The one who yearned for Mars. Oleg Baklanov was at the center of the events of the twentieth century

Weekly “Arguments and Facts” No. 31. Without flag and anthem, but with medals and Tchaikovsky 04/08/2021

He passed away on July 28 & ndash; until the 90th birthday was not enough that one year. But he's already done a lot.

Writer, journalist, & nbsp; Laureate of the USSR State Prize Vladimir & nbsp; Gubarev:

Do you know what the difference is between a minister and a manager? Time has shown that this is huge, since one makes decisions and then executes them, and the second only discusses the decisions to be made. Besides, he speaks a lot of words, but not deeds … S. A. Afanassieva , which has championed the interests of rockets and astronautics at all levels of government and has not allowed the industry to be turned into a farce. With Baklanov's appointment, party leaders hoped to have an 'obedient minister', but they got it wrong – Baklanov not only continued the work of his predecessor, but also significantly expanded the scope of work. Space giants have been added to the country's powerful defense missile systems. Energy & ndash; Buran, Zenit, new orbital stations, including Mir. We are always proud of these achievements.

All chief designers have bad personalities. They can scandalize, and sometimes they don't shake hands, and they can quarrel to their heart's content. In general, they are different people, but they also have one thing in common: the unusual and the desire to fully serve the Fatherland. Minister of & shy; ru & quot; rocket and space department & quot; it is essential to always find a common language with the chief designers of all ranks. Here you have to be kind, determined, tough, and sometimes even cruel, but always fair. However, the bottom line is & ndash; respected, that is, a true professional.

O. D. Baklanov was just such a minister, then secretary of the party's central committee, in charge of the defense department. At the time, I was editor-in-chief of Pravda. in science, and therefore contacted him often. I remember the meeting the day before Buran was launched.

& ndash; Why is this needed? After all, we don't have the science equipment to 'fill in'

& ndash; It is our misfortune, the situation with the instrument & shy; structure is irrelevant, but the situation is not hopeless, & ndash; Baklanov replied. & ndash; In the years to come we will fix it & hellip; Then we will use 'Buran & # 39; & # 39; in full.

& ndash; What projects?

& ndash; Lots of them. From applied research on Earth to flights to the Moon and even to Mars. 'Energy' system & ndash; Buran allows you to solve almost any problem in near and far space.

& ndash; I feel like we're putting the cart before the horse.

& ndash; Car, dear, elegant car, on which even until March it is not a shame to ride! But seriously: “ Energy '' and “ Buran '' required to create thousands of the latest technologies, and they ensure the rapid development of all industry and science. You just need to use this achievement wisely & hellip;

Unfortunately, Baklanov's hopes did not come true. One of the Burans, intended for testing, was sold to a collector in Austria, another was auctioned off to a private museum, and the third turned into a restaurant in a parkland. 39; attractions. And for a while (derision of the creators!) Even served as a public toilet.

Created & nbsp; another reality

After his release from prison (he ended up there as a member of the State Emergency Committee), Oleg Baklanov assessed what was happening as follows: “Without it” collapse of the USSR, which we tried to prevent, I'm sure we would have visited Mars already. The unique “ Energy '' rocket could send someone there and come back. This is what we were aiming for! And there were such elaborations, and the technique allowed it. With this rocket & shy in general, we created a different dimension: a block with a mass of 105 tons! Can you imagine the Mir-2 system assembled from such modules ?! It's an entire space city and launch complex. We planned to modernize this rocket so that it could launch 200 tons into orbit. But after our arrest, Yeltsin came to power with a bunch of his Neanderthals, who began to destroy and destroy everything. Immediately, like a carrion jackal, Soros ran to Russia, and began to buy for pennies set in the “ Energy '' system. & ndash; Buran development & hellip; Today, Russia lags behind major foreign countries in rocket and space technology and space exploration by around two decades. If funding for home cosmonautics stays the same, we will eventually lose experienced personnel, and in the future our cosmonautics will have to be restarted from scratch. ''

Bitter words & hellip;

Here is a fragment from another of our conversations.

