.N. Solovyova. Currently, there are more than a dozen cosmodromes operating in the world with unique ground-based automated complexes, test stations and other complex means of preparing spacecraft and rocket launch vehicles for launch. Russia is intensively launching from the world-famous Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes, and also conducts experimental launches from the Svobodny cosmodrome being created in the east of the country.

Modern needs for communications and remote control over long distances have led to the development of high-quality command and control systems that have contributed to the development of technical methods for tracking and measuring spacecraft over interplanetary distances, opening up new applications for satellites. In modern cosmonautics this is one of the priority areas. Ground-based automated control complex developed by M.S. Ryazansky and L.I. Gusev, and today ensures the functioning of the Russian orbital group.

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

The results obtained in the field of satellite geodesy are especially important for solving military problems, mapping natural resources, increasing the accuracy of trajectory measurements, and also for studying the Earth. With the use of space assets, a unique opportunity arises to solve the problems of environmental monitoring of the Earth and global control of natural resources. The results of space surveys turned out to be an effective means of monitoring the development of agricultural crops, identifying vegetation diseases, measuring some soil factors, the state of the aquatic environment, etc. A combination of various satellite imaging methods provides virtually reliable, complete and detailed information about natural resources and the state of the environment.

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

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

Our manned space mission is aimed at further development of science, rational use of the Earth's natural resources, and solving problems of environmental monitoring of land and ocean. This requires the creation of manned means both for flights in near-Earth orbits and for realizing the age-old dream of mankind - flights to other planets.

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

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

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

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

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

Along with development work, serial production of space technology also developed in the USSR. To create the Energia-Buran complex, more than 1,000 enterprises participated in the cooperation for this work. Directors of manufacturing plants S.S. Bovkun, A.I. Kiselev, I.I. Klebanov, L.D. Kuchma, A.A. Makarov, V.D. Vachnadze, A.A. Chizhov and many others quickly adjusted production and ensured production. It is especially necessary to note the role of a number of space industry leaders. This is D.F. Ustinov, K.N. Rudnev, V.M. Ryabikov, L.V. Smirnov, S.A. Afanasyev, O.D. Baklanov, V.Kh. Doguzhiev, O.N. Shishkin, Yu.N. Koptev, A.G. Karas, A.A. Maksimov, V.L. Ivanov.

The successful launch of Cosmos-4 in 1962 began the use of space in the interests of the defense of our country. This problem was solved first by NII-4 MO, and then TsNII-50 MO was separated from its composition. Here, the creation of military and dual-use space systems was justified, to the development of which the famous military scientists T.I. made a decisive contribution. Levin, G.P. Melnikov, I.V. Meshcheryakov, Yu.A. Mozzhorin, P.E. Eliasberg, I.I. Yatsunsky et al.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A major achievement in the development of American space technology was the creation of the reusable Space Shuttle space system with an orbital stage with aerodynamic quality, the first launch of which took place in April 1981. And, despite the fact that all the capabilities provided by reusability were never fully realized used, of course, this was a major (albeit very expensive) step forward on the path of space exploration.

The early successes of the USSR and the USA prompted some countries to intensify their efforts in space activities. American carriers launched the first English spacecraft "Ariel-1" (1962), the first Canadian spacecraft "Alouette-1" (1962), the first Italian spacecraft "San Marco" (1964). However, launches of spacecraft by foreign carriers made the countries that own the spacecraft dependent on the United States. Therefore, work began on creating our own media. France achieved the greatest success in this field, already in 1965 it launched the A-1 spacecraft with its own Diaman-A launch vehicle. Subsequently, developing this success, France developed the Ariane family of launch vehicles, which is one of the most cost-effective.

The undoubted success of the world cosmonautics was the implementation of the ASTP program, the final stage of which - the launch and docking in orbit of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft - was carried out in July 1975. This flight marked the beginning of international programs that successfully developed in the last quarter of the 20th century. century and the undoubted success of which was the manufacture, launch and assembly in orbit of the International Space Station. Special meaning acquired international cooperation in the field of space services, where the leading position belongs to the State Research and Production Space Center named after. M.V. Khrunicheva.

