3 May is celebrated worldwide as International Astronomy Day.
The mysterious light from the stars has always attracted people. But there are heroes who succeeded in blazing trails from the Erath to unearthly stars and planets. For more detailed information about these people you can read the book “Otsyuda dorogi k planetam legli” (= “Here They Blazed Trails into Space”) by Aleksandr Romanov and Ivan Borisenko. It tells the story of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, its significance in space exploration and opening up new horizons.
The project of the Cosmodrome was confirmed by the chief of the general staff on 2 May 1955. The official foundation date, however, is considered to be 2 June of the same year. Nevertheless, the year 2025 marks Baikonur’s 70th anniversary.
12 April 1961, a date known all over the world, was the day when a crewed spaceflight lifted off from a test site for the first time in human history. The launch site was nicknamed Gagarin's Start in honour of Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut who made this flight. The book “Pervoprohodtsy Vselennoj: Zemlya – kosmos – Zemlya” (= “Explorers of the Universe: Earth to Space to Earth”) by Sergej Belotserkovskij gives a thorough analysis of the conditions under which the Soviet space program began and developed.
The first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, was launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 16 June 1963. And on 18 March 1965 Alexei Leonov, the pilot of Voskhod 2, became the first person to conduct a spacewalk. The subject of rocket engineering and space exploration is covered in Svyatoslav Slavin’s book, “Tajny voyennoj kosmonavtiki” (= “Secrets of Military Space Technology”). Here the author traces the history of domestic cosmonautics’ and foreign astronautics’ coming into being.
All this could not have happened without Sergei Korolev, a talented engineer who had devoted his life to designing rockets and spacecrafts. Korolev became a pioneer, the founding father of practical cosmonautics. The book “Sergei Korolev” by Anastasiya Kal'yan and Lidiya Atlanova will help you to get acquainted with the engineer’s biography.
The Ural Federal University Library collection includes these and other editions devoted to the topic. To check the availability of books in circulation desks and information centres address the library catalogue.
Text by: Nellie Kuzmina
Translation by: Valery Beklemysheva
Translation by: Valery Beklemysheva