Space exploration and exploration. The child is interested in space: what to show him. Why is it necessary to conquer space by man?

September 1967 was marked by the proclamation by the International Astronautical Federation of October 4 as the world day of the beginning of the space age of mankind. It was on October 4, 1957 that a small ball with four antennas tore apart the near-Earth space and marked the beginning of the space age, ushering in the golden age of astronautics. How it was, how space exploration took place, what the first satellites, animals and people in space were like - this article will tell you about all this.

Chronology of events

To begin with, we will give a brief description of the chronology of events that are in one way or another connected with the beginning of the space age.

Dreamers from the distant past

As long as humanity has existed, it has been attracted by the stars. Let's look for the origins of astronautics and the beginning of the space age in ancient tomes and give just a few examples of amazing facts and insightful predictions. In the ancient Indian epic "Bhagavad Gita" (circa 15th centuries BC), an entire chapter is devoted to instructions for flying to the moon. Clay tablets from the library of the Assyrian ruler Assurbanipal (3200 BC) tell the story of King Etan, who flew to a height from which the Earth looked like “bread in a basket.” The inhabitants of Atlantis left the Earth, flying to other planets. And the Bible tells about the flight on the fiery chariot of the prophet Elijah. But in 1500 AD, the inventor Wang Gu from Ancient China could have become the first astronaut if he had not died. He made a flying machine from kites. Which was supposed to take off when 4 powder rockets were set on fire. Since the 17th century, Europe has been delirious about flights to the Moon: first Johannes Kepler and Cyrano de Bergerac, and later Jules Verne with his idea of cannon flight.

Kibalchich, Hanswind and Tsiolkovsky

In 1881, in solitary confinement at the Peter and Paul Fortress, awaiting execution for the assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II, N.I. Kibalchich (1853-1881) drew a jet space platform. The idea of his project is to create jet propulsion using burning substances. His project was discovered in the archives of the Tsarist secret police only in 1917. At the same time, the German scientist G. Hanswied is creating his own spacecraft, where thrust is provided by flying bullets. And in 1883, the Russian physicist K. E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) described a ship with a jet engine, which was embodied in 1903 in the design of a liquid rocket. It is Tsiolkovsky who is considered to be the father of Russian cosmonautics, whose works already in the 20s of the last century received wide recognition from the world community.

Just a satellite

The artificial satellite, which marked the beginning of the space age, was launched by the Soviet Union from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on October 4, 1957. An aluminum sphere weighing 83.5 kilograms and a diameter of 58 centimeters, with four bayonet antennas and equipment inside, soared to a perigee altitude of 228 kilometers and an apogee height of 947 kilometers. They simply called it Sputnik 1. Such a simple device was a tribute to the Cold War with the United States, which was developing similar programs. America with their satellite Explorer 1 (launched on February 1, 1958) was almost six months behind us. The Soviets, who launched an artificial satellite first, won the race. A victory that was no longer conceded, because the time had come for the first cosmonauts.

Dogs, cats and monkeys

The beginning of the space age in the USSR began with the first orbital flights of rootless tailed cosmonauts. The Soviets chose dogs as astronauts. America - monkeys, and France - cats. Immediately after Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2 flew into space with the most unfortunate dog on board - the mongrel Laika. It was November 3, 1957, and the return of Sergei Korolev’s favorite Laika was not planned. The well-known Belka and Strelka, with their triumphant flight and return to Earth on August 19, 1960, were not the first and far from the last. France launched the cat Felicette into space (October 18, 1963), and the United States, after the rhesus monkey (September 1961), sent the chimpanzee Ham (January 31, 1961), who became a national hero, to explore space.

Human conquest of space

And here the Soviet Union was first. On April 12, 1961, near the village of Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), the R-7 launch vehicle with the Vostok-1 spacecraft took off into the sky. In it, Air Force Major Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin went on his first space flight. At a perigee altitude of 181 km and an apogee of 327 km, it flew around the Earth and, 108 minutes into the flight, landed in the vicinity of the village of Smelovka (Saratov region). The world was blown up by this event - agrarian and bastard Russia overtook the high-tech States, and Gagarin's "Let's go!" has become an anthem for space fans. It was an event of planetary scale and incredible significance for all humanity. Here America lagged behind the Union by a month - on May 5, 1961, the Redstone launch vehicle with the Mercury-3 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral launched the American astronaut Captain 3rd Rank of the Air Force Alan Shepard into orbit.

During a space flight on March 18, 1965, the co-pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Leonov (the first pilot was Colonel Pavel Belyaev), went into outer space and stayed there for 20 minutes, moving away from the ship at a distance of up to five meters. He confirmed that a person can be and work in outer space. In June, American astronaut Edward White spent just a minute longer in outer space and proved the possibility of performing maneuvers in outer space using a hand-held gun powered by compressed gas, similar to a jet. The beginning of the space age of man in outer space has come to an end.

