Rare editions, films and video lectures of the Presidential Library spotlight the history of space exploration

April 12, 2021 our country traditionally celebrates the Cosmonautics Day. It was on this day that 60 years ago a man for the first time went beyond the earth's atmosphere into open space: the Vostok launch vehicle launched the Vostok 1 spacecraft into orbit, with the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board.

The Presidential Library provides materials of the electronic collection Outer Space, which includes fragments of newsreels, periodicals, books, postcards, commemorative medals and badges spotlighting various milestones in the development of astronautics.

The largest section of the collection is devoted to the study of outer space. It includes rare editions, thanks to which it is possible to look at the starry sky through the eyes of people who lived at the beginning of the 20th century, to understand what they thought, what they dreamed of. For example, in the preface to the book Interplanetary Communications: Dreams, Legends and First Fantasies (1928) it is said: “Over the past decades, man has conquered the air ocean, airships - airships and airplanes - have allowed people to look where they could not penetrate by land and by water. <...> Soon the earth will be already cramped for mankind, and it will turn its gaze to the sky, to the planets and stars. Man's thought has been rushing there for a long time. For a long time already he has been studying the movements and properties of celestial bodies, but only recently have daring and scientifically grounded dreams appeared to penetrate this God’s Abode".

One of those who made these dreams come true was the representative of Russian cosmism, the founder of theoretical cosmonautics, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. A separate collection is dedicated to him on the Presidential Library’s portal. It was Tsiolkovsky who made the largest discoveries in astronautics and rocket technology. The work Investigations of world spaces by jet devices published by him in 1903 has not lost its relevance to this day. The book illustrates the structure of a space rocket and a liquid-propellant rocket engine, developed the foundations of the mathematical theory of rocket flight, and also provides practical recommendations for designing rockets. Tsiolkovsky's works gave a powerful impetus to research aimed at creating rocket and space technology.

The dream of mankind came true on April 12, 1961 - the world's first satellite-satellite "Vostok" with a man on board - pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched into orbit around the Earth.

Thanks to the materials from the Presidential Library’s collections today it is possible to return to that momentous day and feel the incredible delight that millions of people have experienced. Newsreel footage captured Yuri Gagarin before the start of the flight: the future first cosmonaut of the Earth rides in a bus to the launch site, says goodbye to the designer Korolev, then settles in the cockpit and takes off. Other footage depicts Sergei Korolev at the control panel in anxious expectation of radio communication with Yuri Gagarin. The seconds drag on painfully until he hears Gagarin's words: "I feel fine".

"A Victory! A man in space!", "Hello, space - says the Russian" – these are the main headlines of the issue of the newspaper Smena, published on April 13, 1961. And the correspondent of Krasnaya Zvezda even managed to take a short interview with the first cosmonaut immediately after landing. When asked about his health, Gagarin replied: “As you can see it is good. Safe and sound. The flight was successful. The hardware worked great. I am infinitely happy that I was the one who managed to open the way for people into space”.

The world's first cosmonaut later shared his impressions on the pages of his books: “From a height of 300 kilometers, the illuminated surface of the Earth is seen very well. Observing the surface of the Earth, I saw clouds and their light shadows, which fell on the fields, forests and seas. When I flew over our country, I clearly saw the squares of the collective farm fields". Digitized editions "The Road to Space", "I See Earth", "Psychology and Space" and others are available in the electronic reading rooms of the Presidential Library.

Separate sections of the Outer Space collection are dedicated to the followers of Yuri Gagarin - Soviet and Russian cosmonauts as well as American astronauts.

The Presidential Library’s portal features the documentary film Space Pilots, which tells about the fate of unknown heroes of cosmonautics - academician V. A. Ponomarenko, doctor-researcher A. Z. Mnatsakanyan and others. The film is based on unique video footage filmed during secret tests with human participation, carried out at the Research Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine, and on modern filming material. Another documentary film The Prophet is dedicated to Academician V. I. Vernadsky, the author of a detailed concept of the "biosphere" and "noosphere". The exploration of space by mankind became the theme of the documentary The Ascent.

To visit one of the most authoritative in Russia and the most famous observatory in the North Caucasus, abbreviated as SAO RAS, to learn how the world's largest radio telescope RATAN-600 works, to see the most powerful BTA telescope in Europe and to get the opportunity to look into distant space is now possible without leaving home thanks to the program of the Arkhyz 24 TV channel “Let's go. Travel across the Caucasus. Space excursion to the SAO RAS", included in the Presidential Library’s collection.

Visitors to the Presidential Library's portal have the opportunity from anywhere in the world to listen to lectures by leading Russian scientists The International Space Station - the orbital construction of the century and Achievements of modern astronomy: a new breakthrough in fundamental science, which at different times were held in the building on Senate Square, 3.