Organization:Ministry of General Machine-Building

From HandWiki
Short description: Soviet aerospace department (1955–1957, 1965–1991)


Ministry of General Machine-Building
Министерство общего машиностроения

Buran at the 1989 Paris Air Show
Agency overview
FormedTemplate:PL
Preceding agency
  • State Committee on Defense Technology (ru)
DissolvedTemplate:PL
Superseding agency
JurisdictionGovernment of the Soviet Union
Employees1,000,000–1,500,000
Minister responsible
  • Minister of General Machine-Building
Parent agencyMilitary-Industrial Commission
Child agencies

The Ministry of General Machine-Building (Russian: Министерство общего машиностроения; MOM), also known as Minobshchemash, was a government ministry of the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1957 and from 1965 to 1991. The ministry supervised design bureaus that managed the research, development, and production of ballistic missiles as well as launch vehicles and satellites in the Soviet space program.

While Soviet rocketry organizations date back to 1921, the Ministry of General Machine-Building, upon being founded in 1955, became a dedicated department for aerospace technology. It was dissolved in 1957 but was reinstated in 1965. Various projects of the Soviet space program were developed at the ministry. It also began commercially providing launch services abroad through its Glavkosmos agency during the perestroika reforms of the late 1980s. The ministry was permanently abolished in 1991 amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Russian Space Agency, which would later become Roscosmos, was created in 1992 as its successor.

History

The first Soviet organization dedicated to rocket technology was the Gas Dynamics Laboratory, founded in 1921 by Nikolai Tikhomirov. The laboratory researched and developed solid-propellant rockets, which became the prototypes of missiles in the Katyusha rocket launcher, as well as liquid-propellant rockets, which became the prototypes of Soviet rockets and spacecraft.[1] An organization with a similar purpose, the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion, was founded in 1931.[2] The two groups merged in 1933 to form the Reactive Scientific Research Institute,[3] the responsibility of which was transferred to the People’s Commissariat of Aviation Industry in 1944.[2]

The first rendition of the Ministry of General Machine-Building was created by a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on 2 April 1955[4][5] with the active participation of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.[6][7] The ministry was formed to focus specifically on rocketry. Its intentionally vague name was chosen for purposes of secrecy.[8] Major General of the Engineering and Artillery Service Pyotr Nikolaevich Goremykin (ru), who had held the post of Minister of Agricultural Engineering from June 1946 to March 1951, was appointed as Minister of General Machine-Building.[9][10][11] The ministry was dissolved on 10 May 1957 and its functions were transferred.[12][13][14]

The Ministry of General Machine-Building was reestablished on 2 March 1965 as a successor to the State Committee on Defense Technology (ru).[15][16][17][3][18] Sergey Afanasyev became Minister[3] and Leonid Ivanovich Gusev (ru) became Deputy Minister[19][20] while Vladimir Chelomey was the general designer of rocket technology.[21] Transferred to the new ministry were factories from the defense, aviation, radio engineering, and shipbuilding industries, alongside leading design bureaus and research institutes such as the Research Institute of Machine-Building Technology (known as NITI-40 until 1966).[22] Many of these were headed by academicians such as Sergei Korolev, Kerim Kerimov, Mikhail Yangel, Valentin Glushko, Vladimir Chelomey, Viktor Makeyev, Mikhail Reshetnev (ru), Nikolay Pilyugin, Vladimir Barmin, Mikhail Ryazansky (ru), Viktor Makeev, and Viktor Litvinov.[23][18] In 1977, the ministry received its own trade union.[24]

On 26 February 1985, the Ministry of General Machine-Building issued an order that formed Glavkosmos.[25][26] The subsidiary was originally envisioned as an executive agency to command all Soviet space activities, but in practice it functioned more as a marketing and coordinating body.[27] Glavkosmos became the prime authority for implementing cooperative agreements with foreign bodies, with activities including commercial utilization of Soviet systems and approving foreign cosmonauts to fly aboard Soviet spacecraft.[28]

