36th pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR / Russia, 79th cosmonaut of the world.

Born 02/01/1935 in the village of Giblitsy, Kasimovsky district, Ryazan region (RSFSR).

In 1953 he graduated from mechanical engineering college. He studied at the military aviation school and the Chuguevsky military aviation school.

Since 1957 he worked at OKB-1 (now RSC Energia). In 1963 he graduated from the All-Union Correspondence Polytechnic Institute.

Since 1973, in the cosmonaut corps (3rd recruitment into the cosmonaut corps of NPO Energia). Candidate of Technical Sciences. Made 2 flights into space with a total duration of 11 days 20 hours.

1st flight: 09.15-23.1976 as a flight engineer of the Soyuz-22 spacecraft for 7 days 22 hours.

2nd flight: 05-09.06.1980 as a flight engineer of EP-6 to the Salyut-6 orbital station (launch and return on the Soyuz T-2 spacecraft).

Alexander Kodylev

Our fellow countryman Vladimir Aksenov

USSR pilot-cosmonaut.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

Honored Master of Sports.

Candidate of Technical Sciences, Professor.

Full member of the International Academy of Information Sciences, Information Processes and Technologies named after Wiener, International Academy of the Spiritual Unity of the Peoples of the World.

President of the Academy of Sciences of the Union of Russia and Belarus named after S.P. Queen.

Member of the All-Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Russian Academy of Security, Defense and Law and Order, State Russian Academy.

General Director of NPO Planeta, 1990–1992.

Awarded: two Orders of Lenin, a gold medal “For Services to Science and Humanity” (Czechoslovakia), the Order of Karl Marx (GDR), honorary medals named after. S.P. Koroleva, Yu.A. Gagarin; laureate of the gold medal named after academician V.F. Utkin for 2005.

Vladimir Viktorovich is an honorary citizen of the cities: Ryazan, Kasimov, Kaluga, Zeya, Mytishchi district of the Moscow region, village. Giblitsy, Ryazan region, Jefferson county (Kentucky, USA).

V. Aksyonov did a lot of public work:

since 1977 – Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Peace Fund,

since 1979 – Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments,

since 1992 – Deputy Chairman of the International Association of Peace Foundations,

since 1996 – Chairman of the Presidium of the public organization “Spiritual Movement of Russia”,

since 2001 – President of the scientific foundation “Institute of Security and Sustainable Development”.

Aksyonov is a multiple participant in international scientific and public forums through the UN, UNESCO, UNEP on problems of conversion, ideology, and culture, held in the USA, Brazil, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Japan, and Austria.

I first saw cosmonaut Aksenov in 1976 after his first flight, when he arrived in Ryazan and met with the staff of the Research Institute of Gas Discharge Devices. An open look, a bewitching smile, a calm story about a flight into space, about unforgettable foreign meetings made an indelible impression on us. More than 37 years have passed since then, but I remember how the institute’s employees gathered in the assembly hall did not let go of the hero, enjoying the minutes of the meeting. After the ceremonial meeting, V. Aksyonov visited the laboratories, where he was introduced to the developments of the institute. The photograph clearly shows how Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences V. Stepanov demonstrates to V. Aksyonov the operation of a helium-neon laser.

The second time I met Vladimir Viktorovich was in February 2010 at the All-Russian Exhibition Center Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow at the presentation of his book “On Test Roads. Notes of a designer and cosmonaut – from the first satellites to the present day.”

I was interested in getting to know the famous fellow countryman better, talking with him - a man of the same generation as me (the age difference is only two months). We have a lot in common. Cold and hungry rural childhood. Both began their independent lives at military school. Then - “civilian” studies after work and participation in the development of new technology. I was pleased to talk with a man who, through his hard work, having gone through difficult roads of trials, reached heights in his profession and life.

The presentation took place in the conference hall of the Museum of Cosmonautics. It brought together astronauts, scientists, work colleagues, publishers, friends, relatives, representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, state and public organizations.

As soon as Vladimir Aksenov steps onto the podium, the hall explodes with applause. He is the same as many years ago, smiling, handsome, stately, fit (the hardening of his youth - during pre-graduation practice at the technical school at the Stalin plant (ZIL), he graduated from the ballroom dancing school at the enterprise's Palace of Culture). Only gray hair adorns the years.

The book by V. Aksenov, presented at the presentation, characterizes the personality of the author like no other document. It is based on specific situations in which he was either a direct participant or a witness. In the book, V. Aksyonov reveals the pages of his biography against the backdrop of the development of astronautics in the USSR during a period of great achievements.

"Leading in the world, - Aksyonov emphasized, – we walked the untrodden paths of science.

Feature: the cosmonautics of Korolev’s time, in its main stages of knowledge, decided everything for the first time: what is space? What is a man in space? What can he do, what can’t he do? What stages must he go through before space? The search proceeded at a stunning pace, which was set by Korolev. Not a single flight was repeated, the technology and tasks became more complicated. Each flight could be delayed according to the requirements of yesterday's instructions. Each time Sergei Pavlovich determined the degree of possible risk. But the risk was not blind, but a hundreds of times verified step by thoughtful, more complex preparation of the astronaut for the flight. He took responsibility. They believed in him, and this suited everyone: the cosmonauts, and everyone involved in this great, little-known matter, including the country’s leadership. GREAT PERSONALITY! Not a single chairman of the State Commission went to a meeting before launching a spacecraft without first finding out the opinion of the chief designer.”

Choice of S.P. Korolev was not accidental. He had a unique ability to bring different people together to solve grandiose problems. “You can’t make a mistake and there’s no one to ask,” Korolev said, – any mistake initiated the search for new enemies. Everything was completely new: science, technology, and the complexities of human relationships.”

“Yes, indeed, Wernher von Braun was completely right,” Aksyonov notes, - when, answering a question about the reasons for the primacy of the USSR over the USA in the early stages of the development of astronautics, he said that in America there was no such figure as Korolev.” In the book “100 Great Scientists of the 20th Century,” prepared by the American Information Center, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev took fifth place in the world and first among Russian and Soviet scientists.

The truth about space

Fellow cosmonauts, scientists, publishers, and friends spoke during the discussion of the book. They noted the truthfulness in the description of events, the complexity of the flights, especially the enormous responsibility of test cosmonauts for the fate of new manned spacecraft and space stations. The author’s courage was noted in solving not only technical issues in the creation of new technology, but also in solving truly national problems in the field of further development of astronautics, as well as the use of space research results in the national economy of the country.

It seems interesting to me to partially cite some of the speeches.

Daughter of S.P. Koroleva – Natalya Sergeevna, - congratulating on the release of the long-awaited book and the 75th anniversary of his birth, noting the youth of the soul of the hero of the day, vigor, inexhaustible energy, goodwill, simplicity, accessibility, breadth of knowledge, erudition, friendliness of the wonderful performer of Russian folk songs and romances, wished him good health.

Cosmonaut V. Polyakov, who worked in space for a total of 688 days, noted that Aksyonov, later appointed director of the Research Institute of Meteorology, while monitoring the Earth, embodied the dream of S.P. Koroleva - “Space must be creative.” V.V. Aksyonov, as a designer and test cosmonaut, took part and made a significant contribution to the creation of the new generation spacecraft Soyuz-T2, on which all subsequent generations of cosmonauts successfully fly and perform assigned tasks for 30 years.

