The history of the development of astronautics is a story about people with an extraordinary mind, about the desire to understand the laws of the universe and about the desire to surpass the usual and possible. Space exploration, which began in the last century, has given the world many discoveries. They relate to objects of distant galaxies, as well as completely terrestrial processes. The development of astronautics contributed to the improvement of technology, led to discoveries in various fields of knowledge, from physics to medicine. However, this process required a lot of time.
Lost work
The development of astronautics in Russia and abroad began long before the appearance of the first spacecraft. The first scientific developments in this regard were only theoretical and justified the very possibility of space flights. In our country, one of the pioneers of astronautics at the tip of the pen was Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. “One of” - because he was ahead of Nikolai Ivanovich Kibalchich, sentenced to death for the assassination attempt on Alexander II and a few days before hanging developed a project of an apparatus capable of delivering man into space. It was in 1881, but Kibalchich’s project was not published until 1918.
Rural teacher
Tsiolkovsky, whose article with the theoretical foundations of space flight was published in 1903, did not know about the work of Kibalchich. At that time he taught arithmetic and geometry at the Kaluga School. His famous scientific article, “Exploring World Spaces with Jet Devices,” touched on the possibility of using rockets in space. The development of astronautics in Russia, then still tsarist, began precisely with Tsiolkovsky. He developed a project for the construction of a rocket capable of taking people to the stars, defended the idea of the diversity of life in the Universe, and spoke about the need to construct artificial satellites and orbital stations.
In parallel, theoretical cosmonautics developed abroad. However, there were practically no ties between scientists either at the beginning of the century or later, in the 30s. Robert Goddard, Hermann Obert and Esno-Peltry, an American, a German and a Frenchman, respectively, who worked on similar problems, did not know anything about the works of Tsiolkovsky for a long time. Already then, the disunity of peoples affected the pace of development of a new industry.
The prewar years and the Great Patriotic War
The development of astronautics continued in the 20-40s by the forces of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory and the Jet Propulsion Research Groups, and then the Jet Research Institute. The best engineering minds of the country worked in the walls of scientific institutions, including F.A. Zander, M.K. Tikhonravov and S.P. Korolev. The laboratories worked on the creation of the first liquid-propellant and solid-propellant rocket devices, and the theoretical basis for cosmonautics was developed.
In the pre-war years and during the Second World War, jet engines and rocket planes were designed and created. For this reason, for obvious reasons, much attention was paid to the development of cruise missiles and unguided rockets.
Korolev and V-2
The first modern-day military missile in history was created in Germany during the war under the leadership of Werner von Braun. Then the V-2, or "V-2", did a lot of trouble. After the defeat of Germany, von Braun was transported to America, where he began to work on new projects, including the development of space rockets.
In 1945, after the end of the war, a group of Soviet engineers arrived in Germany to study the V-2. Among them was Korolev. He was appointed chief engineering officer of the Nordhausen Institute, formed in Germany in the same year. In addition to studying German rockets, Korolev and his colleagues were engaged in the development of new projects. In the 50s, the design bureau under his leadership created the P-7. This two-stage rocket was able to develop the first cosmic velocity and provide the conclusion to the near-earth orbit of multi-ton vehicles.
Stages of space development
The advantage of Americans in the preparation of spacecraft related to the work of von Braun remained in the past when the USSR launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. From this moment, the development of astronautics went faster. In the 50-60s, several experiments were conducted with animals. Dogs and monkeys visited space.
As a result, scientists have gathered invaluable information that has made possible a comfortable stay in space. At the beginning of 1959, it was possible to achieve a second cosmic velocity.
The progressive development of Russian cosmonautics was adopted all over the world when Yuri Gagarin poisoned himself in the sky. This, without exaggeration, was a great event on April 12, 1961. From this day began the penetration of man into the vast expanses surrounding the Earth.
The development of astronautics was further associated with the improvement of technical capabilities and the creation of more comfortable conditions for astronauts. Note the main stages of this process:
- October 12, 1964 - a device with several people on board (USSR) was launched into orbit;
- March 18, 1965 - man’s first spacewalk (USSR);
- February 3, 1966 - the first landing of the device on the moon (USSR);
- December 24, 1968 - the first launch of a manned spacecraft into orbit of the Earth satellite (USA);
- July 20, 1969 - the day of the first landing of people on the moon (USA);
- April 19, 1971 - the orbital station (USSR) was first launched;
- July 17, 1975 - the first docking of two ships (Soviet and American);
- April 12, 1981 - the first Space Shuttle (USA) set off into space.
The development of modern astronautics
Today, space exploration continues. The successes of the past have borne fruit - man has already visited the moon and is preparing for a direct acquaintance with Mars. However, manned flight programs are now developing less than projects of automatic interplanetary stations. The current state of cosmonautics is such that the spacecraft created are capable of transmitting information about distant Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto to Earth, visiting Mercury and even exploring meteorites.
In parallel, space tourism is developing. Of great importance today are international contacts. The world community is gradually coming to the conclusion that great breakthroughs and discoveries occur faster and more often if the efforts and capabilities of different countries are combined.