Who was the first to explore space? See what “Space exploration” is in other dictionaries

History of space exploration: first steps, great cosmonauts, launch of the first artificial satellite. Cosmonautics today and tomorrow.

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

Dreams of space and attempts at writing

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

First artificial satellite

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

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The first living creatures in orbit

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

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

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

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

Man in space

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

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

Cosmonautics - today, tomorrow and always

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

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

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

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

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

The Renaissance and the destruction of previous ideas about space

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

Growing Interest in Space

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

Discovery of new planets

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

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

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

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

International "space race"

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

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

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

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

Victory or defeat?

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

Conclusion

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

The launch of the Soviet artificial satellite into orbit in 1957 marked the beginning of the great task of space exploration. Test launches in which various living organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, were placed in satellites led to improvements in spacecraft. And the space flights of the famous Belka and Strelka led to the stabilization of the return descent. Everything was gearing up to prepare for a significant event - sending a man into space.

Human space flight

In 1961 (April 12), Vostok carried the first cosmonaut in history, Yuri Gagarin, into orbit. After a few minutes of rotation, the pilot reported via communication channels that all processes were normal. The flight lasted 108 minutes, during which time Gagarin received messages from Earth, kept a radio report and logbook, monitored the readings of on-board systems, and carried out manual control (first trial attempts).

The device with the astronaut landed near Saratov; the reason for landing in an unplanned place was problems in the process of separating the compartments and a failure of the braking system. The whole country, frozen in front of their televisions, watched this flight.

In August 1961, the Vostok-2 spacecraft was launched, piloted by German Titov. The device spent more than 25 hours in outer space, during the flight it made 17.5 revolutions around the planet. After a thorough study of the data obtained, exactly one year later, two ships launched - Vostok-3 and Vostok-4. Launched into orbit a day apart, the vehicles controlled by Nikolaev and Popovich carried out the first group flight in history. Vostok-3 made 64 revolutions in 95 hours, Vostok-4 - 48 revolutions in 71 hours.

Valentina Tereshkova - woman in space

In June 1963, Vostok-6 launched with the sixth Soviet cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. At the same time, Vostok-5, controlled by Valery Bykovsky, was also in orbit. Tereshkova spent a total of about 3 days in orbit, during which time the spacecraft made 48 revolutions. During the flight, Valentina carefully recorded all observations in the logbook, and with the help of photographs of the horizon she took, scientists were able to detect aerosol layers in the atmosphere.

Alexey Leonov's spacewalk

On March 18, 1965, Voskhod-2 launched with a new crew on board, one of whose members was Alexey Leonov. The spacecraft was equipped with a camera to launch the astronaut into open space. A specially designed spacesuit, reinforced with a multi-layer hermetic shell, allowed Leonov to exit the airlock chamber for the entire length of the halyard (5.35 m). All operations were monitored by Pavel Belyaev, another member of the Voskhod-2 crew, using a television camera. These significant events forever entered the history of the development of Soviet cosmonautics, being the crown of the development of science and technology of that time.

On October 4, 1957, the former USSR launched the world's first artificial Earth satellite. The first Soviet satellite made it possible for the first time to measure the density of the upper atmosphere, obtain data on the propagation of radio signals in the ionosphere, work out issues of insertion into orbit, thermal conditions, etc. The satellite was an aluminum sphere with a diameter of 58 cm and a mass of 83.6 kg with four whip antennas of length 2. 4-2.9 m. The satellite’s sealed housing housed equipment and power supplies. The initial orbital parameters were: perigee altitude 228 km, apogee altitude 947 km, inclination 65.1 deg. On November 3, the Soviet Union announced the launch of a second Soviet satellite into orbit. In a separate hermetic cabin there was a dog Laika and a telemetry system to record its behavior in zero gravity. The satellite was also equipped with scientific instruments to study solar radiation and cosmic rays.

On December 6, 1957, the United States attempted to launch the Avangard-1 satellite using a launch vehicle developed by the Naval Research Laboratory. After ignition, the rocket rose above the launch table, but a second later the engines turned off and the rocket fell onto the table, exploding on impact .

On January 31, 1958, the Explorer 1 satellite was launched into orbit, the American response to the launch of Soviet satellites. By size and

He was not a candidate for record holder. Being less than 1 m long and only ~15.2 cm in diameter, it had a mass of only 4.8 kg.

However, its payload was attached to the fourth and final stage of the Juno 1 launch vehicle. The satellite, together with the rocket in orbit, had a length of 205 cm and a mass of 14 kg. It was equipped with external and internal temperature sensors, erosion and impact sensors to detect micrometeorite flows, and a Geiger-Muller counter to record penetrating cosmic rays.

An important scientific result of the satellite's flight was the discovery of the radiation belts surrounding the Earth. The Geiger-Muller counter stopped counting when the device was at apogee at an altitude of 2530 km, the perigee altitude was 360 km.

On February 5, 1958, the United States made a second attempt to launch the Avangard-1 satellite, but it also ended in an accident, like the first attempt. Finally, on March 17, the satellite was launched into orbit. Between December 1957 and September 1959, eleven attempts were made to place Avangard 1 into orbit, only three of which were successful.

Between December 1957 and September 1959, eleven attempts were made to place the Avangard into orbit.

Both satellites introduced a lot of new things into space science and technology (solar batteries, new data on the density of the upper atmosphere, accurate mapping of islands in the Pacific Ocean, etc.) On August 17, 1958, the United States made the first attempt to send satellites from Cape Canaveral to the vicinity of Moon probe with scientific equipment. It turned out to be unsuccessful. The rocket took off and flew only 16 km. The first stage of the rocket exploded 77 minutes into the flight. On October 11, 1958, a second attempt was made to launch the Pioneer 1 lunar probe, which was also unsuccessful. The next few launches also turned out to be unsuccessful, only on March 3, 1959, Pioneer-4, weighing 6.1 kg, partially completed its task: it flew past the Moon at a distance of 60,000 km (instead of the planned 24,000 km).

