The Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics opened

3 October 1967

On October 3 1967 the first in the world and the largest in Russia museum dedicated to the history of space exploration — the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics (GMIK) was inaugurated in Kaluga.

The Museum was set up with a personal assistance of S.P. Korolyov, Yu.A. Gagarin, A.N. Tupolev, A.A. Blagonravov, I. P. Bardin, L.I. Sedov and was named after Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, the founder of theoretical cosmonautics, the prominent inventor, the author of works on philosophy, sociology, aerodynamics, aeronautics, the member of the Russian Society of Natural Science Lovers, the advocate and propagandist of space exploration.

The State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics was being built from 1963 to 1967. The building designed by architects B.G. Barkhin, V.A. Strogiy, N.G. Orlova, K.D. Fomin, Ye.I. Kireev, became the first building which was designed and erected in our country specially for housing a technical museum.

To date the museum’s holdings number 60 thousand storage units, 40 thousand out of this number make its basic collection. Expositions of the GMIK give a comprehensive picture of scientific heritage of K. Tsiolkovsky, reveal the history of Russian cosmonautics starting from the launch of the first satellite of the Earth to modern long-term orbital stations, tell the history of aeronautics, aviation, rocket and space technology, familiarize with works of outstanding engineers: S.P. Korolyov, V.P. Glushko, V.N. Chelomei, S. A. Kosberg, G.N. Babakin, A.M. Isaev and many others.

The museum offers collections of documentary materials; rare books; newspapers; articles, which represent the household of Tsiolkovsky family; photo documents; paintings; posters; philocarty; philately; phillumeny; numismatics, and space technology. The core of exhibits is housed in the museum’s holdings and is put on show with launch of new theme expositions.

Apart from the museum itself, the GMIK includes: the House-Museum of Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, the planetarium, the museum-apartment of K.E. Tsiolkovsky in the town of Borovsk, the Scientific Memorial and Cultural Center which bears the name of A.L. Chizhevsky — the outstanding scholar, the pioneer of  heliobiology, the poet and artist, who developed the ideas of K.E. Tsiolkovsky in space philosophy.

In 1979 the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics received a status of a research institution, and in 1981 on the resolution of the Ministry of Culture it was turned into the methodological center co-ordinating the work of museums of cosmonautics countrywide. Every year jointly with academic, scientific and public organizations the museum holds the Readings, which turn the spotlight on the work on scientific heritage and development of ideas of K.E. Tsiolkovsky. In 1993 the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics became one of the major cultural and educational institutions of special public importance.

Lit.: Государственный музей истории космонавтики имени К. Э. Циолковского [Электронный ресурс] // Федеральное космическое агентство (Роскосмос). Б. д. URL: http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=190; Путеводитель по Государственному музею истории космонавтики имени К. Э. Циолковского. М., 1977; Сайт Государственного музея истории космонавтики имени К. Э. Циолковского. 2003-2016. URL: http://www.gmik.ru/.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Outer Space: [digital collection].