The first artificial Earth satellite was created and launched into space in the USSR. It happened on October 4, 1957. On this day, radio stations around the world interrupted their transmissions to announce the most important news. The Russian word "satellite" has entered into all languages ​​of the world.

It was a fantastic breakthrough of mankind in the exploration of outer space, and it laid the foundation for the great Space Age of all mankind. And the palm rightfully belongs to the USSR.

Here is a picture taken in the lobby of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In the foreground is the First Sputnik, the highest technological achievement of its time.
On the second - employees of IKI - outstanding scientists, creators of the first satellite, atomic weapons, space science and technology.

If it is not readable in the picture, here are their names:

• Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich - theoretical physicist, repeatedly awarded the Stalin Prize of the 1st degree for special work related to the atomic bomb. Three times Hero of Socialist Labor.

October 4, 1957 forever entered the history of mankind as the beginning of a new era - space. It was on this day that the first artificial satellite (AES) - Sputnik-1 - was sent to surf space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It weighed relatively little - 83.6 kilograms, but at that time delivering even such a "crumb" into orbit was a very serious task.

I think that in Russia there is no person who would not know who was the first man in space.

With the first satellite, the situation is more complicated. Many do not even know what country he belonged to.

Thus began a new era in science and the legendary space race between the USSR and the USA.

The era of rocket science begins at the beginning of the last century, with theory. It was then that the outstanding scientist Tsiolkovsky, in his article on the jet engine, actually predicted the appearance of satellites. Despite the fact that the professor had many students who continued to popularize his ideas, many considered him to be just a dreamer.

Then new times came, the country had a lot of things to do and problems, except for rocket science. But two decades later, Friedrich Zander and the now famous aviator engineer Korolenko founded a group to study jet propulsion. After that, there were several events that led to the fact that 30 years later the first satellite was launched into space, and after some time, a man:

• 1933 - launch of the first rocket with a jet engine;
• 1943 - the invention of the German V-2 rockets;
• 1947–1954 - rocket launches P1-P7.

The apparatus itself was ready in mid-May at 7 pm. His device was quite simple, there were 2 beacons on it, which made it possible to measure the trajectory of his flight. Interestingly, after sending a notice that the satellite was ready for flight, Korolev did not receive any answer from Moscow and independently decided to put the satellite on the starting position.

The preparation and launch of the satellite was led by S.P. Korolev. The satellite made 1440 complete revolutions in 92 days, after which it burned down, entering the dense layers of the atmosphere. The radio transmitters worked for two weeks after the launch.

The first satellite was given the name PS-1. When the project of the first-born space was born, there were disputes among engineers and developers: what should it be in shape? After listening to the arguments of all parties, Sergei Pavlovich categorically stated: "A ball and only a ball!" - and, without waiting for questions, he explained his plan: “The ball, its shape, the conditions of its habitat from the point of view of aerodynamics have been thoroughly studied.

Known for its pros and cons. And this is of no small importance.

Understand - FIRST! When humanity sees an artificial satellite, it should evoke good feelings in it. What could be more expressive than a ball? It is close to the shape of natural celestial bodies in our solar system. People will perceive the satellite as a kind of image, as a symbol of the space age!

I consider it necessary to install such transmitters on board so that radio amateurs on all continents can receive their call signs. The orbital flight of the satellite is calculated in such a way that, using the simplest optical instruments, everyone from the Earth can see the flight of the Soviet satellite.

On the morning of October 3, 1957, scientists, designers, members of the State Commission gathered at the assembly and test building - everyone who was associated with the launch. They were waiting for the two-stage rocket and space system Sputnik to be taken to the launch pad.

The metal gates opened. The locomotive, as it were, pushed out a rocket placed on a special platform. Sergei Pavlovich, setting up a new tradition, took off his hat. His example of high respect for the work that created this miracle of technology was followed by others.

Korolev took a few steps behind the rocket, stopped and, according to the old Russian custom, said: “Well, with God!”.

Before the start of the space age, there were only a few hours left. What awaited Korolev and his associates? Will October 4 be the victorious day that he dreamed of for many years? The sky, studded with stars that night, seemed to become closer to the Earth. And everyone who was present at the launch pad involuntarily looked at Korolev. What was he thinking about as he looked into the dark sky, twinkling with myriads of near and far stars? Perhaps he remembered the words of Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky: “The first great step of mankind is to fly out of the atmosphere and become a satellite of the Earth”?

The last meeting of the State Commission before the start. There was a little more than an hour left before the start of the experiment. The floor was given to S.P. Korolev, everyone was waiting for a detailed report, but the chief designer was brief: “The launch vehicle and satellite passed the launch tests. I propose to launch the rocket and space complex at the appointed time, today at 22:28.”

And here is the long-awaited launch!

"THE FIRST ARTIFICIAL EARTH SATELLITE, A SOVIET SPACE VEHICLE LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT."

The launch was carried out from the 5th Tyura-Tam research site of the USSR Ministry of Defense on a Sputnik launch vehicle, created on the basis of the R7 intercontinental ballistic missile.

Launch and flight

On Friday, October 4, at 22:28:34 Moscow time (19:28:34 GMT), a successful launch was made.

295 seconds after the launch of the PS-1 and the central block (stage II) of the rocket weighing 7.5 tons were launched

elliptical orbit with a height of 947 km at apogee and 288 km at perigee. The apogee was in the Southern Hemisphere and the perigee was in the Northern Hemisphere. 314.5 seconds after the launch, the protective cone was dropped and Sputnik separated from the second stage of the launch vehicle, and he gave his vote. "Beep! Beep! - so sounded his call signs.

They were caught at the training ground for 2 minutes, then the Sputnik went beyond the horizon. People at the cosmodrome ran out into the street, shouting "Hurrah!", rocked the designers and the military.

And on the first orbit, a TASS message sounded:

"As a result of the great hard work of research institutes and design bureaus, the world's first artificial Earth satellite has been created."

Only after receiving the first signals of the Sputnik did the results of telemetry data processing come in and it turned out that only a fraction of a second separated from failure. Before the start, the engine in the G block was “delayed”, and the time to enter the regime is tightly controlled, and if it is exceeded, the start is automatically canceled.

The block went into mode less than a second before the control time. At the 16th second of the flight, the tank emptying system (SES) failed, and due to the increased consumption of kerosene, the central engine turned off 1 second ahead of the estimated time. According to the memoirs of B. E. Chertok: “A little more - and the first cosmic speed could not be achieved.

But the winners are not judged! Great things have happened!"