Just as with the launch of the Earth satellite, priority in launching the first probe belongs to the USSR; on January 2, 1959, the first man-made object was launched, which was placed on a trajectory passing fairly close to the Moon into the orbit of the Sun's satellite. Thus, Luna 1 reached the second escape velocity for the first time. Luna 1 had a mass of 361.3 kg and flew past the Moon at a distance of 5500 km. At a distance of 113,000 km from Earth, a cloud of sodium vapor was released from a rocket stage docked to Luna 1, forming an artificial comet. Solar radiation caused a bright glow of sodium vapor and optical systems on Earth photographed the cloud against the background of the constellation Aquarius.

Luna 2, launched on September 12, 1959, made the world's first flight to another celestial body. The 390.2-kilogram sphere contained instruments that showed that the Moon does not have a magnetic field or radiation belt.

The automatic interplanetary station (AMS) “Luna-3” was launched on October 4, 1959. The weight of the station was 435 kg. The main purpose of the launch was to fly around the Moon and photograph its reverse side, invisible from Earth. Photographing was carried out on October 7 for 40 minutes from an altitude of 6200 km above the Moon.
Man in space

On April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time, several tens of kilometers north of the village of Tyuratam in Kazakhstan, at the Soviet Baikonur Cosmodrome, the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched, in the bow compartment of which the manned spaceship “Vostok” was located with Air Force Major Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin on board. The launch was successful. The spacecraft was put into orbit with an inclination of 65 degrees, a perigee altitude of 181 km and an apogee altitude of 327 km and completed one orbit around the Earth in 89 minutes. At 108 minutes after launch, it returned to Earth, landing near the village of Smelovka, Saratov region. Thus, 4 years after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, the Soviet Union for the first time in the world carried out a human flight into outer space.

The spacecraft consisted of two compartments. The descent module, which was also the cosmonaut's cabin, was a sphere with a diameter of 2.3 m, coated with an ablative material for thermal protection during reentry. The spacecraft was controlled automatically and by the astronaut. During the flight it was continuously maintained with the Earth. The atmosphere of the ship is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen under a pressure of 1 atm. (760 mmHg). Vostok-1 had a mass of 4730 kg, and with the last stage of the launch vehicle 6170 kg. The Vostok spacecraft was launched into space 5 times, after which it was declared safe for human flight.

Four weeks after Gagarin's flight on May 5, 1961, Captain 3rd Rank Alan Shepard became the first American astronaut.

Although it did not reach Earth orbit, it rose above the Earth to an altitude of about 186 km. Shepard, launched from Cape Canaveral into the Mercury 3 spacecraft using a modified Redstone ballistic missile, spent 15 minutes 22 seconds in flight before landing in the Atlantic Ocean. He proved that a person in conditions of weightlessness can exercise manual control of a spacecraft. The Mercury spacecraft was significantly different from the Vostok spacecraft.

It consisted of only one module - a manned capsule in the shape of a truncated cone with a length of 2.9 m and a base diameter of 1.89 m. Its sealed nickel alloy shell had a titanium lining to protect it from heating during reentry.

The atmosphere inside Mercury consisted of pure oxygen under a pressure of 0.36 at.

On February 20, 1962, the United States reached low-Earth orbit. Mercury 6, piloted by Navy Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn, was launched from Cape Canaveral. Glenn spent only 4 hours 55 minutes in orbit, completing 3 orbits before a successful landing. The purpose of Glenn's flight was to determine the possibility of a person working in the Mercury spacecraft. The last time Mercury was launched into space was May 15, 1963.

On March 18, 1965, the Voskhod spacecraft was launched into orbit with two cosmonauts on board - the ship's commander, Colonel Pavel Ivarovich Belyaev, and the co-pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. Immediately after entering orbit, the crew cleared themselves of nitrogen by inhaling pure oxygen. Then the airlock compartment was deployed: Leonov entered the airlock compartment, closed the spacecraft hatch cover and for the first time in the world made an exit into outer space. The cosmonaut with an autonomous life support system was outside the spacecraft cabin for 20 minutes, at times moving away from the spacecraft at a distance of up to 5 m. During the exit, he was connected to the spacecraft only by telephone and telemetry cables. Thus, the possibility of an astronaut staying and working outside the spacecraft was practically confirmed.

On June 3, the spacecraft Gemeny 4 was launched with captains James McDivitt and Edward White. During this flight, which lasted 97 hours and 56 minutes, White exited the spacecraft and spent 21 minutes outside the cockpit testing the ability to maneuver in space using a hand-held compressed gas jet gun.

Unfortunately, space exploration was not without casualties. On January 27, 1967, the crew preparing to make the first manned flight under the Apollo program died during a fire inside the spacecraft, burning out in 15 seconds in an atmosphere of pure oxygen. Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee became the first American astronauts to die on space mission. On April 23, the new Soyuz-1 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur, piloted by Colonel Vladimir Komarov. The launch was successful.

On the 18th orbit, 26 hours 45 minutes after launch, Komarov began orientation to enter the atmosphere. All operations went well, but after entering the atmosphere and braking, the parachute system failed. The astronaut died instantly when the Soyuz hit the Earth at a speed of 644 km/h. Subsequently, Space claimed more than one human life, but these victims were the first.

It should be noted that in terms of natural science and production, the world faces a number of global problems, the solution of which requires the united efforts of all peoples. These are problems of raw materials resources, energy, environmental control and biosphere conservation, and others. Space research, one of the most important areas of the scientific and technological revolution, will play a huge role in their fundamental solution.

