A chance to realize a dream

The names of candidates for a detachment of cosmonauts of Roscosmos became known. The results of the selection - 2018 are commented by Evgeny Ryzhkov and Alexander Khokhlov.

Evgeny Ryzhkov, scientific journalist:

On August 10, 2018, in the Roskosmos State Corporation, based on the results of the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission (MVK), chaired by the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, the results of the second open set (2017/2018) to the Roskosmos cosmonauts detachment: eight candidates for cosmonauts were approved, who will ensure the Russian piloted Program. The MVK also included the Executive Director for the piloted space programs of Roscosmos, the pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Hero of the Russian Federation S.K. Krileyov; Heroes of the Russian Federation and cosmonauts of the Russian Federation-First Deputy Head of the CPC for the training of Cosmonauts Yu. I. Malenchenko and the head of the flight center of the RSC "Energia" A. Yu. Yu. Kaleri; Head of the CPC named after Yu. A. Gagarin, Hero of the Russian Federation, Honored Power Putor P.N. Vlasov; Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dok. honey. Sciences, Director of IMBP RAS O.I. Orlov and other representatives of the rocket and space industry. Candidates for the astronauts will begin two -year -old communal training (OKP), which starts this fall in the CPC. Subject to the successful passage of OKP and passing exams, they will be credited to the Roscosmos detachment. The chance to realize their old dreams got to life:

Konstantin Sergeevich Borisov (born in 1984, place of birth - Smolensk);
Alexander Vladimirovich Gorbunov (1990, Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region);
Alexander Sergeevich Grebenkin (1982, Myski, Kemerovo region);
Alexey Vitalievich Zubritsky (1992, p. Vladimirovskoye, Zaporizhzhya district, Zaporizhzhya region, Ukraine);
Sergey Nikolaevich Mikaev (1986, Irkutsk);
Kirill Alexandrovich Peskov (1990, Kyzyl, Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic);
Oleg Vladimirovich Platonov (1986, Chelyabinsk);
Evgeny Valerievich Prokopyev (1986, Sverdlovsk) is the brother of the same Sergey Prokopyev, who for the first time flew into space on June 6, 2018 and is now on the ISS.

The ratio of “recruits” by the nature of the activity is this: three - military pilots, one pilot of civil aviation and four are immigrants from the engineering environment. Our reader could notice that the youngest candidate is only 26 years old (this is Alexei Zubritsky), and the oldest at the time of the made a positive decision turned 36 years old (Alexander Grebyankin).

The new set opened on March 14, 2017. The goal was set to choose the best specialists who will work under the ISS program, will be prepared to pilot the new ship's ship (the development of RSC Energia) and even, perhaps, the first of the Russians will fly to the moon.

According to the terms of the competition, 6-8 people were selected. The selection included several stages. First, compliance with the requirements for education and professional fit and the presence of applicants for the totality of knowledge necessary for the successful passage of the programs of the cosmonauts’s programs were checked. Then followed a complex of medical examinations. A prerequisite for winning the competition was also a stage at which psychological qualities and physical training were evaluated.

In addition, the candidates had to satisfy the following requirements:

• be citizens of the Russian Federation;
• be no older than 35 years;
• have a higher education in engineering, scientific or flight specialty and have work experience. Working experience in the aviation and missile and space industry of Russia was welcomed.

Of no small importance was the presence of abilities to study space technology: the ability to understand the basics and principles of constructing technical systems, understanding their physical nature, the ability to easily memorize technical information and terminology. In addition, it was necessary to have experience in the operation of computer equipment. Knowledge of a foreign language (English) - however, in the framework of the requirements of the programs of non -linguistic universities of the Russian Federation, it was also an indispensable condition for the selection.

According to the head of the CPC, Pavel Vlasov, 420 people submitted the documents in total, including 87 women. At the full -time stage, 103 people were allowed, including 11 women. Unfortunately, women did not go further.

As for the first open set to the Russian detachment of astronauts, it started on January 27, 2012 and ended with a meeting of the IEC on October 8 of the same year. Thus, the first open set was more than twice as shorter than the current (8 months old), but in 2012 eight people were again selected.