The orbital inclination of Sputnik-1 was about 65 degrees, which meant that Sputnik-1 flew approximately between the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle, due to the rotation of the Earth during each revolution, shifting by 24 degrees in longitude 37.

The orbital period of Sputnik-1 was initially 96.2 minutes, then it gradually decreased due to the decrease in orbit, for example, after 22 days it became 53 seconds shorter.

History of creation

The flight of the first satellite was preceded by a long work of scientists and designers, in which scientists played a significant role.

Here are their names:

1. Valentin Semenovich Etkin - sounding of the Earth's surface from space by remote radiophysical methods.
2. Pavel Efimovich Elyasberg - during the launch of the first Artificial Earth Satellite, he supervised the work on determining the orbits and predicting the satellite's motion based on the results of measurements.
3. Yan Lvovich Ziman - Ph.D. thesis, defended at MIIGAiK, was devoted to the selection of orbits for satellites.
4. Georgy Ivanovich Petrov - together with S.P. Korolev and M.V. Keldysh, who stood at the origins of astronautics.
5. Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky - founder of the school of modern astrophysics.
6. Georgiy Stepanovich Narimanov - programs and methods of navigation and ballistic support in controlling the flights of artificial earth satellites.
7. Konstantin Iosifovich Gringauz, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched in 1957, carried on board a radio transmitter created by a scientific and technical group led by K. I. Gringauz.
8. Yuri Ilyich Galperin - magnetospheric research.
9. Semyon Samoilovich Moiseev - plasma and hydrodynamics.
10. Vasily Ivanovich Moroz - Physics of planets and small bodies of the solar system.

satellite device

The satellite body consisted of two power hemispherical shells with a diameter of 58.0 cm made of aluminum-magnesium alloy AMg-6 2 mm thick with docking frames interconnected by 36 M8 × 2.5 studs. Before launch, the satellite was filled with dry nitrogen gas at a pressure of 1.3 atmospheres. The tightness of the joint was ensured by a gasket made of vacuum rubber. The upper half-shell had a smaller radius and was covered with a hemispherical outer screen 1 mm thick to provide thermal insulation.

The shell surfaces were polished and processed to give them special optical properties. On the upper half-shell, two corner vibrator antennas were located crosswise, facing back; each consisted of two arms-pins 2.4 m long (VHF antenna) and 2.9 m each (HF antenna), the angle between the arms in a pair was 70 °; the shoulders were bred to the required angle with a spring
mechanism after separation from the launch vehicle.

Such an antenna provided radiation close to uniform in all directions, which was required for stable radio reception due to the fact that the satellite was not oriented. The design of the antennas was proposed by G. T. Markov (MPEI). On the front half-shell there were four sockets for mounting antennas with pressure seal fittings and a filling valve flange. On the rear half-shell there was an interlocking heel contact, which turned on the autonomous on-board power supply after the separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle, as well as the flange of the test system connector.

Scheme of the orbit of the first satellite of the Earth. /From the newspaper "Soviet Aviation"/. 1957

Inside the sealed case were placed:

• block of electrochemical sources (silver-zinc accumulators);
• radio transmitting device;
• a fan that is switched on by a thermal relay at temperatures above +30°С and switched off when the temperature drops to +20…23°С;
• thermal relay and air duct of the thermal control system;
• switching device of onboard electroautomatics; temperature and pressure sensors;
• onboard cable network. Weight - 83.6 kg.

Flight parameters

• The flight began on October 4, 1957 at 19:28:34 GMT.
• The end of the flight - January 4, 1958.
• The mass of the device is 83.6 kg.
• The maximum diameter is 0.58 m.
• Orbital inclination - 65.1°.
• The circulation period is 96.2 minutes.
• Perigee - 228 km.
• Apogee - 947 km.
• Vitkov - 1440.

Memory

In honor of the beginning of the space age of mankind in 1964, a 99-meter obelisk "To the Conquerors of Space" was opened in Moscow on Mira Avenue.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik-1, on October 4, 2007, a monument to the First Artificial Earth Satellite was unveiled in the city of Korolev on Cosmonauts Avenue.

An ice plateau on Pluto was named after Sputnik 1 in 2017.

Picking up speed, the rocket confidently went up. Everyone who was involved in the launch of the satellite gathered at the launch pad. The nervous excitement did not subside. Everyone was waiting for the satellite to circle the Earth and appear above the spaceport. “There is a signal,” the voice of the operator rang out over the speakerphone.

At the same second, the sonorous, confident voice of the companion poured out of the speaker over the steppe. Everyone applauded in unison. Someone shouted "Hurrah!", The victory cry was picked up by the rest. Strong handshakes, hugs. An atmosphere of happiness reigned ... Korolev looked around: Ryabinin, Keldysh, Glushko, Kuznetsov, Nesterenko, Bushuev, Pilyugin, Ryazansky, Tikhonravov. Everyone is here, everything is nearby - "a mighty bunch in science and technology", adherents of the ideas of Tsiolkovsky.

It seemed that the general rejoicing of those gathered at that moment on the launch pad could not be appeased. But Korolev got up on the impromptu podium. Silence reigned. He did not hide his joy: his eyes shone, his face, usually stern, shone.

“Today, what the best sons of mankind dreamed of, and among them our famous scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, has come true. He brilliantly predicted that mankind would not remain forever on Earth. The satellite is the first confirmation of his prophecy. The space storm has begun. We can be proud that our Motherland started it. To all - a big Russian thank you!

Here are reviews from the foreign press.

The Italian scientist Beniamino Segre, learning about the satellite, said: "As a person and as a scientist, I am proud of the triumph of the human mind, emphasizing the high level of socialist science."

Review of the New York Times: “The success of the USSR first of all shows that this is the greatest feat of Soviet science and technology. Such a feat could only be accomplished by a country with first-class conditions in a very wide field of science and technology.

The statement of the German rocket scientist Hermann Oberth is curious: “Only a country with a huge scientific and technical potential could successfully solve such a difficult task as launching the first satellite of the Earth. It was also necessary to have a considerable number of specialists. And the Soviet Union has them. I admire the talent of Soviet scientists.”

The physicist, Nobel Prize winner Frederic Joliot-Curie gave the deepest assessment of what happened: “This is a great victory for man, which is a turning point in the history of civilization. Man is no longer chained to his planet."

In all languages ​​of the world on this day it sounded: “cosmos”, “satellite”, “USSR”, “Russian scientists”.

In 1958 S.P. Korolev makes a report "On the program of exploration of the Moon", supervises the launch of a geophysical rocket with research equipment and two dogs in the descender, participates in organizing the flight of the third artificial Earth satellite - the first scientific station. And a lot of other scientific work was done under his leadership.

