“He who drew the orbit” exhibit on Sergei Korolyov’s life opens in Moscow

20.01.2017 18:55 Просмотров: 69 Печать | E-mail

The exhibit provides an insight into the life of the famous Soviet rocket and spacecraft designer and his inventions that made the Soviet Union a major space power.

An exhibit called “He who drew the orbit” marking the 110th birth anniversary of rocket and spacecraft designer Sergei Korolyov (1907-1966), the father of the Soviet space programme, has opened in Moscow and will run until 10 May.

Sergei Korolyov oversaw construction of the first Soviet space centre, numerous ballistic missiles and geophysical sounding rockets, the first intercontinental ballistic missile in history, plus the Vostok launch vehicle in its various versions. He designed the Soyuz spacecraft and developed the first Luna and Venera interplanetary probes, as well as the Molniya-1 satellite. Sputnik-1, the first man-made space satellite, as well as the Vostok and Voskhod manned spacecraft, were designed and launched under his direction.

The designer’s life was hardly easy. In the late 1930s, he served prison terms in Moscow and Novocherkassk and was sent to the dreaded Kolyma prison camps in northeastern Siberia where he toiled in a gold mine. But, during the Great Patriotic War, he designed new types of aircraft, including the first jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) systems.

Korolyov’s name was kept secret for a long time. The media simply called him the Chief Designer during Soviet space triumphs. All his life, Korolyov signed his research papers Professor K. Sergeyev.

The exhibit at the Academician Korolyov House-Museum narrates episodes from his life and creative work. Documents from the museum’s collection and from the Korolyov family archive are on display.

Visitors will see his personal effects and clothing that were donated by Korolyov’s widow to the museum 40 years ago. The exhibit includes many photos of Sergei Korolyov.

Source: mos.ru