In this book, the authors, based on their many years of experience in the field of design and practical creation of rocket and space systems, analysis and generalization of the developments known to them in astronautics in Russia and abroad, set out their point of view on the development of astronautics in the 21st century. The near future will determine whether we were right or wrong. I would like to express my gratitude to academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences N.A. for valuable advice on the content of the book. Anfimov and A.A. Galeev, Doctors of Technical Sciences G.M. Tamkovich and V.V. Ostroukhov.

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

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

The history of space exploration is the most striking example of the triumph of the human mind over rebellious matter in the shortest possible time. From the moment a man-made object first overcame gravity and developed sufficient speed to enter Earth's orbit, only a little over fifty years have passed - nothing by the standards of history! Most of the planet's population vividly remembers the times when a flight to the moon was considered something out of science fiction, and those who dreamed of piercing the heavenly heights were considered, at best, crazy people not dangerous to society. Today, spaceships not only “travel the vast expanse”, successfully maneuvering in conditions of minimal gravity, but also deliver cargo, astronauts and space tourists into Earth orbit. Moreover, the duration of a flight into space can now be as long as desired: the shift of Russian cosmonauts on the ISS, for example, lasts 6-7 months. And over the past half century, man has managed to walk on the Moon and photograph its dark side, blessed Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury with artificial satellites, “recognized by sight” distant nebulae with the help of the Hubble telescope, and is seriously thinking about colonizing Mars. And although we have not yet succeeded in making contact with aliens and angels (at least officially), let us not despair - after all, everything is just beginning!

Dreams of space and attempts at writing

For the first time, progressive humanity believed in the reality of flight to distant worlds at the end of the 19th century. It was then that it became clear that if the aircraft was given the speed necessary to overcome gravity and maintained it for a sufficient time, it would be able to go beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and gain a foothold in orbit, like the Moon, revolving around the Earth. The problem was in the engines. The existing specimens at that time either spat extremely powerfully but briefly with bursts of energy, or worked on the principle of “gasp, groan and go away little by little.” The first was more suitable for bombs, the second - for carts. In addition, it was impossible to regulate the thrust vector and thereby influence the trajectory of the apparatus: a vertical launch inevitably led to its rounding, and as a result the body fell to the ground, never reaching space; the horizontal one, with such a release of energy, threatened to destroy all living things around (as if the current ballistic missile were launched flat). Finally, at the beginning of the 20th century, researchers turned their attention to a rocket engine, the operating principle of which has been known to mankind since the turn of our era: fuel burns in the rocket body, simultaneously lightening its mass, and the released energy moves the rocket forward. The first rocket capable of launching an object beyond the limits of gravity was designed by Tsiolkovsky in 1903.

View of Earth from the ISS

First artificial satellite

Time passed, and although two world wars greatly slowed down the process of creating rockets for peaceful use, space progress still did not stand still. The key moment of the post-war period was the adoption of the so-called package rocket layout, which is still used in astronautics today. Its essence is the simultaneous use of several rockets placed symmetrically with respect to the center of mass of the body that needs to be launched into Earth orbit. This provides a powerful, stable and uniform thrust, sufficient for the object to move at a constant speed of 7.9 km/s, necessary to overcome gravity. And so, on October 4, 1957, a new, or rather the first, era in space exploration began - the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, like everything ingenious, simply called “Sputnik-1”, using the R-7 rocket, designed under the leadership of Sergei Korolev. The silhouette of the R-7, the ancestor of all subsequent space rockets, is still recognizable today in the ultra-modern Soyuz launch vehicle, which successfully sends “trucks” and “cars” into orbit with cosmonauts and tourists on board - the same four “legs” of the package design and red nozzles. The first satellite was microscopic, just over half a meter in diameter and weighed only 83 kg. It completed a full revolution around the Earth in 96 minutes. " Star life The journey of the iron pioneer of astronautics lasted three months, but during this period he covered a fantastic distance of 60 million km!

The first living creatures in orbit

The success of the first launch inspired the designers, and the prospect of sending a living creature into space and returning it unharmed no longer seemed impossible. Just a month after the launch of Sputnik 1, the first animal, the dog Laika, went into orbit on board the second artificial Earth satellite. Her goal was honorable, but sad - to test the survival of living beings in space flight conditions. Moreover, the return of the dog was not planned... The launch and insertion of the satellite into orbit was successful, but after four orbits around the Earth, due to an error in the calculations, the temperature inside the device rose excessively, and Laika died. The satellite itself rotated in space for another 5 months, and then lost speed and burned up in dense layers of the atmosphere. The first shaggy cosmonauts to greet their “senders” with a joyful bark upon their return were the textbook Belka and Strelka, who set off to conquer the heavens on the fifth satellite in August 1960. Their flight lasted just over a day, and during this time the dogs managed to fly around the planet 17 times. All this time, they were watched from monitor screens in the Mission Control Center - by the way, it was precisely because of the contrast that white dogs were chosen - because the image was then black and white. As a result of the launch, the spacecraft itself was also finalized and finally approved - in just 8 months, the first person will go into space in a similar apparatus.

In addition to dogs, both before and after 1961, monkeys (macaques, squirrel monkeys and chimpanzees), cats, turtles, as well as all sorts of little things - flies, beetles, etc., were in space.

During the same period, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite of the Sun, the Luna-2 station managed to softly land on the surface of the planet, and the first photographs of the side of the Moon invisible from Earth were obtained.

The day of April 12, 1961 divided the history of the exploration of space into two periods - “when man dreamed of the stars” and “since man conquered space.”

Man in space

The day of April 12, 1961 divided the history of the exploration of space into two periods - “when man dreamed of the stars” and “since man conquered space.” At 9:07 Moscow time, the Vostok-1 spacecraft with the world's first cosmonaut on board, Yuri Gagarin, was launched from launch pad No. 1 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Having made one revolution around the Earth and traveled 41 thousand km, 90 minutes after the start, Gagarin landed near Saratov, standing on long years the most famous, revered and beloved person on the planet. His “let’s go!” and “everything is visible very clearly - space is black - the earth is blue” were included in the list of the most famous phrases of humanity, his open smile, ease and cordiality melted the hearts of people around the world. The first manned flight into space was controlled from Earth; Gagarin himself was more of a passenger, albeit an excellently prepared one. It should be noted that the flight conditions were far from those that are now offered to space tourists: Gagarin experienced eight to tenfold overloads, there was a period when the ship was literally tumbling, and behind the windows the skin was burning and the metal was melting. During the flight, several failures occurred in various systems of the ship, but fortunately, the astronaut was not injured.

Following Gagarin's flight, significant milestones in the history of space exploration fell one after another: the world's first group space flight was completed, then the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova went into space (1963), the first multi-seat spacecraft flew, Alexey Leonov became the first a man who performed a spacewalk (1965) - and all these grandiose events are entirely the merit of the Russian cosmonautics. Finally, on July 21, 1969, the first man landed on the Moon: American Neil Armstrong took that “small, big step.”

Best View in the Solar System

Cosmonautics - today, tomorrow and always

Today, space travel is taken for granted. Hundreds of satellites and thousands of other necessary and useless objects fly above us; seconds before sunrise, from the bedroom window you can see planes flashing in rays still invisible from the ground solar panels International Space Station, space tourists set off with enviable regularity to “roam the open spaces” (thus embodying the ironic phrase “if you really want to, you can fly into space”) and the era of commercial suborbital flights with almost two departures daily is about to begin. The exploration of space by controlled vehicles is absolutely amazing: there are pictures of stars that exploded long ago, and HD images of distant galaxies, and strong evidence of the possibility of the existence of life on other planets. Billionaire corporations are already coordinating plans to build space hotels in Earth’s orbit, and projects for the colonization of our neighboring planets no longer seem like an excerpt from the novels of Asimov or Clark. One thing is obvious: once having overcome earth's gravity, humanity will again and again strive upward, to the endless worlds of stars, galaxies and universes. I would only like to wish that the beauty of the night sky and myriads of twinkling stars, still alluring, mysterious and beautiful, as in the first days of creation, never leaves us.