B.A. Astafiev: “Three times Hero of the Soviet Union A. Pokryshkin wrote the book “Sky of War”, V. Aksyonov - “Roads of Testing”. These books by outstanding patriots, subtle psychologists, were written by people with remarkable qualities: they are characterized by justice, perseverance and hard work. Aksyonov’s book is written as a professional, the most profound, the most courageous, the most honest, the most erudite person, could write.”

An interesting fact from his space biography, described in his book: during his first launch into space, Aksyonov passed another medical test for general professional and psychological stability. Aksyonov is the only cosmonaut who had a constant and unchanging pulse - about 64 beats per minute, and it did not change until the launch and during the launch of the rocket. This is a world record for the level of calm before and at the very start of the ship.

In the book, Aksyonov examines in detail the issue of the role of S.P.’s personality. Korolev in space exploration. But Korolev did not make history alone. Together with him, they selflessly served the cause of individuals of a different level, but also individuals. Among them is our fellow countryman Vladimir Viktorovich Aksyonov.

Path to the stars

Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov was born on February 1, 1935 in the village of Giblitsy, Kasimovsky district, Ryazan region. The way of life in the village required constant daily work, especially in the spring, summer and autumn periods. Children always participated in all household and field work. Volodya lost his parents early. He was raised by his grandparents, and he participated in all work on an equal basis with adults. The diversity and consistency of the rural way of life created a favorable atmosphere for a healthy lifestyle.

After school, he studied at a mechanical engineering college, a military pilot school, and a polytechnic institute. But Aksyonov believes that a person receives his main education in the course of life itself, and study lasts throughout his life. It depends on the type of activity and on the people who surround you. Aksenov was lucky in this regard.

Since January 1957, after leaving the Air Force (due to downsizing), Aksyonov began working at one of the most advanced enterprises in the Moscow region, headed by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, a man later recognized as the founder of practical cosmonautics in the USSR and in the world. But working conditions alone are absolutely not enough for a newcomer to become an individual. To do this, it is necessary not only to have a rare specialty, but also to constantly study.

A fact from Aksyonov’s biography: working as a designer in a very complex industry, he immediately, without interrupting his work, entered the Polytechnic Institute in absentia.

Two lines of the biography contain a rich period of the young specialist’s life. The work requires complete dedication. Everything is new.

Studying in such an environment is a difficult task, given that in 1958 Aksyonov started a family. His wife Marina worked in the same design bureau where Vladimir worked. Now they have two sons: Valery and Sergei, grandson Alexander and granddaughter Ivanna. But there is a goal, there is a desire, perseverance, patience - the hardening of the childhood years of a rural boy. How typical this is for our generation. As an experienced and responsible specialist, Aksyonov, soon after graduating from the institute, was transferred to the enterprise’s flight test service and appointed technical manager of new tests.

Responsible for the entire progress of the work, he takes a personal part in it, especially in developing the methodology and test regimes in zero gravity conditions, having made 250 flights on the laboratory’s aircraft. The growing complexity of space flights requires comprehensive testing of manned spacecraft, flight control methods both to create fundamentally new spacecraft and to solve the most complex problems of applying scientific achievements in the national economy and the country's defense complex. And among the first candidates for test cosmonauts is Vladimir Aksyonov.

In his first space flight on the Soyuz-22 spacecraft (1976), he, as a flight engineer, together with commander Valery Bykovsky, tests the new optical system MKF-6, created by scientists from the Academies of Sciences of the USSR and the German Democratic Republic, and the Carl-Zeiss enterprise "

Information from the article “Soviet Space in the Works of Soviet Artists. Part 3 Space in Earth Service"
http://www.rusproject.org/node/273

“Multispectral photography from orbit - the Rainbow experiment, carried out in September 1976 by cosmonauts V. Aksenov and V. Bykovsky on board the Soyuz-22 spacecraft.” The MKF-6 equipment, operating in six spectral ranges, was developed by specialists from the USSR and the GDR.

In the painting, the artist A. Sokolov conventionally depicted this important space experiment.

USSR Post stamp,
dedicated to the Soyuz-22 flight

The successful completion of this task allowed Vladimir Aksenov to subsequently become, on a competitive basis, the director of the State Research Institute for the Study of Natural Resources of the Earth. The Institute is engaged in the design and manufacture of automatic spacecraft for studying the Earth's surface using remote sensing methods. Later, V. Aksenov was appointed general director of the new enterprise NPO Planeta, in which his institute GOSNIITsIP became the main scientific link.

During the second space flight (1980), it was necessary to test the new Soyuz-T spacecraft, the design of which was proposed by V. Aksyonov based on the test results of the ship in the first flight. Such a flight can be classified as a test of the highest complexity. The first flight of a new aircraft in aviation gives birth to a new aircraft; in astronautics, the first flight gives birth to a new ship. The crew, consisting of commander Yuri Malyshev and flight engineer Vladimir Aksenov, managed to overcome all the failures and “surprises” of the first tests and prove the right of the new ship to its future life.

Call sign: "Jupiter-1".

The flight duration was 3 days 22 hours 19 minutes 30 seconds.

In 2010, in June, this ship turned 30 years old. All these years, the unique device has been supporting space programs and is the main ship of our and world cosmonautics.

Looking to the future

V. Aksyonov sets out his views on the future in his work “Russia in the 21st century. National path of development" (M., Publishing house of the newspaper "Patriot", 1999). The preface from the publisher notes that Aksyonov is a very versatile person, who is both a scientist and a practitioner, with deep knowledge and practical experience of specific activities in a variety of fields - in science and production, in economics and finance, in the legal and political fields, deeply versed in issues of culture and religion, sociology and philosophy.

Thirty-two years of work at the S.P. Korolev in the design, design and testing departments, at all stages of the origin and development of manned space flight, and then four years of work in the field of automatic systems for studying the Earth - in all positions from designer to general director of a research and production association - gave Aksenov the opportunity to gain invaluable experience , understanding of the organization of work of large production systems and the country’s economy as a whole.

That is why his judgments, as a creatively gifted person, have a practical orientation and show his ability to highlight the main ways to solve problems.

Confirmation of the characteristics of Vladimir Aksenov as a person is his work on the national path of development of Russia in the 21st century. Very interesting are his judgments on the state of the Russian cosmonautics, the country's defense capability, the implementation of an independent national policy, assessment of the current situation in the world, environmental problems, the problem of the formation of a human personality with high moral and moral qualities, on issues of the state structure of Russia, on state guarantees, how one of the necessary conditions for the life of society. In matters of national economics, Aksyonov shows how to resolve issues of property, combining the concepts of property and responsibility, and issues of using natural resources.

Summing up the discussion of the national path of development, Aksyonov writes: “Western analysts have long sought to understand the mysterious (according to their concepts) Russian soul, but they are probably unable to realize that it is in it, in the mysterious Russian soul, that there is that genetic spirituality and ineradicable desire for the affirmation of justice, which is absent in pragmatic, effective in material matters, aimed at extracting material benefits from everything and a more primitive Western person in general.”

"The future of humanity,– writes V. Aksyonov in conclusion, – is inextricably linked with the spiritual revival of man and society, with the creation of conditions that provide each person with the opportunity for a comprehensive life with decent material support for the life of each person and his family. Russia’s historical task is to win the battle with the global financial and economic elite, which establishes its own laws and its own orders in the world, and to embark on its own national path, a new path of development.”

In the preface to his book, V. Aksenov writes: “The title of the book, Roads of Trial, corresponded to my idea of ​​​​human life. For every person, his earthly life is his trials, which confront him not only in his professional activities, but also in all life situations and problems, and which every Person must overcome, choosing ways out of any situation due to his life ideas, spiritual and physical strength, in accordance with one’s character and will.”

