110 anniversary of the birth of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev
110 years ago 12 January 1907 was born the future founder of practical cosmonautics, designer and scientist in the field of astronautics and rocket production, chief designer of the first Soviet launch vehicles and manned spacecraft Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. In many ways, many of the successes of the Soviet Union, and now of Russia in the exploration of space, are associated with the name of this person. It is worth noting that in 2017, Russians will celebrate at once two anniversaries of people who are directly and inextricably linked with the national astronautics: 160 since the birth of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who laid the foundations of theoretical cosmonautics, and 110 since the birth of the founder of practical cosmonautics Sergei Korolyov.
In the Soviet Union, only a very limited circle of people knew that it was the name of this person that made progress in the domestic space industry. During his lifetime, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev remained a nameless chief designer or professor K. Sergeev, whose articles sometimes appeared on the pages of the Pravda newspaper. His name was declassified only on the day of his death. He died early - January 14 1966, at the age of 59. But even for the time allotted to him on Earth, he managed to achieve a lot and do a lot, leaving behind a rich legacy that allows Russia to occupy leading places among the space powers in the 21st century. Here are just some milestones from the biography of this amazing man.
Sergey Korolev was born on January 12 of 1907 in Zhytomyr in the family of Pavel Yakovlevich Korolev, a teacher of Russian literature and the daughter of Nizhinsky merchant Maria Nikolaevna Moskalenko (Balanina). The parents separated very quickly: when Seryozha was about three years old, his mother left the family, and for some time he was brought up in Nezhin by his maternal grandmother. Surprisingly, one of the most famous scientists and designers of the XX century received education in fits and starts. He rarely managed to linger on one place of study. This was due to a variety of reasons, mainly from his mother's travels. In the years of study Korolev was never a "nerd." He loved sports, he enthusiastically worked in school workshops, he studied physics and mathematics and at the same time could pass the entire school corridor on his hands.
Thanks to his stepfather, Grigory Mikhailovich Balanin, Korolev already in childhood developed a love for himself aviation. He became interested in aviation technology in his school years, was engaged in numerous circles and sections. He constructed his first glider at the age of 17 years. On the second Koktebel glider, the pilot Artseulov was able to set an all-Union record for the range of a soaring flight. He was predicted a great future in the aircraft industry. Andrei Tupolev, who was the head of the diploma of Sergey Korolyov at the Bauman Moscow Technical University, did not doubt it at all. But fate decreed in such a way that Korolev became a designer, but it was not planes that swallowed him. In the spring of 1929, the future designer read the book, “Investigations of World Spaces with Jet Devices,” which was written by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. The idea that flights can be made not only on gliders and airplanes and not only within the atmosphere literally swallowed him.
In September, 1933, Mikhail Tukhachevsky issued an order on the establishment in the USSR of a reactive research institute. Sergey Korolev receives in him the post of deputy director. At the same time, Tukhachevsky urged the designer to forget about space flights and focus on rocket engineering. One year after the arrest and execution of Marshal Tukhachevsky in 1937, Korolev was accused of sabotage on a false denunciation and sentenced to forced labor camps by 10. He will go to serve his sentence on Kolyma, on the gold mine Maldyak. Neither cold, nor hunger, nor the harsh conditions of detention could break the eminent scientist. They say that he counted his first radio-controlled rocket right on the wall of the hut. Proving his innocence, he wrote letters to Stalin personally, his mother pestered various institutions, seeking a review of the case. Help was provided by the famous pilots Mikhail Gromov and Valentina Grizodubova, who knew Korolev well. In May, 1940 was returned to Butyrka, a new investigation took place, the term was reduced to 8 years, and Sergei Korolev was transferred to a special prison of the NKVD. There were 4 design bureaus that were developing new aircraft. Sergei Korolev was assigned to the Tupolev Design Bureau, where at that moment there was work on the creation of Pe-2 and Tu-2 bombers, which he took part in creating.
The great victory in May 1945, Sergei Korolev met in the "sharashka" at the Kazan Aviation Plant, where at that time was in full swing development of rocket engines. In 1944, he was prematurely released from prison with a criminal conviction, but not rehabilitated, the release took place on Stalin’s personal order. In September, 1945 was assigned to him to go to Germany to study the German V-2 ballistic missile. To test the missiles, which were organized by the British for the Allies, Sergei Korolev went as a driver to one of the generals. His mission in something was spyware. In this case, one of the military, as it turned out in the future English scout, did not believe in the image of the Soviet artillery, created by Korolev. The Englishman was surprised that Korolyov had absolutely no orders (he hadn’t met such Russians at that time) and had “a forehead too high for an artillery captain”. Already at the end of the summer of 1946, Sergey Pavlovich became the chief designer of the OKB-1, where the most important task was set for him - to develop an analogue of the German V-2 ballistic missile. Only two years later, in the USSR, tests of the P-1 ballistic missile were conducted, and in 1950, it was put into service.
The character of Sergey Korolev was very peculiar, as his friends and relatives spoke about. The extraordinary mind of this man was combined with child restlessness, which did not disappear anywhere until death. The main feature that made the cosmonautics father out of Korolev was reverie. He dreamed of creating a lunar settlement, conducting an expedition to Mars and creating a Mars base. Under Khrushchev, even the most audacious plans of the designer found support. In 1960-s in the USSR, no one doubted that the plans planned in the framework of the “space offensive” were feasible and feasible, they worked on them. He dreamed the chief designer of the OKB-1 about his flight into space, knowing full well that he would not be able to fly, not only because of his position and importance for Soviet science, but also because of his age and health, which did not prevent dream of zero gravity and stars glittering in the porthole.
Sergey Korolev was a stubborn and purposeful person, which certainly helped him bring many projects to a logical conclusion. Without this, he would never have become the creator of the two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile P-7, it was on his initiative and under his leadership that the first artificial Earth satellite (AES) was launched, he designed the Vostok-1 manned spacecraft without which would be the first manned flight into space, in which Yuri Gagarin went. But along with dedication, many of the designer’s acquaintances noted his healthy cynicism and pessimism, which were formed in him because of his hard life and became the imprint of his unfair imprisonment. However, the scientist tried not to give these qualities an exit, always keeping calm. In his memoirs about Korolyov, Leonid Kerber wrote that the designer was often sullen, and his favorite phrase after the conclusion was “slap without an obituary”. At the same time, according to the statements of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, Korolev was never embittered at life and never complained, he understood that embitternment causes depression, and not the creative impulse that was necessary in his work.
It so happened that Sergei Noble Prizes went around Sergei Pavlovich at once. After the launch of the first artificial satellite of the earth, the Nobel Committee sent an official request to the USSR: who can be awarded the prize? However, Nikita Khrushchev noted that one person cannot be called the creator of the new technology, the people and the socialist system are the real creators. Some excuse for the secretary general was that Korolev was classified, and the secrecy applied in those years to almost all of his developments. The second time Korolev could receive the Nobel Prize already in 1961 for his first manned space flight. Both awards eventually passed by a talented Soviet designer and scientist, but he managed to become the only stories Soviet Union, a man who was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor (20 April 1956 of the year), not yet rehabilitated. A complete rehabilitation of the designer in the absence of corpus delicti in his actions occurred on April 18 of the year 1957.
“Many noted Korolev's superstitions, his almost reverent awe at some omens,” recalled Mark Gallay, doctor of technical sciences. “This, of course, was not, however, one cannot say that he completely neglected omens. So, for example, Sergey Korolev terribly disliked launches of his missiles on Mondays. But sometimes such days did happen, and he literally “bombed” everyone who fell under his hot hand. He also didn’t like when he ran into women at the start. ” Also, Sergey Pavlovich always carried two coins in his right pocket of his jacket - for good luck. In the difficult moments of his life, he could sort them out.
In the coming days, if you find yourself in the Korolev near Moscow, you can visit a photo exhibition dedicated to Sergey Pavlovich Korolev's 110 anniversary. The exhibition was extended to January 26. The exhibition can be visited free of charge on the second floor of the TsDK Kalinin from 11: 00 to 16: 00. Photographs of this exhibition will tell about the life and work of the ingenious designer, his development and research. Visitors can learn a lot about Sergey Korolev’s comrades-in-arms and his family. The exhibition will feature rare archival photos, which are transferred to the daughter of the designer Natalia Sergeyevna. The photographs show the childhood years and the Korolev family, photographs in which the designer is depicted while working on the diploma, photographs taken in Germany in the post-war years, a well-known photograph of Gagarin and Korolev during a conversation on a bench, and many other curious snapshots.
Based on materials from open sources
In the Soviet Union, only a very limited circle of people knew that it was the name of this person that made progress in the domestic space industry. During his lifetime, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev remained a nameless chief designer or professor K. Sergeev, whose articles sometimes appeared on the pages of the Pravda newspaper. His name was declassified only on the day of his death. He died early - January 14 1966, at the age of 59. But even for the time allotted to him on Earth, he managed to achieve a lot and do a lot, leaving behind a rich legacy that allows Russia to occupy leading places among the space powers in the 21st century. Here are just some milestones from the biography of this amazing man. Sergey Korolev was born on January 12 of 1907 in Zhytomyr in the family of Pavel Yakovlevich Korolev, a teacher of Russian literature and the daughter of Nizhinsky merchant Maria Nikolaevna Moskalenko (Balanina). The parents separated very quickly: when Seryozha was about three years old, his mother left the family, and for some time he was brought up in Nezhin by his maternal grandmother. Surprisingly, one of the most famous scientists and designers of the XX century received education in fits and starts. He rarely managed to linger on one place of study. This was due to a variety of reasons, mainly from his mother's travels. In the years of study Korolev was never a "nerd." He loved sports, he enthusiastically worked in school workshops, he studied physics and mathematics and at the same time could pass the entire school corridor on his hands.
Thanks to his stepfather, Grigory Mikhailovich Balanin, Korolev already in childhood developed a love for himself aviation. He became interested in aviation technology in his school years, was engaged in numerous circles and sections. He constructed his first glider at the age of 17 years. On the second Koktebel glider, the pilot Artseulov was able to set an all-Union record for the range of a soaring flight. He was predicted a great future in the aircraft industry. Andrei Tupolev, who was the head of the diploma of Sergey Korolyov at the Bauman Moscow Technical University, did not doubt it at all. But fate decreed in such a way that Korolev became a designer, but it was not planes that swallowed him. In the spring of 1929, the future designer read the book, “Investigations of World Spaces with Jet Devices,” which was written by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. The idea that flights can be made not only on gliders and airplanes and not only within the atmosphere literally swallowed him.
In September, 1933, Mikhail Tukhachevsky issued an order on the establishment in the USSR of a reactive research institute. Sergey Korolev receives in him the post of deputy director. At the same time, Tukhachevsky urged the designer to forget about space flights and focus on rocket engineering. One year after the arrest and execution of Marshal Tukhachevsky in 1937, Korolev was accused of sabotage on a false denunciation and sentenced to forced labor camps by 10. He will go to serve his sentence on Kolyma, on the gold mine Maldyak. Neither cold, nor hunger, nor the harsh conditions of detention could break the eminent scientist. They say that he counted his first radio-controlled rocket right on the wall of the hut. Proving his innocence, he wrote letters to Stalin personally, his mother pestered various institutions, seeking a review of the case. Help was provided by the famous pilots Mikhail Gromov and Valentina Grizodubova, who knew Korolev well. In May, 1940 was returned to Butyrka, a new investigation took place, the term was reduced to 8 years, and Sergei Korolev was transferred to a special prison of the NKVD. There were 4 design bureaus that were developing new aircraft. Sergei Korolev was assigned to the Tupolev Design Bureau, where at that moment there was work on the creation of Pe-2 and Tu-2 bombers, which he took part in creating.
The great victory in May 1945, Sergei Korolev met in the "sharashka" at the Kazan Aviation Plant, where at that time was in full swing development of rocket engines. In 1944, he was prematurely released from prison with a criminal conviction, but not rehabilitated, the release took place on Stalin’s personal order. In September, 1945 was assigned to him to go to Germany to study the German V-2 ballistic missile. To test the missiles, which were organized by the British for the Allies, Sergei Korolev went as a driver to one of the generals. His mission in something was spyware. In this case, one of the military, as it turned out in the future English scout, did not believe in the image of the Soviet artillery, created by Korolev. The Englishman was surprised that Korolyov had absolutely no orders (he hadn’t met such Russians at that time) and had “a forehead too high for an artillery captain”. Already at the end of the summer of 1946, Sergey Pavlovich became the chief designer of the OKB-1, where the most important task was set for him - to develop an analogue of the German V-2 ballistic missile. Only two years later, in the USSR, tests of the P-1 ballistic missile were conducted, and in 1950, it was put into service.