Cosmonautics clearly demonstrates to the whole world the fruitfulness of peaceful creative work, the benefits of combining the efforts of different countries in solving scientific and economic problems.

What problems do astronautics and the astronauts themselves face?

Let's start with life support. What is life support? Life support in space flight is the creation and maintenance during the entire flight in the living and working compartments of spacecraft. such conditions that would provide the crew with sufficient performance to complete the assigned task and a minimum likelihood of pathological changes occurring in the human body. How to do it? It is necessary to significantly reduce the degree of human exposure to adverse external factors of space flight - vacuum, meteoric bodies, penetrating radiation, weightlessness, overloads; supply the crew with substances and energy without which normal human life is not possible - food, water, oxygen and food; remove waste products of the body and substances harmful to health released during the operation of spacecraft systems and equipment; provide human needs for movement, rest, external information and normal working conditions; organize medical monitoring of the crew’s health status and maintain it at the required level. Food and water are delivered into space in appropriate packaging, and oxygen is delivered in a chemically bound form. If you do not restore waste products, then for a crew of three people for one year you will need 11 tons of the above products, which, you see, is a considerable weight, volume, and how will all this be stored throughout the year?!

In the near future, regeneration systems will make it possible to almost completely reproduce oxygen and water on board the station. They began to use water after washing and showering, purified in a regeneration system, a long time ago. The exhaled moisture is condensed in the refrigeration-drying unit and then regenerated. Breathable oxygen is extracted from purified water by electrolysis, and hydrogen gas reacts with carbon dioxide coming from the concentrator to form water, which powers the electrolyzer. The use of such a system makes it possible to reduce the mass of stored substances in the considered example from 11 to 2 tons. Recently, it has been practiced to grow various types of plants directly on board the ship, which makes it possible to reduce the supply of food that needs to be taken into space; Tsiolkovsky mentioned this in his works.
Space science

Space exploration helps in many ways in the development of sciences:

On December 18, 1980, the phenomenon of the flow of particles from the Earth's radiation belts under negative magnetic anomalies was established.

Experiments carried out on the first satellites showed that the near-Earth space outside the atmosphere is not “empty” at all. It is filled with plasma, permeated with streams of energy particles. In 1958, the Earth's radiation belts were discovered in near space - giant magnetic traps filled with charged particles - protons and high-energy electrons.

The highest intensity of radiation in the belts is observed at altitudes of several thousand km. Theoretical estimates showed that below 500 km. There should be no increased radiation. Therefore, the discovery of the first K.K. during flights was completely unexpected. areas of intense radiation at altitudes up to 200-300 km. It turned out that this is due to anomalous zones of the Earth's magnetic field.

The study of the Earth's natural resources using space methods has spread, which has greatly contributed to the development of the national economy.

The first problem that faced space researchers in 1980 was a complex of scientific research, including most of the most important areas of space natural science. Their goal was to develop methods for thematic interpretation of multispectral video information and their use in solving problems in the geosciences and economic sectors. These tasks include: studying the global and local structures of the earth’s crust to understand the history of its development.

The second problem is one of the fundamental physical and technical problems of remote sensing and is aimed at creating catalogs of radiation characteristics of earthly objects and models of their transformation, which will make it possible to analyze the state of natural formations at the time of shooting and predict their dynamics.

A distinctive feature of the third problem is the focus on the radiation characteristics of large regions up to the planet as a whole, using data on the parameters and anomalies of the Earth’s gravitational and geomagnetic fields.
Exploring the Earth from space

Man first appreciated the role of satellites for monitoring the condition of agricultural land, forests and other natural resources of the Earth only a few years after the advent of the space age. It began in 1960, when, with the help of the Tiros meteorological satellites, map-like outlines of the globe lying under the clouds were obtained. These first black-and-white TV images provided very little insight into human activity, but it was nonetheless a first step. Soon, new technical means were developed that made it possible to improve the quality of observations. Information was extracted from multispectral images in the visible and infrared (IR) regions of the spectrum. The first satellites designed to make maximum use of these capabilities were the Landsat type. For example, Landsat-D, the fourth in the series, observed the Earth from an altitude of more than 640 km using advanced sensors, allowing consumers to receive significantly more detailed and timely information. One of the first areas of application of images of the earth's surface was cartography. In the pre-satellite era, maps of many areas, even in developed areas of the world, were drawn inaccurately. Landsat images have helped correct and update some existing US maps. In the USSR, images obtained from the Salyut station turned out to be indispensable for calibrating the BAM railway line.

In the mid-70s, NASA and the US Department of Agriculture decided to demonstrate the capabilities of the satellite system in forecasting the most important agricultural crop, wheat. Satellite observations, which turned out to be extremely accurate, were later extended to other crops. Around the same time, in the USSR, observations of agricultural crops were carried out from satellites of the Cosmos, Meteor, Monsoon series and Salyut orbital stations.

The use of satellite information has revealed its undeniable advantages in estimating the volume of timber in vast areas of any country. It has become possible to manage the process of deforestation and, if necessary, make recommendations on changing the contours of the deforestation area from the point of view of the best preservation of the forest. Thanks to satellite images, it has also become possible to quickly assess the boundaries of forest fires, especially “crown-shaped” ones, characteristic of the western regions of North America, as well as the regions of Primorye and the southern regions of Eastern Siberia in Russia.