Space reveals its secrets

Academician Blagonravov dwelled on some new achievements of Soviet science: in the field of space physics.

Beginning on January 2, 1959, each flight of Soviet space rockets conducted a study of radiation at large distances from the Earth. The so-called outer radiation belt of the Earth, discovered by Soviet scientists, was subjected to detailed study. Studying the composition of radiation belt particles using various scintillation and gas-discharge meters, located on satellites and space rockets, made it possible to establish that the outer belt contains electrons of significant energies up to a million electron volts and even higher. When braking in the shells of spacecraft, they create intense piercing X-ray radiation. During the flight of an automatic interplanetary station towards Venus, the average energy of this x-ray radiation at distances from 30 to 40 thousand kilometers from the center of the Earth, amounting to about 130 kiloelectronvolts. This value changed little with the distance, which allows one to judge that the energy spectrum of electrons in this region is constant.

Already the first studies showed the instability of the outer radiation belt, movements of maximum intensity associated with magnetic storms caused by solar corpuscular flows. Recent measurements from an automatic interplanetary station launched towards Venus have shown that although changes in intensity occur closer to Earth, the outer boundary of the outer belt, in a quiet state of the magnetic field, remained constant for almost two years both in intensity and spatial location. Research in recent years has also made it possible to construct a model of the ionized gas shell of the Earth based on experimental data for a period close to the maximum of solar activity. Our studies have shown that at altitudes of less than a thousand kilometers, the main role is played by atomic oxygen ions, and starting from altitudes lying between one and two thousand kilometers, hydrogen ions predominate in the ionosphere. The extent of the outermost region of the Earth's ionized gas shell, the so-called hydrogen “corona,” is very large.

Processing of the results of measurements carried out on the first Soviet space rockets showed that at altitudes of approximately 50 to 75 thousand kilometers outside the outer radiation belt, electron flows with energies exceeding 200 electron volts were detected. This allowed us to assume the existence of a third outermost belt of charged particles with a high flux intensity, but lower energy. After the launch of the American Pioneer V space rocket in March 1960, data were obtained that confirmed our assumptions about the existence of a third belt of charged particles. This belt is apparently formed as a result of the penetration of solar corpuscular flows into the peripheral regions of the Earth's magnetic field.

New data were obtained regarding the spatial location of the Earth's radiation belts, and an area of ​​increased radiation was discovered in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, which is associated with a corresponding earth magnetic anomaly. In this area, the lower boundary of the Earth's internal radiation belt drops to 250 - 300 kilometers from the Earth's surface.

The flights of the second and third satellites provided new information that made it possible to map the distribution of radiation by ion intensity over the surface of the globe. (The speaker demonstrates this map to the audience).

For the first time, currents created by positive ions included in solar corpuscular radiation were recorded outside the Earth's magnetic field at distances of the order of hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the Earth, using three-electrode charged particle traps installed on Soviet space rockets. In particular, on the automatic interplanetary station launched towards Venus, traps were installed oriented towards the Sun, one of which was intended to record solar corpuscular radiation. On February 17, during a communication session with the automatic interplanetary station, its passage through a significant flow of corpuscles (with a density of about 10 9 particles per square centimeter per second) was recorded. This observation coincided with the observation of a magnetic storm. Such experiments open the way to establishing quantitative relationships between geomagnetic disturbances and the intensity of solar corpuscular flows. On the second and third satellites, the radiation hazard caused by cosmic radiation outside the Earth's atmosphere was studied in quantitative terms. The same satellites were used for research chemical composition primary cosmic radiation. The new equipment installed on the satellite ships included a photoemulsion device designed to expose and develop stacks of thick-film emulsions directly on board the ship. The results obtained are of great scientific value for elucidating the biological influence of cosmic radiation.

Flight technical problems

Next, the speaker focused on a number of significant problems that ensured the organization of human flight into space. First of all, it was necessary to resolve the issue of methods for launching a heavy ship into orbit, for which it was necessary to have powerful rocket technology. We have created such a technique. However, it was not enough to inform the ship of a speed exceeding the first cosmic speed. High precision of launching the ship into a pre-calculated orbit was also necessary.

