Our graduates took part in the construction of the Baikonur Cosmodrome
On April 12, Russia celebrates the Cosmonautics Day. The holiday was established in honour of the first manned spaceflight made by Yuri Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft on April 12, 1961.
Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (at that time called “Leningrad Civil Engineering Institute,” LISI) is directly related to this outstanding event of great importance for all mankind. The 1956 LISI graduates, under the guidance of Major General G. M. Shubnikov, LISI graduate of 1932, took part in the construction of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Graduates of the LISI faculty of military engineering with the rector of the Institute P. I. Bazhenov
V. D. Khokhlov
With the purpose of training engineers for military construction, the Higher Naval Engineering School of dual subordination was founded on November 22, 1952. It was registered as military unit No. 39033 subordinated to the USSR Ministry of Defense, and at the same time it was the Naval faculty, then the Military Engineering faculty, and later the Special faculty at LISI under the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the USSR. In accordance with the decree of the USSR Council of Ministers of June 26, 1957, the faculty was disbanded after the graduation in 1958, and the remaining students of the first to fourth courses were transferred to the reserve and continued their studies at LISI.
During the existence of the faculty, a total of about 600 engineers were awarded diplomas during the period of six graduation years. The military engineers were engaged in building special facilities and contributed to space exploration, the creation of a nuclear-armed missile defense shield, missile attack early warning systems, and missile defense systems.
Much credit for successful professional growth of the faculty graduates belongs to the Institute’s academic staff headed by the rector P.I. Bazhenov, and the faculty team led by the graduate of LISI Colonel V. D. Khokhlov, PhD in Engineering. Lectures to faculty students and cadets were given by well-known Soviet scientists and teachers such as N. N. Aistov, V. A. Gastev, B. I. Dolmatov.
Teaching staff and graduates of Military Unit 39033.
In the first row, fourth from the right – Head of the faculty, Colonel V. D. Khokhlov
The new test field, now known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome, was created in the deserts of Kazakhstan near the Tyura-Tak railway station to test artificial Earth satellites, carry out research and experimental work in the area of rocket technologies and space exploration. The first carrier rocket was successfully launched on October 4, 1957. In the following decades, Baikonur became the arena for many innovations in the field of astronautics. It launched the world's first artificial Earth satellite and the world's first spacecraft with a man on board.
Text: Tatyana Petrova
Based on publications from the university newspaper
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