Of great importance for humanity as a whole is the ability to observe almost continuously the vastness of the World Ocean, this “forge” of weather. It is above the layers of ocean water that monstrous hurricanes and typhoons arise, causing numerous casualties and destruction for coastal residents. Early warning to the public is often critical to saving the lives of tens of thousands of people. Determining the stocks of fish and other seafood is also of great practical importance. Ocean currents often bend, change course and size. For example, El Nino, a warm current in a southerly direction off the coast of Ecuador in some years can spread along the coast of Peru up to 12 degrees. S . When this happens, plankton and fish die in huge quantities, causing irreparable damage to the fisheries of many countries, including Russia. Large concentrations of single-celled marine organisms increase fish mortality, possibly due to the toxins they contain. Satellite observations help reveal the vagaries of such currents and provide useful information to those who need it. According to some estimates by Russian and American scientists, fuel savings, combined with the “additional catch” due to the use of satellite information obtained in the infrared range, gives an annual profit of $ 2.44 million. The use of satellites for survey purposes has facilitated the task of plotting the course of sea vessels . Satellites also detect icebergs and glaciers that are dangerous for ships. Accurate knowledge of snow reserves in the mountains and the volume of glaciers is an important task of scientific research, because as arid territories are developed, the need for water increases sharply.

The cosmonauts' help was invaluable in creating the largest cartographic work - the Atlas of Snow and Ice Resources of the World.

Also, with the help of satellites, oil pollution, air pollution, and minerals are found.
Space Science

Within a short period of time since the beginning of the space age, man has not only sent robotic space stations to other planets and set foot on the surface of the Moon, but has also brought about a revolution in space science unmatched in the entire history of mankind. Along with great technical advances brought about by the development of astronautics, new knowledge was gained about planet Earth and neighboring worlds. One of the first important discoveries, made not by traditional visual, but by another method of observation, was the establishment of the fact of a sharp increase with height, starting from a certain threshold height, in the intensity of cosmic rays previously considered isotropic. This discovery belongs to the Austrian W.F. Hess, who launched a gas balloon with equipment to high altitudes in 1946.

In 1952 and 1953 Dr. James Van Allen conducted research on low-energy cosmic rays during launches of small rockets to an altitude of 19-24 km and high-altitude balloons in the area of ​​the Earth's north magnetic pole. After analyzing the results of the experiments, Van Allen proposed placing cosmic ray detectors that were fairly simple in design on board the first American artificial Earth satellites.

With the help of the Explorer 1 satellite, launched by the United States into orbit on January 31, 1958, a sharp decrease in the intensity of cosmic radiation was discovered at altitudes above 950 km. At the end of 1958, the Pioneer-3 AMS, which covered a distance of over 100,000 km in one day of flight, recorded, using the sensors on board, a second, located above the first, Earth’s radiation belt, which also encircles the entire globe.

In August and September 1958, three atomic explosions were carried out at an altitude of more than 320 km, each with a power of 1.5 kt. The purpose of the tests, codenamed "Argus", was to study the possibility of loss of radio and radar communications during such tests. The study of the Sun is the most important scientific task, to the solution of which many launches of the first satellites and spacecraft are devoted.

The American Pioneer 4 - Pioneer 9 (1959-1968) from near-solar orbits transmitted by radio to Earth the most important information about the structure of the Sun. At the same time, more than twenty satellites of the Intercosmos series were launched to study the Sun and circumsolar space.
Black holes

Black holes were discovered in the 1960s. It turned out that if our eyes could only see x-rays, the starry sky above us would look completely different. True, X-rays emitted by the Sun were discovered even before the birth of astronautics, but they were not even aware of other sources in the starry sky. We came across them by accident.

In 1962, the Americans, having decided to check whether X-ray radiation was emanating from the surface of the Moon, launched a rocket equipped with special equipment. It was then that, when processing the observation results, we became convinced that the instruments had detected a powerful source of X-ray radiation. It was located in the constellation Scorpio. And already in the 70s, the first 2 satellites, designed to search for research into sources of X-rays in the universe, went into orbit - the American Uhuru and the Soviet Cosmos-428.

By this time, things had already begun to become clear. Objects emitting X-rays have been linked to barely visible stars with unusual properties. These were compact clots of plasma of insignificant, of course by cosmic standards, sizes and masses, heated to several tens of millions of degrees. Despite their very modest appearance, these objects possessed a colossal power of X-ray radiation, several thousand times greater than the full compatibility of the Sun.

These are tiny, about 10 km in diameter. , the remains of completely burnt out stars, compressed to a monstrous density, had to somehow make themselves known. That is why neutron stars were so readily “recognized” in X-ray sources. And everything seemed to fit. But the calculations refuted expectations: newly formed neutron stars should have immediately cooled down and stopped emitting, but these ones emitted x-rays.

Using launched satellites, researchers discovered strictly periodic changes in the radiation fluxes of some of them. The period of these variations was also determined - usually it did not exceed several days. Only two stars rotating around themselves could behave this way, one of which periodically eclipsed the other. This has been proven by observation through telescopes.

Where do X-ray sources get their colossal radiation energy? The main condition for the transformation of a normal star into a neutron star is considered to be the complete damping of the nuclear reaction in it. Therefore nuclear energy is excluded. Then maybe this is the kinetic energy of a rapidly rotating massive body? Indeed, it is great for neutron stars. But it only lasts for a short time.

Most neutron stars do not exist alone, but in pairs with a huge star. In their interaction, theorists believe, the source of the mighty power of cosmic X-rays is hidden. It forms a disk of gas around the neutron star. At the magnetic poles of the neutron ball, the substance of the disk falls onto its surface, and the energy acquired by the gas is converted into X-ray radiation.

Cosmos-428 also presented its own surprise. His equipment registered a new, completely unknown phenomenon - X-ray flashes. In one day, the satellite detected 20 bursts, each of which lasted no more than 1 second. , and the radiation power increased tens of times. Scientists called the sources of X-ray flares BURSTERS. They are also associated with binary systems. The most powerful flares in terms of energy fired are only several times inferior to the total radiation of hundreds of billions of stars located in our galaxy.