First human casualties

Space has given us many discoveries and heroes. However, the beginning of the space age was also marked by sacrifices. The first Americans to die were Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967. The Apollo 1 spacecraft burned down in 15 seconds due to an internal fire. The first Soviet cosmonaut to die was Vladimir Komarov. On October 23, 1967, he successfully deorbited on the Soyuz-1 spacecraft after an orbital flight. But the main parachute of the descent capsule did not open, and it crashed into the ground at a speed of 200 km/h and completely burned out.

Apollo Lunar Program

On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin felt the surface of the Moon under their feet. Thus ended the flight of the Apollo 11 spacecraft with the Eagle lunar module on board. America did take over the leadership in space exploration from the Soviet Union. And although later there were many publications about the falsification of the fact of the American landing on the Moon, today everyone knows Neil Armstrong as the first person to set foot on its surface.

Salyut orbital stations

The Soviets were also the first to launch orbital stations - spacecraft for long-term stays of astronauts. Salyut is a series of manned stations, the first of which was launched into orbit on April 19, 1971. In total, in this project, 14 space objects were launched into orbit under the military program “Almaz” and the civil program “Long-term orbital station”. Including the Mir station (Salyut-8), which was in orbit from 1986 to 2001 (sunk in the spaceship cemetery in the Pacific Ocean on March 23, 2001).

First international space station

The ISS has a complex history of creation. It began as the American Freedom project (1984), became the joint Mir-Shuttle project in 1992, and today is an international project with 14 participating countries. The first module of the ISS was launched into orbit by the Proton-K launch vehicle on November 20, 1998. Subsequently, the participating countries brought out other connecting blocks, and today the station weighs about 400 tons. It was planned to operate the station until 2014, but the project has been extended. And it is jointly managed by four agencies - the Space Flight Control Center (Korolev, Russia), the Flight Control Center named after. L. Johnson (Houston, USA), European Space Agency Control Center (Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany) and Aerospace Exploration Agency (Tsukuba, Japan). There is a crew of 6 astronauts at the station. The station program provides for the constant presence of people. According to this indicator, it has already broken the record of the Mir station (3664 days of continuous stay). The power supply is completely autonomous - solar panels weigh almost 276 kilograms, power up to 90 kilowatts. The station contains laboratories, greenhouses and living quarters (five bedrooms), a gymnasium and bathrooms.

A few facts about the ISS

The International Space Station is currently the most expensive project in the world. More than $157 billion has already been spent on it. The station's orbital speed is 27.7 thousand km/h, with a weight of more than 41 tons. Cosmonauts observe sunrise and sunset at the station every 45 minutes. In 2008, the “Disc of Immortality” was delivered aboard the station, a device containing digitized DNA of outstanding representatives of humanity. The purpose of this collection is to preserve human DNA in the event of a global catastrophe. In the laboratories of the space station, quails are born and flowers bloom. And viable bacterial spores were found on its skin, which makes us think about the possible expansion of space.

Commercialization of space

Humanity can no longer imagine itself without space. In addition to all the advantages of practical space exploration, the commercial component is also developing. Since 2005, construction of private spaceports has been underway in the USA (Mojave), UAE (Ras Alm Khaimah) and Singapore. Virgin Galactic Corporation (USA) is planning space cruises for seven thousand tourists at an affordable price of 200 thousand dollars. And the famous space businessman Robert Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain, announced the project of the first orbital Skywalker hotel. For $35 billion, Space Adventures (a partner of Roscosmos Corporation) will take you on a space journey for up to 10 days tomorrow. By paying another 3 billion, you will be able to go into outer space. The company has already organized tours for seven tourists, one of them is the head of the Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte. The same company is preparing a new tourism product for 2018 - a trip to the moon.

Dreams and fantasies became reality. Once overcoming gravity, humanity is no longer able to stop in its quest for stars, galaxies and universes. I would like to believe that we will not get too carried away, and that we will continue to be surprised and delighted by the myriads of stars in the night sky. All as mysterious, alluring and fantastic as in the first days of creation.

The history of space exploration is the most striking example of the triumph of the human mind over rebellious matter in the shortest possible time. From the moment a man-made object first overcame Earth's gravity and developed sufficient speed to enter Earth's orbit, only a little over fifty years have passed - nothing by the standards of history! Most of the planet's population vividly remembers the times when a flight to the moon was considered something out of science fiction, and those who dreamed of piercing the heavenly heights were considered, at best, crazy people not dangerous to society. Today, spaceships not only “travel the vast expanse”, successfully maneuvering in conditions of minimal gravity, but also deliver cargo, astronauts and space tourists into Earth orbit. Moreover, the duration of a space flight can now be as long as desired: the shift of Russian cosmonauts on the ISS, for example, lasts 6-7 months. And over the past half century, man has managed to walk on the Moon and photograph its dark side, blessed Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury with artificial satellites, “recognized by sight” distant nebulae with the help of the Hubble telescope, and is seriously thinking about colonizing Mars. And although we have not yet succeeded in making contact with aliens and angels (at least officially), let us not despair - after all, everything is just beginning!

