Cosmic event: MAI welcomes the grandson of Sergey Korolev

On April 11, the XLIX International youth scientific conference “Gagarin Readings” started at Moscow Aviation Institute, participants from 8 countries and 86 cities of Russia present their works at the event.

Mikhail Pogosyan, Rector of MAI, addressed the participants with a welcome speech at the opening ceremony. He expressed his support towards the young scientists who set themselves ambitious goals, and also recalled how he himself participated in scientific conferences.

The special guest of the event was the grandson of the legendary Soviet Designer Sergey Korolev, Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences – Andrey Korolev. He told the participants interesting facts from the biography of the founder of practical cosmonautics.

His grandfather was carried away by aviation since very early age. Four-year-old Sergey Korolev saw the first flight of an airplane in 1911, when one of the first Russian aviators and test pilots Sergey Utochkin came to Nezhin. His arrival made an indelible impression on the little Korolev.

Sergey Korolev became interested in gliders during his school years. At the age of 17, he had already developed a project for an aircraft of an original design – the “powerless K-5 aircraft”. While still a student, he became a glider athlete and established himself as a capable designer. Most of all, he was fascinated by Tsiolkovsky's ideas about flights into the stratosphere and the principles of jet propulsion.

Andrey Korolev told the participants of the “Gagarin Readings” how Sergey Korolev's career began. He paid special attention to the most difficult period in the life of the scientist – when he was arrested and sent to Kolyma. With special pride, Andrey Korolev listed all the merits of his grandfather, which are recognized not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders, worldwide.

Andrey Korolev shared that the heirs of the legendary designer carefully store his personal belongings in the family museum, which is run by Sergey Korolev's daughter Natalia.

At the end of the lecture, the guest presented Moscow Aviation Institute with a photograph of Sergey Korolev with wishes for students and professors. The participants asked questions and took pictures with Andrey Korolev.