Many subsidiaries of the Ministry of General Machine-Building served as primary organizations in the management of the Soviet space program; the ministry controlled roughly 1200 factories and employed between 1 million and 1.5 million people at its peak.[29][30] However, contrary to its competitors (NASA in the United States, the European Space Agency in Western Europe, and the Ministry of Aerospace Industry in China), which had their programs run under single coordinating agencies, the executive architecture of the Soviet space program was multi-centered; several internally competing design bureaus, technical councils, ministry staffs, and expert commissions all held more influence over the program than political leadership. The creation of a central agency after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and establishment of the Russian Federation was therefore a new development. The Ministry of General Machine-Building was dissolved on 1 December 1991 on the basis of a 14 November resolution of the State Council of the Soviet Union.[31][32][33] The Russian Space Agency, which eventually would become Roscosmos, was formed as its successor[34][35][36] on 25 February 1992 by a decree of President Boris Yeltsin.[37] Yuri Koptev, who previously had worked with designing Mars landers at NPO Lavochkin, became the first director of the agency.[38]

In 2013, when the Russian space sector was being reorganized,[39] one option considered was the creation of a ministry similar to the Ministry of General Machine-Building.[40]

Activities

The Ministry of General Machine-Building was in charge of space technology as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles, except for solid-fueled missiles; these instead were developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, which from 1966 was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense Industry.[41] Design bureaus such as OKB-1 were subordinated to the ministry.[42] The ministry reported to the Military-Industrial Commission of the Soviet Union, which coordinated its activity with eight other military-industrial ministries.[2][8][43][32]

The R-12 Dvina missile was produced simultaneously at four enterprises within the ministry.[44] In April 1970, Minister of General Machine-Building Sergey Afanasyev sent a memo to the chairperson of the Military-Industrial Commission that recommended negotiations with NASA, the space agency of the United States. These negotiations were approved the next month and eventually led to the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz mission.[45] Work on the GLONASS system for satellite navigation began at the ministry in 1976.[46][47] The ministry contributed to the construction of the RT-2PM Topol missile system, which began deployment in 1985.[48][49] The combat railway missile complex (ru), a mobile missile system, began deployment in October 1987; its development had started in January 1969 with an order from Afanasyev.[50]

An RT-2PM Topol on a mobile launcher at a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Moscow, 2008
The combat railway missile complex (ru) on display in Saint Petersburg, 2007

During the perestroika reform movement of the late 1980s, the Glavkosmos agency of the ministry began offering commercial services for global customers, aiming primarily at competing with United States launchers. Its first commercial offering was presented at the Space Commerce '88 trade show in Montreux, Switzerland. Most notably, it featured the sales of the following launchers: Energia, with a payload of up to 100 tons to Low Earth orbit; Proton with a payload of up to 20 tons to Low Earth orbit or 2 tons to geostationary orbit for between US$25 million and US$30 million; Tsyklon-3 for payloads of up to 4 tons to Low Earth orbit; a family of Soyuz rockets in configurations for Low Earth, geostationary transfer, and Molniya orbits; and the Vostok launchers for between US$12 million and US$18 million. Glavkosmos also featured Kosmos rockets with the successfully completed launches of Indian Aryabhata and Bhaskara satellites. Other offerings included the sales of Okean-O1 satellites or the use of space on the Foton satellites and Mir space station. During the conference several contracts were signed, including down payments for three satellite launches for undisclosed customers, an option for a launch of the Aussat-2 on Proton, a contract with Payload Systems Inc. for experiments in protein crystallization on Mir, and a contract with Kayser-Threde for microgravity experiments on the Foton satellites in 1989, 1990, and 1991.[51]

The Buran program to develop reusable spacecraft was managed jointly by the Ministry of General Machine-Building and Ministry of Aviation Industry. Despite various disputes about the program between the two ministries, Buran, the first spacecraft to be produced as part of the program, successfully completed the sole flight of the program in November 1988.[52][53]

The final project of the ministry before its liquidation was a 1991 US$120 million agreement between Glavkosmos and ISRO, the space agency of India, which included the transfer of two KVD-1 engines for use as the third stage of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle as well as design details such that the KVD-1 could be built indigenously in India.[54][55] Russia backed out of the agreement in 1993 after the United States objected to the deal and imposed sanctions on the grounds that the deal was a violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime, forcing ISRO to sign a more limited agreement with Russia and to initiate a project to develop its own cryogenic engine.[56][57]