Dreams of space and attempts at writing

For the first time, progressive humanity believed in the reality of flight to distant worlds at the end of the 19th century. It was then that it became clear that if the aircraft was given the speed necessary to overcome gravity and maintained it for a sufficient time, it would be able to go beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and gain a foothold in orbit, like the Moon, revolving around the Earth. The problem was in the engines. The existing specimens at that time either spat extremely powerfully but briefly with bursts of energy, or worked on the principle of “gasp, groan and go away little by little.” The first was more suitable for bombs, the second - for carts. In addition, it was impossible to regulate the thrust vector and thereby influence the trajectory of the apparatus: a vertical launch inevitably led to its rounding, and as a result the body fell to the ground, never reaching space; the horizontal one, with such a release of energy, threatened to destroy all living things around (as if the current ballistic missile were launched flat). Finally, at the beginning of the 20th century, researchers turned their attention to a rocket engine, the operating principle of which has been known to mankind since the turn of our era: fuel burns in the rocket body, simultaneously lightening its mass, and the released energy moves the rocket forward. The first rocket capable of launching an object beyond the limits of gravity was designed by Tsiolkovsky in 1903.

First artificial satellite

Time passed, and although two world wars greatly slowed down the process of creating rockets for peaceful use, space progress still did not stand still. The key moment of the post-war period was the adoption of the so-called package rocket layout, which is still used in astronautics today. Its essence is the simultaneous use of several rockets placed symmetrically with respect to the center of mass of the body that needs to be launched into Earth orbit. This provides a powerful, stable and uniform thrust, sufficient for the object to move at a constant speed of 7.9 km/s, necessary to overcome gravity. And so on October 4, 1957, a new, or rather the first, era in space exploration began - the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, simply called “Sputnik-1”, like everything ingenious, using the R-7 rocket, designed under the leadership of Sergei Korolev. The silhouette of the R-7, the ancestor of all subsequent space rockets, is still recognizable today in the ultra-modern Soyuz launch vehicle, which successfully sends “trucks” and “cars” into orbit with cosmonauts and tourists on board - the same four “legs” of the package design and red nozzles. The first satellite was microscopic, just over half a meter in diameter and weighed only 83 kg. It completed a full revolution around the Earth in 96 minutes. The “star life” of the iron pioneer of astronautics lasted three months, but during this period he covered a fantastic path of 60 million km!

The first living creatures in orbit

The success of the first launch inspired the designers, and the prospect of sending a living creature into space and returning it unharmed no longer seemed impossible. Just a month after the launch of Sputnik 1, the first animal, the dog Laika, went into orbit on board the second artificial Earth satellite. Her goal was honorable, but sad - to test the survival of living beings in space flight conditions. Moreover, the return of the dog was not planned... The launch and insertion of the satellite into orbit was successful, but after four orbits around the Earth, due to an error in the calculations, the temperature inside the device rose excessively, and Laika died. The satellite itself rotated in space for another 5 months, and then lost speed and burned up in dense layers of the atmosphere. The first shaggy cosmonauts to greet their “senders” with a joyful bark upon their return were the textbook Belka and Strelka, who set off to conquer the heavens on the fifth satellite in August 1960. Their flight lasted just over a day, and during this time the dogs managed to fly around the planet 17 times. All this time, they were watched from monitor screens in the Mission Control Center - by the way, it was precisely because of the contrast that white dogs were chosen - because the image was then black and white. As a result of the launch, the spacecraft itself was also finalized and finally approved - in just 8 months, the first person will go into space in a similar apparatus.

In addition to dogs, both before and after 1961, monkeys (macaques, squirrel monkeys and chimpanzees), cats, turtles, as well as all sorts of little things - flies, beetles, etc., were in space.

During the same period, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite of the Sun, the Luna-2 station managed to softly land on the surface of the planet, and the first photographs of the side of the Moon invisible from Earth were obtained.

The day of April 12, 1961 divided the history of the exploration of space into two periods - “when man dreamed of the stars” and “since man conquered space.”

