Since the beginning of our space era, cosmonauts have formed many wonderful traditions, that provide a connection between times and generations. Among them – a visit of a Museum of the Cosmonaut Training
Center named after Yuri Gagarin and Red Square before departure at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
On May 14, 2018, after the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission and the pre-flight press conference, the main one and the backup crews of ISS-56/57 visited these memorable places.
In the accurately reproduced cabinet of Yuri Gagarin, who is in the GCTC museum, cosmonauts and astronauts left their autographs and records in a special memorial book.
“I think we should keep good traditions, which are already almost half a century old,” said Sergei Prokopiev, commander of the Soyuz MS-09 ship, who came to the museum with his son Timofei.
“ In the book I wrote on behalf of the crew the very best wishes for success in the further education of a new generation of cosmonauts. After all, this museum is visited by a lot of people, including
schoolchildren and students who absorb the spirit of the history of Russian cosmonautics. And, perhaps, someone who came here today and was inspired by the exploits of the space pioneers, will further
connect his life with this industry. ”
Cosmonauts and astronauts with interest themselves looked into history, flipped through the Book of crews pre-launch records.
“I am very serious about such things,” Oleg Kononenko, the commander of the backup crew, admitted. – I always prepare to it, I think a lot about what to write, because such books like to quote
journalists, read schoolchildren. I try to make the record sufficiently capacious and symbolic. For example, on the eve of the third flight, we visited the museum between the two most beloved national
holidays – Cosmonautics Day and Victory Day – and, of course, I reflected it in my record. ”
Then the crews of the ISS-56/57 went to Red Square, where they laid flowers and honored the memory of the Spacecrafts Chief Designer Sergey Korolev, the discoverer of the space Yuri Gagarin and
other cosmonauts, buried in the necropolis near the Kremlin wall. Astronauts and astronauts also visited historical monuments, located on Red Square.
