Starting conditions: legends and facts about Baikonur

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The official birthday of the Baikonur cosmodrome is considered June 2, 1955, when the organizational and staff structure of the Fifth Research Test Site was approved by the General Staff's directive and its headquarters - military unit 11284 - was created. Colonel Georgy Shubnikov, an outstanding military engineer, was appointed head of construction. Today, the once top secret facility is thus celebrating its 65th anniversary. Izvestia recalls its history.

Steppe all around

The place for the construction was chosen for a long time and meticulously. This was done by a variety of authorities - both scientific and military. And, of course, industry leaders who were to be responsible for the construction of a unique facility. Party leaders also intervened in the discussion. Different proposals arose: they talked about the western coast of the Caspian Sea, and about the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and about the Astrakhan Region.

But the Kazakh steppe in the vicinity of the modest railway station Tyuratam turned out to be the best choice. Firstly, there were almost no large settlements there. Desertion is the most important factor, and the station was located practically in the desert. Eight houses for railway workers - no more.

This made it possible to build on a grand scale: ground points for the delivery of radio commands for missiles were located at a distance of 150 to 500 km from the range. Huge lands were given to missilemen, scientists and the military. In the desert steppe, noisy special buildings did not bother anyone to live.

Secondly, the Moscow-Tashkent railway was at hand, and it was easy to build the necessary new branches from it. Thirdly, there was also a river route along the navigable Syrdarya river, which was optimal for heavy cargoes, which are inevitable with such construction.

Scientists have noted two more factors: the large number of sunny days per year and the relative proximity to the equator. The linear speed of rotation of the Earth at the latitude of Baikonur is 316 m / s - this is a noticeable help for rocket scientists.

But the Soviet authorities did not dare to openly declare the true construction site. And even in business correspondence, only conventional names were used. Moreover, the KGB received information about the special interest of foreign agents in the new facility. Some of them even had a story captured in a couplet of satirists Pavel Rudakov and Veniamin Nechaev, popular in those years:

Something like that happened. Moreover, the surveillance of the movements of suspicious persons was carried out already within a radius of 300 km from the object.

Polygon alias

First of all, Baikonur is a conditional name. Construction began, as we already know, in the area of the Tyuratam railway station. Young scientists sang to the guitar: "Tyuratam, Tyuratam, here is freedom for donkeys."

The "pseudonym" of the future landfill was the name of the allegedly neighboring village - Baikonur, which in Kazakh means "rich valley". In fact, the ancient Kazakh steppe settlement Baikonur is located hundreds of kilometers from the cosmodrome. So they wanted to confuse American intelligence. There were other variants of the name for all occasions - Tyuratam, Tashkent-90, Kyzylorda-50, Polygon No. 5, could give the name to the entire complex and the Krainy airfield still operating … But all this does not sound as romantic as Baikonur.

1970-01-05 Soyuz-9 spacecraft in the assembly and test building. Cosmodrome "Baikonur". Pushkarev / RIA Novosti

But in general, in 1955, the name was not given serious importance: few people foresaw that the era of peaceful space exploration would begin very soon - and the Soviet press would report on this quite openly every day. Then the whole world will recognize the word "Baikonur" - the name of the world's first cosmodrome.

In addition, this name is resounding, exotic, rolling, it would be quite suitable for a science fiction novel about space. And what happened at the launch sites of Turatam in 1957-1961 most of all resembled a science fiction novel.

The Americans, of course, "spotted" such a large-scale construction of a clearly military purpose. But until the 1960s, despite the efforts of intelligence, they knew little about Baikonur.

Kapustin Yar

The first serious launches of Soviet missiles were carried out in the early 1950s at the Kapustin Yar test site in the Astrakhan region. These were suborbital secret flights to an altitude of 101 km. It was from there that two heroic dogs, Gypsy and Dezik, set off on a flight aboard the R-1B rocket. On July 22, 1951, they were the first in the world to ascend to space height and returned alive.

Founding Fathers

Korolev, Glushko, Shubnikov … We rightly remember each of them on the jubilee days of the cosmodrome. But Baikonur had more founding fathers.

The main rocket "radio operator" was Mikhail Sergeevich Ryazansky, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He was responsible for the flawless operation of contact points remote from the launch pad. Once he participated in the development of the first Soviet radar, then he began to create radio communication equipment for missiles. The scientist's grandson, Sergei Ryazansky, became an astronaut himself. Its first space flight took place in 2013.

The outstanding "Bauman" academician Vladimir Pavlovich Barmin was engaged in the development of unique launching complexes for rockets. In the first years after college, in the early 1930s, he did not even think about space. Largely thanks to his developments, household refrigerators and huge industrial refrigerators appeared in the USSR. He also created a refrigeration unit for the Lenin Mausoleum. But the war began, and the talented designer began work on launchers for military rockets.

After the war, when the Soviet missile industry was being created, the Barmin design bureau was developing the launch, handling, refueling and auxiliary ground equipment for missile systems.

Completed work on the launch site for the world's first intercontinental missile surprisingly quickly - by 1957. They said about Barmin that he had never raised his voice to anyone in his life. But it was he - one of the few designers - who more than once managed to "out-debate" Korolev. For example, it was Barmin who proposed to keep the rocket in the "hanging position" at the start. Korolev did not like the decision. But experiments proved that it was optimal. The largest facilities in Turatam were built under the leadership of Barmin. No wonder it was he who was called the father of the cosmodrome. Of course, in the modern city of Baikonur there is a street of academician Barmin.