Man in space

The day of April 12, 1961 divided the history of the exploration of space into two periods - “when man dreamed of the stars” and “since man conquered space.” At 9:07 Moscow time, the Vostok-1 spacecraft with the world's first cosmonaut on board, Yuri Gagarin, was launched from launch pad No. 1 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Having made one revolution around the Earth and traveled 41 thousand km, 90 minutes after the start, Gagarin landed near Saratov, becoming for many years the most famous, revered and beloved person on the planet. His “let’s go!” and “everything is visible very clearly - space is black - the earth is blue” were included in the list of the most famous phrases of humanity, his open smile, ease and cordiality melted the hearts of people around the world. The first manned flight into space was controlled from Earth; Gagarin himself was more of a passenger, albeit an excellently prepared one. It should be noted that the flight conditions were far from those that are now offered to space tourists: Gagarin experienced eight to tenfold overloads, there was a period when the ship was literally tumbling, and behind the windows the skin was burning and the metal was melting. During the flight, several failures occurred in various systems of the ship, but fortunately, the astronaut was not injured.

Following Gagarin's flight, significant milestones in the history of space exploration fell one after another: the world's first group space flight was completed, then the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova went into space (1963), the first multi-seat spacecraft flew, Alexey Leonov became the first a man who performed a spacewalk (1965) - and all these grandiose events are entirely the merit of the Russian cosmonautics. Finally, on July 21, 1969, the first man landed on the Moon: American Neil Armstrong took that “small, big step.”

Cosmonautics - today, tomorrow and always

Today, space travel is taken for granted. Hundreds of satellites and thousands of other necessary and useless objects fly above us, seconds before sunrise from the bedroom window you can see the planes of the solar panels of the International Space Station flashing in rays still invisible from the ground, space tourists with enviable regularity set off to “surf the open spaces” (thereby embodying the ironic phrase “if you really want to, you can fly into space”) and the era of commercial suborbital flights with almost two departures daily is about to begin. The exploration of space by controlled vehicles is absolutely amazing: there are pictures of stars that exploded long ago, and HD images of distant galaxies, and strong evidence of the possibility of the existence of life on other planets. Billionaire corporations are already coordinating plans to build space hotels in Earth’s orbit, and projects for the colonization of our neighboring planets no longer seem like an excerpt from the novels of Asimov or Clark. One thing is obvious: once having overcome earth's gravity, humanity will again and again strive upward, to the endless worlds of stars, galaxies and universes. I would only like to wish that the beauty of the night sky and myriads of twinkling stars, still alluring, mysterious and beautiful, as in the first days of creation, never leaves us.

And now I suggest you familiarize yourself with the timeline dedicated to the history of space discoveries. (Click on the picture to go to the timeline).

Choose one of the events that seems most interesting to you and prepare a presentation in Google Docs. Leave a link to it in the comments, then we will discuss your work together.

April 12th is celebrated in our country Cosmonautics Day. On this day in 1961, our planet was shocked by unexpected news: “Man in space!” People's dream of flying into space has come true. On an April morning, the first cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin flew into space on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. The flight around the Earth lasted 108 minutes.

The starry sky has always attracted the eyes of people, beckoning with its uncertainty. People dreamed of learning as much as possible about space. Thus began the time of space rockets, satellites, lunar rovers...

Let's tell children about space and astronauts so they have an idea

It’s good if parents read books about space with their children, show pictures, and look at the starry globe. You can play space-themed games with your children, read and learn poems about space, and guess interesting

Telling children about space

Planets and stars

Our Earth is a huge ball on which there are seas, rivers, mountains, deserts and forests. And also people live. Our Earth and everything that surrounds it is called the Universe, or space. In addition to our blue planet, there are others, as well as stars. Stars are huge balls of light. - also a star. It is located close to the Earth, so we see it and feel its heat.

We see stars only at night, and during the day the Sun eclipses them. There are stars even bigger than the sun

In addition to the Earth, there are 8 more planets in the solar system, each planet has its own path, which is called an orbit.

Let's remember the planets:

All planets in order

Any of us can name:

Once - Mercury,

Two - Venus,

Three - Earth,

Four - Mars.

Five - Jupiter

Six - Saturn,

Seven - Uranus,

Behind him is Neptune.

He is the eighth in a row.

And after him, then,

And the ninth planet

Called Pluto.

Jupiter is the largest planet. If you imagine it in the form of a watermelon, then in comparison with it Pluto will look like a pea.

To help children remember all the planets better, read the poem and let them remember it. You can sculpt planets from plasticine, draw them, or cut them out of paper and attach them to a lamp at home, for example.

You can see our space crafts made from plasticine

Children about space

Astronomers

Scientists who observe and study stars are called astronomers.

Previously, people did not know anything about space, about the stars and believed that the sky was a cap that covered the Earth, and the stars were attached to it. Ancient people thought that the Earth was motionless, and the Sun and Moon revolved around it.

Many years later, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus proved that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Newton understood why the planets revolve around the Sun and do not fall. They all fly around the Sun in their own way.