And finally, the triumph of science - April 12, 1961. Sergei Pavlovich Korolev - leader of the historic human space flight. This day became an event in the history of mankind: for the first time, a man defeated the earth's gravity and rushed into outer space ... Then real courage and courage were required to get into a "space ball", as the ship "Vostok" was sometimes called, and, not thinking about one's own fate, fly away into the boundless starry space.

The day before, Korolev addressed the members of the State Commission: “Dear comrades! Less than four years have passed since the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, and we are already ready for the first manned flight into space. There is a group of cosmonauts here, each of them is ready to make a flight. It was decided that Yuri Gagarin would fly first. Others will follow him in the near future. Next in line we have new flights that will be interesting for science and for the benefit of mankind.”

Korolev's Martian project remained unfinished. New ones will come, those who will continue this project and lead their ships along the Milky Way to distant planets, to distant worlds...

On my own behalf, I can add that the glory of the Fatherland is brought and will be brought by the heroes of science, who imprinted Knowledge with their lives.

“The first great step of mankind is to fly out of the atmosphere and become a satellite of the Earth. The rest is relatively easy, up to the distance from our solar system.

NEW SPACE AGE

On October 4, 1957, the world's first artificial Earth satellite was launched into near-Earth orbit, which opened the space era in the history of mankind.

The satellite, which became the first artificial celestial body, was launched into orbit by an R-7 carrier rocket from the 5th Research Test Site of the USSR Ministry of Defense, which later received the open name Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The spacecraft PS-1 (the simplest satellite-1) was a ball with a diameter of 58 centimeters, weighed 83.6 kilograms, was equipped with four pin antennas 2.4 and 2.9 meters long for transmitting signals from battery-powered transmitters. 295 seconds after the launch, the PS-1 and the central block of the rocket weighing 7.5 tons were launched into an elliptical orbit at an apogee of 947 km and a perigee of 288 km. At 315 seconds after the launch, the satellite separated from the second stage of the launch vehicle, and immediately the whole world heard its call signs.

On the creation of an artificial satellite of the Earth, headed by the founder of practical astronautics S.P. Scientists M.V. Keldysh, M.K. Tikhonravov, N.S. Lidorenko, V.I. Lapko, B.S. Chekunov and many others.

The PS-1 satellite flew for 92 days, until January 4, 1958, making 1440 revolutions around the Earth (about 60 million kilometers), and its radio transmitters worked for two weeks after launch.

The launch of an artificial satellite of the Earth was of great importance for the knowledge of the properties of outer space and the study of the Earth as a planet in our solar system. The analysis of the received signals from the satellite gave scientists the opportunity to study the upper layers of the ionosphere, which was not possible before. In addition, the most useful information for further launches on the operating conditions of the equipment was obtained, all calculations were checked, and the density of the upper atmosphere was determined by satellite deceleration.

The launch of the first artificial satellite of the Earth received a huge world response. The whole world learned about his flight. The entire world press was talking about this event.

In September 1967, the International Astronautical Federation proclaimed October 4 as the Day of the Beginning of the Human Space Age.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SATELLITE

On October 4, 1957, the first satellite was successfully launched in the USSR. According to preliminary data, the launch vehicle reported to the satellite the required orbital speed of about 8000 meters per second. At present, the satellite describes elliptical trajectories around the Earth and its flight can be observed in the rays of the rising and setting sun using the simplest optical instruments (binoculars, telescopes, etc.).

According to the calculations, which are now being refined by direct observations, the satellite will move at altitudes up to 900 kilometers above the Earth's surface; the time of one complete revolution of the satellite will be 1 hour 35 minutes, the angle of inclination of the orbit to the plane of the equator is 65 °. Over the area of ​​the city of Moscow on October 5, 1957, the satellite will pass twice - at 1 hour 46 minutes. night and at 6 o'clock. 42 min. morning Moscow time. Messages about the subsequent movement of the first artificial satellite, launched in the USSR on October 4, will be transmitted regularly by broadcast radio stations.

The satellite has the shape of a ball with a diameter of 58 cm and a weight of 83.6 kg. Two radio transmitters are installed on it, continuously emitting radio signals with a frequency of 20.005 and 40.002 megahertz (wavelength about 15 and 7.5 meters, respectively). The power of the transmitters ensures reliable reception of radio signals by a wide range of radio amateurs. The signals have the form of telegraph parcels with a duration of about 0.3 seconds. with a pause of the same duration. A signal of one frequency is sent during a pause of a signal of another frequency ... ".

SATELLITE: A BAD IDEA

Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov was a man of incredible curiosity. Mathematics and many engineering disciplines that he mastered at the Academy. N. E. Zhukovsky, did not dry up his romantic passion and propensity for fantastic reflections. He painted landscapes in oil, amassed a collection of lumberjack beetles, and studied the dynamics of insect flight, secretly hoping to discover in the beating of tiny wings some new principle for constructing an incredible flying machine. He liked to mathematize dreams, and he took, perhaps, equal pleasure when the calculations showed their reality, and when, on the contrary, they led to absurdity: he liked to find out. Once Tikhonravov decided to shortchange an artificial satellite of the Earth. Of course, he read Tsiolkovsky and knew that a single-stage rocket would not be able to put a satellite into orbit, carefully studied his "Space rocket trains", "The highest speed of a rocket" and other works in which the idea of ​​a multi-stage rocket was first theoretically substantiated, but it was interesting for him to estimate various options for connecting these steps, to see how it all translates into weights, in short - to decide how real the very idea of ​​​​obtaining the first space velocity required by a satellite at the current level of development of rocket technology. I started counting and got carried away in earnest. The Defense Research Institute, in which Mikhail Klavdievich worked, was engaged in things incomparably more serious than an artificial satellite of the Earth, but to the credit of his boss, Alexei Ivanovich Nesterenko, all this unscheduled semi-fantastic work at the institute was not only not prosecuted, but, on the contrary, was encouraged and supported by him, although it was not advertised in order to avoid accusations of projecting. Tikhonravov and a small group of his equally enthusiastic employees in 1947-1948, without any computers, did a colossal calculation work and proved that there really is a real version of such a rocket package, which, in principle, can accelerate a certain load to the first cosmic speed.

In June 1948, the Academy of Artillery Sciences was preparing to hold a scientific session, and a paper arrived at the institute where Tikhonravov worked, asking what reports the research institute could submit. Tikhonravov decided to report the results of his calculations on artificial Earth satellites. No one actively objected, but the topic of the report still sounded so strange, if not outlandish, that they decided to consult with the president of the artillery academy, Anatoly Arkadyevich Blagonravov.

Completely gray-haired at 54, a handsome, exquisitely polite academician in the uniform of an artillery lieutenant general, surrounded by several of his closest employees, listened to the small delegation from NIIZ very carefully. He understood that Mikhail Klavdievich's calculations were correct, that all this was not Jules Verne or H. G. Wells, but he also understood something else: such a report would not decorate the scientific session of the artillery academy.

An interesting question, - Anatoly Arkadyevich said in a tired, colorless voice, - but we will not be able to include your report. They will hardly understand us ... They will accuse us of not doing what we need to do ...

The people in uniform sitting around the president nodded in agreement.

When the small delegation of the research institute left, Blagonravov experienced some kind of spiritual discomfort. He worked a lot with the military and adopted from them, in general, a useful rule not to revise the decisions taken, but here again and again he returned to Tikhonravov's report and at home in the evening he thought about it again, he could not drive away the thought that this report was not serious really serious.

Tikhonravov was a real researcher and a good engineer, but he was not a fighter. The refusal of the President of the AAN upset him. At the Scientific Research Institute, its young employees, who had kept quiet in the president's office, now raised a hubbub, in which, however, new serious arguments in favor of their report flashed.

Why were you silent there? - Mikhail Klavdievich got angry.

We must go again and persuade the general! the youth decided.

And the next day they went again. There was an impression that Blagonravov seemed to rejoice at their arrival. He smiled, and listened half-heartedly to the new arguments. Then he said:

Well, OK. The report will be included in the session plan. Get ready - we will blush together ...

Then there was a report, and after the report, as Blagonravov had expected, a very serious person in a considerable rank asked Anatoly Arkadevich, as if in passing, looking over the interlocutor's head:

The Institute, probably, has nothing to do, and therefore you decided to go into the realm of fantasy ...

There were plenty of ironic smiles. But there were more than just smiles. Sergei Korolev went up to Tikhonravov without a smile, said, sternly puffing up in his manner:

We need to have a serious talk...

SATELLITE AS A WARNING

Few people in America have heard of a man named Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. However, it was thanks to him that NASA was created; It is thanks to him that we got to the moon. It is thanks to this mysterious Russian that federal loans for higher education appeared in our country; it is thanks to him that we can watch the games of the National Football League on DirecTV.

"Chief Designer" - it was these words that became the name of Korolev, the real information about which was a state secret of the Soviet Union - practically single-handedly began the world rocket and space race. To a very large extent, because of this stubborn man, a survivor of the Stalinist Gulag, although he lost all his teeth and almost his very life in the Siberian camps, in 1960 the Republican Party lost the election to the White House, and Lyndon B. Johnson, on the contrary, passed along with John F. Kennedy and eventually became America's thirty-sixth president.

For all these events are nothing but not even the largest consequences of the launch of the tiny Soviet Sputnik "a, created under the leadership of Korolev 50 years ago and launched into space on October 4, 1957. This launch caused a panic in the United States, the consequences of which we feel until The main source of fear, however, was not this aluminum ball, but the huge carrier on which it flew into space - the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile.This 183-ton weapon gave the former Soviet Union the opportunity to destroy any city on Earth in a few minutes Earth - at that time it was an opportunity that no one else had.For the first time in the history of America, its territory became vulnerable to attack by a foreign state.

THE SECOND SLAP TO AMERICA

Before the United States could even respond to the flight of Sputnik -1, on November 3 of the same year, a second satellite was launched into low Earth orbit.

Laika is a dog, the first living creature launched into Earth's orbit. It was launched into space on November 3, 1957 at half past six in the morning Moscow time on the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik-2. It was housed in a space kennel the size of a washing machine. At that time, Laika was about two years old and weighed about 6 kilograms. Like many other animals in space, the dog died during the flight - 5-7 hours after launch, she died from stress and overheating. Although Laika failed to survive, the experiment confirmed that a living passenger could survive launch into orbit and weightlessness; thus, Laika paved the way to space for people, including Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. The first animals to return safely from space flight were the dogs Belka and Strelka.

The cry of the first satellites
was touchingly thin.
So among the starry young grits
planet hatched,
like a chicken
from a blue airy shell.
Vladimir Kostrov

60 years ago, on October 4, 1957, the space age began in human history. For the first time, an object created by the hands of earth engineers was launched into orbit. They named it "Sputnik".

Satellite prototypes

The idea of ​​an artificial satellite of the Earth (a satellite, satellite, moon) arose quite a long time ago. More Isaac Newton in the monograph "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"(1687) cited as an example of his reasoning a description of a huge cannon with which it would be possible to launch a nucleus into a permanent orbit around the Earth. Newton proposed to imagine the highest mountain, the peak of which is outside the atmosphere, and a cannon mounted on its very top and firing horizontally. The more powerful the charge is used when firing, the farther from the mountain the core will fly away. Finally, when a certain charge power is reached, the core will develop such a speed that it will not fall to the Earth at all and will rotate around our planet. This speed is now called the "first cosmic" and for the Earth it is 7.91 km/s.

Sir Isaac Newton is the founder of not only physics, but also astronautics. "Newton's gun": the ball flies but does not fall (original illustration)

Newton's figurative example was subsequently used by both scientists who discussed the prospects of astronautics and science fiction writers. The technical implementation of the "Newton's gun" was described in his novel by the science fiction classic Jules Verne in the novel "500 Million Begums" (1879).

Large French cannon for space launches.

The great Tsiolkovsky looks to the future.

The founders of theoretical astronautics spoke a lot about the need to launch an artificial satellite of the Earth. However, they justified this need in different ways. Our compatriot Konstantin Tsiolkovsky suggested launching a crewed rocket into a circular orbit in order to immediately begin human space exploration.

The German Hermann Oberth proposed to assemble a large orbital station from the stages of launch vehicles, which could solve the problems of military intelligence, maritime navigation, geophysical research and relaying information messages.

In addition, by equipping this station with a large mirror, it would be possible, according to Oberth, to focus the sun's rays and direct them to the Earth, affecting the climate or threatening enemy troops and cities. Oberth's idea he beat in his novel "World Fire" (1925) German author Karl-August Laffert.

Many scientists and science fiction writers agreed that the artificial satellite of the Earth will be used primarily as a transshipment base for interplanetary ships flying to the Moon, Mars and Venus. And really - why would a ship need to drag into orbit all the fuel needed for acceleration, if it can refuel from a satellite?