During its existence, the Ministry of General Machine-Building offered three awards. The "Excellence in Socialist Competition" award was approved on 1 September 1955 by order No. 134 and was awarded until 1957.[58] The "Best Innovator" award was given out in the 1970s,[59] and the "Best Inventor" award was offered until 1991.[60]

Minister of General Machine-Building

Minister of General Machine-Building
Longest serving
Sergey Afanasyev

2 March 1965 – 8 April 1983
Ministry of General Machine-Building
TypeGovernment minister
StatusHead of government ministry of the Soviet Union
FormationTemplate:PL
First holderPyotr Nikolaevich Goremykin (ru)
Final holderOleg Shushkin (ru)
AbolishedTemplate:PL
DeputyDeputy Minister of General Machine-Building

The Ministry of General Machine-Building had five ministers during its existence, one having been from its first incarnation and the remaining four from its second incarnation:[3][11][61][62][63][64]

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)
Term Cabinet
Took office Left office Duration
1
External image
Portrait of Pyotr Nikolaevich Goremykin
Pyotr Nikolaevich Goremykin (ru)
Pyotr Nikolaevich Goremykin (ru)
(1902–1976)
195519572 years, 38 daysBulganin
Position abolished (10 May 1957 – 2 March 1965)
2120px
Sergey Afanasyev
Sergey Afanasyev
(1918–2001)
1965198318 years, 37 daysKosygin I–II–III–IV–V
Tikhonov I
3120px
Oleg Baklanov
Oleg Baklanov
(1932–2021)
198319884 years, 353 daysTikhonov I–II
Ryzhkov I
4
External image
Portrait of Vitaly Doguzhiyev
Vitaly Doguzhiyev
Vitaly Doguzhiyev
(1935–2016)
198819891 year, 113 daysRyzhkov I
5120px
Oleg Shushkin (ru)
Oleg Shushkin (ru)
(born 1934)
198919912 years, 38 daysRyzhkov II
Pavlov

See also

  • Ministry of Medium Machine-Building, the Soviet ministry of nuclear industry
  • People's Commissariat of Mortar Armament, initially known as the People's Commissariat of General Machine-Building Industry

