From October 4 to 10 this year, the world celebrated World Space Week for the thirty-fourth time. More than 80 countries held events dedicated to the achievements of mankind in space exploration, as well as the possibilities of integrating space technologies into business projects. The theme "Space and Entrepreneurship" was chosen this year by the organizers of the Week - the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the World Space Week Association (WSWA).
The Borys Paton State Polytechnic Museum at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute did not stand aside from the annual week-long global event to support and popularize space research and technology. Its employees not only developed their own program of events within the framework of the Week, but also presented them to the world by registering on the specialized website https://www.worldspaceweek.org/, where the relevant materials are posted. In KPI, this year's Space Week was held under the slogan "Ukraine - Space Dimension," meaning that the emphasis was on Ukraine's contribution to the exploration of outer space.
It all began on October 9, 2023, when the museum's Cosmonautics Hall hosted a presentation dedicated to the third cosmonaut of Ukrainian origin, Georgii Stepanovych Shonin, the 39th astronaut in the world. From October 11 to 16, 1969, he made a space flight as the commander of the Soyuz-6 spacecraft. During the flight, he tested the autonomous maneuvering of three spacecraft, conducted the world's first welding experiments in space, and conducted the Fakel experiment to detect ballistic missile launches. Georgiy Shonin also trained for a flight on the Salyut space station and for a joint Soviet-American space flight under the Apollo-Soyuz program. The presentation was accompanied by an interesting lecture about the life and vagaries of the cosmonaut's fate. It was also presented to the general public via the Internet.
The next event of this year's Space Week at the DPM reminded us of one of the talented graduates of Kyiv Polytechnic Volodymyr Hryhorovych Fartushnyi (1938-2018), who worked for many years at the E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding. He took an active part in the creation of equipment for welding in space, was selected for the first group of civilian test astronauts who were to perform special welding work in space, was trained to participate in two space programs and became an astronaut-researcher (a detailed article about his life and work, prepared by Serhiy Grachev, a member of the DPM, was published in KP #13-14 of April 7, 2023).
As part of the celebration of the World Space Week 2023, the DPM organized informational and entertaining events for pupils of the rocket modeling club of the Aviation and Space Center of the Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth on October 10. The program included a tour of the Aviation and Cosmonautics Department's exposition, a lecture "Why does space need entrepreneurship?", and a video about the importance of space activities for humanity. A participant of this project, Mykhailo Dusheiko, a leading engineer of our university, told the young rocket modelers about the history of creation and possibilities of further practical application of the PolyITAN nanosatellites line, which are being developed at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The most exciting part of the event was probably the game for the club members "What would you take with you on a space flight?" In the end, all participants received certificates and gifts, and also joined the creation of a drawing on the asphalt "My spaceship" and the launch of pneumatic rockets.
The traditional, eighteenth Dnipro Orbit Scientific Readings, which took place on October 25-27, 2023, in Dnipro, became a bright event related to the Week. Every year they invite scientists and practitioners to discuss a range of issues related to the humanitarian aspects of rocket and space technology. This fall, they were dedicated to women of Ukrainian descent who made a significant contribution to the development of world cosmonautics. The DPM always pays special attention to this topic. Therefore, for the section "History of Aviation and Rocket and Space Technology", DPM scientists prepared a report and a meaningful presentation "Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper - the first female astronaut of Ukrainian origin in the times of independent Ukraine". Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper became the first Ukrainian woman to enter outer space. By Presidential Decree No. 61/2007 of February 1, 2007, she was awarded the Order of Princess Olga, III degree, "for courage and bravery shown in the exploration of outer space, strengthening friendship between the Ukrainian and American peoples." In the same year, she became a laureate of the All-Ukrainian Award "Woman of the Third Millennium" in the nomination "Significant Figure". So the report was devoted to her professional achievements and facts of her biography, as well as her visit to Ukraine and, of course, her meeting with Kyiv Polytechnics on October 10, 2019 (see KP, October 24, 2019, #31).