{"id":1838,"date":"2011-02-10T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2011-02-10T08:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1838"},"modified":"2014-07-17T14:34:03","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T14:34:03","slug":"why-cosmonauts-instead-of-astronauts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/why-cosmonauts-instead-of-astronauts\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Russians Call Their Astronauts Cosmonauts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Today, February 10th<\/sup> 2011 marks \u00ab\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u0435 \u0441\u043e \u0434\u043d\u044f \u0440\u043e\u0436\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u044f \u041c\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0441\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430 \u0412\u0441\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447\u0430 \u041a\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0434\u044b\u0448\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [one hundredth birthday of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldish].<\/em><\/p>\n

Keldish was a Soviet scientist without whose contributions many of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0441\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0445\u0438 <\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [achievements of the Soviet cosmonautics], including Sputnik and the first manned flight would not had happened. Although his name rarely appeared in the newspapers of the time, he was frequently referred to as \u00ab<\/strong>\u0413\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u0442\u0435\u043e\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [The Chief Theorist] of the Soviet space program.<\/p>\n

When I was still in school, in the early \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u0432\u0440\u0435\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [post-Soviet era], I couldn\u2019t wait to start the 10th<\/sup> grade. And it wasn\u2019t just because it was getting me closer to graduation. It was because one of the required subjects that year included \u00ab<\/strong>\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [astronomy] which, in turn, included studying \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [cosmonautics].<\/p>\n

Our Brezhnev-era \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0447\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u043d\u0438\u043a <\/strong>\u043f\u043e <\/strong>\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [astronomy textbook] started its chapter on cosmonautics \u00ab<\/strong>\u041a\u043e\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043d <\/strong>\u042d\u0434\u0443\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447 <\/strong>\u0426\u0438\u043e\u043b\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky].<\/p>\n

Tsiolkovsky<\/a> is considered to be \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0441\u043d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u0438\u043a <\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0440\u0435\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [the founder of the modern astronautics]. As a child, I read quite a few of his \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u043d\u043e-<\/strong>\u0444\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [science-fiction stories] and they were the only thing that stopped me from totally hating math and physics in high school. He also theorized about such things as \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0447\u0430\u0442\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u043a\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [multistage rocket] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0444\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [space elevator]. How awesome is that?! It was only natural to name the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics after Tsiolkovsky.<\/p>\n

Russians in general are very proud of their space science and justifiably so. Tsiolkovsky was just \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [the harbinger] of the great things to come. Other notable firsts included \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u043f\u0443\u0441\u043a <\/strong>\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u043e\u0433\u043e <\/strong>\u0441\u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432 1957 <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0434\u0443<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [the launch of Sputnik in 1957]; \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0451<\/span>\u0442 <\/strong>\u042e<\/span><\/strong>\u0440\u0438\u044f <\/strong>\u0413\u0430\u0433\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432 1961 <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0434\u0443<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [Yuri Gagarin\u2019s space flight]; \u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0422\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0448\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0430 – <\/strong>\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0436\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0449\u0438\u043d\u0430-<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman in space]; \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u041b\u0435\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432 <\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0448\u0438<\/span>\u043b <\/strong>\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0445\u043e\u0434 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u043a\u0440\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043c\u043e\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> [Alexey Leonov became the first human to conduct a spacewalk].<\/p>\n

Plus now that the American \u00ab<\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043b\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [here – the space shuttle] program is about to be discontinued, American astronauts will have to get to \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u041a\u0421 – <\/strong>\u041c\u0435\u0436\u0434\u0443\u043d\u0430\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u043d\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0446\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [ISS – the International Space Station] on Russian \u00ab<\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u043a\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [rockets]. So even though Russian budget for the entire space program is about 1\/20th<\/sup> of that of the US, the program itself is alive and doing well (all things considered).<\/p>\n

Much of this success was due to the efforts of one man, \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u041f\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447 <\/strong>\u041a\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043b\u0451<\/span>\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [Sergey Pavlovich Korolev]. His semi-official title was \u00ab<\/strong>\u0413\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0430\u0431\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [The Chief Designer of the Space Ships]. That\u2019s some title, don\u2019t you think? Especially considering the fact that in 1938 he was arrested, tortured and sentenced to death (he was accused of \u201cwrecking\u201d). The sentence was ultimately commuted to years in camps, first doing hard labor and then – aircraft and rocket design work.<\/p>\n

In the early days the Soviet space program was shrouded in deep secrecy. Even the names of its chief designers and engineers were not widely known. Nobody \u201con the outside\u201d got to hear about the program\u2019s setbacks, disasters and near-misses. Successes, on the other hand, were widely publicized.<\/p>\n

Things are changing now. For example, there\u2019s much talk about \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u0443\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u0438 <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u043c\u044b <\/strong>\u0413\u041b\u041e\u041d\u0410\u0421\u0421\u00bb<\/strong> [mishaps of the GLONASS program]. \u00ab<\/strong>\u0413\u041b\u041e\u041d\u0410\u0421\u0421\u00bb<\/strong> stands for \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u043b\u043e\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0432\u0438\u0433\u0430\u0446\u0438\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043c\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [the Global Satellite Navigation System]. Former cosmonauts give interviews in which they openly discuss the challenges and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0447\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0435\u043c\u044b\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [hushed up] details of many missions.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to learn more about that, you\u2019ll need to Google space-related forums and communities of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u0443\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [Russian Internet]. For a sanitized, yet still informative information about the Russian Space Program check out the website of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0424\u0435\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u0430\u0433\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u041e\u0421\u041a\u041e<\/span>\u0421\u041c\u041e\u0421\u00bb\u00bb<\/strong> [Federal Space Agency \u201cROSKOSMOS<\/a>\u201d] has plenty of information.<\/p>\n

Oh, and to answer the original question of what came first, cosmonauts or astronauts. First, there was the \u00ab<\/strong>\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [astronaut]. Yes, Russian scientists used the term astronaut for a while before switching to the other option. The now-iconic \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> was originally regarded as foreign and confusing. It only entered the dictionaries in 1958 (although it did appear in a sci-fi novel 8 years prior). The momentous decision to switch to \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> was made by \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442 <\/strong>\u0432\u0435\u0434\u0443<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u0441\u043f\u0435\u0446\u0438\u0430\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [a panel of the leading experts], including M. Keldish.<\/p>\n

Question of the day<\/em> – if you had the money, would you fly to the orbit as a space tourist? Why or why not? I\u2019ll\u00a0reveal my answer early next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Today, February 10th 2011 marks \u00ab\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0435 \u0441\u043e \u0434\u043d\u044f \u0440\u043e\u0436\u0434\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f \u041c\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0441\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430 \u0412\u0441\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447\u0430 \u041a\u0435\u043b\u0434\u044b\u0448\u0430\u00bb [one hundredth birthday of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldish]. Keldish was a Soviet scientist without whose contributions many of \u00ab\u0443\u0441\u043f\u0435\u0445\u0438 \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0442\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430\u0432\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0438\u00bb [achievements of the Soviet cosmonautics], including Sputnik and the first manned flight would not had happened. Although his name rarely appeared in…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[178,995],"tags":[13678,14983,15467,14277,13677,13679,14653,15366,8956],"class_list":["post-1838","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-soviet-union","tag-astronauts","tag-konstantin-tsiolkovsky","tag-mstislav-keldish","tag-roskosmos","tag-russian-cosmonauts","tag-russian-space-agency","tag-russian-space-program","tag-sergey-korolev","tag-yuri-gagarin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6278,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions\/6278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}