At the same time, they came up with the idea of ​​equipping the future satellite with a telescope so that astronomers could observe distant space objects directly from orbit, getting rid of the distortions introduced by the atmosphere forever.

A habitable satellite in Earth's orbit (original illustration from V. Nikolsky's book "After a Thousand Years"). A habitable satellite in Earth's orbit (original cover for the American edition of O. Gail's novel "The Moonstone").

Artificial satellites of this type are described in the novels of Otto Gail "Moonstone" (1926), Vadim Nikolsky "After a thousand years" (1927) and Alexander Belyaev "KEC Star" (1936).

However, time passed, and it was not possible to build a satellite delivery vehicle into orbit. The creation of large guns turned out to be extremely time-consuming and expensive, and small rockets, which were launched in abundance before the Second World War, could not even theoretically reach the first space velocity.

Due to the lack of a carrier, very exotic projects appeared. For example, in 1944, Major General Georgy Pokrovsky published an article "A New Earth Satellite", in which he proposed launching a metal satellite using a directed explosion. He understood, of course, that after such an explosion, only “some unorganized masses of metals” would enter orbit, but he was sure that such an experience was necessary for humanity, since observation of the movement of a “disorganized” object would give a lot of new information about those processes that occur in the upper layers of the atmosphere.

Launch of the Pokrovsky satellite with an explosion (original illustration).
Pokrovsky's satellite in orbit (original illustration).

First attempts

As is well known, the first large liquid fuel rockets were made in the Third Reich. And already there there was talk of using them to launch satellites.

There is evidence that, when discussing future developments at the German rocket center Peenemünde, it was proposed to honor the first space travelers by placing their embalmed bodies in glass balls launched into orbits around the Earth.

The appearance of heavy V-2 rockets predetermined the development of astronautics.

In March 1946, US Air Force experts prepared a "Preliminary Design of an Experimental Spacecraft for Flights around the Earth." In this paper, the first serious attempt was made to evaluate the possibilities of creating a spacecraft that will orbit the Earth as its satellite.

Already in the introduction to the project, it is emphasized that, despite the vagueness of the prospects regarding the start of space activities, two points are beyond doubt: “1) A spacecraft equipped with appropriate instrumentation is likely to become one of the most effective means of scientific research of the 20th century . 2) The launch of a satellite by the United States will excite the imagination of mankind and will certainly have an impact on world events comparable to the explosion of an atomic bomb.

On October 4, 1950, exactly seven years before the launch of the first artificial satellite, the American scientist Ketchkemeti presented a research report entitled "The Rocket Apparatus - Satellite of the Earth: Political and Psychological Problems". The memorandum analyzed "the likely political consequences that will be caused by the launch of an artificial Earth satellite in the United States and its successful use in the interests of military intelligence." It can be seen from the report that military experts already in the early 1950s were well aware of the political and military significance of a satellite launch. It was no longer about glass balls with the bodies of space explorers - the designers imagined entire orbital groups that monitored the territory of a potential enemy.

"V-2" at the White Sands training ground. Thus began the American astronautics.

At the 4th International Astronautical Congress, held in Zurich in 1953, Fred Singer from the University of Maryland openly stated that in the United States there are prerequisites for creating an artificial Earth satellite, abbreviated as "MAUS" ("Minimum Orbital Unmanned Satellite of Earth"). The hypothetical Singer satellite was an autonomous instrument-measuring system placed in a solid ball, which, upon reaching a given height, was separated from the third stage of the composite launch vehicle. The orbit of a satellite with a height of 300 km had to pass through both poles of the Earth.

Wernher von Braun rocket at launch

On June 25, 1954, a meeting was held in the building of the Naval Research Directorate in Washington, which was attended by leading American rocket scientists: Wernher von Braun, Professor Singer, Professor Whipple from Harvard, David Young from Aerojet and others. On the agenda was the question of whether it would be possible in the near future to launch large satellites into an orbit with a height of 320 km. By "nearest time" was meant a period of 2-3 years.

Wernher von Braun stated that the historic launch could be done much earlier and outlined his considerations for using a Redstone rocket as the first stage and several bundles of Loki rockets as subsequent stages for this purpose. The main advantage was that existing missiles could be used in it. Thus, the Orbiter project was born. The launch of the satellite was scheduled for the summer of 1957.

American satellite "Explorer-1". Wernher von Braun still managed to get it going.

However, by that time, other projects had also received serious development.

On July 29, 1955, the White House officially announced the upcoming launch of a satellite under the Navy's Vanguard program.

A three-stage launch vehicle was proposed for launch, consisting of a modified Viking rocket as the first stage, a modified Aerobi rocket as the second stage, and a solid-propellant third stage. It was originally planned that the Avangard satellite would weigh 9.75 kg. They wanted to equip it with measuring instruments. With a small power supply and a camera on board, the satellite could even transmit color images to Earth.

However, the launch of the first Soviet satellite confused the Americans' plans. In its final form, the spherical Avangard-1 weighed only 1.59 kg and had only two primitive radio transmitters on board, powered by mercury and solar batteries.

American satellite "Vanguard". He could be the first, but he did not even become the second. The rocket with Avangard-1 exploded at the launch on December 6, 1957.

Meanwhile in the USSR

Cover of the futurological issue of the magazine "Knowledge is Power"

In November 1954, an unusual futurological issue of the Knowledge is Power magazine was published, dedicated to the upcoming flight to the moon. In this issue, leading Soviet science popularizers and science fiction writers shared their ideas about the coming space expansion. On the pages of the magazine, a forecast was given: the first artificial satellite will be launched in 1970. The authors of the issue were mistaken - the space age began much earlier.

The chief designer of Soviet rocket technology, Sergei Korolev, spoke seriously about the satellite in 1953. At that time, work on the R-7 intercontinental rocket was just unfolding, but it was clear to specialists that this rocket was capable of reaching the first space velocity.

On May 26, 1954, Korolev sent a memorandum "On an artificial satellite of the Earth" to the Central Committee of the CPSU and to the Council of Ministers. The answer was negative, because first of all they expected from Korolev a combat missile that would fly to America - at that time the tops were little worried about the research topic. But Korolev did not give up hope to convince the leadership and turned to the USSR Academy of Sciences.

On August 30, 1955, leading specialists in rocketry, including Sergei Korolev, Mstislav Keldysh, and Valentin Glushko, gathered in the office of Academician Topchiev, Chief Scientific Secretary of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Academicians M. V. Keldysh and S. P. Korolev.

Korolev made a brief report in which, in particular, he said: “I consider it necessary to create a special body at the USSR Academy of Sciences to develop a program of scientific research using a series of artificial Earth satellites, including biological ones with animals on board. This organization should pay the most serious attention to the manufacture of scientific equipment and involve leading scientists in this event.