It should be borne in mind that the requirements for the accuracy of orbital movement will increase in the future. This will require movement correction using special propulsion systems. Related to the problem of trajectory correction is the problem of maneuvering a directional change in the flight trajectory of a spacecraft. Maneuvers can be carried out with the help of impulses transmitted by a jet engine in individual specially selected sections of trajectories, or with the help of thrust that lasts for a long time, for the creation of which electric jet engines (ion, plasma) are used.

Examples of maneuvers include transition to a higher orbit, transition to an orbit entering the dense layers of the atmosphere for braking and landing in a given area. The latter type of maneuver was used when landing Soviet satellite ships with dogs on board and when landing the Vostok satellite.

To carry out a maneuver, perform a number of measurements and for other purposes, it is necessary to ensure stabilization of the satellite ship and its orientation in space, maintained for a certain period of time or changed according to a given program.

Turning to the problem of returning to Earth, the speaker focused on the following issues: speed deceleration, protection from heating when moving in dense layers of the atmosphere, ensuring landing in a given area.

The braking of the spacecraft, necessary to dampen the cosmic speed, can be carried out either using a special powerful propulsion system, or by braking the apparatus in the atmosphere. The first of these methods requires very large reserves of weight. Using atmospheric resistance for braking allows you to get by with relatively little additional weight.

The complex of problems associated with the development of protective coatings during braking of a vehicle in the atmosphere and the organization of the entry process with overloads acceptable for the human body represents a complex scientific and technical problem.

The rapid development of space medicine has put on the agenda the issue of biological telemetry as the main means of medical monitoring and scientific medical research during space flight. The use of radio telemetry leaves a specific imprint on the methodology and technology of biomedical research, since a number of special requirements are imposed on the equipment placed on board spacecraft. This equipment should have very light weight and small dimensions. It should be designed for minimal energy consumption. In addition, the onboard equipment must operate stably during the active phase and during descent, when vibrations and overloads are present.

Sensors designed to convert physiological parameters into electrical signals must be miniature, designed to long work. They should not create inconvenience for the astronaut.

The widespread use of radio telemetry in space medicine forces researchers to pay serious attention to the design of such equipment, as well as to matching the volume of information necessary for transmission with the capacity of radio channels. Since new challenges facing space medicine will lead to further deepening of research and the need to significantly increase the number of recorded parameters, the introduction of systems that store information and coding methods will be required.

In conclusion, the speaker focused on the question of why for the first space travel The option of orbiting the Earth was chosen. This option represented a decisive step towards the conquest of outer space. They provided research into the issue of the influence of flight duration on a person, solved the problem of controlled flight, the problem of controlling the descent, entering the dense layers of the atmosphere and safely returning to Earth. Compared to this, the flight recently carried out in the USA seems of little value. It could be important as an intermediate option for checking a person’s condition during the acceleration stage, during overloads during descent; but after Yu. Gagarin’s flight there was no longer a need for such a check. In this version of the experiment, the element of sensation certainly prevailed. The only value of this flight can be seen in testing the operation of the developed systems that ensure entry into the atmosphere and landing, but, as we have seen, testing similar systems developed here in the Soviet Union for more difficult conditions, was reliably carried out even before the first human space flight. Thus, the achievements achieved in our country on April 12, 1961 cannot be compared in any way with what has been achieved so far in the United States.

And no matter how hard they try, says the academician, those who are hostile towards Soviet Union people abroad belittle the successes of our science and technology with their fabrications, the whole world evaluates these successes properly and sees how much our country has moved forward along the path of technological progress. I personally witnessed the delight and admiration that was caused by the news of the historic flight of our first cosmonaut among the broad masses of the Italian people.

The flight was extremely successful

Academician N. M. Sissakyan made a report on the biological problems of space flights. He described the main stages in the development of space biology and summed up some of the results of scientific biological research related to space flights.