& ndash; I will support & shy; will live your project, but there is no need to advertise it. In the 'Energy' against the participation of a journalist in a space flight, & ndash; Baklanov told me. It was about the theft into space of a Soviet journalist in defiance of the Japanese project & ndash; In 1989, a trade deal was signed in Moscow for an eight-day space flight by a Japanese journalist. Japanese television's biggest commercial contract cost TBS $ 37 million. As a result, the Japanese journalist Toyohiro Akiyama , director of the TBS Washington office, flew into space.

& ndash; Why? The prestige of astronautics is declining, children no longer dream of becoming astronauts, and therefore, in my opinion, the Cosmos project; children '', which we invented, will contribute to the popularization of science in general, and of astronautics in particular.

& ndash; I fully understand, but on 'Energy' want to earn money on journalist robbery. We're talking about $ 20 million, which is money for the business … If I openly support you, they will misunderstand me.

& ndash; It seems to me that our astronautics has strayed from the right path, such trade will not lead to good, & ndash; I complained.

& ndash; I agree. It is good that there is also a military space. There is still order. Well, for the 'Cosmos' project kids '' we will continue to fight.

We didn't have to, because the coup of August 1991 took place soon, and Baklanov became one of its main ones participants.

& hellip; “ Satan '' !

Despite all the importance of the space projects for which O.D. Baklanov was in charge, the first place was always to protect the country.

The world situation was alarming. The Americans were building their nuclear power. We have managed to maintain parity.

& ndash; Exclusively thanks to the 36th rocket, & ndash; Baklanov once confessed. & ndash; We call it the 'Voivode', and Americans' ndash; Satan. Its special feature is that it has 40 decoys and 10 warheads. That is, in the case of the launch of the 'Voevoda' the enemy will see 50 missile blocks threatening them, but will not know which of them are troublesome and which are ready for battle. Fully locate the 'Voivode' it will be more difficult for him. This rocket is overpowering. She has a mortar start: 200 tons are thrown out of the mine in a second and soar into the sky. Depending on the specific objective, 12 to 30 minute flight to USA.

“ Satan & # 39; & # 39; was premiered in Dnepropetrovsk at the famous Yuzhmash in KB Yuzhnoye. Chief designer of Satan was C tanislav Ivanovich Us. I went to Dnepropetrovsk, I met us.

& ndash; Baklanov knows our problems very well, he often visits us, & ndash; told us in one of the conversations. & ndash; After all, he understands that only our machine is capable of stopping the Americans if they decide to brake us. He took his responsibilities boldly, sometimes making risky decisions. We let ourselves enter the Pacific Ocean. As usual, two cars were prepped for launch – No. 10 and No. 11. The second was launched earlier. And the track was passing right over the capital of Indonesia. And it had to happen that the third floor would explode right above her. In addition, the explosion was so powerful that it “ blinded '' US vessel tracking systems. The second rocket & ndash; No. 10 & ndash; was on high alert, and the Chairman of the State Commission & ndash; and it was Baklanov & ndash; ask me, 'What are we going to do?' I reply that the cause of the explosion is unknown, and therefore the second missile must be fired. The launch has taken place. And it was a wonderful start! And what happened to car number 11, we didn't understand. After this incident, there was not a single emergency start. But if O.D. Baklanov had not taken responsibility, the development of 'Satan' could have hung around for a long time & hellip;

Now in service in Russia there are new & shy; leks, and we must remember that the foundations for their creation date back to when OD Baklanov was also responsible for the country's defense.

* & nbsp; * & nbsp; *

I didn't say anything in particular about the State Emergency Committee, of which Baklanov was one of the main figures. The point is, yesterday's villains often become heroes, and current mindbenders are quickly fading from our memory. Sometimes they come back, but it rarely happens.

History is unpredictable so let's trust it. It seems to me that the name of Oleg Dmitrievich Baklanov will remain in the offspring for a long time, because it was at the center of the events of the last century, the very ones that largely determined both the present and the future. , even a very distant.

Источник aif.ru

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