And along this road, which begins in the village of Giblitsy in the Ryazan region, he walks non-stop, keeping up with the times, having gone through the crucible of trials, successfully overcoming obstacles with the tenacity of a rural boy, without a “hairy hand” or pushers. Step by step, step by step, he rose to the top level of knowledge and professional skill and, having overcome gravity (literally and figuratively), entered space into low-Earth orbit, winning recognition in his country and the world. And the breadth of knowledge, the ineradicable desire to optimize not only technical (improving the designs of spacecraft and using the achievements of astronautics in the national economy), but also life processes occurring in human society, allowed him to express his point of view on the issue of the national path of development of Russia in the 21st century .

On June 11, 2011, in the city of Ryazan on Tsiolkovsky Street, a bust of the USSR pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov was erected. I was lucky enough to participate in the creation and installation of a bust of our famous fellow countryman.

Materials from the website of the Federal Space Agency "Roscosmos"
http://www.federalspace.ru/10651/

June 5, 2010 marked the 30th anniversary of its launch
modified manned spacecraft Soyuz T-2

30 years ago, on June 5, 1980, a modified manned spacecraft Soyuz-T launched from Baikonur. The main objective of this flight was to conduct the first manned tests of a new, improved Soyuz T-type transport ship, intended to replace the Soyuz-type spacecraft.

From the memoirs of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov, pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union: “There are few such flights. Their number corresponds to the number of new types of aircraft or spacecraft...”

The developer and manufacturer of the Soyuz family of spacecraft from the 1960s to the present is the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia.

The flight of the Soyuz T-2 was preceded by several years of painstaking work by designers, engineers and scientists. The creation of the new ship was headed by Chief Designer Konstantin Davydovich Bushuev.

Literally a year before the first manned flight of his spacecraft, unexpectedly for everyone, he died... Chief Designer Konstantin Davydovich Bushuev... His death was a huge loss... for the entire world cosmonautics.”

“Soyuz” has always been and to this day remains the “workhorse” of Soviet cosmonautics. The ship was modified almost constantly. Soyuz-T (T-transport), which made its first flight into space in 1980, featured significantly improved systems (digital computer, new control system, integrated propulsion system). Due to the modification of the descent module, the Soyuz-T crew could include up to three people in spacesuits.

“It was the world’s first spacecraft in which the main control processes were carried out through an on-board computer. In American astronautics, a ship in which all processes were also carried out through an on-board computer was the Space Shuttle, which flew a year after our ship.”

The ship's commander Yuri Malyshev and flight engineer Vladimir Aksenov were entrusted with testing the Soyuz of the new series. The crew tested various control modes and new onboard systems of the transport ship in a manned version.

From the memoirs of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov: “Our call sign is “Jupiter”...

Once again, behind the ship's window, the Earth appeared in its fantastically beautiful form. Yura saw all this divine beauty for the first time and did not hide his delight.”

During the Soyuz-T flight, docking was carried out with the Salyut-6 space station. At this time, cosmonauts Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin were at the station. In order to form a working orbit, the ship's crew performed a two-pulse maneuver. At the first stage, the Soyuz T-2 spacecraft approached the Salyut-6 orbital complex in automatic control mode. Further approach and mooring was carried out by the crew manually. The Soyuz T-2 spacecraft docked with the station on June 6.

From the memoirs of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov: “This was the world’s first docking of space objects, performed in a completely manual mode, without any instrumentation for measuring rendezvous and docking parameters...

After Yura and I docked, manual modes... began to be carried out on other flights.”

Soyuz T-2 undocked from the Salyut-6 complex on June 9 and on the same day at 12:38:30 landed 200 km southeast of Dzhezkazgan. From the memoirs of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov: “The soft landing engines are activated at the surface of the Earth... But everything went wrong for us...

(The descent vehicle) jumped across the steppe five times...

There has never been such a “soft” landing in all previous flights, and then it turned out that in all subsequent flights.”

Pilot-cosmonaut twice Hero of the Soviet Union Yuri Vasilyevich Malyshev did not live to see the anniversary of this historic space flight. He passed away on November 8, 1999.

From the memoirs of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov: “Yuri Vasilyevich Malyshev was truly a real, whole, Russian Man with a broad soul and an open Heart...”

Soon the American shuttles will stop flying, and the “grandchildren” of that Soyuz-T will remain the only manned transport spacecraft in the International Space Station program.

From the memoirs of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov: “...The problems solved in space flights are national and universal problems. They need to be resolved not because it is beneficial to someone, but because it is necessary for the general advancement, for the further development of science, the accumulation of universal knowledge and experience.”

Event date: 02/01/1935

Born on February 1, 1935 in the village. Giblitsy Belkovsky district of the Moscow region (now Kasimovsky district of the Ryazan region). Lost his parents early. Father - Viktor Stepanovich Zhivoglyadov did not live with his family after the birth of his son; died at the front on January 13, 1944. Mother, Alexandra Ivanovna Aksenova, worked as an accountant in a local general store and food processing plant; died in 1949. After the death of her mother, her grandparents became educators and guardians: Ivan Prokofievich and Vera Fedorovna Aksenov - graduates of the Ryazan Teachers' Seminary in 1896, teachers of Russian language and literature at the Giblitz school. Vera Fedorovna was one of the first teachers in the Ryazan region to be awarded the Order of Lenin for her contribution to education. Grandmother died in 1955, grandfather - in 1959. Vladimir studied at school successfully - he had certificates of merit for the 4th, 5th and 7th grades.

In 1949 he joined the Komsomol. In the same year, after successfully graduating from a rural seven-year school without exams, he was admitted to the Kasimovsky Industrial College. In Kasimov, together with fellow villager Evgeniy Stogov, also a technical school student, they rented a small room in a private house on the street. Wood-burning. Every week on Sundays, together with other students, they walked a 25-kilometer path from Kasimov to Giblitz.

In 1950, by decision of the elders in the family, he moved to live in Kaliningrad (now Korolev), Moscow Region, with his mother’s sister, Zinaida Ivanovna Simakina, who worked as a school teacher. He continued his studies at the Mytishchi Mechanical Engineering College. The students underwent practical training at large enterprises - the Mytishchi Machine-Building Plant (now OJSC Metrovagonmash) and the Moscow Automobile Plant named after. I. V. Stalin (now the Open Joint-Stock Moscow Company “Plant named after I. A. Likhachev” (AMO ZIL), where they received the specialties of a turner, mechanic, milling machine, assembler. Subsequently, these professional skills were very useful in everyday life, in the work of a designer, tester and astronaut.

At the same time, Vladimir Viktorovich successfully graduated from the ballroom dance school at the Palace of Culture of the automobile plant, which subsequently allowed him to feel confident at all official events and receptions, including abroad.

After graduating from technical school in 1953, Aksenov, at the suggestion of the local military registration and enlistment office, was sent to a military pilot school with a permit from the Mytishchi city Komsomol committee. In the summer of 1953, a large group of young men from Moscow came to enroll in the 10th Military Aviation School of Initial Pilot Training (10th VASHPOL) in Kremenchug, Poltava Region (Ukraine). The competition was four people per place. Studying at a military school left the warmest memories - the team, discipline, an exceptionally healthy lifestyle, physical education and sports, interesting subjects - flight theory, engine design, meteorology, aircraft navigation, etc., wonderful flight practice - aerobatics, flights formation, along the route, etc. Aksenov graduated from the 10th VASHPOL with honors in 1955 and was sent for further training to the Chuguev Military Aviation School of Pilots (Chuguev, Kharkov region, Ukraine). This school trained many wonderful aces, including 273 Heroes of the Soviet Union. I. N. Kozhedub, a three-time Hero of the Soviet Union, graduated from it. Nine cosmonauts, twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, were cadets of this school in different years.

