On April 27, 2016 the 25th anniversary of the Kyiv Museum of Astronautics History (today – Department of history of aviation and cosmonautics of State Polytechnic Museum of I.I. Sikorsky in NTUU “KPI”) took place.
Its creation is the result of the initiative and activism of the veterans of Baikonur cosmodrome that began in 70’s of the twentieth century. At that time the first group of retired officers who worked at the cosmodrome since the day of its foundation in 1955: generals O.M. Voytenko, M.P. Vyshnensky, colonels V.A. Belikov, P.H. Bublykov, O.A. Berezovyy, P.P. Babenko, M.V. Volkov, P.D. Sapsai, H.A. Denysenko, N.K. Shvydkoy, L.N. Ivanchenkov, A.H. Dormidontov. After creating a committee of space at the Central Committee of DOSAAF of Ukraine, and later the Federation of Cosmonautics of Ukraine, veterans of rocketry, led by former first deputy head of Baikonur Major General Alexander Mykhailovych Voytenko, actively promoted the achievements of austronautics among companies, students and pupils, helped to create museums of Cosmonautics in Kyiv schools. More than 20 companies and organizations became members of the federation, for example, Kyiv Radio Manufacturing Plant “Kyivprylad”, “Chervonyy Ekskavator”, “Tochelektroprylad”, PA of S. Korolyov, etc.
In 1989 on the initiative of General O.M. Voytenko a group responsible for creating the museum of history of astronautics was established. It consisted of generals Anatoliy Pavlovych Zavalishyn, Volodymyr Ivanovych Kataev, Colonels Bronislaw Genrikhovych Lapidus, Anatoliy Davydenko, Lev Oleksandrovych Nikolaev, Mykhaylo Temper, Lieutenant Colonels Anatoliy Dormidontov, Ernest Oleksandrovych Kevorkov, Oleg Porfyrovych Pruss, photographer Heorhiy Borysovych Yanovsky. The museum was conceived not only as a means to promote the achievements of austronautics, but also as educational and methodological base for students. A. Dormidontov, B. Lapidus, Yu. Usenko, L. Nikolayev took part in the development of thematic-exposition plan of the museum. Texts for the thematic lectures on the history of astronautics were prepared by veteran of Baikonur V.M. Hurzhuyenko.
Sponsored by CEO of Kyiv Radio Manufacturing Plant (KRMP) D.H.Topchiya and chief designer of KRMP O.I.Hudymenka in the project documentation of the apartment building, which was erected in the Trostyanetska street, the room for the museum was provided. After putting the house into operation B.O.Vasylenko, radio plant chief engineer, led a group of experts on designing the museum. Exposition mounting was made by I.V. Stelmah, O.S. Tonkovod, M.A. Perederiy under the guidance of chief architect V.M. Savin.
B.H. Lapidus who had extensive experience of creating such a museum in the third test department at Baikonur, on behalf of O.M. Voytenko, led a group of veterans who had to provide museum with exhibits.
All veterans of Baikonur were active participants of this process. They brought rare photographs, books, medals, some components of rocketry. Thus, the combatant of the War of 1941-1945 M.Temper granted the museum a large collection of space badges, envelopes, books. Veterans received help from astronauts of USSR and the heads of different companies. General A.P. Zavalishyn with the assistance of USSR pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General H.S. Tytov and General Designer of Applied Mechanics M.F. Reshetnyov organized the transfer of the space lander, "Voshod” series, which went into space in 1965.
The task to collect and bring items for the museum rocketry was given to B.H. Lapidus that worked at Baikonur for 18 years and had many friends there. With the active assistance and support of Baikonur workers generals O.O. Shumilin, V.O. Menshykov and K.P. Petrov, Bronislaw Genrikhovich collected, loaded and just a few days before the customs establishment on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia brought several unique container elements of the missile and space technology: the combustion chamber of the engine of carrier rocket "Soyuz", which brought the spacecraft into space, equipment telemetry data registration, various aggregates, components, instruments of flight control systems, telemetries and gas stations used in rockets and space ships.
Since I worked in the Cosmonaut Training Center of Yu. Haharin for 8 years, General O.M. Voytenko sent me to the Star City. Thankfully to the active support of Lieutenant General V.O. Shatalov, Major General I.M. Pochkayev, Lieutenant Colonel V.K. Hotvald – the head of training complex, with the active participation of Chief Designer of Kyiv factory "Arsenal" V.I. Buzanov, I managed to bring a unique training complex, consisting of control for the operator of space communications, simulators of sky, space sextant with the help of which astronauts not only determined the location of their ship during the flight, but were observing the stars and constellations.
Famous Soviet cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, president of the USSR Space Museum P.R. Popovych presented us with astronauts’ work suits, set of tools to work in outer space and their personal belongings.
The director of Zhytomyr Museum of Cosmonautics of Korolyov O.A. Kopyl gave the museum a bust of S. Korolyov, a lander of automatic interplanetary station "Venera-4", the globe of the Moon, driving installation of combat missile R-12 (8K63), made at "Pivdenmash" in Dnipropetrovsk.
On April 27, 1991 in a solemn atmosphere in the presence of veterans of Baikonur, students, representatives of industrial factories and other members of audience, a Soviet astronaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation P.R. Popovych, Soviet astronaut, Hero of the Soviet Union V.M.Zholobov, chairman of the Federation of cosmonautics of Ukraine Major General O.M. Voytenko cut the red ribbon and opened a Museum of Cosmonautics in Kyiv.
At different times, the heads of the museum were: H.B.Yanovskyy, A.O.Kolesova, A.H.Dormidontov, V.I.Katayev, and workers of the museum were: A.Yu.Osadchyy, B.Ye.Nekryach, V.M. Hurzhuyenko, A.V. Borysov.
For about 10 years the museum was visited by thousands of pupils, students, many foreign delegations, the first chief of astronaut training center Ye. Karpov, Soviet astronaut M. M. Rukavyshnykov, H.S.Tytov, V.M. Zholobov, the first astronaut of independent Ukraine L.K. Kadenyuk, American astronauts Brus Mack Kandles, Russell Schweickart, and Charles Duke - one of those who visited the Moon. The Guestbook still saves hundreds of grateful records. For veterans of space the museum has become a meeting place with young people. On the initiative of the Vice-President of Federation of Cosmonautics of Ukraine A.H. Dormidontov new stands (" Cosmic Ukraine", "Space Industry of Ukraine", " The Astronauts - sons of Ukraine", "Flight of the Ukrainian Astronaut L.K. Kadenyuk", etc.) were created. Many Baikonur veterans participated in the process of creating stands: A.P. Zatona, E.A. Nikolchenko, E.O. Kevorkov and also enterprises "Pryroda", "Yuzhnoye", "Arsenal", "Kyivprylad." Thankfully to O.P.Pruss - the veteran of Kapustyn Yar cosmodrome - two stands dedicated to a mysterious and unexplored topic of the UFOs, which is of great interest for visitors, were created for the first time. O.P. Pruss brought a few videos of UFOs, of the history of space exploration, and more than 20 different books.
I want to express special thanks to the former deputy chief of the Baikonur Cosmodrome and a noble citizen of Leninsk, chairman of the Association of Veterans of Baikonur cosmodrome in Kyiv and Ukraine - Major General V.I. Katayev. With his energy, constant concern for expanding the museum he gathered Baikonur veterans around himself and was an active propagandist for the achievements of cosmonautics.
But during the hard times of the 1990s the Cosmonautics Federation of Ukraine failed to pay rent and utility services. Despite numerous requests to the Kharkivskyy district administration and Kyiv City Administration to leave the museum at the same place, in summer of 2001 veterans were forced to move to Kyiv Republican planetarium, whose head I.P.Kryachko assigned the area of 180 m2.
The museum stayed in planetarium for five years. During this time it was visited by tens of thousands of students from Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine. But the new leadership of an association "Znannya" in June 2006, forced the veterans to remove exhibits from the planetarium. Thankfully to E.I.Kuznyetsov, exhibits for a year and a half were kept in the premises of the plant "Arsenal". All this time veterans were actively seeking for appropriate space for the museum. The lead of "KPI" headed by rector M. Zgurovsky, having found out about the museum, offered veterans to transport it to the university and establish it in a restored historic building of garage for aircrafts.
Veterans of Baikonur and Kapustyn Yar cosmodromes took active participation in the transportation and installation of the exhibition. They were A.H. Dormidontov, O.S. Boltenko, A.Yu. Osadchyy, A.M. Afanasyev, S.O. Andreychuk, V.F. Korolyov, I.V. Komarov, B.M. Nyzov, V.P. Malyar, P.H.Orlov, V.F. Havrysh, O.P. Pruss, workers of the plant "Arsenal" O.M. Shulzhenko, V.P. Akymenko and others. An important contribution to the renewal of the exhibition did "KPI" staff: N.V. Pysarevska, K.M. Vladymyrova, I.M. Kolyada, Yu.V. Plivak, A.V. Lozovyy, K.B. Antonenko, G .V. Luparenko, T.I. Ozozhenko, O.M. Shulha, M.Ye. Shulha, L.A. Bakayeva, V.V. Tatarchuk, L.S. Ilyasova, L.S. Bashtova, B .E. Rusakova, P.P. Yaschuk, O.I. Suprun, T.M. Pavlichenko, L.D.Zhylkovska.