Theorists have proven that “black holes” that are part of binary star systems can signal themselves with X-rays. And the reason for its occurrence is the same - gas accretion. True, the mechanism in this case is somewhat different. The internal parts of the gas disk settling into the “hole” should heat up and therefore become sources of X-rays.

By transitioning to a neutron star, only those luminaries whose mass does not exceed 2-3 solar ones end their “life”. Larger stars suffer the fate of a “black hole”.

X-ray astronomy told us about the last, perhaps the most turbulent, stage in the development of stars. Thanks to her, we learned about powerful cosmic explosions, about gas with temperatures of tens and hundreds of millions of degrees, about the possibility of a completely unusual superdense state of substances in “black holes.”

What else does space give us? For a long time now, television programs have not mentioned that the transmission is carried out via satellite. This is further evidence of the enormous success in the industrialization of space, which has become an integral part of our lives. Communication satellites literally entangle the world with invisible threads. The idea of ​​​​creating communication satellites was born shortly after the Second World War, when A. Clark in the October 1945 issue of Wireless World magazine. presented his concept of a communications relay station located at an altitude of 35,880 km above the Earth.

Clark's merit was that he determined the orbit in which the satellite is stationary relative to the Earth. This orbit is called geostationary or Clarke orbit. When moving in a circular orbit with an altitude of 35880 km, one revolution is completed in 24 hours, i.e. during the period of the Earth's daily rotation. A satellite moving in such an orbit will constantly be above a certain point on the Earth's surface.

The first communications satellite, Telstar-1, was launched into low Earth orbit with parameters of 950 x 5630 km; this happened on July 10, 1962. Almost a year later, the Telstar-2 satellite was launched. The first telecast showed the American flag in New England with the Andover station in the background. This image was transmitted to Great Britain, France and to the American station in the state. New Jersey 15 hours after satellite launch. Two weeks later, millions of Europeans and Americans watched negotiations between people on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. They not only talked but also saw each other, communicating via satellite. Historians can consider this day the birth date of space TV. The world's largest state satellite communications system was created in Russia. It began in April 1965. the launch of Molniya series satellites, placed into highly elongated elliptical orbits with an apogee over the Northern Hemisphere. Each series includes four pairs of satellites orbiting at an angular distance from each other of 90 degrees.

The first long-distance space communications system, Orbita, was built on the basis of the Molniya satellites. In December 1975 The family of communications satellites was replenished with the Raduga satellite operating in geostationary orbit. Then the Ekran satellite appeared with a more powerful transmitter and simpler ground stations. After the first development of satellites, a new period began in the development of satellite communications technology, when satellites began to be placed into a geostationary orbit in which they move synchronously with the rotation of the Earth. This made it possible to establish round-the-clock communication between ground stations using new generation satellites: the American Sinkom, Airlie Bird and Intelsat, and the Russian Raduga and Horizon satellites.

A great future is associated with the placement of antenna complexes in geostationary orbit.

On June 17, 1991, the ERS-1 geodetic satellite was launched into orbit. The satellites' primary mission would be to observe the oceans and ice-covered land masses to provide climatologists, oceanographers, and environmental groups with data on these little-explored regions. The satellite was equipped with state-of-the-art microwave equipment, thanks to which it is ready for any weather: its radar "eyes" penetrate through fog and clouds and provide a clear image of the Earth's surface, through water, through land - and through ice. ERS-1 was aimed at developing ice maps, which would subsequently help avoid many disasters associated with collisions of ships with icebergs, etc.

With all that, the development of shipping routes is, figuratively speaking, only the tip of the iceberg, if we only remember the decoding of ERS data on the oceans and ice-covered spaces of the Earth. We are aware of alarming forecasts of the overall warming of the Earth, which will lead to the melting of the polar caps and rising sea levels. All coastal areas will be flooded, millions of people will suffer.

But we do not know how correct these predictions are. Long-term observations of the polar regions by ERS-1 and its subsequent ERS-2 satellite in late autumn 1994 provide data from which inferences can be made about these trends. They are creating an "early detection" system in the case of melting ice.

Thanks to the images that the ERS-1 satellite transmitted to Earth, we know that the ocean floor with its mountains and valleys is, as it were, “imprinted” on the surface of the waters. This way, scientists can get an idea of ​​whether the distance from the satellite to the sea surface (measured to within ten centimeters by satellite radar altimeters) is an indication of rising sea levels, or whether it is the “imprint” of a mountain on the bottom.

Although the ERS-1 satellite was originally designed for ocean and ice observations, it quickly proved its versatility over land. In agriculture, forestry, fisheries, geology and cartography, specialists work with data provided by satellites. Since ERS-1 is still operational after three years of its mission, scientists have a chance to operate it together with ERS-2 for shared missions, as a tandem. And they are going to obtain new information about the topography of the earth's surface and provide assistance, for example, in warning about possible earthquakes.

The ERS-2 satellite is also equipped with the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment Gome measuring instrument, which takes into account the volume and distribution of ozone and other gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Using this device, you can observe the dangerous ozone hole and the changes that occur. At the same time, according to ERS-2 data, it is possible to divert UV-b radiation close to the ground.

Given the many global environmental problems that both ERS-1 and ERS-2 must provide fundamental information to address, planning shipping routes seems to be a relatively minor output of this new generation of satellites. But this is one of the areas where the potential for commercial use of satellite data is being exploited particularly intensively. This helps in funding other important tasks. And this has an effect on environmental protection that is difficult to overestimate: faster shipping routes require less energy consumption. Or let’s remember the oil tankers that ran aground during storms or broke up and sank, losing their environmentally hazardous cargo. Reliable route planning helps avoid such disasters.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that the twentieth century is rightly called the “age of electricity”, “atomic age”, “age of chemistry”, “age of biology”. But the most recent and, apparently, also fair name is “space age”. Humanity has embarked on a path leading to mysterious cosmic distances, conquering which it will expand the scope of its activities. The space future of humanity is the key to its continuous development on the path of progress and prosperity, which was dreamed of and created by those who worked and are working today in the field of astronautics and other sectors of the national economy.

