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Crimean Cosmos — The Role of Crimea in the Soviet Space Program

Crimea played a unique role in the Soviet space program: from receiving the first images of the far side of the Moon at the Simeiz Observatory (1959) to controlling lunar rovers (Lunokhods) from a base in the village of Shkilne; prototypes of planetary rovers were also tested in Crimea.

Overview

The territory of Crimea was used by the Soviet space program in three key functions: astronomical observation and signal reception (Simeiz Observatory, Yevpatoria Deep Space Communications Center), testing of planetary rovers (a Crimean testing ground with wild terrain), and lunar rover control (the base in the village of Shkilne — a space center documented in a 1969 CIA report as "11 miles northwest of Simferopol").

Key Details / Subtopics

Simeiz Observatory and the First Images of the Far Side of the Moon (1959)

The first images of the far side of the Moon, transmitted in 1959 from space by an automatic station, were received specifically on the antenna of the observatory in Simeiz. This became one of the earliest achievements of the Soviet lunar program, in which Crimea played a direct role. Read more — Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (Simeiz, Nauchnyy).

Yevpatoria Deep Space Communications Center

The center in Yevpatoria worked with the entire Soviet interplanetary program, providing communication with automatic interplanetary stations and crewed spacecraft.

Lunar Rover Control Base in the Village of Shkilne

The village of Shkilne (21 km northwest of Simferopol, Simferopol District) became the base from which Soviet lunar rovers were controlled. In a classified 1969 CIA report, this center was referred to as a "space center 11 miles northwest of Simferopol."

Officers of the Space Forces (then organizationally part of the Strategic Missile Forces) were selected to control the lunar rovers. The rover drivers had no prior vehicle driving experience — they were trained from scratch to control a device on another celestial body, taking into account signal delay.

Lunokhod Crews

Two rotating crews of "Lunokhod" were formed: - Commanders: Mykola Yeremenko, Ihor Fedorov - Drivers: Habdukhai Latypov, Vyacheslav Dovhan - Navigators: Kostiantyn Davydovskyi, Vikentiy Samal - Flight Engineers: Leonid Mosendzov, Albert Kozhevnykov - Antenna Operators: Valeriy Sapranov, Mykola Kozlitin - Reserve Driver: Vasyl Chubukin

In 2012, craters on the Moon were named after crew members: Vasya, Kostya, Valera, Leonid, Slava, Gena, Igor, Vitya, Albert, Kolya, Nikolya.

Testing of the Lunar Rover Prototype in Crimea

The prototype of the lunar rover was tested in Crimea. Developer Yuriy Zaretskyi (pseudonym Markov) recalled a proving ground with a "wild terrain": craters, ditches, trenches, boulders, gravel walls, and sandy slopes. The machine passed all tests — scaling nearly vertical slopes and getting out of improvised craters.

History of the Lunokhods

  • Lunokhod-1: launch on February 19, 1969 — rocket failure; 1970 — first successful launch, operated on the Moon until resource depletion.
  • Luna-15 (July 1969): launched simultaneously with Apollo 11 — an unsuccessful attempt to return soil samples.
  • Lunokhod-2 (1973): covered 42 km on the lunar surface.
  • Lunokhod-3 (1977): flight canceled; the spacecraft is preserved in the museum of the Lavochkin Design Bureau.

Decree No. 715-296 on the Flight to Mars (1960)

On June 23, 1960, the government of the USSR approved Decree No. 715-296 on a crewed flight to Mars: launch on June 8, 1971, return on July 10, 1974. This decree was adopted nearly a year before Kennedy's speech on May 25, 1961, proposing a Moon landing.

Key Figures

  • Sergey Korolyov — Chief Designer, did not consider the Moon a strategic goal, had a plan for exploring the Solar System (1962).
  • Volodymyr Chelomei — Korolyov's opponent, a graduate of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, author of an alternative lunar rocket project.
  • Mikhail Yangel — Chief Designer of the Pivdenne Design Bureau (Dnipro), proposed the R-56 rocket.
  • Valentin Glushko — rocket engine genius, native of Odesa.
  • Georgiy Babakin — Chief Designer of uncrewed interplanetary spacecraft.
  • Valery Bykovsky, Nikolai Rukavishnikov — crew of Zond 7 (1968), flight canceled.
  • Oleksandr Levenko — leading employee of Pivdenne Design Bureau, quoted in the article.

N1 Rocket

Developed for launching the Heavy Interplanetary Spacecraft (Mars). Four explosions occurred during test flights. 42 combustion chambers of liquid-propellant rocket engines operated simultaneously. After the first explosion, the Americans sent condolences.