This is how scientists discovered the secrets of space. In the Middle Ages, a telescope was invented, with which scientists observed the stars.

There are still many mysteries in space, so astronomers will have enough work to do for a long time.

Animal astronauts

To find out what a person will have to face in space, scientists sent animals for “reconnaissance”. There were dogs, rabbits, mice, even microbes.

Dogs are smarter animals than mice, but not all dogs were suitable for testing. Purebred dogs are very gentle, they were not suitable for space. The dogs were selected by size, trained with them, accustomed to noise and shaking. Ordinary mongrels came closest.

The first dog, Laika, was sent into space in 1957. She was observed, but she did not return to Earth.

Then Belka and Strelka flew into space. In 1960, on August 19, they were launched into space on the prototype of the Vostok spacecraft. They stayed in space for more than a day and returned safely.

So scientists proved that space flight is possible.

About astronauts for children

An astronaut is a person who tests space technology and works in space. Now there are astronauts in many countries.

The first cosmonaut was Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, he flew into space on the Vostok-1 spacecraft and circled the Earth in 1 hour and 48 minutes. Came back alive and healthy.

Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the village of Klushino, Gzhatsky district, Smolensk region, into an ordinary family of a collective farmer. I grew up as an ordinary child. In his youth, he was interested in classes at the flying club. After college he became a pilot. In 1959, he was enrolled in the group of cosmonaut candidates. And for his first flight into space he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and awarded the Order of Lenin.

Yuri Gagarin will always remain in our memory as the first cosmonaut. Cities, streets, and avenues are named after him. There is a crater on the Moon named after him, as well as a minor planet.

Cosmonauts are courageous people, they train a lot, they must know and be able to do a lot in order to control a spaceship.

The first spacewalk was made by Alexei Leonov in 1965. And the first female cosmonaut was Valentina Tereshkova, who flew into space in 1963. She withstood 48 revolutions around the Earth, spent almost three days in space, and took photographs that were used to study the aerosol layers of the atmosphere.

To fly into space, you need to study a lot and study well, be persistent, patient, and enduring.

Moon

Children always look at the Moon in the sky with interest. It is so different: sometimes it is sickle-shaped, sometimes it is large and round.

The child will be interested to know what is on the Moon. You can say that the Moon is covered with crater craters that arise due to collisions with asteroids. If you look at the Moon through binoculars, you can see the unevenness of its relief.

Stargazing with kids

You should watch the starry sky with your children. Take the time to go outside in the evening and admire the stars. Show your child some constellations, try to find the Big Dipper together. Tell us that ancient people peered into the night sky, mentally connected the stars, drew animals, people, objects, and mythological heroes. Find a star chart and show your child what the constellations look like, and then together find them in the sky. This develops observation and memory.

In general, it would be great to take your child to a planetarium if you have one in your city. The child will learn a lot of interesting things from the story about stars and planets.

We don’t have a planetarium in the city, you just need to go to another city.

The space theme contains a lot of ideas for drawings and crafts. You can draw, sculpt astronauts, aliens, the Moon. Come up with new names for stars and planets. In general, use your imagination, the theme of space is limitless and interesting for children.

Here are Yulina's drawings on a space theme.

Games on the theme "Space" for children

You can play games with children. I suggest some games that you can play.

Game "What will we take with us into space."

Lay out the drawings in front of the children and ask them to choose what they can take with them on the spaceship. These can be the following pictures: a book, a notebook, a spacesuit, an apple, candy, a tube of semolina, an alarm clock, a sausage.

Game "Space Dictionary" will help children expand their vocabulary with words related to the theme of space. You can play with several children and arrange a competition to see who can name the most words related to space. For example: satellite, rocket, alien, planets, Moon, Earth, astronaut, spacesuit, etc.

Game "Say the opposite".

Teach children to choose words with opposite meanings. Yulia and I played these games, she was pretty good at naming antonyms correctly.

Distant -…

cramped -…

big -…

get up -…

fly away -...

high -…

famous -…

include -…

dark -…

Tell your children about space, astronauts, learn the names of the planets, look at the starry sky. Let the child grow up curious, and what if he also later becomes a scientist or astronaut and you will be proud of him.

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Dreams of space and attempts at writing

View of Earth from the ISS

First artificial satellite

The first living creatures in orbit

In addition to dogs, both before and after 1961, monkeys (macaques, squirrel monkeys and chimpanzees), cats, turtles, as well as all sorts of little things - flies, beetles, etc., were in space.

The day of April 12, 1961 divided the history of the exploration of space into two periods - “when man dreamed of the stars” and “since man conquered space.”

Man in space

Best View in the Solar System

Cosmonautics - today, tomorrow and always

Space reveals its secrets

Academician Blagonravov dwelled on some new achievements of Soviet science: in the field of space physics.

