Valentin Glushko
Encyclopedia
Valentin Petrovich Glushko or Valentyn Petrovych Hlushko ' onMouseout='HidePop("14185")' href="/topics/Odessa">Odessa
, Russian Empire
– 10 January 1989) was a Soviet
engineer, and the principal Soviet designer of rocket engines during the Soviet/American Space Race
.
after reading novels by Jules Verne
. He is known to have written a letter to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
in 1923. He studied at an Odessa
trade school, where he learned to be a sheet metal
worker. After graduation
he apprenticed at a hydraulics fitting plant. He was first trained as a fitter, then moved to lathe operator.
During his time in Odessa
, Glushko performed experiments with explosives. These were recovered from unexploded artillery shells that had been left behind by the White Guards during their retreat. From 1924-25 he wrote articles concerning the exploration of the Moon
, as well as the use of Tsiolkovsky's proposed engines for space flight.
He attended Leningrad State University where he studied physics
and mathematics
, but found the specialty programs were not to his interest. He reportedly left without graduating in April, 1929. From 1929-1930 he pursued rocket research at the Gas Dynamics Laboratory. A new research section was apparently set up for the study of liquid-propellant and electric engines. He became a member of the GIRD
(Group for the study of Rocket Propulsion Systems), founded in Leningrad
in 1931.
On 23 March 1938 he became caught up in Joseph Stalin
's Great Terror and was rounded up by the NKVD
, to be placed in the Butyrka prison
. By 15 August 1939 he was sentenced to eight years in the Gulag
. Despite his supposed imprisonment, however, Glushko was put to work on various aircraft projects with other arrested scientists. In 1941 he was placed in charge of a design bureau for liquid-fueled rocket engines
. He was finally released in 1944 by special decree. In 1944, Sergei Korolyov and Glushko designed the RD-1 kHz auxiliary rocket motor tested in a fast-climb Lavochkin
La-7R
for protection of the capital from high-altitude Luftwaffe attacks.
At the end of World War II
, Glushko was sent to Germany
and Eastern Europe to study the German rocket program. In 1946 he became the chief designer of his own bureau, the OKB 456, and remained at this position until 1974. This bureau would play a prominent role in the development of rocket engines within the Soviet Union
.
His OKB 456 (later NPO Energomash
) would design the 35-metric ton (340 kN) thrust RD-101 engine used in the R-2, the 120-ton (1,180 kN) thrust RD-110 employed in the R-3, and the 44-ton (430 kN) thrust RD-103 used in the R-5 (SS-3 Shyster). The R-7 would include four of Glushko's RD-107 engines and one RD-108. In 1954 he began to design engines for the R-12 (SS-4 Sandal), which had been designed by Mikhail Yangel'. He also became responsible for supplying rocket engines for Sergei Korolev, the designer of the R-9 (SS-8 Sasin). Among his designs was the powerful RD-170 liquid propellant engine.
In 1974, following the successful American
moon landings, premier Leonid Brezhnev
decided to cancel the troubled Soviet program to send a man to the Moon. He fired Vasily Mishin
and placed Glushko in charge of the OKB-1, Korolev's former design bureau, later named NPO Energia. Glushko's first act was to cancel the N-1 rocket, a program he had long criticized, despite the fact that one of the reasons for its difficulties was his own refusal to design the high power engines Korolev needed because of friction between the two men and ostensibly a disagreement over the use of cryogenic or hypergolic fuel.
Glushko was an advocate of a new line of powerful launchers that he wanted to use for the establishment of a Russian lunar
base. However the American
Apollo program was coming to an end at about that time, and the government wanted to build a competitor to the Space Shuttle
.
Glushko's team was part of the Soviet General Machine-Building empire headed by Minister Sergey Afanasyev.
After his death, his obituary was signed by multiple Communist Party of the Soviet Union
leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev
. It was only following his death that Glushko's efforts became known to most of the Russian populace.
For many years Glushko had worked in Korolev's shadow, and certainly never received the credit he deserved (at the time) for his contributions. His personality was reputed to be bull-headed, and he never lacked for an ego.