(Shorygina T.A. For children O space And Yuri Gagarin - first astronaut Earth: Conversations, leisure, stories. -M.:Sfera, 2014.-128s.)

The first great step of humanity is to

fly out behind atmosphere and become a satellite of the Earth. Rest

relatively easily, up to the distance from our solar system.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky

Program content:introduce children to the history of space exploration and the achievements of scientists ( Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky,Sergei Pavlovich Korolev) in the field of space exploration. Expand children's understanding of space technology ( artificial satellites, orbital space stations,spacesuits, spaceship). To develop and maintain children's interest in pilots-cosmonauts ( Yu. Gagarin, V. Tereshkova and others.), admire their heroic deeds. To cultivate a sense of pride that the world's first astronaut was a citizen of our country.

PROGRESS OF THE CONVERSATION

Since ancient times, people have dreamed of flying like birds.

The heroes of fairy tales and ancient legends rode to the skies on everything: golden chariots, fast arrows, even bats!

Remember what the heroes of your favorite fairy tales flew on.

Right! Aladzin flew on a magic flying carpet, Baba Yaga rushed over the earth in a mortar, Ivanushka was carried on the wings of geese-swans.

Centuries passed, and people managed to conquer the airspace of the Earth. At first they took to the skies in balloons and airships, and later they began to plow the ocean of air in airplanes and helicopters.

But humanity dreamed of flights not only in the air, but also in outer space, about which the great Russian scientist and poet Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov said this:

The abyss has opened, the stars are full, the stars have no number, the abyss has its bottom!

The mysterious starry abyss of space attracted people, calling them to look into it and solve its mysteries!

Once upon a time great scientist, founder of the science of astronautics - Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky , said: “Humanity will not remain on Earth, it will conquer the circumsolar space.”

“But a person will fly, relying not on the strength of his muscles, but on the strength of his mind,” the scientist added to what was said.

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky began to study astronautics in those distant times when people had not even properly mastered the Earth’s airspace: there were no powerful airplanes, no helicopters, no rockets. He was ahead of his time by many decades!

The fate of this remarkable Russian scientist is unusual.

He was born on September 5, 1857 into a poor family in Izhevsk. Kostya grew up as a cheerful, cheerful, mischievous boy. He loved to climb fences with his friends, play blind man's buff and hide and seek, and fly a paper kite into the sky.

One day, Kostya’s mother gave Kostya a balloon filled with light gas. The boy attached a box to it, put a beetle in it and sent the ballooning beetle flying.

Kostya loved to fantasize and come up with amazing stories: either he imagined himself as an extraordinary strongman capable of lifting the Earth, or as a tiny midget man.

When the boy was 11 years old, he became seriously ill and lost his hearing. After his illness, Kostya was no longer able to study at a regular school, and his mother began to study with him.

A few years later, the boy found textbooks in his father’s library and began to study on his own.

Then his father sent him to Moscow. In the capital, young Tsiolkovsky spent hours in libraries, studying physics, mathematics, chemistry and other sciences. In those years, his ability to invent and inclination towards exact sciences clearly manifested itself.

From his early youth, the future scientist was interested in space flights. And he devoted the rest of his life to creating the theory of astronautics.

Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich (1857-1935) - Russian scientist and inventor, founder of modern cosmonautics.

Dear Guys! Let's think together about what we can use to fly into space? Neither an airplane nor a helicopter are suitable for such flights! After all, planes and helicopters need to rely on air to fly. But in space, as you know, there is no air! Tsiolkovsky proved that space exploration can only be done with the help of a rocket! He developed the theory of the rocket apparatus, proposed using liquid fuel for it, thought through the structure of the structure and derived the basic formula for its movement.

This remarkable scientist vividly painted in his imagination the whole picture of space flight. He suggested that people would soon launch Earth satellites into space, and spaceships would fly to other planets in the solar system. In addition, he predicted that there would be a real space home permanently located in outer space, where astronauts would live for a long time, doing research.

All the scientist’s ideas came to life! They revolve around the Earth artificial satellites , created orbital space stations where they live and workastronauts, people study other planets: the Moon, Mars, Venus... Listen to how Tsiolkovsky imagined the state of weightlessness in the cabin of a spaceship:

“All objects not attached to the rocket have come out of their places and are hanging in the air, not touching anything. We ourselves also do not touch the floor and accept any position: we stand on the floor, on the ceiling, and on the wall.

The oil, shaken out of the bottle, takes the shape of a ball; we break it into parts and get a group of small balls.”

When you read these terms, it seems that the scientist himself has been to space and experienced a state of weightlessness!

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station talk about the manifestation of the laws of physics in conditions of weightlessness.

And here is how he describes the orbital space station: “We need special housing - safe, bright, with the desired temperature, with oxygen, an influx of food, with amenities for living and working.”

Orbital stations. Space

The last years of his life, the founder of astronautics lived in the city of Kaluga.

Video recording of a fragment of an excursion at the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga - a story about the rocket project developed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1911, using the example of an electrified model built according to the author's drawings and drawings.

One day, the future famous designer of interplanetary spacecraft came to see the scientist. Sergei Pavlovich Korolev . Korolev read Tsiolkovsky’s works with enthusiasm and dreamed of creating an interplanetary rocket. Sergei was still very young, heIt was only twenty-four years. Tsiolkovsky warmly received the young man. Sergei Pavlovich said that the goal of his life is to “break through to the stars.” Tsiolkovsky smiled and answered: “This is a very difficult matter, young man, believe me, an old man. It will require knowledge, perseverance and many years, maybe a lifetime...”

Korolev later wrote: “I left him with one thought - to build rockets and fly them. The whole meaning of my life has become one thing - to break through to the stars.” And he succeeded brilliantly! was created by Korolev Jet Research Institute , in which projects of interplanetary aircraft were created. Under his leadership, powerful rockets for launching artificial satellites were built here.

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who for many years was simply called the Chief Designer, managed to bring Tsiolkovsky’s ideas to life.

In 1957, on October 4, an event occurred that shocked the whole world - it was launched first artificial earth satellite .

It was the first man-made object that did not fall to the Earth, but began to revolve around it.

What was it like? Earth satellite ?

It was a small ball with a diameter of about 60 cm, equipped with a radio transmitter and four antennas.

All radio and television companies in the world interrupted their broadcasts to hear his signals coming from deep space to Earth!

Since then Russian word for "satellite" entered the dictionaries of many peoples.

Scientists dreamed of human flight into space. But first they decided to test the safety of flights on our faithful four-legged helpers - dogs.

For test flights, they chose not purebred dogs, but ordinary mongrels - after all, they are hardy, unpretentious, and intelligent.

At first, future four-legged astronauts were trained for a long time. For this, engineers designed a special camera.

The very first dogs , rising in a rocket to a height of 110 km, name Gypsy and Desik . Both “cosmonauts” landed safely. Korolev was very happy about his luck, caressed the dogs, and treated them to delicious food.

Many dogs have flown into space more than once. They got used to being dressed in overalls and being attached to the cabin with belts.

Most dogs were brave, but one day a cowardly dog ​​rose into outer space, but he just had a nickname - Brave!

Bold was afraid to go into space the second time. In the evening before the flight, the dogs were taken out for a walk, as always. As soon as the laboratory assistant unfastened the leash, Bold rushed away. He ran far into the steppe and did not respond to the call, as if he felt that he would have to fly tomorrow morning.

What was to be done?

I had to choose one small dog from the dogs that always walked near the dining room. They fed him, washed him, trimmed his fur and dressed him in overalls

The launch went smoothly and the dog returned safely to Earth.

But the Chief Designer nevertheless noticed the substitution and asked what the name of this dog was.

The employees answered him: “ Zeeb!

What a strange nickname! - Korolev was surprised. Then they explained to him that it stands for: “Spare for the missing bobby.” (When the flight was over, the sly dog ​​Bold returned to the squad as if nothing had happened!

The tests continued. Special ones have been made for dogs. spacesuits made of rubberized fabric And helmets made of transparent plastic.

They began to prepare dogs for a long flight into outer space. It was necessary to create for four-legged astronauts nutritional mixture , provide the cabin with air.

“Once a day, from under the tray in which the dog lay, abox filled with specially prepared dough-likemixture: this is both food and drink. The dogs were trained in advance to eat such foods and quench their thirst” (A. Dobrovolsky).

In 1960, on August 19, the Vostok spacecraft was launched with two four-legged cosmonauts - Squirrel And Arrow . These cute little dogs spent 22 hours in space. During this time, the spacecraft orbited the Earth 18 times.

In addition to dogs, there were mice and rats and plant seeds on board the ship.

Everyone returned safely to Earth. And in March 1961, other travelers went on a space flight - dogs Chernushka And Star .

The first space heroes... Space conquerors!

Photos of all these brave dogs spread all over the world.

Finally everything was ready for human spaceflight.

In 1961, on April 12th low-Earth orbit was withdrawn spaceship "Vostok". It was piloted by the world's first astronaut.

Do you know his name?

Right! The very first cosmonaut on Earth - Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin.

Archival video of Yuri Gagarin's flight.

This brave young man was the first of all people living on the planet to see the Earth from space.

And she seemed beautiful to him!

First cosmonaut

On a spaceship

He flew in interplanetary darkness,

Having made a revolution around the Earth.

And the ship was called "Vostok"

Everyone knows and loves him,

He was young, strong, brave.

We remember his kind look,

With a squint,

His name was Gagarin Yura.

How did a simple Russian boy become an astronaut?

Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the Smolensk region. In 1941, the boy went to school, but the war interrupted his studies. Listen to writer Yuri Nagibin's story about Yuri Gagarin's first day at school.

After the war, the Gagarins settled in the city of Gzhatsk. The family was friendly and hardworking.

Yura studied well, was a capable, diligent and efficient boy.

In his youth, he became interested in sports, attended a flying club, studied the design of airplanes, and jumped with a parachute.

The sky attracted the talented young man! He graduated from aviation school and became a military pilot. Already at this time, Yuri dreamed of flying into space. When he learned that a cosmonaut corps was being created, he wrote an application asking to be accepted into this corps.

Soon Yuri Gagarin was accepted into the cosmonaut corps. Long and difficult training began.

What qualities do you think an astronaut should have?

Right! He must be brave, trained, strong! health and strong will, distinguished by intelligence and hard work.

Yuri Gagarin had all these qualities!

Eyewitnesses recall that “when the first cosmonaut, after the flight, was driving through the streets of Moscow in an open car, thousands and thousands of people came out to meet him. Everywhere there was joy and rejoicing, shouts of joy and heartfelt hugs.”

People recalled that Yuri Gagarin “emanated some waves of cheerfulness and creative optimism.”

How was Yuri Gagarin's flight?

The weight of the Vostok ship on which the flight took place was 4730 kg. The flight began in the morning - at 9:00 am and took place at an altitude of about 200 km above the Earth. The future cosmonaut was escorted to the launch pad by engineers, designers, doctors, and friends.