The Academy was supported by the Queen. From December 1955 to March 1956, a series of meetings of scientists of various specialties, one way or another interested in space research, took place. After that, the government could no longer dismiss the "fantastic project". On January 30, 1956, the Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 149-88ss was adopted, which provided for the creation "Object D"- this was the name of an unorientable satellite weighing from 1000 to 1400 kg. From 200 to 300 kg were allocated for scientific equipment. The term of the first test launch based on the R-7 long-range missile is the summer of 1957.

Object "D" - space laboratory. He could become the first Soviet satellite, but became the third.

Having received the long-awaited decision, Korolev immediately began to implement his plans. In his design bureau OKB-1, a department was formed, which was supposed to deal exclusively with the development of artificial Earth satellites. At the suggestion of Keldysh, the department worked on several variants of the "Object D" at once, one of which provided for the presence of a container with a "biological cargo" - an experimental dog.

Sergei Korolev closely followed the work of his American colleagues and feared that he might get ahead of him. Therefore, immediately after the successful launch of the R-7 rocket, which took place on September 7, 1957, the chief designer gathered the employees involved in the design of the satellite and proposed to temporarily freeze the work on the "Object D", and make a small light satellite "at least on the knee".

"The simplest satellite first" ("PS-1").

Two engineers, Mikhail Khomyakov and Oleg Ivanovsky, were entrusted with the management of the design and manufacture of PS-1 (The Simplest Satellite First). Special signals for the transmitter were invented by Mikhail Ryazansky. The head fairing of the rocket, which protects the satellite from environmental influences, was designed by the group of Sergei Okhapkin.

Although the satellite looked very simple according to the scheme, it was created for the first time, there were no analogues of an orbiting artificial object in technology. Only one thing was set - the weight limit: no more than 100 kg. (In the final form, he weighed even less - 83.6 kg). Quite quickly, the designers came to the conclusion that it is advantageous to make a satellite in the shape of a ball.

Scheme "PS-1" (general view). Poster "The first artificial satellite of the Earth" (1958).

Inside the satellite, they decided to place two radio transmitters with operating frequencies of 20.005 and 40.002 MHz. The body of the satellite consisted of two half-shells with docking frames, interconnected by 36 bolts. The tightness of the joint was provided by a rubber gasket. Externally, the satellite looked like an aluminum sphere with a diameter of 0.58 m, with four antennas. The power supply of the onboard equipment of the satellite was provided by electrochemical current sources (silver-zinc batteries) designed to operate for 2-3 weeks.

The internal layout of "PS-1".

Work on the Soviet satellite was not kept secret. Six months before the historic launch, an article by V. Vakhnin “Artificial Earth Satellites” was published in the mass magazine Radio, which reported the parameters of the orbits of future Soviet satellites and the frequencies at which radio amateurs should catch their signals.

A week before the launch, at a scientific conference in Washington, Sergei Poloskov read a report on the space plans of the USSR and for the first time said the name of the new spacecraft. Soon all the printed editions of the world will repeat this word - Sputnik.

• The launch day of Sputnik-1 is celebrated in Russia as the Memorial Day of the Space Forces.
• In 1964, in honor of the launch of Sputnik-1 in Moscow, near the VDNH metro station, a 99-meter monument to the Conquerors of Space was erected in the form of a rocket taking off, leaving behind a trail of fire.
• A model of Sputnik 1 was presented by the Soviet government as a gift to the UN and now adorns the entrance to the UN Headquarters Hall in New York.
• On November 4, 1997, cosmonauts of the Russian orbital station Mir manually launched a model of Sputnik-1 (RS-17, Sputnik-40) into space. This model was made in 1:3 scale by Russian and French students specially for the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first satellite.
• In 2003, an exact copy (understudy) of Sputnik-1, made back in 1957, was sold at an eBay auction. Before the sale, the copy was considered an educational exhibit of one of the Kiev institutes. It is believed that in preparation for the historic launch, four copies of the Simplest Sputnik were made.

Monument to the Conquerors of Space in Moscow.

Beep, beep, beep

Sergei Korolev at the launch site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

On September 20, 1957, a meeting of a special commission for the launch of the satellite was held at Baikonur, where all services confirmed their readiness for launch. Finally, on October 4, 1957 at 22:28:34 Moscow time, the brightest flash illuminated the night Kazakhstan steppe. The M1-1SP launch vehicle (a modification of the R-7 rocket, later called Sputnik-1) went up with a rumble. Her torch gradually weakened and soon became indistinguishable against the background of the starry sky.

295 seconds after the launch, the PS-1 and the central block of the rocket weighing 7.5 tons were launched into an elliptical orbit with an altitude of 947 km at apogee and 288 km at perigee. At 314.5 seconds after the launch, the satellite separated, and it began to give signals: “Beep! Beep! Beep! They were caught at the spaceport for two minutes, then the satellite went beyond the horizon. Specialists ran out of hiding, shouted "Hurrah!", rocked the designers and the military. And already on the first orbit, TASS announced: “As a result of the great hard work of research institutes and design bureaus, the world's first artificial satellite of the Earth has been created. On October 4, 1957, the first satellite was successfully launched in the Soviet Union.

The moment of separation of the head fairing and the last stage of the launch vehicle from the "PS-1" (frame from the training film).

Observations on the first orbits showed that the satellite went into orbit with an inclination of 65.1° and with a maximum distance from the Earth's surface of 947 km. For each orbit around the Earth, the satellite spent 96 minutes 10.2 seconds.

Klim Voroshilov presenting the Order of Lenin to Sergei Korolev (1957).

At 20:07 New York time, the radio station of the RSA company in New York received the signals of the Soviet satellite, and soon radio and television spread the news throughout the United States. The NBC radio station invited Americans to "listen to the signals that forever separated the old from the new."

Another detail of the historic launch is of particular interest. It is generally accepted that the asterisk, rapidly running across the sky, which appeared after October 4, 1957, is a visually observed satellite. In fact, the PS-1's reflective surface was too small for visual observation; from the Earth, the second stage was visible - the same central block of the rocket, which entered the same orbit as the satellite.

According to official information, PS-1 flew for 92 days, until January 4, 1958, making 1440 revolutions around the Earth and covering about 60 million kilometers.

A picture of the PS-1 during its passage over Melbourne.