In May 1956, the government of the USSR, which came up with a number of large-scale peace initiatives on the issue of reducing armed forces and conventional weapons, announced a unilateral reduction of the Armed Forces of the USSR by 1,200,000 people. This affected the army, military schools, some design bureaus and factories. On January 13, 1957, Aksenov returned to Kaliningrad and was hired as a 3rd category designer at the Special Design Bureau, the Chief Designer and Director of which was Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, now recognized throughout the world as the founder of practical cosmonautics. The design team, which included Aksenov, was developing one of the components of the first satellite - a sealed signal output from the transmitter through a metal case to the satellite antennas. In subsequent years, the department under the leadership of the future academician Boris Evseevich Chertok, in which Vladimir Viktorovich worked, was directly involved in design developments for almost all products, including control systems for the Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz spacecraft. .

Aksenov, without leaving work, graduated from the All-Union Correspondence Polytechnic Institute in 1963, whose training and consulting center was at that time at the Design Bureau. Based on the results of defending his diploma project on space topics, held at the design bureau, Aksenov was awarded the qualification of a mechanical engineer. Years of work as a designer of instruments and systems became a higher engineering school, which Vladimir Viktorovich “graduated” as a senior design engineer in connection with the transition to the flight test service of the enterprise, created by S.P. Korolev in 1964. Headed a new structure by the famous test pilot Hero of the Soviet Union S. N. Anokhin. Aksenov was entrusted with carrying out tests to develop space technology and techniques for working space crews in zero-gravity conditions. Vladimir Viktorovich worked as a technical test manager for nine years.

Weightlessness on Earth could only be created under a special aircraft flight mode. In order to accommodate full-size spacecraft compartments in the aircraft, it had to be large in size and meet special strength requirements. Such tests in zero-gravity modes in the USSR were carried out on specially modified Tu-104 and then Il-86 aircraft, and in the USA on KC-130 aircraft. The weightlessness mode could only be performed by the most qualified and experienced test pilots of the Flight Research Institute (LII) (Zhukovsky, Moscow region) and the State Research Red Banner Institute (GNIKI) of the Air Force named after. V. P. Chkalova (Chkalovsky village, Moscow region). The flights belonged to the highest category of complexity. The testers worked in real space suits and were insured by the rest of the test crew. Being the technical manager of the tests and responsible for the entire progress of the work, Aksenov was always one of four testers during flights. This combination made it possible to evaluate the work of the crews and the degree of compliance of space technology with the fulfillment of flight tasks. The most important elements of the programs for future flights of spacecraft crews were worked out. Testers chose the most reliable ones from different options for methods and techniques for working in zero gravity and taught these techniques to future crews. At that time, everything related to weightlessness was new and had not yet been sufficiently studied. Over the years of testing activity, Aksenov performed more than 250 flights on the laboratory aircraft and worked in more than 1,200 weightlessness modes. In terms of “pure” time, this amounted to more than 10 hours. under space flight conditions. This practical experience and psychological preparation for performing assigned tasks in conditions of particular complexity served as the basis for effective work in future space flights. Aksenov’s testing team also worked out a program for the actions of cosmonauts when landing spacecraft on the Moon. At that time, the program to prepare flights to land on the Moon was in full swing. Gravity on the Moon is 1/6 of that on Earth. Gravity conditions, like zero-gravity regimes, were created in the flights of a laboratory aircraft, only with slightly different trajectory parameters. In the cabin of the plane, even “lunar” soil was placed “on the floor” - a special rock brought from Armenia. In total, about 150 lunar gravity modes were completed—that’s 75 minutes. “pure” time of work “on the Moon”. The testers of this team are the only ones in our country who worked “on the surface of the Moon.” Unfortunately, manned flight programs to land on the Moon were discontinued.

With the increase in the volume and variety of work in space, including open space, the management of the enterprise decided to create a special testing laboratory to study the entire range of problems related to the work of astronauts, their special equipment, including specialized space instruments. The leadership of the laboratory was entrusted to Aksenov.

In 1973, Vladimir Viktorovich transferred to the position of test cosmonaut in the cosmonaut detachment at the design bureau, created by the decision of S.P. Korolev. The design bureau's test cosmonauts were part of the general cosmonaut corps of the Scientific Research Testing Center for Cosmonaut Training (NIITsPK) named after. Yu. A. Gagarin, underwent general selection and training, and carried out all elements of the space flight program. In addition, they had to directly evaluate the operation of all systems of ships and stations in flight and then, together with designers and designers, carry out analysis, eliminate deficiencies, and improve the operation of systems. The knowledge of space technology acquired over the years of design and testing work, the skills of working in a crew acquired during flight tests, were very important in Aksenov’s professional activities.

During his time in the cosmonaut corps, Vladimir Viktorovich completed two test flights into space. The main purpose of the first flight, which took place from September 15 to 23, 1976 in the crew with V.F. Bykovsky, was to test a new photo system for filming the Earth from space. The multispectral photo system MKF-6, at that time the best in the world, was made according to the technical specifications of Soviet scientists in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) at the Carl Zeiss Jena enterprise. During the testing, photographs were taken of the Earth's surface - land and ocean. About 20 million square meters were filmed in six days. km of the Earth's surface, including about 10 million square meters. km of USSR territory. 90% of the photographs were of excellent quality, and the features of multispectral photography made it possible to obtain information on the entire range of interests in assessing the earth's surface - for geologists, forestry and agricultural workers, hydrologists, for drawing up cadastral land plans, etc. The creation of a similar system in the 1970s. was a huge success for scientists and specialists of the USSR and the GDR. The first tests are always accompanied by some failures. They were there on this flight too. After eliminating the problems, the system operated for many years on space stations such as Salyut.

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 4540 of September 28, 1976, “for the successful implementation of an orbital flight on the Soyuz-22 spacecraft and the courage and heroism displayed,” Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 4541 of September 28, 1976, he was awarded the title “Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR”.

The second flight, which took place on June 5-9, 1980, was a test of the highest complexity: it was necessary to conduct the first flight tests of the new Soyuz-T spacecraft. The ship was designed and prepared for launch for several years. Mostly new teams of designers and system developers worked on it, including a group led by Aksenov, which consisted of several test cosmonauts. The peculiarities of the ship were not only the new level of all systems, but also the fact that all its main modes were controlled through the on-board computer. This was a new stage in the design and management of space technology both in the USSR and in the USA. The American space shuttle, which was also controlled via an on-board computer, appeared only a year after the flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft.

Aksenov conducted tests of the new ship together with Yu. V. Malyshev. The ship was a three-seater, but on its first flight the crew consisted of two people. It took the cosmonauts two days to evaluate the operation of all modes and systems of the spacecraft during an autonomous flight. On the third day, tests of a new system for rendezvous and docking of the ship with the Salyut-6 station were planned. However, at the most important stage of docking, when seconds and minutes are counting, at a distance of 250 m from the station, the on-board computer, executing the programmed program, turned off the control system, assessing the failure and failure of the main instrument of the station's speed and displacement meter system. This happened in 10 minutes. before the station entered the Earth's shadow, where docking would have been impossible. It took all the skill and composure of the astronauts to manually dock with the station in the remaining time. Previously, in case of similar failures in several space flights, docking was not performed. A completely manual docking in all its specific complexity was performed on this flight for the first time in the world. This was all the more important because failure to complete one of the main flight elements for a transport ship (in this case, docking with the station) could result in its being sent for revision for several years. Docking, even in such an extreme mode, showed the possibilities of its use. Soyuz-T was accepted as a new transport ship and since then, taking into account the eliminated shortcomings, it has been the main spacecraft of our cosmonautics. After docking with the Salyut-6 station, where the cosmonauts were met by the station crew - V.V. Ryumin and L.I. Popov - and assessing the interaction of the new ship with the station systems, the crew visited during their return to Earth tested a new descent system.

