The contribution of Kharkiv enterprises to the rocket and space industry development

Abstract

The article reviews the contribution of Ukrainian enterprises to the development of the rocket and space industry. The most important part of a space or combat ballistic missile is the control system (CS), on which the success of its application depends. Kharkov (Kharkiv) enterprises – the “Kommunar” plant and the Design Bureau “Electropriborostroenia” (SDB-692, now the RPA “Khartron”) were the largest manufacturers of control systems not only in Ukraine but throughout the Soviet Union. These systems were not only produced serially but also developed at these enterprises. The formation and development of Kharkov enterprises of the space industry is the most important page in the history of the development of not only cosmonautics but also science and technology. Despite the large number of works devoted to the development of rocket and space technology in Ukraine, the history of the development and production of control systems has not been sufficiently studied. Due to the secrecy of work in the field of rocket and space technology (RST), there are very few sources for studying the history of its creation. Therefore, the most important part of the work was interviewing the leading experts of SDB-692 in the field of the rocket and spacecraft control systems, which included A. M. Kalnoguz, Yu. A. Kuznetsov, V. Ya. Makarenko, V. G. Sukhorebrov and V. A. Uralov. Based on these interviews, a special fund was created in the Central State Scientific and Technical Archive of Ukraine. Control systems for many combat ballistic missiles, including P-7, P-7A, P-12, P-16, as well as the most powerful missile in the world P-36M2, which was named in the USA “Satana” (SS-18 “Satan”), “Proton”, “Zenith”, “Energia”, and “Cyclone” launch vehicles, “Kvant”, “Kvant-2”, “Crystal”, “Priroda”, “Spectrum” orbital modules, more than 150 satellites of the “Cosmos” series, and other objects were developed and serially produced at Kharkov enterprises. In the 1970s, SDB-692 created the USSR’s first onboard digital electronic computer. On its basis, a test and launch complex “Electronic launch” was developed, designed for pre-launch testing of control systems for ballistic missiles and launch vehicles.