However, there is evidence that it entered the dense layers of the atmosphere and burned out a little earlier - on December 8, 1957. It was on this day that a certain Earl Thomas discovered a flaming piece of debris near his home in Southern California. The analysis showed that it consists of the same materials as PS-1. These pieces are currently on display at the Beat Museum near San Francisco.

Perhaps these are fragments of the filling of the first satellite that fell in the United States.

Alternatives

New York Times issue dedicated to the launch of Sputnik 1.

The launch of the satellite caused a shock all over the world, and above all - in the United States. For the first time, Americans have received clear evidence that they are not leading in all spheres of life, that the “potential adversary” has bypassed them in the most important direction. “90 percent of the talk about artificial Earth satellites was in the US,” wrote The New York Times. - As it turned out, 100 percent of the case fell on Russia ... ”It was frightening. And it was very scary!

"King of Horrors" Stephen King admitted in the book "Dance of Death" that the news of the Soviet Union launching a satellite into orbit was the biggest shock of his youth.

The fear was so strong that in the first days of October 1957, especially hotheads from the Pentagon proposed to “close the sky”, that is, to throw tons of scrap metal into orbital heights: balls from bearings, nails, steel shavings, which would lead to the cessation of any space launches. This little-known detail from the history of astronautics indicates that the Americans initially perceived space as their own. And they could not admit the thought that someone else would dare to claim it.

But America really could become the first space power.

Poster "Soviet artificial satellites of the Earth" (1958).

If no one thought about this before the Second World War, then after the war, being impressed by the successes of the Third Reich rocket scientists, US leaders seriously thought about a new "strategic foothold". Thanks to the documents and specialists taken out of Germany, the Americans were able to quite quickly overcome the backlog in ballistic missiles, which means creating the prerequisites for launching satellites into outer space.

The US leadership made only one mistake. He should have trusted the experience and talent of Wernher von Braun and accepted the Orbiter project, which promised the launch of the first satellite by the end of 1956. Most likely, the German designer would have been able to fulfill his promises, and the United States would have gained the much-desired "ownership."

What would it change? Only one thing, but the most important thing. Having established itself in outer space, securing one of the most important priorities for itself, the United States would hardly get involved in a space "race" that requires huge financial costs. But an attempt to "catch up and overtake America" ​​in space could lead to the fact that Soviet cosmonauts would not only become the first in orbit, but would also land on the moon. The history of astronautics would change in the most radical way.

The launch of the Soviet satellite unleashed a space "race", in which the Americans won by landing on the moon.

* * *

It is impossible to say whether people would be happier in such a world or not, but it does not matter. After all, it has never been and never will be, because it was the Soviet satellite that opened the space age, and its sonorous signals notified the entire Universe about it ...

in photos

Launch of the Sputnik launch vehicle. The exit of mankind into space.

Launch pad: launch vehicle 8K71-PS (R-7) with Sputnik-1.

The launch of the R-7 launch vehicle from the AES-1. RGANTD.

Assembly "PS-1".

"The simplest satellite first." Assembly process.

satellite components.

Satellite launch.

Final check of all systems.

The internal layout of the AES-1. RGANTD.

The head cutter and the last stage of the launch vehicle (frame from the training film).

General view of the satellite.

The layout diagram of the AES-1. 1957 RGANTD.

Replica of the world's first artificial Earth satellite at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington.

The State Commission, which led the preparation of the launches of the First and Second artificial satellites of the Earth. November 3, 1957 RGANTD.

Listening to satellite signals.

Radio amateur Roy Welch from Dallas (USA) plays the signals of the first Soviet satellite recorded by him on a tape recorder to other radio amateurs.

Postage stamp of the USSR with the image of Sputnik-1.

Postage stamp dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the launch of the 1st satellite of the Earth - AES in near-Earth orbit. Solar Galaxy - Date June 24, 1967.

Postal block in honor of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the world's first artificial Earth satellite. USSR 1982.

Jubilee stamp "100 years since the birth of KE Tsiolkovsky" with an overprint about the launch of the world's first satellite. Post of the USSR 1957.

Monument to the creators of the first Soviet artificial Earth satellite. Installed in 1958 near the Rizhskaya metro station in Moscow. Sculptor Kovner.

inside the satellite. Layout, M 1:1.

Metal lock key, the last remaining element from the first satellite. Blocked the connection of the batteries and the transmitter until the missile was launched. Exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. When entering orbit, another fuse was already turned off and the Sputnik began to give a signal.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the launch of the satellite, on November 3, 1997, from the space station "Mir", the astronauts manually launched "Sputnik 40" - a model in the size of 1/3 of the first satellite. The satellite was made by Russian and French students.

Examples of the first commemorative badges issued in honor of the launch of Soviet Sputnik No. 1.

Artistic stamped envelope dedicated to the launch of the satellite. Post of the USSR, 1957.

Postcard of the GDR, 1981-1983, from a series of 48 postcards with stamps "25 years of the space era". (Ger. Geschichte der Raumfahrt Vom Feuerpfeil zu Sputnik 1).

Commemorative medal "In honor of the launch in the USSR of the world's first artificial Earth satellite on October 4, 1957. Academy of Sciences of the USSR".

The first and fourth pages of the covers of the Radio magazines, No. 12, 1957 and No. 1, 1958.

Launch vehicle "Sputnik". On the left are three satellites that she put into orbit around the earth.

The shape of the radio signals of the first satellite.

Radio amateurs are winners of the Radio magazine for scientifically valuable observations of the first satellites. "Radio", 1958, No. 1.

Painting by A. Sokolov "It's done!".

Satellite sounds

(0:14) Recorded in Czechoslovakia

(2:28) Recorded in Washington DC

(0:23) Recorded in Germany

The satellite transmitted signals in the form of telegraph packets (the so-called "beeps") with a duration of about 0.3 seconds.
Radio waves were on two frequencies 20.005 and 40.002 MHz.

The signal frequency and pause were determined by 2 sensors:
- pressure, response threshold: 0.35 atm
- temperature, response threshold: +50 °С and 0 °С

The radio transmitters worked for two weeks.

Interesting Facts:

☆ On January 30, 1956, a decree was issued on launching into orbit in 1957-1958. "Object" D "" - a satellite with scientific equipment. 200-300 kg of scientific equipment was to be developed by the USSR Academy of Sciences.
On January 14, 1957, the R-7 flight test program was approved by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. And Korolev sent a memorandum to the Council of Ministers, writing that 2 missiles could be ready, in a satellite version, in April - June 1957, "and launched immediately after the first successful launches of an intercontinental missile."
In February, construction work was underway at the test site, and two missiles were already ready. Korolev, realizing that the equipment for the satellite would be made for a long time, sent an unexpected proposal to the government:
There are reports that in connection with the International Geophysical Year, the United States intends to launch satellites in 1958. We risk losing priority. Instead of a complex laboratory - object "D", I propose to launch a simple satellite into space.