From Kamchatka to space

The first rocket was launched from the Baikonur launch site on May 15, 1957. It was the famous "seven" designed by Sergei Korolev. True, her controlled flight lasted only 98 seconds. Further - a fire in one of the side compartments and an accident. But the starting system of the new training ground has shown itself well. Then there were two more not very successful starts.

A truly flawless rocket launch from Baikonur took place only on August 21: on that day, the rocket delivered ammunition from the test site to Kamchatka.

1957-01-11 Visitors at the copy of the first artificial Earth satellite launched in the USSR on October 4, 1957. Pavilion "Science" at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow. Jacob Berliner / RIA Novosti

Just two months after the debut successful launch, our magnificent "seven" was the first in the world to break into space. This happened on October 4, 1957, when an artificial Earth satellite, PS-1, was launched. So Baikonur became the first cosmodrome on our planet. Almost all the successes of Soviet and Russian cosmonautics are associated with it.

Legends of Baikonur

Some unshakable traditions, born in Kapustin Yar, have been established at Baikonur. When the very first R-7 missile was transported to the launch site by rail, chief designer Sergei Korolev and his associates walked ahead of her on the rails all the way.

Before the next launches, the main one always, on foot, accompanied the rocket at least part of the way. This tradition has survived to our time, although it has changed slightly. In recent years, the rocket has been escorted to the launch complex by the officers of the launch crew, led by the “firing squad” - the one who turns the key “to the start”.

Secrecy, security, the KGB … But, as Georgy Mikhailovich Grechko said - not only an astronaut, but also a researcher, an old-timer of Baikonur, who had worked there since 1955 - there was a bike among the cosmonauts that once before a flight to Baikonur … a spacesuit was stolen. Scandal! As a result, we had to postpone the start and urgently bring a spare from Moscow. Grechko commented on this story as follows:

“A bike far from reality. No one has ever stolen spacesuits. This is simply impossible, because they are transported with great care, so as not to be damaged, they literally tremble over them! What kind of thieves are there … Or just a flight suit could have been stolen - it's like a woolen ski suit, an ordinary training one. These were prepared for every cosmonaut. This suit could well have been pulled off. And even at Baikonur"

Cosmonauts fell in love with Baikonur, despite the harsh local climate. For them and for the researchers in the vicinity of the cosmodrome, the city of Leninsk was built - with hotels and sanatoriums. Since 1993, it has been officially called Baikonur. However, unofficially it was called that from the very beginning.

Grechko recalled:

“After the flights, we came to our senses at the Cosmonaut Hotel. I wanted to go home, to my families, but here there are steppes, deserts … But one day a soldier came to the head of the cosmodrome, who very professionally proved that with the help of bulldozers and dump trucks it is possible to create a real lake in the Baikonur region. The boss quickly organized everything, and a beautiful lake with an island really emerged. A bridge led to the island, a gazebo was built next to it. The cosmonauts' rest has become more fun. We all loved to come to the lake, walk, fish. Then the accounting department reported on annual expenses. And the cost of the lake, of course, was not included in the original estimate! But what I love most about this story is his reaction to the reprimand. He said: "The reprimand will be removed, but the lake will remain."

Yes, they loved to fish. One day Grechko returned from fishing with a colossal catfish. He weighed almost 22 kg, and was not inferior in length to a small human height. The Baikonur garrison fell into admiration and envy! Georgy Mikhailovich talked in a businesslike manner about how he pulled this hero, how he cut his hands with a fishing line …

Grechko, together with Anatoly Filipchenko, were at that time understudies for Andriyan Nikolaev and Vitaly Sevastyanov. First, Grechko and Filipchenko were photographed with the catfish. But this is for myself, as a keepsake. After all, understudies were always kept secret, it was not accepted to show them to the “general public”. Therefore, for the press, Nikolaev and Sevastyanov posed with a huge fish.

And so it began … Some newspapers wrote that the catfish was caught by Nikolaev, others - that Sevastyanov. And Grechko only laughed: “In fact, even I didn’t catch him! The catfish was given to me by the soldiers, who picked it up in shallow water with a file. I was just kidding the guys. This fish remains a legend of Baikonur to this day, because extraordinary people, real aces of astronautics, were involved in this drawing.

The best in the world

The rapid construction of such complex structures in the wild steppe aroused respect for the country, which, just 10 years earlier, had won the most destructive war in the history of mankind. The devastation had not yet been completely overcome, the national economy had been restored, and at Baikonur, day after day, "fantasy in drawings" was turning into reality.

The Soviet Union finally became a superpower, because intercontinental missiles made it possible to hit targets in the "territory of a potential enemy." Soon, American reconnaissance planes stopped circling over the USSR: they began to respect and fear the country. And then space flights added fame and prestige.

Baikonur is still the best and largest cosmodrome in the world today. Over 65 years, more than 1,500 launches have taken place. The total area of the cosmodrome is more than 6 thousand square meters. km. Today Russia leases a cosmodrome from Kazakhstan. Flights and tests of new technology continue, the legend continues.

author- Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the "Historian" magazine