Meeting between the management of S.P. Korolev RSC Energia and journalists

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
On the meeting between the management of S.P. Korolev RSC Energia and
journalists



November 30, 2004. Korolev, Moscow Region.

On the initiative of the Association of Foreign Journalists, whose members
are currently working in Russia (with Adib Al-Sayed acting as the
Association's President), the management of S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space
Corporation Energia met with the representatives of foreign mass media (MM).
The meeting was also attended by the invited Russian journalists.
The central and regional mass media aimed at familiarizing the world
community and the Russian public with current and advanced developments
created by S.P. Korolev RSC Energia.
In the course of the meeting Yu.P. Semenov, President of S.P. Korolev RSC
Energia, General Designer, Technical Director of the Russian manned space
programs, RAS academician, told the audience about the case history of the
enterprise established by S.P. Korolev, Chief Designer of rocket and space
systems, the founder of practical cosmonautics; building up its business and
the Corporation's performance. Among the Corporation's main achievements he
mentioned the development of the first national long-range ballistic
missiles; launch and flight of the world's first artificial earth
satellites, automatic space stations to the Moon, Venus, Mars; the world's
first man-in-space flight and extravehicular activities; the pioneer manned
orbital stations; Energia super heavy launch vehicle, which is still second
to none worldwide; the first airfield landing in an automatic mode of space
vehicle - the Buran reusable orbital spacecraft, as well as many other
things.
He acquainted the journalists with the Corporation's current activities
related to the Projects being implemented and under development, which are
directly concerned with the directions of the national and international
cosmonautics development. Also he dwelt upon the work progress in the
International Space Station (ISS), the advanced systems of
transport-technical support, which were likely to incorporate the Kliper
reusable manned space vehicle and the Parom unmanned cargo complex. He
emphasized the need to provide an adequate financial support of the
activities aimed at creating advanced space-related facilities in support of
the developing high technologies, which determined industrial level and
growth rates of a country, it place and role worldwide. In view of that,
Yuri Pavlovich drew the journalists' attention to the fact that manned
cosmonautics was the motive power for the national rocket and space
industry, which demonstrated the technological level of the state and
materialization of its potential. Capitalizing on the existing modern high
technologies for the benefit of the abovementioned line of activity and
using the manned cosmonautics advantages to facilitate the search for and
creation of new breakthrough technologies would allow to solve the
challenging problems in other areas and for other activities as well (for
instance, in the development and manufacture of unmanned spacecraft, rocket
and space launch facilities, various non-space industrial products).
Yu.P. Semenov gave impressive examples of the Corporation's activities
concentrated on the Yamal new-generation telecommunication satellites, Earth
Remote Sensing (ERS) equipment, other dedicated satellites based upon the
RSC Energia - developed multipurpose space bus 'Viktoria'. In so doing, he
stated that the first ERS satellite, which due to the use of the Viktoria
bus was expected to be built within a very short time, would be placed into
a near-earth orbit in the second half of the year 2005 as scheduled. The
Corporation-proposed project of further modernization of the world-famous
highly reliable Soyuz rocket and space complex was presented to the
audience. This Complex had been developed and implemented at the end of the
1950s due to the OKB-1 efforts (now RSC Energia) under the lead of S.P.
Korolev. The Complex was earlier referred to as the P-7, Sputnik, Vostok,
Molniya; then it had been handed over to the OKB-1 branch (TsKB since 1974)
located in the city of Kuibyshev (Samara) for conducting further activities
and design supervision during the lot production at the local Progress
works. Today the works and the design office have been integrated into a
single enterprise known as GNP RKT' TsSKB - Progress.
Also the journalists familiarized themselves with the Corporation's
contribution to the high technologies introduced into the manufacture of
non-space products. In this area the Corporation is known as the developer
and manufacturer of vacuum cleaners, food processors, mixers,
prosthetic-orthopedic articles, water purification filters, tricycles with
practicable electric drive, hydrogen power plants for motor transport and
independent electric/heat/water supply of small settlements, residential and
office buildings, complexes and facilities, as well as automatic stations of
environmental monitoring, etc.
Thereafter Yu.P. Semenov and other participants of the press conference,
namely: First Vice President of the Corporation, ZEM Director A.F.
Strekalov, First Deputy General Designer V.P. Legostaev, Deputies General
Designer Yu.I. Grigoriev, V.V. Riumin, N.A. Brukhanov and V.A. Solovyov,
aswered the questions asked by the journalists regarding the activities on
the ISS, Kliper space vehicle, Parom Complex, a possible participation of
the enterprise and the country as a whole in future projects of developing
the Moon, Mars and other planets by mankind. The clarifications were given
as to the practicability of using the Energia launch vehicle for these
projects; the salient features of the RSC Energia - proposed project of
interplanetary mission complex, which was regarded as the most advisable by
financial costs and the required production capacity as compared with other
known foreign options.
At the close of the press conference the journalists were shown over the
Experimental Machinebuilding Plant (EMBP), RSC Energia, to see the
manufacture of space products with their own eyes. They visited the shop for
final assembly and integrated checkouts of the Soyuz, Progress space
vehicles, modules of orbital stations, where they were displayed the Kliper
design mockup, on which the corresponding onboard equipment, apparatus and
systems were being installed. Being fastened in the assembly fixture, the
deployed reflector of a 12-m space antenna intended to be installed on
potential satellites was on display. Also the journalists were shown the
assembly shop section, where industrial cleanliness consistent with the
current international requirements of space industry was assured. They could
see the process flow of final assembly and integrated checkouts of DM Upper
Stages and the new-generation satellites based upon the Viktoria bus.
During the visit to the manufacturing plant the journalists' questions were
answered by the First Vice President of the Corporation, ZEM Director A.F.
Strekalov, Deputies General Designer and leading specialists of the
Corporation Yu.I. Grigoriev, V.V. Riumin, N.A. Brukhanov, V.A. Solovyov,
I.S. Yefremov, A.G. Chernyavskiy, I.V. Smirnov.
The meeting lasted more than 5 hours and ended up with visiting the
Corporation's Museum. The journalists were shown unique exhibits indicating
the history of cosmonautics and the enterprise, including the mockup to the
Mir manned orbital complex fragment in its final assembly stage, which
consisted of the analogs of the Base Module and Kvant astrophysical module
used earlier as part of the ground integrated test stand of the Orbital
Complex. Some journalists could take a seat for a while in the arm-chair of
the Soyuz T space vehicle commander, be photographed near the descent module
of the Vostok space vehicle, which with Yu.A. Gagarin onboard had completed
its orbit around the Earth for the first time in human history.


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Jacques :-)

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