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 2290 dated June 16, 1980, “for the successful testing in space of the improved transport ship Soyuz T-2 and the courage and heroism shown,” USSR pilot-cosmonaut Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov was awarded the second Gold medal Star".

After the second test flight, Aksenov was mainly engaged in the development of new systems for manned spacecraft as deputy head of complex No. 3 of the enterprise, which developed the most important and complex systems of the spacecraft - motion control, orientation, docking, descent and landing systems. The leaders of this complex were: Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Viktorovich Raushenbakh, then Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Pavlovich Legostaev.

In 1988, Vladimir Viktorovich, through a competition, became the director of the State Research Center (Institute) for the Study of Natural Resources (GOSNITSIPR). The Institute was engaged in the design and manufacture of automatic spacecraft that solved the problem of studying the Earth's surface using remote sensing methods, as well as organizing their launches. But this was only part of the overall system in solving the problems of obtaining information in the interests of hydrometeorology and the study of the Earth's natural resources. Part of the system - control of spacecraft, reception and specialized processing of information - was carried out by other organizations. Vladimir Viktorovich proposed to unite the entire system into one scientific and production association (NPO). After the presentation and justification of such an association in the scientific and management structures of the country, by decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a new scientific and production association was formed - NPO Planeta, whose general director in 1990 was Vladimir Viktorovich. NGOs, successfully working to use existing and develop new satellite systems, have reached the global level in solving these problems. However, after 1992, as a result of reforms in Russia that had a devastating impact on the entire space industry of the country, the study of the earth's surface in order to study natural resources from spacecraft using remote sensing methods practically ceased to exist due to the removal of the state order and termination of funding. In other countries, primarily in the USA, France, Japan, India, etc., such systems are successfully developing and provide invaluable information on the state of the Earth’s surface and its natural resources.

Vladimir Viktorovich carries out extensive public work: since 1977 - Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Peace Fund (since 1992 - International Association of Peace Funds (IAPM)), Chairman of the Standing Commission on the Problems of "Peace and Sustainable Development" of the IAFM, since 1979 - Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments (VOOPIiK), since 1996 - Chairman of the Presidium of the public organization "Spiritual Movement of Russia", since 2001 - President of the Scientific Foundation for Problems of Security and Sustainable Development. Since 2009 - President of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Union. S. P. Koroleva. In 2012, Vladimir Viktorovich became a member of the Advisory Council under the Governor of the Ryazan Region.

Repeated participant in international scientific and public forums organized by the UN and UNESCO on issues of conversion, ecology, safety, and culture, held in the USA, Brazil, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Japan, and Australia.

Honorary citizen of the village of Giblitsy, the city of Kasimov, Kasimovsky district, the cities of Ryazan, Kaluga, Zeya, Mytishchi district of the Moscow region, Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA).

Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, medals, including “Veteran of Labor”, “For Merit in Space Exploration”, “For Merit to Russian Cosmonautics” named after. S.P. Korolev, gold medal named after. Yu. A. Gagarin, gold medal named after. Academician V.F. Utkin, gold medal “For services to science and humanity” of the Czechoslavak Socialist Republic, Order of Karl Marx of the German Democratic Republic and others. He has the honorary titles “Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR” and “Honored Master of Sports”.

Vladimir Viktorovich has academic degrees and titles of Candidate of Technical Sciences, Professor, Academician of the International Academy of Information Sciences, Information Processes and Technologies named after. Wiener, International Academy of Spiritual Unity of the Peoples of the World, All-Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after. K. E. Tsiolkovsky, State National Russian Academy. In 2009, a postal card with a portrait of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov was published in the “Famous Ryazan Residents” series.

Aksenov Vladimir Viktorovich / prepared. O.Ya. Azovtseva, R.D. Kudyakova // Bogatyrs of the Ryazan land: biobibliographic index / Ryaz. region univers. scientific fuck them. M. Gorky. - Ryazan, 2005 - . Part 3: Heroes of the Soviet Union (1945-1991). Heroes of the Russian Federation (1992-2012) - 2013. - pp. 14-24. - Bibliography: p. 23-24.

Years have passed since the legendary flight of Yuri Gagarin. Several generations have already grown up who are not witnesses to this significant event. Meanwhile, the direct participants in the very first steps in space exploration are alive and well.

Thirty-seven years ago, on September 15, 1976 at 12:48 (Moscow time), the Soyuz-22 spacecraft was successfully launched with cosmonauts Valery Bykovsky and Vladimir Aksenov on board. And less than four years later, in the summer of 1980, Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov made his second space flight. For successful work in space, he was twice awarded the “Golden Star” of the Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition to performing complex flight missions in space orbit, this man made a huge contribution to the development of rocket space technology, automated systems for studying the environment and searching for the Earth's natural resources. The Soviet cosmonaut was awarded many Soviet and foreign orders and medals. He has over a dozen inventions and is a full member of the K.E. Academy of Cosmonautics. Tsiolkovsky and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

As you know, roads to space begin on Earth. Volodya Aksenov was born on February 1, 1935 in the forested Meshchersky region, in the village of Giblitsy, located in the Kasimovsky district of the Ryazan region. His mother, Alexandra Ivanovna Aksyonova, worked as an accountant on a collective farm. In 1940, Vladimir had a younger brother, who was named Valentin. When the Great Patriotic War began, my father, Viktor Stepanovich Zhivoglyadov, went to the front. He died in 1944. The childhood of the two brothers was difficult and passed under the care of their mother’s parents.

Did Volodya dream about space in his youth? In those days there were no such words. Shortly before his first flight, the astronaut will say: “My grandparents put me on my feet.” His grandfather, Ivan Prokofievich, taught him to mow grass, store firewood and much more. Along with the adults, Volodya and Valentin worked on the collective farm field - knitting sheaves and picking potatoes. Grandmother and grandfather were well-known teachers of literature and Russian language in the area. They instilled in the boy a love of reading and music.

Ivan Prokofievich came from a peasant background, and thanks to his abilities, he entered (and then successfully graduated from) the Ryazan Alexander Seminary. In addition to teaching literature, he played the violin remarkably and headed the school and church choirs. And my grandmother, Vera Fedorovna Aksyonova, worked at a local school for fifty-one years and was awarded the Order of Lenin and the medal “For Valiant Labor during the Great Patriotic War.” The doors of their house were open at all times. Teachers were respected by both adults and children; people often came to them for help and advice.

In 1942, Vladimir went to a rural school. He studied well, graduated from seven classes with the right to enter a technical school without exams. He was awarded Certificates of Merit for the fourth, fifth and seventh grades. In 1949, Aksenov entered the industrial technical school in Kasimov. He studied there for only one year. In order number 58 (dated July 17, 1950) for group 2A, he is listed as the first among those transferred to the next course with a scholarship.