Perhaps his most significant engineering failure, as noted by the division chief Yuri Demyanko, was his insistence that hydrogen
was unsuitable for use as a rocket fuel. As a result the Russian space program were still discussing the use of hydrogen-fueled engines while the Americans were assembling the Saturn V
launcher. Also, Glushko's design bureau consistently failed at building a rocket engine powered by LOX/Kerosene with a large combustion chamber to rival the American F1
used on the Saturn V
instead his solution was the RD-270 a single large combustion chamber engine powered by hypergolic fuels which had almost the same thrust and better specific impulse as compared to the US F-1 rocket engine in addition to using the very advanced full flow staged combustion concept as opposed to the simple gas generator cycle used by the F-1 rocket engine.This was a primary reason for the failure of the N1 which was forced to rely on a multitude of smaller engines for propulsion because Sergei Korolev,the chief designer of N-1, insisted on using LOX/Kerosene combination which Glushko felt would take much more time and money to design. Glushko never did overcome the combustion instability problems of large rocket motors using kerosene propellants; his eventual solution for this is seen on the RD-170 which is basically four smaller combustion chamber/nozzle assemblies sharing common fuel delivery systems. This solution and engine gave the Soviets the large thrust propulsion needed to build the Energia
superbooster, and is probably the finest technical example of Glushko's abilities when he was at his best. The fact that he never developed this solution until the firing of Vasily Mishin
and his gaining ultimate control of the entire Soviet space program is a testament to the paralyzing intrigue and in-fighting that went on within the Soviet effort to reach the moon.
, Ukraine
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
– 10 January 1989) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
engineer, and the principal Soviet designer of rocket engines during the Soviet/American Space Race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
.
Biography
At the age of thirteen he became interested in aeronauticsAeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
after reading novels by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
. He is known to have written a letter to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was an Imperial Russian and Soviet rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautic theory. Along with his followers the German Hermann Oberth and the American Robert H. Goddard, he is considered to be one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics...
in 1923. He studied at an Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
trade school, where he learned to be a sheet metal
Sheet metal
Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed of the material...
worker. After graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
he apprenticed at a hydraulics fitting plant. He was first trained as a fitter, then moved to lathe operator.
During his time in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Glushko performed experiments with explosives. These were recovered from unexploded artillery shells that had been left behind by the White Guards during their retreat. From 1924-25 he wrote articles concerning the exploration of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, as well as the use of Tsiolkovsky's proposed engines for space flight.
He attended Leningrad State University where he studied physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, but found the specialty programs were not to his interest. He reportedly left without graduating in April, 1929. From 1929-1930 he pursued rocket research at the Gas Dynamics Laboratory. A new research section was apparently set up for the study of liquid-propellant and electric engines. He became a member of the GIRD
GIRD
The Moscow-based Group for the Study of Reactive Motion was a Soviet research bureau founded in 1931 to study various aspects of rocketry . In 1933 it was incorporated into the Reaction-Engine Scientific Research Institute .-History:...
(Group for the study of Rocket Propulsion Systems), founded in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1931.
On 23 March 1938 he became caught up in Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's Great Terror and was rounded up by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
, to be placed in the Butyrka prison
Butyrka prison
Butyrka prison was the central transit prison in pre-Revolutionary Russia, located in Moscow.The first references to Butyrka prison may be traced back to the 17th century. The present prison building was erected in 1879 near the Butyrsk gate on the site of a prison-fortress which had been built...
. By 15 August 1939 he was sentenced to eight years in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. Despite his supposed imprisonment, however, Glushko was put to work on various aircraft projects with other arrested scientists. In 1941 he was placed in charge of a design bureau for liquid-fueled rocket engines
Liquid rocket
A liquid-propellant rocket or a liquid rocket is a rocket engine that uses propellants in liquid form. Liquids are desirable because their reasonably high density allows the volume of the propellant tanks to be relatively low, and it is possible to use lightweight pumps to pump the propellant from...
. He was finally released in 1944 by special decree. In 1944, Sergei Korolyov and Glushko designed the RD-1 kHz auxiliary rocket motor tested in a fast-climb Lavochkin
Lavochkin
NPO Lavochkin is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of the Fregat upper stage, as well as interplanetary probes such as Phobos Grunt...
La-7R
LA-7
LA-7 or LA 7 can refer to:*Television series L.A. 7*WW2 Soviet aircraft La-7*Italian Television channel La7*Louisiana's 7th congressional district*Louisiana Highway 7...
for protection of the capital from high-altitude Luftwaffe attacks.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Glushko was sent to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Eastern Europe to study the German rocket program. In 1946 he became the chief designer of his own bureau, the OKB 456, and remained at this position until 1974. This bureau would play a prominent role in the development of rocket engines within the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
His OKB 456 (later NPO Energomash
NPO Energomash
NPO Energomash “V. P. Glushko” is a Russian manufacturer originated from design bureau, which focuses primarily on the development and production of liquid propellant rocket engines. NPO Energomash is based in Moscow, with satellite facilities in Samara, Perm, and St. Petersburg, and employs close...
