Company:Lavochkin

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Short description: Russian Aerospace Company
Lavochkin
FormerlyOKB-301
TypeState-owned company
IndustrySpace industry
Aerospace industry
Defense industry
Founded1937
HeadquartersKhimki, Moscow region, Russia
Key people
  • Georgy Babakin (Chief Designer 1965 - 1971)
  • Semyon Lavochkin (Chief Designer 1940 - 1960)
ProductsSpacecraft, space probes, satellites, aircraft, missiles, ballistic missiles
Number of employees
5000
ParentRoscosmos[1]
Websitewww.laspace.ru

NPO Lavochkin (Russian: НПО Лавочкина, OKB-301,[2][circular reference] also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of the Fregat upper stage, as well as interplanetary probes such as Fobos-Grunt. As of 2015, it was headed by Sergei Lemeshevskii.[3] On 10 August 2017 the Lavochkin Association's Board of Directors appointed Vladimir Kolmykov Director General of the enterprise.

Overview

The company develops and manufactures spacecraft such as the Fregat rocket upper stages, satellites and interplanetary probes. It is a contractor for a number of military programs, such as the Oko early warning satellite, Prognoz and Araks programmes as well as the civilian program Kupon. One of the company's most notable projects was the participation in the failed Fobos-Grunt sample return mission.[4] NPO Lavochkin has also developed the Elektro–L series of new-generation weather satellites, as well as the Navigator standardised satellite platform, which will serve as the basis for several future Russian satellites.[5]

History

The company was founded in 1937 as OKB-301, a Soviet aircraft design bureau (OKB). The head designer was Vladimir P. Gorbunov (ru), supported by Mikhail Gudkov (ru) and Semyon Lavochkin. On October, 1945 Lavochkin was promoted for the head designer of the design bureau. It gained distinction for its family of piston-engined fighter aircraft during World War II, and later shifted to missile and jet fighter designs. Following the death of the head designer, the OKB-301 succumbed to the growing power of Vladimir Chelomey and became OKB-52 Branch No. 3 on 18 December 1962.[6]:300 Later, it turned to work on interplanetary probe designs for Luna sample return program, the Lunokhod program, Vega program, Phobos program, etc. The former OKB-301 became named NPO Lavochkin.

In January 2012, officials of Lavochkin faced administrative punishment for not taking[clarification needed] into account of designing the computer system after the crash of Russia's Mars moon spacecraft Fobos-Grunt.[7]

Projects

Aircraft


Rockets and missiles

  • S-25 Berkut (SA-1 "Guild") - surface-to-air missile
  • S-75 Dvina (SA-2 "Guideline") - surface-to-air missile
  • La-205 is V-300, a SAM for S-25 air defense system
  • La-350 Burya - intercontinental cruise missile
  • La-400 DAL - surface to air missile[8][9]
  • Fregat - upper stage

Spacecraft


Future projects

Designers and engineers

  • Georgy Babakin
  • Semyon Lavochkin
  • Yuri Koptev, later director of Roscosmos, worked at Lavochkin from 1965

See also

References

  1. "О мерах по созданию Государственной корпорации по космической деятельности "Роскосмос"". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации. http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbody=&nd=102397340&rdk=&backlink=1. 
  2. "OKB". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OKB. 
  3. "Acting Director General of NPO Lavochkin appointed Sergei Lemeshev". News in Russian. 2015-08-07. http://newsinrus.net/archives/19106. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  4. Harvey, Brian (2007). "The design bureaus". The Rebirth of the Russian Space Program (1st ed.). Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-71354-0. 
  5. "Russia meteo satellite Electro-L successfully orbited". ITAR-TASS. 2011-01-21. http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15877644. 
  6. Siddiqi, Asif A.. Challenge To Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974, part I. NASA. https://history.nasa.gov/printFriendly/series95.html. 
  7. "Phobos-Grunt chips supposedly were counterfeit". ITAR-TASS. 31 January 2012. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/330734.html. 
  8. "Defending the Kremlin: The First Generation of Soviet Strategic Air Defense Systems 1950-60 by Steven J. Zaloga". http://bobrowen.com/nymas/defendingthekremlin.htm. 
  9. Lardier, Christian; Barensky, Stefan (2018-03-27). The Proton Launcher: History and Developments. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781786301765. https://books.google.com/books?id=6g5MDwAAQBAJ&q=Zvezda+Tu-136&pg=PA38. 

Further reading