The speaker cited the medical and biological characteristics of Yu. A. Gagarin's flight. In the cabin, barometric pressure was maintained within 750 - 770 millimeters of mercury, air temperature - 19 - 22 degrees Celsius, relative humidity - 62 - 71 percent.

In the pre-launch period, approximately 30 minutes before the launch of the spacecraft, the heart rate was 66 per minute, the respiratory rate was 24. Three minutes before the launch, some emotional stress manifested itself in an increase in the pulse rate to 109 beats per minute, breathing continued to remain even and calm.

At the moment the spacecraft took off and gradually gained speed, the heart rate increased to 140 - 158 per minute, the respiratory rate was 20 - 26. Changes in physiological indicators during the active phase of the flight, according to telemetric recordings of electrocardiograms and pneimograms, were within acceptable limits. By the end of the active section, the heart rate was already 109, and the respiration rate was 18 per minute. In other words, these indicators reached the values ​​characteristic of the moment closest to the start.

During the transition to weightlessness and flight in this state, cardiovascular and respiratory systems consistently approached the initial values. So, already in the tenth minute of weightlessness, the pulse rate reached 97 beats per minute, breathing - 22. Performance was not impaired, movements retained coordination and the necessary accuracy.

During the descent section, during braking of the apparatus, when overloads arose again, short-term, rapidly passing periods of increased breathing were noted. However, already upon approaching the Earth, breathing became even, calm, with a frequency of about 16 per minute.

Three hours after landing, the heart rate was 68, breathing was 20 per minute, i.e., values ​​​​characteristic of the calm, normal state of Yu. A. Gagarin.

All this indicates that the flight was extremely successful, the health and general condition of the cosmonaut during all parts of the flight was satisfactory. Life support systems were working normally.

In conclusion, the speaker focused on the most important upcoming problems of space biology.

Space... One word, and how many mesmerizing pictures appear before your eyes! Myriads of galaxies scattered throughout the Universe, the distant and at the same time infinitely close and dear Milky Way, the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, peacefully located in the vast sky... The list can be endless. In this article we will get acquainted with the history and some interesting facts.

Space exploration in ancient times: how did they look at the stars before?

In ancient times, people could not observe planets and comets through powerful telescopes like Hubble. The only devices for admiring the beauty of the sky and performing space research, were their own eyes. Of course, human “telescopes” could not see anything except the Sun, Moon and stars (except for the comet in 1812). Therefore, people could only guess about what these yellow and white balls in the sky actually look like. But even then the population of the globe was attentive, so they quickly noticed that these two circles were moving across the sky, then hiding behind the horizon, then appearing again. They also discovered that not all stars behave the same way: some of them remain stationary, while others change their position along a complex trajectory. This is where the great exploration of outer space and what lies in it began.

The ancient Greeks achieved particular success in this field. They were the first to discover that our planet is spherical. Their opinions about the location of the Earth relative to the Sun were divided: some scientists believed that it revolved around a celestial body, others believed that it was the other way around (they were supporters of the geocentric system of the world). The ancient Greeks never came to a consensus. All their works and space research were captured on paper and compiled into a whole treatise called "Almagest". Its author and compiler is the great ancient scientist Ptolemy.

The Renaissance and the destruction of previous ideas about space

Nicolaus Copernicus - who hasn't heard this name? It was he who, in the 15th century, destroyed the erroneous theory of the geocentric system of the world and put forward his own, heliocentric, which argued that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and not vice versa. The medieval Inquisition and the church, unfortunately, did not sleep. They immediately declared such speeches heretical, and the followers of Copernicus’ theory were brutally persecuted. One of her supporters, Giordano Bruno, was burned at the stake. His name has remained for centuries, and to this day we remember the great scientist with respect and gratitude.

Growing Interest in Space

After these events, the attention of scientists to astronomy only intensified. Space exploration has become more and more exciting. As soon as the 17th century began, a new large-scale discovery occurred: the researcher Kepler discovered that the orbits in which the planets revolve around the Sun are not at all round, as previously thought, but elliptical. Thanks to this event, major changes occurred in science. In particular, he discovered mechanics and was able to describe the patterns by which bodies move.

