Buran-Energia

Центральный дом авиации и космонавтики

This museum was inaugurated on November 6th, 1924, it was nammed: « Central Air Museum ODVF CCCP », and it was specified that « the Museum should be the laboratory not only for the popular knowledge, but also for the study of aviation and aeronautics », it is situated not far from the former Moscow’s airport. Since that time the museum got bigger and a new wing about space was added. The part about the aviation is more important than that on the space and contains numerous models and explanatory panels. But what interests us here are the two small rooms about the cosmonautic.

Before going into the rooms it is necessary to go in a courtyard which contains the probe « Photon » n°9 launched on June 14th, 1994, this probe was sent with the cooperation of the ESA, the CNES and the German aerospace agency to conduct scientific experiments in microgravity. This type of probes « Bion » and « Photon » were made from vessels Vostok (first spaceships).

Portrait of Yuri Gagarin.

The first room recount the beginings of the Soviet space exploration, with rockets of the GIRD and the first cosmonauts.

Rockets of the GIRD (Group for the Study of Reactive Motion):

The first rocket engines developed by the GIRD:

First meteorologic probes:

Mock-up of a Soyuz rocket and the RD-107 engine of the booster:

Sputnik (launched on october 4, 1957), first artificial satellite of the Earth:

The Sputnik-2 with the dog Laika on board (first living creature on orbit on november 3, 1957):

Sputnik-3 (launched on may, 15 1958), scientific study satellite:

Mock-up of the lunar rocket N-1:

Mock-up of a Proton rocket:

Some stands with informations:

The second room is about manned space program and interplanetary probes.

First spacesuit SK-1:

Optical navigation system SMK-3 (used on board Voskhod spacecrafts):

Soft landing engine of the Soyuz spacecraft:

Spacesuit Sokol KV-1 and its Kazbek seat:

Heat tile of the Buran space shuttle:

IVA suits (Intra Vehicular Activity) and sea rescue suit:

Solar array:

Mock-up of the docking between Soyuz 4 and 5:

Fanions of the Apollo-Soyuz program (1975):

Mock-up of the Ekran satellite, direct broadcast of television signals to Siberia and far East:

Showcase containing some objects and tools for cosmonauts, food, care case…:

Mock-up of the Vostok spaceship and its service module:

Training cabin of the Buran space shuttle:

Engine of the ejectable Buran’s seat:

Mock-up of the launch pad of Buran-Energia:

Mock-up of the Mars-3 probe (launched on may 28, 1971):

Mock-up of Venera-15 and 16 probes (launched on june 2 and 7, 1983):
The panel is wrong it’s not Venera-5 and 6.

Mock-up Vega-1 probe (launched on december 15, 1984):

Mock-up of a Venus lander:

Mock-up of the Astron satellite telescope (launched on mars 23, 1983):

Mock-up of the Phobos probe (launched on july 7, 1988):

Radio apparatus of telecommunication satellite:

Titan-3 lens, used on Ressource-F3 apparatus:

Elements of the OSK-3R apparatus, for the orientation of the Almaz station:

Multi-spectral MKF-6 camera:

Mock-up of the Meteor-3 meteorologic satellite (launched on august 15, 1991):

They don’t lack humour in this museum, some tools to work on orbit:

Finally a view of the museum’s shop, essentially dedicated to aviation: