TsAGI: For the Country, For the Space
12 April 2023
Yuri Gagarin’s space flight lasted as long as 108 minutes. It was a single circuit around the Earth and a new turn in the history of mankind. In today’s rapidly changing world, it is essential to remember the great achievements that made humanity stronger, providing it with new knowledge and opening completely new horizons. April 12, 1961 marked the broken limits and the start of new era in science and technology. TsAGI (a part of NRC “Zhukovsky Institute”) made its contribution to the shift by becoming an active link in space study.
Launching the world’s first satellite in October 1957, the USSR triggered the space-related studies. Soon, a relevant department was established at TsAGI. The scientists faced fundamentally new tasks whose solutions required creating new test facilities.
It was the birth of new school of science that supported the emerging national space industry with ideas and innovative solutions. Vostok, Soyuz, Spiral, Energia-Buran, and such modern projects as Angara or Proton-M, comprise only a few projects with participation of TsAGI—which continues cooperating with key space industry enterprises, such as RSC Energia, NPO Lavochkin, etc.
Having become a bit closer, the space has so far remained a mystery with many questions for scientists. Gratifyingly, the answers can still be found due to accumulated knowledge and the strive to explore all the blind spots of the dark void of space.
During early space studies, it was hard to believe that a human could not only visit but also explore the space. However, the possibility was proved successfully by domestic scientists, engineers, and astronauts. We set their names as eternal role models for the younger generation, helping them keep the right course.
However, feeling pride for the past is not enough today—it is essential to shape the new future for the country, including stronger positions in space. TsAGI’s scientific advance in the area could become a valuable resource. We are ready to work as selflessly as our predecessors did to provide new space achievements, as inspiring as Yuri Gagarin’s