) would design the 35-metric ton (340 kN) thrust RD-101 engine used in the R-2, the 120-ton (1,180 kN) thrust RD-110 employed in the R-3, and the 44-ton (430 kN) thrust RD-103 used in the R-5 (SS-3 Shyster). The R-7 would include four of Glushko's RD-107 engines and one RD-108. In 1954 he began to design engines for the R-12 (SS-4 Sandal), which had been designed by Mikhail Yangel'. He also became responsible for supplying rocket engines for Sergei Korolev, the designer of the R-9 (SS-8 Sasin). Among his designs was the powerful RD-170 liquid propellant engine.
In 1974, following the successful American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
moon landings, premier Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
decided to cancel the troubled Soviet program to send a man to the Moon. He fired Vasily Mishin
Vasily Mishin
Vasily Pavlovich Mishin was a Soviet engineer and a prominent rocketry pioneer....
and placed Glushko in charge of the OKB-1, Korolev's former design bureau, later named NPO Energia. Glushko's first act was to cancel the N-1 rocket, a program he had long criticized, despite the fact that one of the reasons for its difficulties was his own refusal to design the high power engines Korolev needed because of friction between the two men and ostensibly a disagreement over the use of cryogenic or hypergolic fuel.
Glushko was an advocate of a new line of powerful launchers that he wanted to use for the establishment of a Russian lunar
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
base. However the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Apollo program was coming to an end at about that time, and the government wanted to build a competitor to the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
.
Glushko's team was part of the Soviet General Machine-Building empire headed by Minister Sergey Afanasyev.
After his death, his obituary was signed by multiple Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
. It was only following his death that Glushko's efforts became known to most of the Russian populace.
For many years Glushko had worked in Korolev's shadow, and certainly never received the credit he deserved (at the time) for his contributions. His personality was reputed to be bull-headed, and he never lacked for an ego.
Perhaps his most significant engineering failure, as noted by the division chief Yuri Demyanko, was his insistence that hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
was unsuitable for use as a rocket fuel. As a result the Russian space program were still discussing the use of hydrogen-fueled engines while the Americans were assembling the Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
launcher. Also, Glushko's design bureau consistently failed at building a rocket engine powered by LOX/Kerosene with a large combustion chamber to rival the American F1
F-1 (rocket engine)
The F-1 is a rocket engine developed by Rocketdyne and used in the Saturn V. Five F-1 engines were used in the S-IC first stage of each Saturn V, which served as the main launch vehicle in the Apollo program. The F-1 is still the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine ever...
used on the Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
instead his solution was the RD-270 a single large combustion chamber engine powered by hypergolic fuels which had almost the same thrust and better specific impulse as compared to the US F-1 rocket engine in addition to using the very advanced full flow staged combustion concept as opposed to the simple gas generator cycle used by the F-1 rocket engine.This was a primary reason for the failure of the N1 which was forced to rely on a multitude of smaller engines for propulsion because Sergei Korolev,the chief designer of N-1, insisted on using LOX/Kerosene combination which Glushko felt would take much more time and money to design. Glushko never did overcome the combustion instability problems of large rocket motors using kerosene propellants; his eventual solution for this is seen on the RD-170 which is basically four smaller combustion chamber/nozzle assemblies sharing common fuel delivery systems. This solution and engine gave the Soviets the large thrust propulsion needed to build the Energia
Energia
Energia was a Soviet rocket that was designed by NPO Energia to serve as a heavy-lift expendable launch system as well as a booster for the Buran spacecraft. Control system main developer enterprise was the NPO "Electropribor"...
superbooster, and is probably the finest technical example of Glushko's abilities when he was at his best. The fact that he never developed this solution until the firing of Vasily Mishin
Vasily Mishin
Vasily Pavlovich Mishin was a Soviet engineer and a prominent rocketry pioneer....
and his gaining ultimate control of the entire Soviet space program is a testament to the paralyzing intrigue and in-fighting that went on within the Soviet effort to reach the moon.
Honors
- An asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
number 63576357 Glushko6357 Glushko is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 24, 1976 by Chernykh, N. S. at Nauchnyj.- External links :*...
, discovered in 1976, was named in his honour by Nikolai Stepanovich ChernykhNikolai Stepanovich ChernykhNikolay Stepanovich Chernykh was a Soviet and Russian astronomer.Chernykh was born in the city of Usman' in Voronezh Oblast...
. - The crater GlushkoGlushko (crater)Glushko is a young impact crater on the Moon attached to the western rim of the crater Olbers.Glushko possesses a relatively high albedo and is the focus of a prominent ray system that extends in all directions across the nearby surface. It has sharp, well-defined features that, combined with its...
on the Moon is named after him. - An avenue in Ukrainian capital KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
is named after Glushko.
External links
Monument to Glushko in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...