Gas Dynamics Laboratory

The Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) was the first Soviet research laboratory to focus on rocket technology. It started by developing solid propellant rockets, which later helped create the Katyusha rocket launcher. The lab also worked on liquid propellant rockets, which became the basis for Soviet rockets and spacecraft.

In late 1933, the Gas Dynamics Laboratory became part of the Reactive Scientific Research Institute. Today, some craters on the far side of the Moon are named after people who worked at GDL, showing how important their work was for space exploration.

History of the organization

The Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) was the first place in the USSR to study and develop rockets. It started on 1 March 1921 in Moscow as a small lab called the "Laboratory for the development of inventions by N. I. Tikhomirov". In 1928, it moved to Leningrad and was renamed the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL). By early 1933, about 200 people worked there. Later in 1933, GDL joined with another group, the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion, to form the Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII).

GDL Managers

The Gas Dynamics Laboratory had several leaders over the years. Nikolai Tikhomirov led from 1921 to 1930. Boris Sergeevich Petropavlovsky took over from 1930 to 1931, followed by Nikolai Yakovlevich Ilyin, a rocket scientist, from 1931 to 1932. Ivan Kleymyonov was the leader from December 1932 to September 1933, and then became the head of the Reactive Scientific Research Institute.

Solid propellant rockets

The Gas Dynamics Laboratory used a special kind of fuel for their solid propellant rockets. In March 1928, they tested the first solid fuel rocket, which flew about 1,300 meters. By 1931, they had successfully helped airplanes take off using rockets on a U-1, an Avro 504 trainer plane, achieving about one hundred successful takeoffs. They also helped other planes like the Tupolev TB-1 and Tupolev TB-3 take off with rockets. Later, in 1932, they tested rockets fired from airplanes, using RS-82 missiles from a Tupolev I-4 aircraft. These rockets were later used in the famous Katyusha rocket launcher during World War II. Many talented engineers worked on these projects, including Nikolai Tikhomirov, Vladimir Artemyev, Boris Petropavlovsky, Georgy Langemak, and Ivan Isidorovich.

Electric & liquid fuel rocket engines

On May 15, 1929, a group was formed to study electric rocket engines, led by a young engineer named Valentin Glushko. Glushko suggested using energy from electric explosions of metals to power rockets. In the early 1930s, the world's first electrothermal rocket engine was built. These ideas were used later in the 1960s on spacecraft like Voskhod 1 and the Zond-2 Venus probe.

In 1931, Glushko began working on liquid propellant rocket engines. This led to the creation of engines called ORM, short for "Experimental Rocket Motor," ranging from ORM-1 to ORM-52. Engineers found smart ways to keep these engines cool and strong. They tested many fuels and found that a mix of kerosene and nitric acid worked best. By the end of 1933, they had tested 100 different liquid-fuel rocket designs and achieved thrusts up to 300 kg. The first liquid-fuel rockets were built to fly up to 2–4 km high, and testing continued with another research group, RNII.

Location of the laboratory in Leningrad in the 1930s

The laboratory was located in the Admiralty building. In the building Peter and Paul Fortress, there were special areas to test rocket engines and engines that used liquid fuel.

Lunar craters named after GDL employees

In 1966, a group of scientists in the USSR decided to name some craters on the far side of the Moon after workers from the Gas Dynamics Laboratory. The named workers included Nikolai Tikhomirov, N. P. Alyokhina, Vladimir Artemyev, and several others. In 1962, they also named chains of craters after GDL, GIRD, and RNII.

Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology named after V. P. Glushko

The V. P. Glushko Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology is a special museum that shares the early history of space engines, including the story of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory. The museum is found in the Peter and Paul Fortress, a place that in the 1930s was used to test rocket engines. The museum opened its doors on April 12, 1973.