We advise you to familiarize yourself with the biographies of selected candidates and, which is important, the attached photographs: Roscosmos.ru/25402/

Alexander Khokhlov, Cosmonautics Popularizer,
Member of the North-West Organization of the Cosmonautics Federation of the Russian Federation:

With a cursory analysis of the results of the second open set, one cannot but notice an important difference from a similar set of NASA 2017 [1]: there are no scientists and women among our candidates for astronauts.

Earlier, the Cosmonauts training center has repeatedly stated that they have an equal approach to everyone: to men and women, military, engineers and scientists.

The Executive Director for Roscosmos piloted programs Sergei Krilev explained the absence of women in a new set as follows: “ In order to come to the detachment, one of the main things is needed - determination, the desire to be astronauts. We, apparently, have a percentage of girls who want to be astronauts a little less ”[2]. But is it as a matter of percentage? For example, out of the 51 military, fed, four were selected, and out of 87 women - not a single one. And if we talk about motivation, it is enough to see even a short list of applicants for the selection [3] - there are plenty of motivated girls there. On August 10, the head of the Roscosmos State Corporation Dmitry Rogozin said , referring to the newly-made candidates for the astronauts: “ I hope that soon we (the astronauts are male) will dilute the girls because such a harsh male grin is not inherent in luxury ” [4]. But it seems that he is simply not aware of the overwhelming advanced men in managing positions in the space industry, and if we talk directly about the profession of the astronaut, he forgot that only four women were flying into space in the USSR/Russia.

Valentina Ponomareva, who was not the cosmonaut of the first female set, wrote that “ a professional male group consciousness, especially in difficult and dangerous professions, which is the astronautics, did not accept thoughts about the participation of women in traditionally male activity ” [5].

But why in the USA they are already quite familiar women, although they also could not get into the detachment at the beginning of the history of NASA? The reason is the change in the relationship to the role of a woman not only in astronautics, but also in society.

Now the Women in Space [6] course at Rice University is completely natural - the very one where President John Kennedy proclaimed in 1962 a national goal of landing on the moon. Or the fact that several dozens of American teenagers, among which the vast majority, girls, united in the Generation of Mars [7] and publicly prepare for the future NASA mission to the Red Planet.

Yes, in Russia the opportunity for women to make a career in science and astronautics is not denied; It is enough to recall that many of my generation grew up on books about Alice Selezneva or on Nikolai Nosov’s book “Dunno on the Moon”, where fuchsia and herring were the first to land on our natural satellite. But this is not enough.

Today in our country there is no widespread centralized work to attract children and youth in the astronautics: there are only museums of cosmonautics, planetariums and mugs of technical creativity in individual cities, which cover the extremely small percentage of children.

From the innovations - space themes in the Sirius educational center and in some quantoriums, but there the personnel issue is resolved at the expense of full -time employees of the space industry, which have free time limited.

Another problem is that it is necessary not only to talk about astronautics - children, adolescents, students must see that the work of engineers and scientists is in demand, is well paid, makes it possible to participate in large and interesting projects, such as flights of people to the moon and further, the creation of interplanetary automatic stations, orbital telescopes, etc. Without this, youth will go to other activities or leave to engage astronautics abroad.

There is a very lack of public personal example of people working in the industry. For example, “female cosmos” is mainly promoted by employees of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in particular Anastasia Stepanova [8], a participant in the Mars-160 international isolation experiment and a contender for the selection of 2018, or the only current female cosmonaut of Russia Anna Kikina.

If the goal of Roscosmos, as Dmitry Rogozin said , “cosmic expansion” [9], then it is obvious that without women the development of space is impossible and the study of all aspects of the “female cosmos” should be relevant [10].

1. Khokhlov A. Where to go to study? On the astronaut ... // TRV-hobby. No. 231 of June 20, 2017.
2. Tass.ru/kosmos/546412
3. Astronaut.ru/as_rusia/2016/text/participant.htm?reload_CoolMenus
4. Ria.ru/space/20180810/1526332352.html
5. Ecsocman.hse.ru/data/366/724/1216/018_Ponomareva.pdf
6. Glasscock.rice.edu/courses/women-space
7. Themarsgeneration.org
8. Vk.com/sirius.research?w=wall-143108555_78
9. Ria.ru/science/20180628/1523576582.html
10. Alien3.dreamwidth.org/700016.html