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April 3, 1961

Excerpt from Ninutes Nº 322 of the CC Presidium of April 3, 1961, 'On the Launch of the Satellite-ship'

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Nº P322/I

April 3, 1961

 

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Excerpt from minutes Nº 322 of the CC Presidium of April 3, 1961.[1]

 

On the launch of the satellite-ship.

 

1. Approve the proposal of Comrades Ustinov, Rudnev, Kalmykov, Dement’yev, Butoma, Moskalenko, Vershinin, Keldysh, Ivashutin, and Korolev on the launch of the Vostok-3A satellite-ship with a cosmonaut on board.[2]

 

2. Approve the draft TASS news release about the launch of a space ship with a cosmonaut on board, and authorize the Launch Commission[3], if necessary, to introduce amendments based on the results of the launch, and the Commission of the Presidium of the USSR Council of Ministers on Military-Industrial Issues to publish it.

 

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Archival source: APRF, f. 3, op. 47, d. 278, l. 96

 

 

[1] On a CPSU Central Committee form. Printed instructions on the left-hand side of the upper margin: “To be returned within 24 hours to the 1st Sector of the CPSU CC General Department.” Typewritten distribution list under the header of the letterhead: “To Cdes. Khrushchev, Kozlov, Ustinov, Rudnev, Kalmykov, Dement’yev, Butoma, Malinovskiy, Moskalenko, Vershinin, Keldysh, Ivashutin, and Korolev.”

[2] See Document 14,

[3] A commission on the launch of the space rocket “Object M” was approved by the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated September 9, 1960 Nº 999–414, and was comprised of Chairman K. N. Rudnev, Deputy Chairmen M. V. Keldysh, S. P. Korolev, and A. G. Mrykin, and commission members F. A. Agal’tsov, V. A. Ambartsumyan, A. V. Belousov, K. D. Bushuyev, I. T. Bulychev, A. G. Golovko, K. V. Gerchik, A. Yu. Ishlinskiy, G. N. Pashkov, L. A. Grishin, A. I. Sokolov, K. A. Kerimov and A. I. Shokin (see: APRF, f. 93). By a November 24, 1960 CPSU CC Presidium decree Nº P310/142 this Commission was also assigned to manage the launches of “Vostok” spaceships (see: APRF, f. 3, op. 47, d. 277, ll.112-114).

Final Presidium (or Politburo) decree, entitled “On the Launch of a Space Satellite-Ship,” approving the launch of a spaceship with a human on board.


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Selected, edited, and annotated by Asif Siddiqi. Translated by Gary Goldberg and Angela Greenfield.

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2021-04-10

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