Cosmonauts are stars of the Soviet space age show
“It’s the Russian equivalent of the crown jewels.” Doug Millard is not exaggerating when he describes the vast collection of Russian space hardware that makes up the exhibition Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age. It’s the first time that such a huge array of Soviet-era space hardware and memorabilia have been exhibited in one place at the same time and, perhaps more astonishingly, not in Moscow. “It’s been four years of hard work to gather them together,” says Millard, senior curator of the exhibition at London’s Science Museum, “and, quite frankly, they’re priceless.”
This isn’t hyperbole. The exhibits from the early era of space flight in the 1950s and 1960s when the Soviet Union led the race into Earth orbit are a source of huge national pride for both the Russian government and its people. Sputnik I was the world’s first artificial satellite. Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, Valentina Tereshkova the first woman. And Alexei Leonov was the first person to walk in space. The USSR was streets ahead of its closest opposition, the United States.
“For those Russians who remember the 1960s, in particular, there is an enormous sense of achievement and great affection, particularly for Gagarin,” explains Millard. “More than once, when his name came up at meetings in Moscow, the tears would flow. It’s on a par with the Soviet victory in the second world war. It transcends all the political changes, all of the memories of the Soviet Union, whether they are fond or not.”
And for fans of space history, it’s an outstanding collection sourced from 18 different institutions, museums and private collections throughout Russia. The hardware is a roll call of the golden age of space travel. There is Voskhod 1, the capsule for the first multiperson spaceflight in 1964. Soviet politicians were so keen for the flight to take place that spacesuits were left behind to reduce weight and so the three cosmonauts could fit inside a capsule designed for two.
And in the “Space Race” section of the exhibition sits Vostok 6 (see above), the craft that carried the first woman into orbit. The capsule has taken one hell of a battering, its heat shield ravaged. Fifty years on, it seems unthinkable a human could survive inside. But one did. Its commander Tereshkova was reunited with her craft on the opening day of the exhibition. “Every time I see it I touch it,” she admits. “It is my best and most beautiful friend. It is my man.”
Cosmonauts are stars of the Soviet space age show “It’s the Russian equivalent of the crown jewels.” Doug Millard is not exaggerating when he describes the vast collection of Russian space hardware that makes up the exhibition Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age. It’s the first time that such a huge array of Soviet-era space hardware and memorabilia have been exhibited in one place at the same time and, perhaps more astonishingly, not in Moscow. “It’s been four years of hard work to gather them together,” says Millard, senior curator of the exhibition at London’s Science Museum, “and, quite frankly, they’re priceless.” This isn’t hyperbole. The exhibits from the early era of space flight in the 1950s and 1960s when the Soviet Union led the race into Earth orbit are a source of huge national pride for both the Russian government and its people. Sputnik I was the world’s first artificial satellite. Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, Valentina Tereshkova the first woman. And Alexei Leonov was the first person to walk in space. The USSR was streets ahead of its closest opposition, the United States. “For those Russians who remember the 1960s, in particular, there is an enormous sense of achievement and great affection, particularly for Gagarin,” explains Millard. “More than once, when his name came up at meetings in Moscow, the tears would flow. It’s on a par with the Soviet victory in the second world war. It transcends all the political changes, all of the memories of the Soviet Union, whether they are fond or not.” And for fans of space history, it’s an outstanding collection sourced from 18 different institutions, museums and private collections throughout Russia. The hardware is a roll call of the golden age of space travel. There is Voskhod 1, the capsule for the first multiperson spaceflight in 1964. Soviet politicians were so keen for the flight to take place that spacesuits were left behind to reduce weight and so the three cosmonauts could fit inside a capsule designed for two. And in the “Space Race” section of the exhibition sits Vostok 6 (see above), the craft that carried the first woman into orbit. The capsule has taken one hell of a battering, its heat shield ravaged. Fifty years on, it seems unthinkable a human could survive inside. But one did. Its commander Tereshkova was reunited with her craft on the opening day of the exhibition. “Every time I see it I touch it,” she admits. “It is my best and most beautiful friend. It is my man.”
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