References

  1. Gas-Dynamic Laboratory, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1981 (printed version) ed.). Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya. December 1973. ISBN 9780028800004. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chertok, Boris (31 January 2005). Rockets and People (Volume 1 ed.). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. pp. 9–10,23,164–165. https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol1_detail.html. Retrieved 29 May 2022. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Siddiqi, Asif Azam (2000). Challenge To Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Div.. pp. 6–14,892. ISBN 9780160613050. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf. Retrieved 22 May 2022. 
  4. "2 апреля 1955 года «Об образовании общесоюзного Министерства общего машиностроения СССР»". http://www.rusconstitution.ru/library/constitution/articles/9660/. 
  5. Вертикальная структура: как реорганизуется космическая отрасль России, АиФ. .
  6. Жорес Алферов: заметки о роли РАН в современной России, РИА. .
  7. Академик Жорес Алфёров: «Нашей науке нужна философия развития» , file-rf.ru. .
  8. 8.0 8.1 Tarasenko, Maxim V. (1994). "Transformation of the Soviet Space Program after the Cold War". Science & Global Security. https://scienceandglobalsecurity.org/archive/sgs04tarasenko.pdf. 
  9. Фронтовой дневник авторы Евгений Петров
  10. "Первый министр «космического министерства».". http://sm.evg-rumjantsev.ru/voen-ruk/goremykin.html. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Горемыкин Пётр Николаевич МГТУ имени Баумана". http://www.bmstu.ru/scholars/goremykin_p_n. 
  12. Владимир Иванович Ивкин (1999) (in ru). Государственная власть СССР: высшие органы власти и управления и их руководители, 1923—1991: историко-биографический справочник. ROSSPEN. p. 52. ISBN 5-8243-0014-3. "МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБЩЕГО МАШИНОСТРОЕНИЯ СССР Первое формирование. Образовано 2 апреля 1955 года. (ВВС СССР, 1955, No 6, Ст. 133). 10 мая 1957 года объединено с Министерством оборонной промышленности СССР и ликвидировано. (ВВС СССР, 1957, No 11, Ст. 275) Второе формирование. Образовано 2 марта 1965 года. (ВВС СССР, 1965, No 10, Ст. 115). Упразднено 14 ноября 1991 года. (ВВС СССР, 1991, No 50, Ст. 1421)" 
  13. "ГС завод № 15". https://oboron-prom.ru/page,28,predpriyatiya-11-20.html. 
  14. "Открытое акционерное общество «Велта»". 26 November 2015. http://www.archive.perm.ru/projects/weeklyphoto/open-joint-stock-company-velta-/. 
  15. Bukharin, Oleg (2004). Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. MIT Press. p. 157. ISBN 9780262661812. 
  16. "Создание и эксплуатация стратегических ракетных комплексов". http://armsdata.net/nuclear/041-1.html. 
  17. "Стратегическая кооперация в интересах безопасности государства". http://nvo.ng.ru/armament/2015-09-18/6_cooperation.html. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 "General Machinebuilding - Background". https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/mom-back.htm. 
  19. "Умер один из основателей ракетно-космической промышленности России Леонид Гусев". http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=2417216. 
  20. "Человек, создавший космическую связь". http://www.ng.ru/ideas/2012-04-03/7_gusev.html. 
  21. "Владимир Челомей, советский ученый, конструктор ракетной техники.". http://tass.ru/info/1630624. 
  22. "История ФГУП «НПО «Техномаш»". http://tmnpo.ru/node/7. 
  23. "Postal Stationery Russia Airmail Envelope with Depiction of the Earth Being Orbited and Four Gold Stars". https://www.groundzerobooksltd.com/pages/books/80639/union-of-soviet-socialist-republics/postal-stationery-russia-airmail-envelope-with-depiction-of-the-earth-being-orbited-and-four-gold. 
  24. "О Профсоюзе". http://www.profrom.ru/about/473/475/. 
  25. "History - Milestones of development". Glavkosmos. 2020. https://www.glavkosmos.com/en/history/. 
  26. "История компании «Главкосмос»". http://www.glavkosmos.ru/about/history/. 
  27. Harvey, Brian (2001). Russia in space. Springer. p. 277. ISBN 1-85233-203-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=DrgvjPsfwhsC&q=glavcosmos&pg=PA276. Retrieved 10 May 2009. 
  28. "Glavcosmos (Russian Federation), CIVIL SPACE ORGANISATIONS - NATIONAL AGENCIES". Jane's Information Group. 2008. http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Space-Systems-and-Industry/Glavcosmos-Russian-Federation.html. 
  29. "Бывший министр общего машиностроения СССР Олег Бакланов". http://polit.ru/news/2010/11/20/baklanov_radio/. 
  30. "Космическая отрасль – это «не кафе быстрого обслуживания»". http://www.lawinrussia.ru/node/353669. 
  31. Полвека без Королёва, zavtra.ru. .
  32. 32.0 32.1 "Ministry of General Machine-building of USSR (MOM)". https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/mom.htm. 
  33. (in ru) Resolution of the State Council of the Soviet Union of 14 November 1991 No. 13 