The Chief Designer, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, was very worried. After all, he loved Yuri like his own son!

Before stepping towards the rocket, Yuri exclaimed: “Guys! One for all and all for one!"

And when the rocket rushed into the sky, Yuri Gagarin shouted the word that became famous: “Po-e-ha-li!”

“He saw through the window the blue Earth and a completely black sky. Bright unblinking stars looked at him. No inhabitant of the Earth has ever seen this,” journalist Yaroslav Golovanov wrote about Gagarin’s flight.

This is how Yuri Alekseevich himself described his flight: “The rocket engines were turned on at 9:07 am. I was literally pushed into the chair. As soon as Vostok broke through the dense layers of the atmosphere, I saw the Earth. The ship was flying over a wide Siberian river. The islands on it and the wooded shores illuminated by the sun were clearly visible. He looked first at the sky, then at the Earth. Mountain ranges and large lakes were clearly visible. The most beautiful sight was the horizon - a stripe painted with all the colors of the rainbow, dividing the Earth in the light of the sun's rays from the black sky.

The convexity and roundness of the Earth was noticeable. It seemed that she was all surrounded by a halo of soft blue color, which through turquoise, blue and violet turns to blue-black...”

Yuri Gagarin brought glory to our Motherland. You and I, dear guys, can be proud of him.

Man has returned from space!

Cities, streets, squares and even flowers were named in honor of the first cosmonaut of the Earth! A variety of tulips was developed in Holland and named “Yuri Gagarin”.

There was not a single newspaper or magazine in the world that would not have published a portrait of the first cosmonaut on the planet. Everyone remembers the 2nd’s charming face, open smile, clear gaze.

Every year on April 12, our country celebrates a wonderful holiday - Cosmonautics Day.

Since then, many astronauts have been in space.

On April 12, the whole world celebrates Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. Every year on this day, humanity remembers the historical 108 minutes from which the era of manned cosmonautics began - on April 12, 1961, a citizen of the Soviet Union, Senior Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin, on the Vostok spacecraft, made the world's first orbital flight around the Earth. How the flight went from start to finish - in video infographics.

In 1963, on June 16, the Vostok-6 spacecraft was launched into Earth satellite orbit. It was piloted by the world's first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. Valya became an astronaut thanks to parachuting, which she became interested in in her youth, practicing at the Yaroslavl flying club.

Then Valya was accepted into the cosmonaut corps, and was prepared for a long time and seriously for a responsible flight.

Her ship Vostok-6 made 48 orbits around the Earth and landed successfully.

Valentina Tereshkova is an extraordinary, brave, determined woman! She can jump with a parachute and fly a jet plane and a spaceship.

For the duration of the flight she was given the call sign “Chaika”. Swift, brave, she really looks like a seagull.

The first cosmonaut to walk into outer space was Alexei Leonov. Impressed by his flight, he painted wonderful paintings in which he depicted the Earth and outer space.

For long-term work in space, scientists created space orbital stations where several astronauts could work at once.

Artificial satellites of the Earth still keep their watch in space day after day. They are equipped with many complex instruments and monitor the Sun, stars, and atmosphere.

With the help of satellites, you can predict the weather, provide television and telephone communications.

Over the 50 years of the space age, more than 3,000 artificial Earth satellites were launched.

Scientists have also created spacecraft that make long-distance flights without human participation. They are usually called automatic stations . Such stations explored the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury and other planets.

Tsiolkovsky once called the Earth the “cradle” of reason, but added that “... you cannot live forever in a cradle.”

Man strives to leave the “cradle” in order to explore the endless space of space!

Who is considered the founder of astronautics?

Tell us about Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. Who is called the Chief Designer of spacecraft?

Tell us about Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

Tell us about the dogs that have been in space.

What was the name of the world's first astronaut?

Tell us about Yuri Gagarin.

What was the name of the world's first female astronaut? Which astronaut was the first to go into outer space?

How artificial satellites help people dyam?

Museum of the History of Cosmonautics.
The State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics is the most famous landmark of Kaluga. The museum is named after Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, the scientist who “rocked the cradle of astronautics.” It is not surprising that the first stone in this huge white Art Nouveau building, which from a distance resembles a rocket, was laid by the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On the territory of the museum there is a duplicate of the Vostok launch vehicle - the first spacecraft.
Of course, even before our trip to Kaluga, we planned to go to this museum. The director of the museum and his employees kindly agreed to give us a free tour.
We learned how difficult it is to do everything in space, even get a drink or put on a T-shirt. (This action can take more than two hours.) In addition to large complex machines: lunar rovers, rockets, various stations, descent vehicles, we saw small tubes with food for astronauts. We were surprised by the space tools: a hammer, a screwdriver... The guide explained to us that if we use an ordinary earthly screwdriver to screw in a screw, for example, then it will not be the screwdriver in the astronaut’s hands that will spin, but the astronaut around the screwdriver.
Yes, now we know for sure that many scientific achievements and technical innovations that we use so widely were given to us thanks to the hard work of astronauts.
State government educational institution of the Vladimir region “Special (correctional) general education boarding school in Vladimir for blind and visually impaired children

Dear students, in my opinion, this is important!

I advise you to go through other sections of the "Navigation" and read interesting articles or watch presentations, didactic materials on subjects (pedagogy, methods of developing children's speech, theoretical foundations of interaction between preschool educational institutions and parents); material for preparing for tests, tests, exams, coursework and dissertations. I would be glad if the information posted on my website helps you in your work and study.

Best regards, O.G. Golskaya.

"Site Help"- click on the image - hyperlink to return to the previous page (Test work on the module "Planning work on the development of children's speech. SPACE").