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The trace search for
Sputnik’s father
Sputnik and NASA have their
origin between the Baltic Sea and Harz, 66 years after the launch of the first
rocket in the space, 51 years after the launch of Sputnik, 50th anniversary of
NASA
click on the
pics
Three
big anniversaries fall in the period of the past 12 months. The 50th
anniversary of Sputnik, 50 years since the she-dog Laika, 50 years since first
US satellite "Explorer One" and the 50th anniversary of NASA. Now one
looks to a common future on the moon and Mars and invites other nations to the
research and development. Only now does one also recognize who was responsible
for the big events of that time. His name remained almost unknown. The chief
designer of the Sputnik is called Sergei Korolev and not even his family knew
that. 3 weeks ago his daughter returned to Germany after 62 years, followed the
tracks of the beginnings and found answers.
Text: Ralf Heckel (chairmen,
German Space Education Institute)
Translation: Christian Hein
(german student, German Space Education Institute)
Editor: Kira Carey
(US-student, germanistic, internship in Leipzig, Connecticut State University
Ohio)
Today, astronautics cannot be
imagined as not existing in our everyday life. It is in every mobile phone,
every email, in every conversation about the weather, every TV broadcasting and
even our everyday care with food. It has become the guard of our climate and
the doctor for emergencies. If one switched it off, our life would not be
taxable any more. It has become a part of our society and culture – and maybe
even the key of our future evolution. At the beginning no one could anticipate
that, but the old dreams of humanity have become true with the diligence of
scientists and craftsmen.
When five high-ranking
Russian space scientists landed in Berlin on September 13th the preparation had
already taken more than 1000 honorary working hours. Two thirds of the
traveling expenses which are set at 7,500 Euros must be laboriously
gathered. For that only private
sponsors were imaginable. It could not be made any more. The information of the
history books about the things that should follow now was too imprecise.
Two special guests get out,
the daughter and the granddaughter of the "Sputnik father Korolev".
For the 35-year-old granddaughter Maria it is the first visit in Germany, for
the 72-year-old daughter, Prof. Dr. med. Natalia Koroleva, it is the second
visit. The last time she and other family members of Russian rocket engineers
arrived the destroyed Berlin by train at the end of May 1946. She was 11 years
old and her father fetched her. This time of summer holidays became the „nicest
time of my childhood“.
„My father dealt something
with rockets and, therefore, we travelled around the whole country from the
Baltic Sea till Harz. He showed me nice beaches, smart hotels and sometimes
also mysterious places“. She did not
know any more up to his death. Only when Sergei Pawlowitsch Korolev died in
January, 1966 from a tragic mistake on the operating table, did she read the
true role of her father in the newspaper: „For us he was like Wernher von Braun
in the USA, the chief designer of the whole Soviet space program. This began
long before Sputnik, Laika, Gagarin and today’s Sojus spaceships. He sent 22
people into space, brought them back healthy, took the first photo of the back
of the moon, landed on it with the first probe and even planned the manned
flight to Mars.
Since then the doctor deals
with the processing of his life. In her 1000-sided book "father"
(which soon appears: www.edverlag.de)
she summarizes everything. Only the work on the post-war German country is
still incomplete. Therefore, she visited all working places in which her father
was and could have been. Those places are Bleicherode, Nordhausen, the
Kyffhaeuser, Leipzig, Kummersdorf, Berlin and Peenemuende. With a few old
photos in her hand and her memories as a young girl she went on a trace search.
The result got ahead of all
expectations. Really almost all gaps were closed in the history of the
development of the Sputnik. Its origins are also found in Germany. Thus the
dwelling house in Bleicherode was found again. The amazed current inhabitants
immediately collected some bread and salt to welcome the prominent previous
tenant. One also identified the workroom in the former institute RABE (rocket
construction and development, in 1945-47) because of the office door. The room
of the former officer's casino of the „council of the chief designers“in the
villa Franke has been renovated and has hardly changed.
The Kyffhaeuser monument
shows the permanence of stones in the course of a social development. On sunny
Week-ends the élite of the Russian astronautics stayed here on the terraces and
sat confident of victory on the Barbarossa figure. The camera had only to be
put on the same place. Only since this visit on September 15th the Russian
guests knew that the "Barbarossa plan" of the attack of the Wehrmacht
on the Soviet Union has nothing in common with of the Barbarossa legend. This
legend arose from the dream Barbarossas of a unity of Germany in the 12th
century. In the 19th century Wilhelm I. was the first German emperor which
fulfilled this dream. That’s why a monument for the new emperor and the old
Barbarossa was build at this point. In order to stabilize the unity of the
country such monuments were built at more than 300 places, also on the German
corner or in Porta Westfalica. The Nazi propaganda abused the thought of the
unity of the country in the attack on the east. In the post-war period the
Russian cultural officer of Nordhausen was responsible that the Barbarossa
monument did not fall victim to a renewed art theft.
Russian engineers that
delivered to a huge number of mechanical engineering companies were found in
Leipzig .Those became producers for the beginnings of the Soviet rocket
researches. Researches showed that three leading NASA scientists grew up here.
One, Eberhard Rees, even became a manager of the Marshall Spaceflight centre in
Huntsville/Alabama. That’s the reason why Korolev gave orders to Leipzig. Even
his stepfather Grigory Balanin (the marriage Korolev was ended quickly)
published own translations and books here. In 1909 Balanin passed his exams in
electrical engineering in Mittweida, only 100 km away. The interests of small
Sergei were inspired by him. The other part of the Korolev family remained
continuously loyal to medicine till this day.