  34. Федеральный закон от 13 июля 2015 г. N 215-ФЗ «8. Корпорация является правопреемником Министерства общего машиностроения СССР, Российского космического агентства, Российского авиационно-космического агентства и Федерального космического агентства в отношении международных договоров (соглашений) Российской Федерации в области космической деятельности, заключенных с органами и организациями иностранных государств и международными организациями (включая сопутствующие контрактные обязательства), а также правопреемником Российского авиационно-космического агентства и Федерального космического агентства в отношении соглашений (договоров) в указанной области, заключенных с федеральными органами государственной власти, органами государственной власти субъектов Российской Федерации, органами местного самоуправления и организациями.»
  35. Государственная корпорация "Роскосмос" . «Таким образом, госкорпорация "Роскосмос" стала правопреемником Министерства общего машиностроения СССР, Российского космического агентства, Российского авиационно-космического агентства и Федерального космического агентства.»
  36. "Федеральный закон N 215-ФЗ". http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/39889. 
  37. "25 февраля 1992 года образовано Российское космическое агентство, в настоящее время – Федеральное космическое агентство (Роскосмос).". https://www.roscosmos.ru/9156/. 
  38. Harvey, Brian (2007). "The design bureaus". The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program (1st ed.). Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-71354-0. 
  39. Messier, Doug (30 August 2013). "Rogozin: Russia to Consolidate Space Sector into Open Joint Stock Company". Parabolic Arc. http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/08/30/rogozin-interview-kommersant/. 
  40. Будущее космической отрасли: госкорпорация, холдинги или министерство, РИА. .
  41. "Московский институт теплотехники (МИТ)". Газета "Коммерсантъ": pp. 4. 7 June 2011. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1673440. Retrieved 18 December 2017. 
  42. Andrews, James T.; Siddiqi, Asif A. (2011) (in en). Into the Cosmos: Space Exploration and Soviet Culture. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 978-0-8229-7746-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=W7oRuOZbb8IC. Retrieved 19 January 2016. 
  43. "Военно-промышленная комиссия: страницы истории". http://arsenal-otechestva.ru/article/168. 
  44. Быть, а не казаться. Рассказ второй. .
  45. Volf, D. Evolution of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: The Effects of the "Third" on the Interplay Between Cooperation and Competition. Minerva 59, 399–418 (2021).
  46. В неудачном запуске спутников ГЛОНАСС обвиняют математиков: причиной могла стать программная ошибка. .
  47. "Glonass". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/glonass.htm. 
  48. С «Тополями» все было непросто. .
  49. Ракетный Харьков. НГ, 14 September 2007. .
  50. "Успеет ли Россия создать БЖРК до удара США?". http://www.vestifinance.ru/articles/50950. 
  51. Rzymanek, Jerzy (1988). Elsztein, Paweł. ed. "Oferta handlowa Gławkosmosu – ZSRR" (in Polish). Astronautyka (Polskie Towarzystwo Astronautyczne) 5 (159): 12, 14. ISSN 0004-623X. 
  52. Сбитый с орбиты. РГ, 14 November 2008. .
  53. «Победил полный автомат», Коммерсантъ. .
  54. Subramanian, T. S. (March 17–31, 2001). "The GSLV Quest". Frontline. http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl1806/18060820.htm. 
  55. "Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS)". justthe80.com. http://isp.justthe80.com/launchers/isro-s-cryogenic-upper-stage-cus. 
  56. Raj, N Gopal (21 April 2011). "The long road to cryogenic technology". The Hindu (Chennai, India). http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-long-road-to-cryogenic-technology/article397441.ece. 
  57. Subramanian, T. S. (28 April – 11 May 2001). "The cryogenic quest". Frontline. http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1809/18090140.htm. 
  58. "Отличник социалистического соревнования". http://allfaler.ru/en/vedomstvennye-i-otraslevye-nagrady-sssr/mashinostroenie-sssr/obshchee-mashinostroenie-sssr/excellence-in-socialist-competition-of-the-ministry-of-simpl-engineering. 
  59. "Лучший рационализатор министерство общего машиностроения". http://allfaler.ru/en/vedomstvennye-i-otraslevye-nagrady-sssr/mashinostroenie-sssr/obshchee-mashinostroenie-sssr/znak-luchshiy-ratsionalizator-kb-metallurgii-legkih-splavov. 
  60. "Лучший изобретатель министерство общего машиностроения". http://allfaler.ru/en/vedomstvennye-i-otraslevye-nagrady-sssr/mashinostroenie-sssr/obshchee-mashinostroenie-sssr/znachok-luchshiy-izobretatel-ministerstvo-obschego-mashinostroeniya. 
  61. "Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1917-1964". http://www.kolumbus.fi/taglarsson/dokumentit/sov.htm. 
  62. "Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1964-1991". http://www.kolumbus.fi/taglarsson/dokumentit/sov1.htm. 
  63. "Organizers and leaders of the rocket and space industry" (in ru). http://www.federalspace.ru/194/. 
  64. "The Ministry of General Machine-Building no longer exists (archived)" (in ru). Журнал „Новости космонавтики”. https://archive.today/20120906231853/http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/004/15.shtml. 

Template:Departments of the USSR