Amazing photos of the USSR space program that you have not seen yet

Recently, photographs of times have become available to the publicof the American space program "Apollo" in high quality - we showed the best shots in this material. In these pictures, famous astronauts take their first steps on the lunar surface, sleep inside a broken spacecraft, go into outer space and perform many other feats. While they were doing all this, the USSR had its own space program in full swing. Within its framework, Belka and Strelka and the most famous cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made their legendary flights, dozens of research vehicles went into space, and many other important events took place. You have probably already seen many pictures of those times, so we tried to find the pictures that flicker on the Internet the least. Let's dive into the history of Soviet cosmonautics, shall we?

The Soviet space program was amazing. The image shows "Salyut-7"

Content

1 Brief history of cosmonautics of the USSR
2 Photos of the very first satellite of the Earth
3 Photos of the first animals in space
4 Photos of Soviet cosmonauts
5 Photos of Soviet spacecraft

Brief history of cosmonautics of the USSR

Soviet scientists and cosmonauts made a huge contribution to science. It was thanks to their work that aircraft, animals and, finally, humans were first launched into outer space.

The history of Soviet cosmonautics begins in 1921year, since the construction of the Leningrad Gas Dynamic Laboratory (GDL). At first, behind its walls, the development of rocket shells on smokeless powder, as well as liquid rocket engines, was carried out. In 1933, she became part of the Jet Research Institute, within the walls of which the legendary Katyusha was developed. But within the framework of this article, we are interested in another product of the institute, the first artificial satellite of the Earth - the Sputnik-1 apparatus.

You have probably already seen this photo of Sputnik-1. What about rarer shots?

Perhaps, from this moment we will start viewing photos.

Photos of the very first satellite of the Earth

The design of Sputnik-1 was as simple as possible.In fact, the device was a metal ball with four antennas. Only a radio transmitter was located inside the case, because the main goal of Soviet scientists was to check the connection between the spacecraft and the Earth. The photo below shows the layout of the first Soviet satellite, which was put on public display in 1997.

Model of "Sputnik-1"

To launch the apparatus into space on October 4, 1957Sputnik launch vehicle was used. The launch site was the Tyura-Tam test site, which later turned into a full-fledged Baikonur cosmodrome. Here is a photo of the launch.

The moment of the launch of "Sputnik-1"

According to open sources, Sputnik 1 was visible in the night sky as a small dot. In the photo below, people with binoculars are watching one of the most important moments of the Soviet cosmonautics.

Soviet people watch the first artificial Earth satellite

You will be interested: Why are satellites made of metal rather than wood?

Photos of the first animals in space

In November 1957, the apparatus was launched"Sputnik-2". It was the first launch of a living creature into space in the history of mankind - the dog Laika. Unfortunately, she died after 5-7 hours due to overheating.

Astronaut dog Laika

In 1960, the legendaryBelka and Strelka. Their flight lasted 25 hours and this time there were no casualties - these cuties became the first animals to make an orbital space flight and return to Earth.

Squirrel and arrow in the hands of pianist Van Cliburn

In 1966, inside the Cosmos-110 satellite, the flightmade Veterok and Ugolyok. They spent 22 days in space - at that time it was a record for the stay of living beings outside the Earth. After that, they returned safely to Earth and even gave birth to healthy offspring. The fate of Ugolyok is unknown, and Veterok died only in old age, 12 years after the flight.

Wind and Coal

See also: What professions can animals learn?

Photos of Soviet cosmonauts

The date April 12, 1961 is especially important - on this dayYuri Gagarin accomplished his main feat and became the first man in space. He took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and circled the entire globe. The flight duration was 106 minutes. Photos with a radiant smile of Gagarin were seen by everyone. In the picture below, he is serious - the photo was taken a few hours after landing.

Yuri Gagarin a few hours after returning from space

German Titov is the second man in space.He made a flight inside the Vostok-2 spacecraft on August 6, 1961 and stayed in space for more than a day. It was he who first happened to sleep in zero gravity and perform physical exercises in space.

German Titov during training before the flight

The first person in the world to go out into the openspace, was the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. In March 1965, together with cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev, he flew out of the Earth on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft. After the spacewalk, he had to demonstrate all his courage, because his spacesuit swelled up and he was able to return to the ship only after several attempts.

Alexei Leonov in a space suit "Berkut" goes into outer space

In 1975 there was a "handshake in space".As part of the experimental flight, the Soviet Soyuz-19 spacecraft docked with the American Apollo. The mission participants opened the hatches of the attached spacecraft and Alexei Leonov, already mentioned above, shook hands with astronaut Thomas Stafford.

The captains of the ships shake hands

Required reading: The most amazing records set by people in space

Photos of Soviet spacecraft

In 1970, Soviet scientists sent Lunokhod-1 into space. He successfully landed on the surface of the moon and worked there until September 1971.

"Lunokhod-1" in color

In February 1971, she was sent into spacethe world's first orbital station for a flight around the Earth - the legendary "Salyut-1". The photo below shows how huge he was compared to a human.