Astronautics is not only the science of flights into space. She gathered all the data available today about space inventions that made travel beyond our planet a reality. Today, the study of new stars, planets and galaxies has become routine for many scientists around the world.
Like any idea, cosmonautics began with theoretical developments. A significant contribution to the development of the concept of flying machines for space travel was made by the inventor and revolutionary-people with Ukrainian roots – Mykola Ivanovich Kybalchich. The result of his creativity was the world’s first scheme of an aircraft with a jet engine. Unfortunately, he never managed to see with his own eyes the possibilities of his invention, but his ideas became an impetus for other scientists to further work.
Discoveries that became the basis of cosmonautics
Ukrainians played a key role in the development of cosmonautics in the Soviet Union. So, Kostiantyn Tsiolkovsky – a Soviet scientist of Ukrainian origin – worked on the creation of a concept for flying machines for space travel that work on jet thrust. And in 1903, the world’s first rocket was created, the designer of which was K. Tsiolkovsky.
The USSR was not the only one interested in the possibilities of outer space. Its main competitors at that time were the United States of America and Germany. The development of astronautics in the USA began with the discoveries of Robert Goddard. His authorship belongs to the liquid-type engine. The peculiarity of this engine is that, thanks to gasoline and liquid oxygen, it was able to lift a space rocket into the air.
Another industrial giant – Germany – owes the development of cosmonautics in its country to Hermann Obert. Despite the fact that at one time his dissertation on cosmonautics was rejected as “too fantastic”, the scientist continued his research. Thus, in 1923, a work entitled “Rockets to interplanetary space” was published, and in the 30s of the same century, Obert took part in the construction of the first German ballistic missile A-4 (Vau-2).
The maximum flight range of this missile was 320 km, which led to its active use during the Second World War. And no matter how sad it is to admit it, the development of cosmonautics contributed to the creation of weapons of mass destruction. But this is only one side of the coin. On the other hand, it was K. Tsiolkovskyi, R. Goddard and G. Obert who laid the foundations for the future pursuit between the two largest states at the time for supremacy in space.
The first flight into space
Thanks to numerous studies and experiments, on November 3, 1957, it was possible to launch the second artificial satellite of the Earth, on board of which there was an animal – the dog Laika. It was she who became the first living creature to be sent into space. Unfortunately, 7 hours after the start, Laika died from overheating and stress.
Scientists did not stop trying to get into space, and already on August 19, 1960, two dogs (Bilk and Strelka) not only got into Earth orbit, but were also able to return alive!
A year after the successful return of the dogs home, Yuriy Gagarin made a human flight into space, as the first cosmonaut not only of the USSR, but also of the world. This moment became a turning point in the development of cosmonautics as a science. Countries tried to surpass each other in this matter, making more and more new discoveries.
It is worth noting that not only men were engaged in the study of extraterrestrial space. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly into space. She made her flight on the Vostok-6 spacecraft back in 1963.
Today, the most famous private company engaged in launching space rockets and satellites is SpaceX. As of April 2021, the company has completed more than 100 successful launches into outer space.
Important dates
Astronautics as a science has developed to incredible proportions over the last century. Here is just a small part of the most important research and discoveries in the field of cosmonautics.
October 4, 1957 – the USSR launched “Sputnik-1” – the first artificial Earth satellite (by the way, the author of the development of the satellite was the Ukrainian Sergey Korolev).
July 12, 1961 – for the first time in the history of the world, a person visited space. He became 27-year-old Yuriy Gagarin. And April 12 is the day of cosmonautics in Ukraine.
March 1, 1996 – the Venera-3 station sent a Soviet pennant to Venus, thus becoming the first Earth station to reach another planet.
July 21, 1969 – the foot of a person (more precisely, the American Neil Armstrong) set foot on the moon for the first time. Thanks to the lunar expedition of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first soil samples from the moon were delivered to Earth.
April 19, 1971 – the first orbital station of the USSR “Salyut-1” went into space.
April 12, 1981 – the American reusable transport spaceship “Columbia” made its first flight.
October 4, 2004 – The developers of the SpaceShipOne aerospace system won the prize for the world’s first two manned suborbital space flights on a single reusable spacecraft. They made these flights within two weeks.
New discoveries in the field of space did not stop there. And if you want to continue to learn about interesting space news, write to us about it in the comments:
