V. N. Sokolsky, the Founder of Studies on Aerospace History at the Institute for the History of Science and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract

This article is devoted to V. N. Sokolsky, a historian of technology who all his life worked at the Institute for the History of Science and Technology (IHST) of the USSR Academy of Sciences (the Russian Academy of Sciences), and his role as the founder of studies on the history of rocketry and cosmonautics as a research area in the work of the Academy of Sciences. It examines the socio-historical factors that put Sokolsky at the head of this research program, the directions in which he developed this area, and the style of his work as science organizer and researcher. Sokolskyʼs efforts in communicating and promoting the history of Russian rocketry and cosmonautics to the world, his role in the training of young scientists and in the publication of books about the pioneers in cosmonautics / astronautics and collections of papers on the history of cosmonautics / astronautics are highlighted. The article was written in the memoir research style, as the authors have worked under Sokolsky’s supervision for more than two decades.