The character of Sergey Korolev was very peculiar, as his friends and relatives spoke about. The extraordinary mind of this man was combined with child restlessness, which did not disappear anywhere until death. The main feature that made the cosmonautics father out of Korolev was reverie. He dreamed of creating a lunar settlement, conducting an expedition to Mars and creating a Mars base. Under Khrushchev, even the most audacious plans of the designer found support. In 1960-s in the USSR, no one doubted that the plans planned in the framework of the “space offensive” were feasible and feasible, they worked on them. He dreamed the chief designer of the OKB-1 about his flight into space, knowing full well that he would not be able to fly, not only because of his position and importance for Soviet science, but also because of his age and health, which did not prevent dream of zero gravity and stars glittering in the porthole.
Sergey Korolev was a stubborn and purposeful person, which certainly helped him bring many projects to a logical conclusion. Without this, he would never have become the creator of the two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile P-7, it was on his initiative and under his leadership that the first artificial Earth satellite (AES) was launched, he designed the Vostok-1 manned spacecraft without which would be the first manned flight into space, in which Yuri Gagarin went. But along with dedication, many of the designer’s acquaintances noted his healthy cynicism and pessimism, which were formed in him because of his hard life and became the imprint of his unfair imprisonment. However, the scientist tried not to give these qualities an exit, always keeping calm. In his memoirs about Korolyov, Leonid Kerber wrote that the designer was often sullen, and his favorite phrase after the conclusion was “slap without an obituary”. At the same time, according to the statements of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, Korolev was never embittered at life and never complained, he understood that embitternment causes depression, and not the creative impulse that was necessary in his work.
It so happened that Sergei Noble Prizes went around Sergei Pavlovich at once. After the launch of the first artificial satellite of the earth, the Nobel Committee sent an official request to the USSR: who can be awarded the prize? However, Nikita Khrushchev noted that one person cannot be called the creator of the new technology, the people and the socialist system are the real creators. Some excuse for the secretary general was that Korolev was classified, and the secrecy applied in those years to almost all of his developments. The second time Korolev could receive the Nobel Prize already in 1961 for his first manned space flight. Both awards eventually passed by a talented Soviet designer and scientist, but he managed to become the only stories Soviet Union, a man who was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor (20 April 1956 of the year), not yet rehabilitated. A complete rehabilitation of the designer in the absence of corpus delicti in his actions occurred on April 18 of the year 1957.
“Many noted Korolev's superstitions, his almost reverent awe at some omens,” recalled Mark Gallay, doctor of technical sciences. “This, of course, was not, however, one cannot say that he completely neglected omens. So, for example, Sergey Korolev terribly disliked launches of his missiles on Mondays. But sometimes such days did happen, and he literally “bombed” everyone who fell under his hot hand. He also didn’t like when he ran into women at the start. ” Also, Sergey Pavlovich always carried two coins in his right pocket of his jacket - for good luck. In the difficult moments of his life, he could sort them out.
In the coming days, if you find yourself in the Korolev near Moscow, you can visit a photo exhibition dedicated to Sergey Pavlovich Korolev's 110 anniversary. The exhibition was extended to January 26. The exhibition can be visited free of charge on the second floor of the TsDK Kalinin from 11: 00 to 16: 00. Photographs of this exhibition will tell about the life and work of the ingenious designer, his development and research. Visitors can learn a lot about Sergey Korolev’s comrades-in-arms and his family. The exhibition will feature rare archival photos, which are transferred to the daughter of the designer Natalia Sergeyevna. The photographs show the childhood years and the Korolev family, photographs in which the designer is depicted while working on the diploma, photographs taken in Germany in the post-war years, a well-known photograph of Gagarin and Korolev during a conversation on a bench, and many other curious snapshots.
Based on materials from open sources
Information