The name of Sergei Alexandrovich Afanasyev can be safely put on a par with such outstanding personalities as Gagarin and Korolev. In the development of the space industry of the USSR, his merits are no less.
Biography
Sergey Afanasyev was born in the city with a funnythe name of Wedge on August 30, 1918 in the family of an employee. After graduating from high school, he entered the MVTU. Bauman. He graduated with honors with a degree in metal-cutting machines, despite the fact that he had to combine his studies with work at the Moscow Automobile Plant. Stalin.
After graduating from the university, a young specialist is sent to an artillery plant. With the outbreak of hostilities, in 1941 Sergei Afanasyev sent to Perm, together with the evacuated plant.
It was Afanasyev's desire to go to the front, but the leadership did not approve, and he stayed at the factory.
At the plant, Sergey Afanasyev has come a long way from master to deputy chief engineer.
Space minister
Thanks to his perseverance, enthusiasm,initiative, Sergei Aleksandrovich held important positions. From 1946 to 1957 years. - in the Ministry of Armaments, from 1957 to 1961 - in the Leningrad Economic Council. In 1961 he became deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federative Republic and held this post until 1965.
March 2, 1965 was organized by the Ministrygeneral engineering, to which the Rocket and Space Industry of the country was subordinate. Afanasyev Sergey Alexandrovich headed this ministry in a very difficult time. The tension in relations with the United States of America, which exceeded the USSR by 10 times in the nuclear missile forces, was very high. There was a high likelihood of a global nuclear war.
Despite all the difficulties, Sergei Afanasyev was able toachieve great success in the work of the Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering. He achieved the unification in this industry of all enterprises involved in the work, so that the Minobshchemash could solve the problems at any stage of production.
Scientific research, mass production and testing - everything was on the direct control of the ministry.
In addition to the supertasks of the rocket and spacecomplex, it was necessary to control the work of other enterprises, such as a refrigerator factory (in Krasnoyarsk), TV sets (in Kharkov), and so on. Difficulties in management were also added by the scattered infrastructure of the ministry throughout the Soviet Union, right up to the Far East. But Sergei Afanasyev successfully coped with this.
For special services
Thanks to the clearly established work of the department,the volume of production of space and nuclear missile systems allowed to achieve the parity of forces in the world by 1980. So thanks to Sergey Aleksandrovich, the Ministry of General Machine Building adequately coped with the most important task set before them.
Another of the main merits of Sergei Afanasyevwas the development of long-term orbital stations. All known Mir orbital station was designed on the model of the Salyut station, which was not created for peaceful purposes.
Practically twenty years of experience Afanasyev inThe post of "space" minister was completed in 1983. Only then did the USSR declare the complete cessation of the work on space weapons, being absolutely sure of the full parity of the potentials.
From 1983 to 1987, he headed the Ministry of Transport and Heavy Engineering, and from 1988, until the last days, was a consultant in the Ministry of Defense.
For special services Sergey Aleksandrovich AfanasyevHe was awarded many prizes: Lenin Prize Winner, twice Laureate of the State Prize of the Soviet Union, Chevalier of the Seven Orders of Lenin, Honored Mechanical Engineer of the USSR, awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the October Revolution, many medals, etc.
To remember
Sergei Alexandrovich lived a long and interestinga life. He was a very responsible and decent person, had a high organizational ability, always came to the aid of people who found themselves in a difficult life situation and faithfully loved their homeland.
Sergey Afanasyev passed away in 2001 on May 13. His grave is on the Novodevichy Cemetery.
In the city of Klin, in the homeland of the minister, in his honor the square is named and a monument is erected. The museum of local lore keeps materials about it.
By the date of the 90th anniversary of his birth in Moscow, a memorial meeting was organized and a memorial tablet was opened on the house in which Afanasyev lived. A book was published and a jubilee medal was issued.