Beginning on January 2, 1959, each flight of Soviet space rockets conducted a study of radiation at large distances from the Earth. The so-called outer radiation belt of the Earth, discovered by Soviet scientists, was subjected to detailed study. Studying the composition of particles in radiation belts using various scintillation and gas-discharge counters located on satellites and space rockets made it possible to establish that the outer belt contains electrons of significant energies up to a million electron volts and even higher. When braking in the shells of spacecraft, they create intense piercing X-ray radiation. During the flight of the automatic interplanetary station towards Venus, the average energy of this X-ray radiation was determined at distances from 30 to 40 thousand kilometers from the center of the Earth, amounting to about 130 kiloelectronvolts. This value changed little with the distance, which allows one to judge that the energy spectrum of electrons in this region is constant.

Already the first studies showed the instability of the outer radiation belt, movements of maximum intensity associated with magnetic storms caused by solar corpuscular flows. Recent measurements from an automatic interplanetary station launched towards Venus have shown that although changes in intensity occur closer to Earth, the outer boundary of the outer belt, in a quiet state of the magnetic field, remained constant for almost two years both in intensity and spatial location. Research in recent years has also made it possible to construct a model of the Earth's ionized gas shell based on experimental data for a period close to the maximum solar activity. Our studies have shown that at altitudes of less than a thousand kilometers, the main role is played by atomic oxygen ions, and starting from altitudes lying between one and two thousand kilometers, hydrogen ions predominate in the ionosphere. The extent of the outermost region of the Earth's ionized gas shell, the so-called hydrogen “corona,” is very large.

Processing of the results of measurements carried out on the first Soviet space rockets showed that at altitudes of approximately 50 to 75 thousand kilometers outside the outer radiation belt, electron flows with energies exceeding 200 electron volts were detected. This allowed us to assume the existence of a third outermost belt of charged particles with a high flux intensity, but lower energy. After the launch of the American Pioneer V space rocket in March 1960, data were obtained that confirmed our assumptions about the existence of a third belt of charged particles. This belt is apparently formed as a result of the penetration of solar corpuscular flows into the peripheral regions of the Earth's magnetic field.

New data were obtained regarding the spatial location of the Earth's radiation belts, and an area of increased radiation was discovered in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, which is associated with a corresponding terrestrial magnetic anomaly. In this area, the lower boundary of the Earth's internal radiation belt drops to 250 - 300 kilometers from the Earth's surface.

The flights of the second and third satellites provided new information that made it possible to map the distribution of radiation by ion intensity over the surface of the globe. (The speaker demonstrates this map to the audience).

For the first time, currents created by positive ions included in solar corpuscular radiation were recorded outside the Earth's magnetic field at distances of the order of hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the Earth, using three-electrode charged particle traps installed on Soviet space rockets. In particular, on the automatic interplanetary station launched towards Venus, traps were installed oriented towards the Sun, one of which was intended to record solar corpuscular radiation. On February 17, during a communication session with the automatic interplanetary station, its passage through a significant flow of corpuscles (with a density of about 10 9 particles per square centimeter per second) was recorded. This observation coincided with the observation of a magnetic storm. Such experiments open the way to establishing quantitative relationships between geomagnetic disturbances and the intensity of solar corpuscular flows. On the second and third satellites, the radiation hazard caused by cosmic radiation outside the Earth's atmosphere was studied in quantitative terms. The same satellites were used to study the chemical composition of primary cosmic radiation. The new equipment installed on the satellite ships included a photoemulsion device designed to expose and develop stacks of thick-film emulsions directly on board the ship. The results obtained are of great scientific value for elucidating the biological influence of cosmic radiation.

Flight technical problems

Next, the speaker focused on a number of significant problems that ensured the organization of human flight into space. First of all, it was necessary to resolve the issue of methods for launching a heavy ship into orbit, for which it was necessary to have powerful rocket technology. We have created such a technique. However, it was not enough to inform the ship of a speed exceeding the first cosmic speed. High precision of launching the ship into a pre-calculated orbit was also necessary.

It should be borne in mind that the requirements for the accuracy of orbital movement will increase in the future. This will require movement correction using special propulsion systems. Related to the problem of trajectory correction is the problem of maneuvering a directional change in the flight trajectory of a spacecraft. Maneuvers can be carried out with the help of impulses transmitted by a jet engine in individual specially selected sections of trajectories, or with the help of thrust that lasts for a long time, for the creation of which electric jet engines (ion, plasma) are used.

Examples of maneuvers include transition to a higher orbit, transition to an orbit entering the dense layers of the atmosphere for braking and landing in a given area. The latter type of maneuver was used when landing Soviet satellite ships with dogs on board and when landing the Vostok satellite.

