Gagarin Center opened in Ufa

“Just don’t expect much”, commented Alexey Allikas, head of the Ufa Cosmos School, told me about the opening of the Gagarin Center technical education support center for schoolchildren in Ufa. Naturally, I was curious, and I decided to attend this event. I offer you a small report on what was there, and whether my expectations were met.

For many years in the Republic of Bashkortostan the school competition “Gagarin Cup” has been held . Its organizer, Vadim Kurilov, decided to go ahead and create an additional training platform, where the winners of the Olympiad and others can attend. In the curriculum, in addition to aerospace subjects, classes in robotics, information technology, mathematics, and 3D modeling are also expected.

Gagarin Center is located in the former Bashkiria shopping center, which is now called the Lifestyle Center. Now there are good and useful organizations living there, for example, the creative Invoice space has recently provided a platform for the popular science lecture hall of the Evolution Foundation with Alexander scinquisitor Panchin and Alexei Vodovozov. At the same time, shops still come across there, and the entrance to the Gagarin Center looks a bit funny next to jeans and other prose of being:


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Obviously, I came up too early. Having wandered a little bit, I get to the cafe where the participants of the event gather. Time passes interesting, for example, where do you still talk to the man who overslept the second launch of the H-1, when a rocket weighing almost three thousand tons fell at the start and exploded? I kept asking what smell of hydrazine, but, alas, I did not get a clear answer. Cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Alexander Balandin appear, I gain impudence and take selfies with them, but, alas, everyone spoils my crooked hands and poor lighting. Children have more luck:



The program is scheduled rally concert. But the rain pours completely mercilessly, and the rally is carried inside the building. A very representative delegation gathered at the opening of the center:


Right to left: Cosmonaut Alexander Balandin, deputy. Head of Administration of Ufa Syntimir Bayazitov, Rector of Ufa State Aviation University Nikolai Krioni, Minister of Education Gulnaz Shafikova, cosmonaut Sergey Revin, cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalenok, poetess and deputy of the State Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Yumabika Ilyasova

Now there will be a ceremonial ribbon cutting:


Inside is interesting. Well-appointed audience with technical nishtyak:


Beautiful portraits:


Photos of pioneers and titans of astronautics also hang on the walls. As it should be, it was not without overlays, for example, Keldysh, and not Pilyugin.


Cosmonaut Sergei Revin and the junior squad of the Ufa Cosmos School. Sergey happens quite often in Ufa, takes part in various events, last year, for example, students came in contact with the ISS. This is good news.


Immediately after this photo, a correspondent turned to me with questions, which did not get astronauts, I spent about ten minutes, I hope, not a total nonsense under the general motto “Let there be more space, because space is cool” and fell out of the course of events somewhat. However, everything was slowly beginning to end.

If you do not have enough photos, there are video reports:


And on the BST site .

In general, the “Gagarin Center” exceeded my expectations. It turned out that I know his manager - with Igor Nuykin several years ago I worked at the same college. We did not communicate directly, but I can confidently say that he works in his specialty and has experience. I am glad that the center received rather big and well-equipped rooms. In a global sense, it is far from a fact that children who will study at this center will become just astronauts. But they will be technicians and, scientists or engineers, will still move the progress of humanity forward.
Already leaving, I vaguely heard that five years ago the head of the Republic Rustem Khamitov supported the idea of ​​such a center. If this motion vector continues, then even if a flying cosmonaut from Ufa does not appear, then through the efforts of Gagarin Center, the Ufa space school Alexei Allikas and the modest educational efforts of your humble servant, the space in Ufa life will become larger.