https://sputnikglobe.com/20250111/gagarin-center-65-years-of-cosmonaut-training-excellence-and-counting-1121409777.html
Gagarin Center: 65 Years of Cosmonaut Training Excellence, and Counting
Gagarin Center: 65 Years of Cosmonaut Training Excellence, and Counting
Sputnik International
Created at the dawn of the space age, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Szvezdny Gorodok (lit. ‘Star City’) outside Moscow prepared the first cosmonauts for humanity's first small steps into outer space. Here’s what makes the center unique.
2025-01-11T19:18+0000
2025-01-11T19:18+0000
2025-01-11T19:22+0000
russia
russia
star city
yuri gagarin
ussr
air force
mir space station
science & tech
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/01/0b/1121411125_0:0:1874:1054_1920x0_80_0_0_01b1cb8144df88b88f997b2dae67dc95.png
The need to establish a dedicated center for the training of cosmonauts became apparent to scientists in charge of the Soviet space program in the late 1950s, immediately after the successful launch of Sputnik-1 – the world’s first artificial satellite, in October 1957.In 1959, two resolutions were issued by the government “On the Preparation of Humans for Space Flights,” tasking the fledgling space program with the selection of qualified candidates (the choice ultimately fell on Air Force pilots). A grueling selection process was held from October 1959 to April 1960, with 20 candidates enrolled as the first student-cosmonauts.Sergei Korolev, one of the fathers of Soviet/Russian cosmonautics, found an ally in Air Force Commander-in-Chief Marshal Konstantin Vershinin, who lobbied the state for the creation of a cosmonaut preparation center under the auspices of the Air Force.Just over a year later, in January 1961, the first six potential cosmonauts – Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, Valery Bykovsky, Grigory Nelyubov, Andriyan Nikolaev and Pavel Popovich passed all exams to be deemed ready for space flight aboard the new Vostok spacecraft – developed in 1958 by the Special Design Bureau OKB-1 under Korolev’s supervision.Gagarin was chosen for the maiden flight, which launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on April 12, 1961, ushering in a new era for humanity. The Cosmonaut Training Center came to carry Gagarin's name after his tragic and untimely death in 1968.Zvezdny Gorodok continued to develop, taking advantage of the latest advances in Soviet and global space-related and general scientific progress, and reached a series of important milestones in piloted cosmonautics – starting with the training of the first group of women cosmonaut candidates in 1963, leading to the historic June 16, 1963 space flight by Valentina Tereshkova.Confirmation of human beings’ ability to live and work in space, and the launch of the world’s first space station, the Salyut 1, in 1971, created new opportunities and challenges for the Cosmonaut Training Center. Training for the first group of space station dwellers began in 1966.In April 1967, a decision was made to share the USSR’s space achievements with allied and friendly countries, in a program known as Interkosmos. Czechoslovakia became the third country to send a human being to space in March 1978, and cosmonauts from Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, and Romania followed suit over the next three years. France joined the club in 1982, with India following in 1984, Syria in 1987 and Afghanistan in 1988.In the early 1980s, the Cosmonaut Training Center was responsible for training cosmonauts for the 1986 launch of the Mir Space Station, with full-scale mock ups of facilities and modules built to prepare pilots for the station’s operation.From the mid-80s on, the Center also began training pilots for the ambitious Energiya-Buran space shuttle program.In the 90s, the Center took a leading role in training Russian and international crews for work aboard the International Space Station, launched in 1998 and based on the Mir and Mir-2 modular space station design principle. This work increased significantly in 2009 on, after ISS crews were increased from three to six people. In the second half of 2009 alone, the center trained 17 Russians, 12 NASA astronauts, 2 European Space Agency astronauts and 4 JAXA (Japanese) astronauts.The Center contains everything an aspiring cosmonaut/astronaut needs, from medical observation and testing facilities, to an 18 meter, 300 ton centrifuge, the world’s largest, Zero-G training aircraft, and mockup models and simulators of all of the USSR and Russia’s space vehicles, from Soyuz and Salyut to Mir and Buran.“It can be said with confidence that our [cosmonaut] flight preparation system is the best in the world. Our foreign colleagues also recognize this,” Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov said in a congratulatory message Saturday marking the Center's 65th anniversary.What’s next for the Gagarin Center? Training cosmonauts for the Russian space program’s next steps, from a new Russian space station, and eventually, new manned missions to the Moon, and one day, on to Mars.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230412/lets-go-world-marks-anniversary-of-gagarins-epic-space-flight-1109398267.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20180306/valentina-tereshkova-amazing-facts-1062273198.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20171027/afghan-cosmonaut-sputnik-interview-1058608271.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20211015/declassified-docs-reveal-ussr-planned-to-build-advanced-control-system-for-moon-mission-spacecraft-1089955839.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240819/russian-scientist-suggests-to-secure-moons-north-pole-during-luna-27-space-mission-1119820450.html
russia
star city
ussr
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2025
News
en_EN
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Russia's best-in-the-world Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center marks 65th anniversary
Sputnik International
Russia's best-in-the-world Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center marks 65th anniversary
2025-01-11T19:18+0000
true
PT1M18S
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
where is russia's cosmonaut training center, when was russia's cosmonaut training center created
where is russia's cosmonaut training center, when was russia's cosmonaut training center created
Gagarin Center: 65 Years of Cosmonaut Training Excellence, and Counting
19:18 GMT 11.01.2025 (Updated: 19:22 GMT 11.01.2025) Created at the dawn of the space age, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Szvezdny Gorodok (‘Star City’) outside Moscow prepared the first cosmonauts for humanity's first small steps into outer space. Here’s what makes the center unique.