On May 14, 2008 two festive events took place in "KPI": the opening of monument to the outstanding designer of aircraft, former KPI student Igor Sikorsky and the opening of the Department of Aviation and Cosmonautics DPM. The opening was attended by university leaders, deputies of Kyiv City Council, leaders of the National Space Agency of Ukraine, employees of US and Poland embassies, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, city council member, world boxing champion Vitaliy Klytschko, the veterans of aviation and space, teachers and students of "KPI". Guests viewed the exhibition with great interest, got acquainted with the exhibits.
In their speeches, the guests emphasized the importance of aviation and space exhibition, designed to tell the younger generation about the development of the global and domestic cosmonautics, the role of the main designers, military testers, enterprises of Ukraine in the creation of rocketry and exploration of space.
Pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union V.M. Zholobov expressed his deep gratitude to the leaders of "KPI" for the museum area, for careful working with unique exhibits that are now here in "KPI". He said, "... I feel a sense of great joy and pride when I see veterans of Kapustyn Yar, where I began military service, veterans of Baikonur, which in 1976 prepared my spaceship for flight, familiar instruments, apparatus, which had to work during the preparation and during space flight. Now, space exploration is carried out by a new, more advanced technology, but these items will remind the younger generation, where and how their parents and grandparents had to start from... "
With the opening of the museum various round tables began to work. They were devoted to historic dates in space, scientific readings devoted to outstanding designers of rocketry such as S. Korolyov, M.K.Yanhel, V.P.Hlushko, V.M. Chelomey, H.Ye. Lozyno-Lozinsky and many others.
We found many scientists and engineers in KPI, who participated in the development and creation of various aviation and space systems. The department included unique exhibits from the USA, China, Japan, the first nano-satellite of "KPI" "PolyITAN-1," personal belongings of astronaut O.A. Leonov who for the first time in the world came out to the open space.
The stands presented photos and diagrams that acquaint visitors with the pioneers of theoretical astronautics: K. Tsiolkovsky, A.F. Tsander, Yu.V.Kondratyuk, etc., tell visitors about the Moscow group studying the missile movement, Leningrad gas dynamic laboratory, Rocket Research Institute, the first missile launches from Kapustyn Yar, the launch of the first artificial satellite and the first manned flight into space. A separate section is devoted to research of the Moon and planets. Other international space programs are also presented – flights by ships "Soyuz" to orbital stations "Salyut", "Myr" and the ICC, the joint flight of ships "Soyuz" and "Apollo," the international program "Vega" for researching Venus and Halley's comet.
The date of May 14, 2008, we consider to be the third birth of our museum and now - the Department of Aviation and Cosmonautics of I.I. Sikorskyy at NTUU "KPI", which became the center of study of the history of aviation and space. A visit to the museum is included to the studying at the university for students. The fame of the Polytechnic Museum, its Department of History of Cosmonautics and Aviation spreaded far beyond Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.
For 25 years more than 250 thousand of visitors, over 350 delegations from foreign countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, the USA, China, France, Italy, India, Vietnam, South Korea, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, Tajikistan, Slovakia, Israel, Norway, Germany, Argentina and others) have visited the museum (department). The museum was visited by astronauts O.A. Leonov, H.M. Hrechko, V.O. Dzhanibekov, S.Ye.Savytska, V.M. Zholobov, L.K. Kadenyuk, Yu.I. Onufriyenko.
On behalf of all veterans of Baikonur, Kapustyn Yar and Plesetsk I want to express deep gratitude to all those who participated in the creation of the Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, generals O.M.Voytenko, V.I.Katayev, A.P.Zavalishyn, Colonels B.G. Lapidus, M.Yu.Temper, Lieutenant Colonels A.H.Dormidontov, O.P.Pruss, A.I.Stehniy, N.P.Kyrylov.
I want to express special gratitude to the rector of NTUU "KPI" M.Z. Zgurovsky, vice-rector M.Yu.Ilchenko, N.V.Pysarevska, managers and employees of all departments for their active participation in the creation of the exhibition in "KPI".
And I invite our readers to the museum. Come to the Department, touch the Space and thank those who have pioneered space.