Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute owes Oleksander Serhiiovych Boltenko an amazing acquaintance with the history of space.
In 2008 it was Oleksandr Serhiiovych Boltenko who headed the newly created Department of Aviation and Astronautics History of our University and enriched it with unique exhibits.
Oleksandr Boltenko, a retired lieutenant colonel, dedicated his life to space. For 20 years he had served at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. First, he serviced launch equipment and participated in the preparation and launch of the R-9 missiles developed by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. In 1969 he was appointed Head of the calculation of rocket engine systems for trajectory correction and aerodynamic braking of space probes. Later, Oleksandr Boltenko became the Commander of the operational and technical company, whose soldiers serviced all life support systems of military units and launch facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Soon after, Oleksandr Serhiyovych was already in charge of the Baikonur pre-launch Training Center for astronauts, where the crews arrive two weeks before the flight into space and return from orbit to go through readaptation to Earth conditions.
In 2002, Oleksandr Boltenko headed the Kyiv Veterans Council of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and in 2005 he became the Chairman of the Kyiv Interregional Veterans Council of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome, and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
The staff and students of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute express their profound condolences to the relatives and friends of this legendary man, whose memory is forever engraved in the history of Ukrainian astronautics.