However, his mother died, and her sister, Zinaida Ivanovna Semakina, took the guy to Kaliningrad. Like her parents, she worked as a teacher, and Volodya continued his studies at the Mytishchi Mechanical Engineering College from his second year. He graduated from this educational institution in 1953, and on the recommendation of the local city committee of the Komsomol, he was sent to the tenth military aviation school, located in the city of Kremenchug, Poltava region. Two years later, having completed initial flight training, he continued his studies at the Chuguev Aviation School of Fighter Pilots. For exemplary discipline and excellent academic achievements, the cadet was repeatedly awarded by the command.

But it so happened that in 1956-1957 a large-scale reduction of the country's air force began. In connection with the development of rocket technology, a government decree was adopted to reduce the Air Force. The reduction and retraining affected the aviation design bureaus of Lavochkin, Tsybin, and Myasishchev. Regiments and divisions were reduced, and entire courses in schools were sent to reserve. Among the pilots, the reduction was called the “Khrushchev crackdown on aviation.” These events also affected twenty-one-year-old Vladimir Aksenov. After studying for a year and a half at the Chuguev Aviation School, he was demobilized.

He was transferred to the reserve, but the craving for heaven remained. Since Aksenov graduated from a mechanical engineering college, he was hired in the fifth department of OKB-1 as a third-category designer. This happened on January 30, 1957, even before the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite. So rocketry became his destiny. He has been involved in the design, development, evaluation and experimental studies of spacecraft compartments. Aksenov himself wrote: “...since January 1957 I began to work as a designer at the Kaliningrad Special Design Bureau. Our chief designer was Sergei Korolev. For a new business I needed in-depth knowledge...”

In October 1957 he was assigned the second category, and in November 1959 Aksenov became a designer of the first category. In the early sixties, he first met with the guys from the first set of cosmonauts, among whom was his classmate from the Kremenchug tenth VASHPOL - Alexey Leonov. And in 1963, Vladimir, a year earlier than his classmates, without interrupting his work, graduated in absentia from the All-Union Polytechnic Institute, whose training and consulting center was located at the enterprise. By that time he was already working as a senior design engineer. The specialty he chose at the institute was called “Mechanical Engineering Technology, Metal-Cutting Machines and Tools,” and the topic of Aksenov’s thesis was called: “Life support systems for a spacecraft for flights to the Moon.”

In 1965, Vladimir Viktorovich was transferred from the design department to the newly created flight test department, which was headed by the famous test pilot and legend of Soviet aviation Sergei Nikolaevich Anokhin. His experience and the highest human qualities gave a lot to future cosmonauts. Anokhin led the detachment for twenty-five years, until his death in 1989. In the new department, Vladimir Aksenov was entrusted with testing space technology in zero gravity. This was necessary because a wide variety of crew work was planned on Soyuz-type ships, including in outer space. Working out the working methods of people and space technology, training the ship’s personnel to operate in conditions of weightlessness and lunar gravity (including the transition from one device to another) became Aksenov’s main task. The most experienced pilots performed “zero-gravity” flights, and Vladimir Viktorovich was the technical leader of the tests. This experience was very useful to him in the future. He himself made over 250 test flights on the TU-104 laboratory aircraft, which created conditions for short-term weightlessness. 1200 times Aksenov was in artificial weightlessness mode (which approximately equaled 9 hours in “pure” weightlessness) and 150 times in lunar gravity mode (about 40 minutes).

Immediately after his transfer to the flight test department, Vladimir Viktorovich brought Korolev an application with a request to enroll him in the corps of civilian test cosmonauts. The fact is that several selected OKB-1 specialists were part of the cosmonaut corps along with military pilots. Despite the mixed crews consisting of “civilian” and “military” astronauts, the selection and training systems were the same. All participants occupied the same positions as test cosmonauts and could replace each other during the flight. With all that, the cosmonauts of the enterprise also had some additional functions - testing and evaluating the manufactured space technology during its direct operation in space. Aksenov’s candidacy was reviewed and approved personally by Sergei Pavlovich, after which the stage of his medical selection began without interruption from his main activity.

The medical commission lasted almost two months. Using special methods, doctors checked the functioning of the entire body as a whole, as well as each organ separately under maximum load. We collected information about human life resources. The selection based on medical requirements was truly “cosmic”; during it, the majority of applicants were eliminated. According to statistics at that time, only two or three out of a hundred people received a “fit” conclusion.

For Vladimir Viktorovich, this period was very difficult and long. At the first medical examination, held at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, for some important tests he received “satisfactory” ratings, indicating a lower level of suitability. And although these were passing grades, they were not enough to conclude “fit for special training.” The doctors advised Aksenov to better adhere to the regime and come back in a year for the next examination. Vladimir Viktorovich followed their advice and successfully passed the medical examination a year later. However, by this time the first recruitment into the OKB-1 corps of civilian cosmonauts had already ended. And the certificate of suitability was given by the medical commission for only a year. At the end of this period it had to be confirmed again, in full.

At the same time (in January 1966), the “father of Soviet cosmonautics” Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, under whose leadership Aksenov worked for nine years, died. Later, Vladimir Viktorovich will write about him: “Sergei Pavlovich was the founder of practical astronautics throughout the world. Largely thanks to his will, outstanding abilities as a politician and organizer, talent as a scientist and engineer, our country became a pioneer in the space age of mankind... Korolev’s works are an example of the depth of scientific and engineering thought and focus on the final result. Working under the guidance of such a person is a great success in life, giving a lot of necessary practical experience and life concepts...”

In August 1966, Vladimir Aksenov was assigned to head one of the OKB-1 groups, and in February 1970 he became the head of the flight test laboratory of the 731st department. Having no information in advance about when the next set of test cosmonauts would take place, Vladimir Viktorovich tried to pass all subsequent annual medical examinations on time, so that he would have all the documents in order for the set. He was in such a “ready mode” for eight whole years, only in 1973 (March 21) he joined the detachment as a test cosmonaut of the 291st department of the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering.

The long selection period, accompanied by work on flight tests, was not in vain. Soon after enlisting, Aksenov, together with Valery Bykovsky, was included in the main crew for the upcoming flight into space. From the beginning of 1974 to the end of 1975, Vladimir underwent training on the 7K-S transport ship together with Leonid Kizim. At the same time, he led a detachment of civilian flight engineers training under the same program. Then, from January to July 1976, as a flight engineer, together with Bykovsky, he was trained under the testing program for the MKF-6 multispectral camera, developed by Soviet and German scientists and produced in the GDR at the Carl Zeiss Jena plant.

Every flight into space is a step into the unknown. A step that requires the highest skill, boundless courage and strong will from the astronaut. Vladimir Viktorovich's first flight began on September 15, 1976 on the Soyuz-22 spacecraft. The expedition took place within the framework of the use and exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes, Vladimir Aksenov’s call sign was “Yastreb-2”. This was the first flight under the Intercosmos program, but the crew included only Soviet cosmonauts. Their main task was to test the new MKF-6 camera, photographing areas of various continents of the Earth, the territory of the Soviet Union and the GDR using a multispectral method. In addition, the latest navigation equipment was tested, biological experiments were carried out, and ship orientation techniques were developed.

The astronauts worked sixteen hours a day, the work required them to be very focused. Various types of failures also occurred. For example, after the cassettes loaded while still on the ground were filmed, they had to be replaced. The operation was performed in complete darkness and according to established techniques. However, it turned out that the rather complex mechanisms of the filmed cassettes jammed during removal. After several dozen unsuccessful attempts, the astronauts had a dilemma: try further or change it in the light, exposing quite large parts. Given the enormous information value of the photographs taken, the astronauts spent a lot of time trying to get the tapes in the dark until they succeeded. After returning, the designers modified the camera, and by the next time it was used on Salyut-6, this defect did not appear.

There was one more episode. The camera was not planned to be returned to Earth; it was to burn up along with the household compartment in the atmosphere. However, to further improve decoding techniques, filters were needed on all lenses. And at the unofficial request of scientists, the astronauts decided to dismantle them. The work was not included in the program; they had to disassemble and break the entire apparatus for several hours. As a result, various parts of the device scattered throughout the ship. However, the filters were returned to Earth.

On September 23, the astronauts landed safely. The recorded flight duration was 7 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes and 17 seconds. The results were considered very successful. The developed and decrypted photographic films produced a color image with a quality and richness of information that exceeded our wildest expectations. In addition, the Soyuz-22 flight was perfectly coordinated by various ground services planning surveys of the earth's surface, choosing routes for them and assessing weather conditions at the survey sites. All this allowed us to obtain almost 95% of images of excellent quality. During the entire flight, twenty million square kilometers of the earth's surface were photographed (of which 10 million were the territory of the USSR). For the successful completion of tasks, Vladimir Viktorovich Aksenov was awarded a “Gold Star”. The descent module of the ship on which he flew is now in the Tsiolkovsky Museum in the Ryazan region in the village of Izhevsk.

The second (and last) space flight of Vladimir Aksenov began on June 5, 1980. As a flight engineer (call sign “Jupiter-2”), he, together with crew commander Yuri Vasilievich Malyshev, tested the new transport spacecraft Soyuz T-2. The peculiarity of this ship was that all its main systems could be controlled through an on-board computer, the control panel and display from which were displayed to the crew. Spacecraft of this class did not yet exist in the world at that time. The American Shuttle, which also has centralized control through an on-board computer, set off on its first flight only a year later.

During the flight, the crew tested new onboard systems and practiced various control modes in a manned version. In addition, the cosmonauts were given a difficult task - to dock their spacecraft with the Salyut-6 orbital station, where cosmonauts Valery Ryumin and Leonid Popov were located. To do this, they needed to perform a complex maneuver: at the first stage, the approach of the Soyuz T-2 apparatus with the research complex took place in an automatic control mode, but further actions, namely direct approach to the station and mooring, had to be performed manually.

Neither Aksenov nor Malyshev could even imagine what difficulties they would have to face. When approaching the Salyut, the crew commander was unable to reach the calculated trajectory for docking. And the device had a limited supply of energy intended for maneuvers. Control of the ship is the exclusive prerogative of the commander, and during docking Aksenov could only sit in his chair and silently worry about the outcome of the operation. If the correction had failed, the astronauts would have flown past the station and returned to Earth without completing the main task. When there was very little energy left, Vladimir Viktorovich, unable to bear it, asked to transfer control to him. Surprisingly, however, Malyshev did not object. He later admitted that at that moment he clearly understood what he should do, although it went against all the “iron” instructions. Having completed all the required operations, Vladimir Aksenov managed to safely dock the Soyuz T-2 spacecraft with the Salyut-6 station from the side of the power module.

The test flight was accompanied by other emergency situations of various kinds, but all of them were successfully overcome. The flight was also considered successful, and the overall program was completely completed. All failures were eliminated on subsequent devices. The astronauts stayed in weightlessness for about four days (flight duration - 3 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes and 30 seconds). Upon arrival on Earth on June 9, Vladimir Aksenov and Yuri Malyshev were awarded Gold Star medals for the courage and heroism shown during the expedition.

While in the ranks of the detachment, Aksenov, like all civilian cosmonauts, simultaneously worked in the design bureau, participated in testing equipment and preparing crews for new flights into space. At the end of 1981, Vladimir successfully defended his dissertation at the Space Research Institute, receiving the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences. For more than thirty years, he worked in various testing, design and engineering departments of the enterprise in various positions, eventually becoming deputy head of the complex, developing key systems for spacecraft: descent, docking, propulsion, etc.

Vladimir Viktorovich was expelled from the cosmonaut corps on October 17, 1988. In the same year, with the consent of the management, he moved to another department - the State Research Center for Hydrometeorology and the Study of Natural Resources - to the position of director. This Center was engaged in the creation of automatic satellites capable of studying the surface of the planet using space imaging methods. Work was carried out only in the direction of creating satellites, developing an instrument base for them and launching vehicles into orbit. This seemed insufficient to Aksenov. He was able to justify the need to create a closed system within the framework of one research and production association, including control of satellites in flight, receiving information from them and interpreting it in a form suitable for specific consumers (in particular, forestry workers, geologists, agricultural enterprises).

His proposal was considered, which resulted in a government decree on the creation of the NGO Planeta (in 1990). Vladimir Aksenov began to simultaneously serve as the general director of the NPO Planeta and director of the institute. The NPO Planeta, which was created and included the Research Center as its main division, was engaged in the development, production, and operation of automatic systems that study the Earth from space. Unfortunately, this association collapsed during the years of perestroika, after it completely lost state funding. On this occasion, Aksenov said in an interview: “What happened can be attributed to the trend of curtailing national space exploration programs at the end of the last century, a trend that we, astronautics specialists, found negative.”

Among other things, Vladimir Aksenov carried out considerable public work. He was deputy chairman of the Soviet Peace Foundation, then chairman of the standing commission “Peace and Sustainable Development” of the International Association of Peace Foundations, which the Soviet Foundation became in 1992. In 1996, he was appointed chairman of the Presidium of the public association “Spiritual Movement of Russia”, which studies world religions, problems of philosophy, issues of linguistics, the development of human cultures and the state structure of countries. Since 1999, the famous cosmonaut was a member of the Central Council of the public movement “Orthodox Russia”, and in 2001 he became president of the scientific foundation “Institute of Security and Sustainable Development”. Even one of these social loads would be enough for another person. However, Vladimir Viktorovich managed to make presentations on environmental issues, in particular, in Rio de Janeiro (at the World Conference on Environmental Problems) and at the UN in New York. He participated in many international conferences and was appointed chairman of the organizing committee of the first UN conference on conversion problems (in which over 100 countries took part).

In his free time, Vladimir Viktorovich went in for swimming, skiing, athletics, and played chess. He has sports ranks in all these sports. He loved to go hiking in the mountains for several weeks. Friends note his passion for singing in large companies, and Vladimir Viktorovich himself first of all names reading among his hobbies: “I am interested in philosophical and historical literature. Now it’s more professional, studying the origins of philosophy, religions, views that reflect different aspects of people’s ideas about the world.” In 1999, he wrote a short booklet called The Illusion of Security. It was published by the publishing house of the Patriot newspaper and is devoted to the problems of using nuclear weapons in modern military concepts. To the question: “What can astronautics achieve in the coming decades?”, Vladimir Viktorovich answers: “In my opinion, in the future it is imperative to develop national programs for the development of near-Earth space. Pay attention to targeted flights by individual ships. An observatory on the Moon can provide a considerable amount of new knowledge. This is a real project, especially if it is international. And of course, it is necessary to implement a flight to Mars. No machines working according to a pre-set program can replace a person who has the opportunity to select an object of study and perform a comprehensive analysis.”

The authority of Vladimir Aksenov is great both in our country and abroad. Honest and modest, with enormous efficiency and deep knowledge, always ready to help everyone who turned to him. He never severed his ties with his small homeland, often came to Giblitsy, Kasimov and Ryazan, spoke to young people in work groups, met with scientists, local historians and journalists, and tried to help solve many problems at the federal level.

I would like to wish Vladimir Aksenov health and long life. The constant companion of this courageous man has always been and is his wife, Marina Vasilievna. They have two sons, now grown and married. The eldest son Valery is a candidate of economic sciences, he works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The youngest son Sergei chose the profession of a doctor. Vladimir Viktorovich’s grandchildren are already growing up: Alexander and Ksenia.

From the biography of the astronaut at http://www.rgdrzn.ru/pages/show/honor/honor_detail/16 and an interview with him at http://88.210.62.157/content/numbers/226/37.shtml

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> > > Aksyonov Vladimir Viktorovich

Aksyonov Vladimir Viktorovich (1935-)

Brief biography:

USSR cosmonaut:№36;

World cosmonaut:№79;

Number of flights: 2;

Duration: 11 days 20 hours 11 minutes 47 seconds;

Vladimir Aksenov– 36th Soviet cosmonaut and hero of the USSR: biography with photos, space, personal life, significant dates, first flight, time in outer space.

36 cosmonauts of the USSR and 79 of the world.

Vladimir Viktorovich Aksyonov was born on February 1, 1935 in the small village of Giblitsy in the Ryazan region (then USSR). Subsequently, the man will take the place of the 36th cosmonaut of the Soviet Union and the 79th in the world. He will see large space twice and will stay there for almost 12 days. But that comes later....

Having completed 7 classes in his native village in 1949, the boy intended to continue studying at an industrial technical school, which was located in the regional center. But fate decreed otherwise: his mother died, and the guy moved to the Moscow region.

After graduating from the Mytishchi Mechanical Engineering College, in 1953 the young man continued his studies at the Kremenchutsk 10th Military Aviation School of Initial Pilot Training.

Having successfully completed it in 1955, he became a cadet at the Higher Military Aviation School in the city of Chuguev, from which he retired a year later.

The year 1963 in the cosmonaut’s life was marked by his graduation from the Polytechnic Institute; he received a diploma in mechanical engineering.

In 1981 he received a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree from the Institute of Space Research.

Space

Vladimir Aksenov received medical clearance to fly only the second time. After him, the man had to undergo a similar procedure more than once. On March 27, 1973, after another successfully passed medical examination, the man was recommended for enrollment in the ranks of astronauts.

For the next two years, the man trained shoulder to shoulder with L. Kizim on the 7K-S aircraft. The purpose of creating this ship was military-technical research and experiments in an autonomous field. Later, the ship began delivering crews to orbital stations. The man also trained with V. Bykovsky.

As part of the Intercosmos program, conducted in September 1976, Vladimir Aksenov spent 7 days in outer space. The man held the position of flight engineer of the Soyuz-22 spacecraft with the call sign “Yastreb-2”.

After 4 years, a similar experience was repeated in the life of Vladimir Viktorovich. As the same flight engineer, but already on the Soyuz T-2, the cosmonaut successfully docked with the orbital complex in which the crew of the main expedition was located. This time the call sign “Jupiter-2” spent almost 4 days in space.

Having completed the space flight stage, the man continued to work in this field, training new astronauts.

In 1988, Vladimir Aksenov left their ranks.

The former astronaut likes to spend his free time in a variety of ways. His hobbies included literature and music, mountain tourism and athletics. Also, the man does not miss the opportunity to play tennis or football.

Personal life

Zhivoglyadov Viktor Stepanovich - father, died heroically in the war in 1944.

Aksenova Alexandra Ivanovna - mother, died when the future cosmonaut was 14 years old.

Aksenova (nee Fedorova) Marina Vasilievna - wife, born in 1937, now a pensioner. She gave birth to two sons to the astronaut.

Aksenov Valery Vladimirovich - son, born in 1964, employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Aksenov Sergey Vladimirovich – son, born in 1970, doctor.

His father died at the front in 1944, his mother died in 1949.

The future cosmonaut was raised by his grandfather and grandmother, well-known teachers of Russian language and literature in the region.

In 1949, Vladimir Aksenov graduated from seven classes of school in the village of Giblitsy and entered an industrial technical school in the city of Kasimov. In the same year, due to the death of his mother, he moved to her sister in the city of Kaliningrad (now Korolev) in the Moscow region. In 1953 he graduated from the Mytishchi Mechanical Engineering College. He studied for two years at the 10th Military Aviation School for initial training of pilots in the city of Kremenchug (Poltava region, Ukraine), after which he became a cadet at the Chuguev Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, but in 1956 he was transferred to the reserve due to a massive reduction in Air Force personnel .

Since 1957, Aksenov has been working at OKB-1 (now the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia). Designer, design engineer, after graduating from the All-Union Correspondence Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Metal-Cutting Machine Tools and Tools (1963) - leading engineer, head of the flight test laboratory.

He led a flight test laboratory based on the Tu-104 aircraft, designed to create artificial weightlessness.

He practiced the actions of astronauts in outer space, including the transition from ship to ship. He made 250 flights on a simulator plane, was in conditions of artificial weightlessness 1250 times (about 10 hours) and 150 times in conditions of lunar gravity (about 40 minutes).

On March 27, 1973, the State Commission recommended him for enrollment in the cosmonaut corps.

In 1974-1976, Aksenov underwent training for a flight on the 7K-S transport ship, crewed by Leonid Kizim. Initially, 7K-S was developed for military-technical research, then (under the designation 7K-ST or Soyuz T) - for delivering crews to orbital stations.

From January to June 1976 he underwent training in a crew with Valery Bykovsky .

Vladimir Aksenov visited space twice as a flight engineer: on the Soyuz-22 spacecraft (crew commander Valery Bykovsky, call sign Yastreb) from September 15 to 23, 1976, and on the Soyuz T-2 spacecraft (crew commander Yuri Malyshev, call signs "Jupiter") from June 5 to June 9, 1980.

The total duration of Vladimir Aksenov's two flights into space is 11 days 20 hours 11 minutes 47 seconds.

Since 1984, Aksenov worked at the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center as an instructor-cosmonaut-tester, developing control systems, docking and descent of spacecraft. Expelled from the cosmonaut corps on October 17, 1988 due to retirement and transfer to another job.

In October 1988, he became director of the State Research Center for the Study of Natural Resources (GOSNITSIPR), where they designed automatic spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth. In 1990-1992, he headed the NPO Planet, which included GOSNIITSIPR and development enterprises. In 1990-1996 he was deputy chairman of the board of directors of Mosbusinessbank.

In 1983-1992, Vladimir Aksenov was deputy chairman of the board of the Soviet Peace Fund, then deputy chairman of the International Association of Peace Funds, chairman of the standing commission on the problems of “Peace and Sustainable Development”. He headed the presidium of the public organization "Spiritual Movement of Russia", is a member of the central council of the public movement "Orthodox Russia".

Vladimir Aksenov - lieutenant colonel reserve engineer, pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, instructor-test cosmonaut 2nd class, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1976,1980), awarded two Orders of Lenin (1976, 1980), medals, including "For Merit in Space Exploration" (2011), as well as the Order of Karl Marx (GDR, 1976) and a gold medal " For services to science and humanity" (Academy of Sciences of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic).

Honorary citizen of Ryazan, Kasimov, Kaluga, Zeya, Mytishchi district of the Moscow region, the village of Giblitsy of the Ryazan region, Jefferson County (Kentucky, USA).

Vladimir Aksenov is married, his wife Marina Vasilievna worked at NPO Energia, and is now retired. Sons Valery (born in 1964) and Sergei (born in 1970).