Discovery of new planets

Today we know that there are eight planets in the solar system. Until 2006, their number was nine, but after that the most recent and distant planet from heat and light - Pluto - was excluded from the number of bodies orbiting our celestial body. This happened due to its small size - the area of ​​Russia alone is already larger than the entire Pluto. It was given the status of a dwarf planet.

Until the 17th century, people believed that there were five planets in the solar system. There were no telescopes then, so they judged only by those celestial bodies that they could see with their own eyes. Scientists could not see anything further than Saturn with its icy rings. We would probably still be mistaken to this day if it weren’t for Galileo Galilei. It was he who invented telescopes and helped scientists explore other planets and see the rest celestial bodies Solar system. Thanks to the telescope, it became known about the existence of mountains and craters on the Moon, Saturn, and Mars. Also, the same Galileo Galilei discovered spots on the Sun. Science not only developed, it flew forward by leaps and bounds. And by the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists already knew enough to build the first one and set off to conquer the stars.

Soviet scientists conducted significant space research and achieved great success in the study of astronomy and the development of shipbuilding. True, more than 50 years passed from the beginning of the 20th century before the first space satellite set off to conquer the vastness of the Universe. This happened in 1957. The device was launched in the USSR from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The first satellites were not chasing high results - their goal was to reach the Moon. The first space exploration device landed on the lunar surface in 1959. And also in the 20th century, the Institute of Space Research was opened, in which serious scientific works and discoveries were made.

Soon, satellite launches became commonplace, and yet only one mission to land on another planet ended successfully. We are talking about the Apollo project, during which several times, according to official version, the Americans landed on the moon.

International "space race"

1961 became a memorable year in the history of astronautics. But even earlier, in 1960, two dogs, whose names the whole world knows: Belka and Strelka, went into space. They returned from space safe and sound, having become famous and becoming real heroes.

And April 12 next year Yuri Gagarin, the first person who dared to leave the Earth on the ship Vostok-1, set off to explore the expanses of the Universe.

The United States of America did not want to cede primacy to the USSR in the space race, so they wanted to send their man into space before Gagarin. The United States also lost in launching satellites: Russia managed to launch the device four months before America. Such space explorers as Valentina Tereshkova and the latter were the first in the world to perform a spacewalk, and the most significant achievement of the United States in the exploration of the Universe was only the launch of an astronaut into orbital flight.

But, despite the significant successes of the USSR in the “space race,” America was also no slouch. And on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft, carrying five space explorers on board, launched towards the surface of the Moon. Five days later, the first man set foot on the surface of the Earth's satellite. His name was Neil Armstrong.

Victory or defeat?

Who actually won the lunar race? There is no exact answer to this question. Both the USSR and the USA showed themselves with the best side: They modernized and improved technical advances in spacecraft, made many new discoveries, and took invaluable samples from the surface of the Moon, which were sent to the Space Research Institute. Thanks to them, it was established that the Earth's satellite consists of sand and stone, and that there is no air on the Moon. The traces of Neil Armstrong, left more than forty years ago on the lunar surface, are still there today. There is simply nothing to erase them: our satellite is deprived of air, there is no wind, no water. And if you go to the Moon, you can leave your mark on history - both literally and figuratively.

Conclusion

Human history is rich and vast, including many great discoveries, wars, epic victories and devastating defeats. The exploration of extraterrestrial space and modern space research rightfully occupy far from the last place on the pages of history. But none of this would have happened without such brave and selfless people as Nicolaus Copernicus, Yuri Gagarin, Sergei Korolev, Galileo Galilei, Giordano Bruno and many, many others. All these great people were distinguished by their outstanding intelligence, developed abilities for studying physics and mathematics, strong character and iron will. We have a lot to learn from them; we can adopt invaluable experience and positive qualities and character traits from these scientists. If humanity tries to be like them, read a lot, train, study successfully at school and university, then we can say with confidence that we still have many great discoveries ahead, and deep space will soon be explored. And, as it is sung in one famous song, our traces will remain on the dusty paths of distant planets.