The need to establish a dedicated center for the training of cosmonauts became apparent to scientists in charge of the Soviet space program in the late 1950s, immediately after the successful launch of Sputnik-1 – the world’s first artificial satellite, in October 1957.
In 1959, two resolutions were issued by the government “On the Preparation of Humans for Space Flights,” tasking the fledgling space program with the selection of qualified candidates (the choice ultimately fell on Air Force pilots). A grueling selection process was held from October 1959 to April 1960, with 20 candidates enrolled as the first student-cosmonauts.
Sergei Korolev, one of the fathers of Soviet/Russian cosmonautics, found an ally in Air Force Commander-in-Chief Marshal Konstantin Vershinin, who lobbied the state for the creation of a cosmonaut preparation center under the auspices of the Air Force.
On January 11, 1960, Vershinin signed off on the creation of Unit 26266 – the initially secret training facility that would forge the first cosmonauts. The future Zvezdny Gorodok, then known as Zeleny (lit. ‘Green’), was situated less than 20 km northeast of Moscow, and was chosen for its proximity to Kaliningrad (now Korolev) Soviet space science city, the Chkalovsky Airfield and the Yaroslavl railroad. The first training facilities were prepared in early July 1960.
Just over a year later, in January 1961, the first six potential cosmonauts – Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, Valery Bykovsky, Grigory Nelyubov, Andriyan Nikolaev and Pavel Popovich passed all exams to be deemed ready for space flight aboard the new Vostok spacecraft – developed in 1958 by the Special Design Bureau OKB-1 under Korolev’s supervision.
Gagarin was chosen for the maiden flight, which launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on April 12, 1961, ushering in a new era for humanity. The Cosmonaut Training Center came to carry Gagarin's name after his tragic and untimely death in 1968.
Zvezdny Gorodok continued to develop, taking advantage of the latest advances in Soviet and global space-related and general scientific progress, and reached a series of important milestones in piloted cosmonautics – starting with the training of the first group of women cosmonaut candidates in 1963, leading to the historic June 16, 1963 space flight by Valentina Tereshkova.
Confirmation of human beings’ ability to live and work in space, and the launch of the world’s first space station, the Salyut 1, in 1971, created new opportunities and challenges for the Cosmonaut Training Center. Training for the first group of space station dwellers began in 1966.
In April 1967, a decision was made to share the USSR’s space achievements with allied and friendly countries, in a program known as Interkosmos. Czechoslovakia became the third country to send a human being to space in March 1978, and cosmonauts from Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, and Romania followed suit over the next three years. France joined the club in 1982, with India following in 1984, Syria in 1987 and Afghanistan in 1988.
In the early 1980s, the Cosmonaut Training Center was responsible for training cosmonauts for the 1986 launch of the Mir Space Station, with full-scale mock ups of facilities and modules built to prepare pilots for the station’s operation.
27 October 2017, 19:03 GMT
From the mid-80s on, the Center also began training pilots for the ambitious Energiya-Buran space shuttle program.
In the 90s, the Center took a leading role in training Russian and international crews for work aboard the International Space Station, launched in 1998 and based on the Mir and Mir-2 modular space station design principle. This work increased significantly in 2009 on, after ISS crews were increased from three to six people. In the second half of 2009 alone, the center trained 17 Russians, 12 NASA astronauts, 2 European Space Agency astronauts and 4 JAXA (Japanese) astronauts.
The Center contains everything an aspiring cosmonaut/astronaut needs, from medical observation and testing facilities, to an 18 meter, 300 ton centrifuge, the world’s largest, Zero-G training aircraft, and mockup models and simulators of all of the USSR and Russia’s space vehicles, from Soyuz and Salyut to Mir and Buran.
15 October 2021, 17:28 GMT
“It can be said with confidence that our [cosmonaut] flight preparation system is the best in the world. Our foreign colleagues also recognize this,” Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov said in a congratulatory message Saturday marking the Center's 65th anniversary.
What’s next for the Gagarin Center? Training cosmonauts for the Russian space program’s next steps, from a new Russian space station, and eventually, new manned missions to the Moon, and one day, on to Mars.
19 August 2024, 00:47 GMT
