And He Said: "Qani Ketdik". Uzbekistan's Contribution to the Space Program
Forty years ago, on February 11, 1985, communication was lost with the space station Salyut-7. The task of retrieving equipment worth millions of Soviet rubles was entrusted to onboard engineer Viktor Savinykh and twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel of Aviation Vladimir Dzhanibekov. It was he who had to dock the spacecraft with the out-of-control, rotating space station. And he did it.
In 2022, Dzhanibekov was awarded the Dostlik Order for his contribution to developing friendly relations between Russia and Uzbekistan. He is likely still the most famous cosmonaut with a connection to the region. The second-highest state award, the Amir Timur Order, was given to cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov. He flew both on the American Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz TMA-5 and spent over 200 days in space.
However, Uzbekistan’s contribution to space programs goes beyond the names of heroes. The country’s industry has made many valuable discoveries for the sector. One of the key players was the Tashkent Aviation Production Association named after Chkalov, which from 1977 to 1987 built Il-76 MDK laboratory planes. These modified aircraft, equipped with reinforced hulls and systems designed to operate in weightlessness, became flying simulators for hundreds of Soviet, Russian, and foreign cosmonauts.
The Tashkent Design Bureau of General Engineering, established in 1969 as a branch of the Moscow design bureau led by Academician Vladimir Barmin, became a center for innovation. It developed equipment for studying the Moon and Venus. For example, a soil-sampling device created in Tashkent was installed on the Luna-24 mission. It drilled a two-meter deep hole and delivered samples in which water was discovered for the first time. Equally impressive were the Venusian missions: drilling equipment on the Venera-13 and Venera-14 stations withstood temperatures of 450°C and the aggressive atmosphere, gathering data on soil composition.
For orbital stations, Tashkent engineers created experimental furnaces for melting materials in weightlessness and transformable antennas with diameters up to 30 meters. These technologies were tested at the Nevich test site in the Parkent district, where in the 1980s, a giant testing complex with an 80-meter tower was built. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the USSR, the test site fell into disrepair, but its ruins still serve as a reminder of the scale of Soviet space ambitions.
The Kompozit factory in Chirchik, opened in 1981, became a pioneer in the production of carbon fiber — a lightweight and durable material used in GLONASS, antennas for the Radioastron project, and solar panels in the Kosmos series. These developments remain relevant in the global space industry. Equally significant was the Tashkent Research Institute of Space Instrumentation, which worked on military satellites and artificial intelligence systems for manned missions. The Institute also analyzed space imagery for agriculture and geology, laying the groundwork for modern Earth observation technologies.
The observatory on the Suffa Plateau could have become one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world, but its construction was frozen in the 1990s. Today, work has resumed, with the first studies planned for 2025–2028. At the same time, the Uzbekcosmos agency is establishing connections with leading space powers. Its priority tasks include creating satellite communication, navigation systems, and Earth observation satellites. Uzbekistan has already etched its name into the history of space exploration. We can only hope that the development of infrastructure and international relations will continue to gain momentum, and one day, investors with extraterrestrial ambitions, cosmic plans, and space money will arrive in the country.