☆ After the Satellite began to send signals, the analysis of incoming telemetry data began. It turned out:
- One engine "was late", but not less than a second before the control time, it still went to normal mode (and the start was not automatically canceled).
- At the 16th second of the flight, the fuel supply control system stopped working, an increased consumption of kerosene began, the central engine turned off 1 second ahead of the estimated time. If it turned off a little earlier, the first cosmic speed might not have been reached.

☆ Many media of that time wrote that the satellite could be observed in the sky with the naked eye, in fact, it could not be so easy to see. And the asterisk, which was seen by a large number of people, was the second stage - the central block of the rocket (weighing 7.5 tons), it also went into orbit and moved until it burned out.

☆ The Soviet government donated a model of Sputnik-1 to the UN, the model is placed in the entrance hall of the UN Headquarters in New York.

☆ In honor of the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first Sputnik, on November 4, 1997, cosmonauts manually launched Sputnik-40 from the Mir orbital station (a model made by Russian and French students, on a scale of 1:3).

☆ In 2003, they tried to sell a copy of Sputnik-1 at an eBay auction. According to some researchers, between four and twenty models (exact copies) were made in the Soviet Union, for testing, demonstrations and diplomatic gifts. No one can name the exact number of models, because. this was classified information, however, many museums in the world claim that they have an authentic copy.

It is very difficult, almost impossible, to write anything new about the creation of the First Artificial Earth Satellite. Only the creators themselves can overcome this impossible, unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of them - time is inexorable...

In the last 10 years, the stamps "Top Secret" have been removed from many events, texts and photographs, so the discovery of materials on space exploration in the USSR gives us a lot of additional knowledge.

In the year of the 50th anniversary of the flight of the First AES, especially for young people, I would like to recall the outstanding scientists, engineers, specialists of various professions - whose intelligence and selfless work led ALL HUMANITY to a completely new era in its history - to the era of practical space exploration.

The chapter from the mentioned book by Yaroslav Golovanov, published 19 years ago, very well conveys the rhythm and dynamics of the creation of the First AES. I just took the liberty of supplementing the text of this chapter with the text from the book of one of the ballisticians of the M.K.

Not everyone in our time will say who was the developer of launch vehicles and the first satellites of the Earth, except for S.P. Queen, of course. Few have seen their photographs.
On these pages, I have added photographs of the participants (by no means all!) of the creation of the First AES, since they are not in the text of Ya. Golovanov, and a photograph sometimes says a lot about a person. People should know by sight the discoverers of space!
I hope that I did the right thing, and this publication with materials from various sources will help many readers to know the history of our country better.

Alexander Koval

THE VERY FIRST

Tikhonravov M.K. (1967)

Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov was a man of incredible curiosity. Mathematics and many engineering disciplines that he mastered at the Academy. N. E. Zhukovsky, did not dry up his romantic passion and propensity for fantastic reflections. He painted landscapes in oil, amassed a collection of lumberjack beetles, and studied the dynamics of insect flight, secretly hoping to discover in the beating of tiny wings some new principle for constructing an incredible flying machine. He liked to mathematize dreams, and he took, perhaps, equal pleasure when the calculations showed their reality, and when, on the contrary, they led to absurdity: he liked to find out.

Once Tikhonravov decided to shortchange an artificial satellite of the Earth. Of course, he read Tsiolkovsky and knew that a single-stage rocket would not be able to put a satellite into orbit, carefully studied his "Space rocket trains", "The highest speed of a rocket" and other works in which the idea of ​​a multi-stage rocket was first theoretically substantiated, but it was interesting for him to estimate various options for connecting these stages, to see how it all translates into weights, in short, to decide how real the very idea of ​​​​obtaining the first cosmic velocity required by a satellite at the current level of development of rocket technology. I started counting and got carried away in earnest.

Yatsunsky I.M. (1960)

The defense NII-4, where Mikhail Klavdievich worked, was engaged in things incomparably more serious than an artificial satellite of the Earth, but to the credit of his boss, Alexei Ivanovich Nesterenko, all this unscheduled semi-fantastic work at the institute was not only not prosecuted, but, on the contrary, was encouraged and supported them, although it was not advertised in order to avoid accusations of projecting.

[Careful research on the scientific substantiation of their preliminary developments of the possibility of creating an intercontinental ballistic missile of the "package" scheme of M.K. Tikhonravov managed to start only in September 1947, when Igor Marianovich Yatsunsky joined these works. It was he, under the leadership of Mikhail Klavdievich, who developed the methodology for selecting and evaluating the main design and ballistic characteristics of composite missiles of the "packet" scheme.

Somewhat later, young engineers of the department joined these works: Gleb Yuryevich Maksimov (control system), Lidiya Nikolaevna Soldatova (estimates of aerodynamic characteristics and fuel transfusion systems), Yan Ivanovich Koltunov (launch problem), Anatoly Viktorovich Brykov, in implementing Tikhonravov’s idea, dealt with a number of issues, connected both with the problem of "combining" single missiles into a single "package", and with the problem of "teaching" him the art of flying.

Designed by I.M. Yatsunsky, an approximate method for determining the optimal parameters of composite rockets of a "package" scheme made it possible, for a given number of stages, to determine the optimal distribution of masses between the stages and the most favorable fuel consumption. Based on this method, for a two-stage "package" of three R-3 rockets (design parameters for the development of the R-3 rocket with a firing range of 3 thousand km by the Design Bureau of S.P. Korolev), the possibility of achieving the first space velocity was shown.

G.Yu. Maksimov to determine the optimal conditions for launching an artificial Earth satellite into a given circular orbit contained a mathematical model for choosing the optimal distribution between the required rocket speed at the end of the active section and the required momentum to transfer the satellite from the transfer ellipse to a given circular orbit. He also considered the problem of descent of a satellite (or part of it!) from a circular orbit to the Earth with the determination of the required deceleration impulse with a minimum deviation from the calculated place of descent.

In the second half of 1951, the group was replenished with two new employees. Igor Konstantinovich Bazhinov (aircraft pilot) and Oleg Viktorovich Gurko (engine engineer) had just graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute, were adherents of the ideas of Mikhail Klavdievich and purposefully made their way into the Tikhonravov group. The group also included Grigory Makarovich Moskalenko and Vladimir Nikolayevich Galkovsky, who previously worked with Tikhonravov. They joined us in solving all issues.