To carry out a maneuver, perform a number of measurements and for other purposes, it is necessary to ensure stabilization of the satellite ship and its orientation in space, maintained for a certain period of time or changed according to a given program.

Turning to the problem of returning to Earth, the speaker focused on the following issues: speed deceleration, protection from heating when moving in dense layers of the atmosphere, ensuring landing in a given area.

The braking of the spacecraft, necessary to dampen the cosmic speed, can be carried out either using a special powerful propulsion system, or by braking the apparatus in the atmosphere. The first of these methods requires very large reserves of weight. Using atmospheric resistance for braking allows you to get by with relatively little additional weight.

The complex of problems associated with the development of protective coatings during braking of a vehicle in the atmosphere and the organization of the entry process with overloads acceptable for the human body represents a complex scientific and technical problem.

The rapid development of space medicine has put on the agenda the issue of biological telemetry as the main means of medical monitoring and scientific medical research during space flight. The use of radio telemetry leaves a specific imprint on the methodology and technology of biomedical research, since a number of special requirements are imposed on the equipment placed on board spacecraft. This equipment should have very light weight and small dimensions. It should be designed for minimal energy consumption. In addition, the onboard equipment must operate stably during the active phase and during descent, when vibrations and overloads are present.

Sensors designed to convert physiological parameters into electrical signals must be miniature and designed for long-term operation. They should not create inconvenience for the astronaut.

The widespread use of radio telemetry in space medicine forces researchers to pay serious attention to the design of such equipment, as well as to matching the volume of information necessary for transmission with the capacity of radio channels. Since new challenges facing space medicine will lead to further deepening of research and the need to significantly increase the number of recorded parameters, the introduction of systems that store information and coding methods will be required.

In conclusion, the speaker dwelled on the question of why the option of orbiting the Earth was chosen for the first space travel. This option represented a decisive step towards the conquest of outer space. They provided research into the issue of the influence of flight duration on a person, solved the problem of controlled flight, the problem of controlling the descent, entering the dense layers of the atmosphere and safely returning to Earth. Compared to this, the flight recently carried out in the USA seems of little value. It could be important as an intermediate option for checking a person’s condition during the acceleration stage, during overloads during descent; but after Yu. Gagarin’s flight there was no longer a need for such a check. In this version of the experiment, the element of sensation certainly prevailed. The only value of this flight can be seen in testing the operation of the developed systems that ensure entry into the atmosphere and landing, but, as we have seen, the testing of similar systems developed in our Soviet Union for more difficult conditions was reliably carried out even before the first human space flight. Thus, the achievements achieved in our country on April 12, 1961 cannot be compared in any way with what has been achieved so far in the United States.

And no matter how hard, the academician says, people abroad who are hostile to the Soviet Union try to belittle the successes of our science and technology with their fabrications, the whole world evaluates these successes properly and sees how much our country has moved forward along the path of technical progress. I personally witnessed the delight and admiration that was caused by the news of the historic flight of our first cosmonaut among the broad masses of the Italian people.

The flight was extremely successful

Academician N. M. Sissakyan made a report on the biological problems of space flights. He described the main stages in the development of space biology and summed up some of the results of scientific biological research related to space flights.

The speaker cited the medical and biological characteristics of Yu. A. Gagarin's flight. In the cabin, barometric pressure was maintained within 750 - 770 millimeters of mercury, air temperature - 19 - 22 degrees Celsius, relative humidity - 62 - 71 percent.

In the pre-launch period, approximately 30 minutes before the launch of the spacecraft, the heart rate was 66 per minute, the respiratory rate was 24. Three minutes before the launch, some emotional stress manifested itself in an increase in the pulse rate to 109 beats per minute, breathing continued to remain even and calm.

At the moment the spacecraft took off and gradually gained speed, the heart rate increased to 140 - 158 per minute, the respiratory rate was 20 - 26. Changes in physiological indicators during the active phase of the flight, according to telemetric recordings of electrocardiograms and pneimograms, were within acceptable limits. By the end of the active section, the heart rate was already 109, and the respiration rate was 18 per minute. In other words, these indicators reached the values characteristic of the moment closest to the start.

During the transition to weightlessness and flight in this state, the indicators of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems consistently approached the initial values. So, already in the tenth minute of weightlessness, the pulse rate reached 97 beats per minute, breathing - 22. Performance was not impaired, movements retained coordination and the necessary accuracy.

During the descent section, during braking of the apparatus, when overloads arose again, short-term, rapidly passing periods of increased breathing were noted. However, already upon approaching the Earth, breathing became even, calm, with a frequency of about 16 per minute.

Three hours after landing, the heart rate was 68, breathing was 20 per minute, i.e., values characteristic of the calm, normal state of Yu. A. Gagarin.