In Kummersdorf Prof. Dr.
Koroleva identified the test bench number 2 which was destroyed in the war:
„This test bench is the forefather of the today's Space shuttle launch complex
in Cape Canaveral. So my father was here, too.” That’s assured, because in
February 2008 she was VIP guest of the NASA for the launch of the shuttle.
There the repairing of the flame trench was finished in summer. The trenches
are meant to transfer the hot gases. Surprisingly in Kummersdorf such a trench
was just exposed by the according association. It is the same design and
construction with special stones as heat protection – only smaller. While
engines with a push of 300 kg were tested on Kummersdorf’s test bench 2 more
than 70 years ago, the launch complexes of the Space shuttles are made for more
than 3,500 tons of push, that’s more
than 10,000 times stronger.
In Peenemuende there only was
a forgotten wall and two rusty screws in the grass, still these delivered the
definite clue: „The Sputnik designer stood here and took a photo of his
daughter“. The pictures differ more than 62 years but they fit accurately.
Volkmar Schmidt, the chairperson of the development association of Peenemuende,
pricked up his ears as Mrs. Koroleva told something about the Soviet prisoner
Devyatayev who is well-known in Russia. In 1944 he and nine other
fellow-sufferers took a German airplane and escaped from the airfield of
Peenemuende. He later became „a hero of the Soviet Union“. A memorial stone is
dedicated to him in Peenemuende.
„My father was an aircraft
designer in the 1930s and designed the first rocket-plane of the world. Then he
fell victim to Stalin and went in prison. He had a good relation to all pilots
and especially to the test pilots. They achieved his release from the gulag
(labor camp in Siberia) before the end of the war. That saved his life.
Therefore, he also campaigned himself for the highest tribute to Devyatayev. I
knew him, as well as I knew the test pilot and cosmonaut Gagarin. But I knew
nothing about his true relation to my father“. This was new for the employees
of the historical-technical information center of Peenemuende.
After only nine days we look
back on 33 events and 6 lectures. Formed in book chapters a lot of it will fill
gaps in the historiography. We went 2,300 km through the country. In a unique
manner Children, school-students, collage-students, historians and experts
learned much about a father who build Sputnik and launched people into orbit.
Afterwards the first test edition of her book was completely sold out.
In Berlin on September 21st
Prof. Dr. Koroleva lifts the glass to the last supper and says: „Our countries
have the same roots of space exploration. That’s the last time I spent here,
thank you for everything, I would like to free the place for the following
generations. Please live out the visions of my father and mention his name
whenever you can. “
Then professor Demin hands us
a paper: „Construction order of a Rover for the preparation of the manned stay
on Mars“. His colleagues beside him are the today's VIP's of the Russian
astronautics. Prof. Demin is a doctor and leader of „Mars of 500 projects“ with
the aim of the basis creation for the manned Mars flight in 2030. At that time
a today's high-school graduate stands on the top of his working life. „And now
we have to start with it.“ says the professor. Maybe these pictures will go
into history within 60 years, too?
Book
tip:
Chief
designer Korolev in Germany (Chefkonstrukteur Koroljow in Deutschland)
www.edverlag.de
, ISBN: 978-3-940541-11-6
English version: NAUKA,
Moscow 2008, www.roscosmos.ru
Spotlight
on information:
The German Space Education
Institute of Leipzig had the chance being the host of this delegation. It is an
association of public utility giving support to the engineering professions in
the astronautic sector. More than 60 international approved and prominent
specialists worked for this unique initiative of its kind. They offer German
students excursions and internships in the aerospace industry. There is a
variety of possibilities taking part at the association’s programs, e.g.
fulltime activities for 8th grade students, international competitions,
advancement for “Abitur” graduates, exchange programs and at least special
tasks for talented school students.
Participants having graduated
excellently in our association in Leipzig (e.g. on workshops and excursions at
the weekend or on holidays) are delegated to the “Cosmos-Olympiad” in Moscow or
to the “NASA-Moonbuggy-Race” in Huntsville/ Alabama. During those nine days two
students of the Technical University of Dresden did their internship. A school
student prepared himself in this context for his “Abitur” exams. Having a
graduation at the German Space Education Institute opens doors: it will be easy
to find according holiday jobs, to sign in for desired studies, to be accepted
for special studies or to get a job.
The German Space Education Institute
is launching a large space-student exchange program in 2009. It is about the common construction of a
test mobile for the preparation of the manned flight to Mars. The german
association for academic exchange, german automobile- and aviation industrial
partners support this. US-students from Huntsville/Alabama and russian space
students meets german space students every June/July in Germany. They went on
Wernher von Braun´s and Korolev´s historical traces at the weekends. They can
complete a technical internship in BMW´s modernst factory and produce their own
constructed Moonbuggy-pieces at Leipzig´s small handcraft factories. After 2
weeks in Germany the US-students are guests in Moscow for one week (Star City,
Korolev-City, Mars 500 project, Cosmonauts).
Leipzig is the town were the 2nd director of MSFC Eberhard
Rees managed an engineering company after his diplom as young engineer. German
and russian students went every April to Huntsville/Alabama as competitors of
the Moonbuggy Race. The German Space Education Institute is thankful for every
interested university and industrial partner to open their gates to this
german-russian-american internship-program.
The international educational
partners in Russia are the “Institute for biomedical problems” (IMBP) in
Moscow, the Youth Space Center Moscow, the Baumann Technical University Moscow
and the professorship for life support systems in space. The registration for
students starts now. Interested business people to chase the highlights are
welcome.
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