All this indicates that the flight was extremely successful, the health and general condition of the cosmonaut during all parts of the flight was satisfactory. Life support systems were working normally.

In conclusion, the speaker focused on the most important upcoming problems of space biology.

Space exploration.

Yu.A. Gagarin.

In 1957, under the leadership of Korolev, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile R-7 was created, which in the same year was used to launch the world's first artificial Earth satellite.

November 3, 1957 - the second artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 2, was launched, which for the first time launched a living creature into space - the dog Laika. (THE USSR).

January 4, 1959 - the Luna-1 station passed at a distance of 6,000 kilometers from the surface of the Moon and entered a heliocentric orbit. It became the world's first artificial satellite of the Sun. (THE USSR).

September 14, 1959 - the Luna-2 station for the first time in the world reached the surface of the Moon in the region of the Sea of Serenity near the craters Aristides, Archimedes and Autolycus, delivering a pennant with the coat of arms of the USSR. (THE USSR).

October 4, 1959 - Luna-3 was launched, which for the first time in the world photographed the side of the Moon invisible from Earth. Also during the flight, a gravity assist maneuver was carried out in practice for the first time in the world. (THE USSR).

August 19, 1960 - the first ever orbital flight into space of living beings was made with a successful return to Earth. The dogs Belka and Strelka made an orbital flight on the Sputnik 5 spacecraft. (THE USSR).

April 12, 1961 - the first manned flight into space was made (Yu. Gagarin) on the Vostok-1 spacecraft. (THE USSR).

August 12, 1962 - the world's first group space flight was completed on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft. The maximum approach of the ships was about 6.5 km. (THE USSR).

June 16, 1963 - the world's first flight into space by a female cosmonaut (Valentina Tereshkova) was made on the Vostok-6 spacecraft. (THE USSR).

October 12, 1964 - the world's first multi-seat spacecraft, Voskhod-1, flew. (THE USSR).

March 18, 1965 - the first human spacewalk in history took place. Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov performed a spacewalk from the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. (THE USSR).

February 3, 1966 - AMS Luna-9 made the world's first soft landing on the surface of the Moon, panoramic images of the Moon were transmitted. (THE USSR).

March 1, 1966 - the Venera 3 station reached the surface of Venus for the first time, delivering the USSR pennant. This was the world's first flight of a spacecraft from Earth to another planet. (THE USSR).

October 30, 1967 - the first docking of two unmanned spacecraft “Cosmos-186” and “Cosmos-188” was carried out. (USSR).

September 15, 1968 - the first return of the spacecraft (Zond-5) to Earth after orbiting the Moon. There were living creatures on board: turtles, fruit flies, worms, plants, seeds, bacteria. (THE USSR).

January 16, 1969 - the first docking of two manned spacecraft Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 was carried out. (THE USSR).

September 24, 1970 - the Luna-16 station collected and subsequently delivered to Earth (by the Luna-16 station) samples of lunar soil. (THE USSR). It is also the first unmanned spacecraft to deliver rock samples to Earth from another cosmic body (that is, in this case, from the Moon).

November 17, 1970 - soft landing and start of operation of the world's first semi-automatic remotely controlled self-propelled vehicle controlled from the Earth: Lunokhod-1. (THE USSR).

October 1975 - soft landing of two spacecraft "Venera-9" and "Venera-10" and the world's first photographs of the surface of Venus. (THE USSR).

February 20, 1986 - launch into orbit of the base module of the orbital station [[Mir_(orbital_station)]Mir]

November 20, 1998 - launch of the first block of the International Space Station. Production and launch (Russia). Owner (USA).

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50 years of the first manned spacewalk.

Today, March 18, 1965, at 11:30 am Moscow time, during the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, a man entered outer space for the first time. On the second orbit of the flight, the co-pilot, pilot-cosmonaut Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov, in a special spacesuit with an autonomous life support system, entered outer space, moved away from the ship at a distance of up to five meters, successfully carried out a set of planned studies and observations and returned safely to the ship. With the help of an on-board television system, the process of Comrade Leonov's exit into outer space, his work outside the ship and his return to the ship were transmitted to Earth and observed by a network of ground stations. Comrade Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov’s health while he was outside the ship and after returning to the ship was good. The ship's commander, Comrade Belyaev Pavel Ivanovich, is also feeling well.

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Today is characterized by new projects and plans for space exploration. Space tourism is actively developing. Manned astronautics are once again planning to return to the Moon and have turned their attention to other planets of the Solar System (primarily Mars).

In 2009, the world spent $68 billion on space programs, including the USA - $48.8 billion, the EU - $7.9 billion, Japan - $3 billion, Russia - $2.8 billion, China - $2 billion