Machine Progress of Samara

The factory Progress of Samara is the principal production center of launchers and space vehicles of Russia, located in the town of Samara (called Kouibychev of 1935 with 1991).

Other names:

Aircraft factory n° 1 or Machines n° 1. ;

Zavod "Progress" imeni Marchala D.F. Oustinova.

ЦСКБ-Прогресс (TSKB-Progress)

The Aircraft factory n° 1

The establishment of Samara results from the evacuation, in 1941, of the Aircraft factory of State n° 1, located at Moscow, which produced planes and airships since the years 1920. During the Second world war, of 1941 with 1945, the factory built 11.000 Iliouchine It-2 Sturmovik, one of the best planes of attack on the ground of this time. It then engaged in the production of jet fighters Mig-9 and Mig-15 as well as bombers with reaction It-28 and You-16.

A factory of missiles

In 1957, was decided the mass production of the rocket R-7 Semiorka, developed by the OKB-1 (the experimental Research department n° 1), directed by the engineer Sergueï Korolev. R-7 Semiorka was conceived like an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The aircraft factory n° 1 was joined together with the Factory of engines n° 24, contiguous. In ten month, the factory was rebuilt and the personnel sent in formation at the OKB-1 and of the Factory n° 88, in Moscow. The manufacture of R-7 started in 1958 in Kouibychev and the first successful test took place in the center of test of Baïkonour on February 17th, 1959. The factory was devoted then to the series production of the R-7 missiles and R-7A. Certain missiles R-7 and R-7A were then reconverted out of space launchers into the Factory n° 88. It is the Progress factory which manufactured the launcher which put Youri Gagarine orbits about it in 1961.

Launchers and satellites

In 1965, the Aircraft factory n° 1 was attached to the Ministry for the mechanical engineering general and took the name of Progress. The factory gave up the manufacture of missiles ICBM to devote itself entirely to the construction of a family of space launchers derived from R-7:

Vostok-M, Voskhod, Soyuz and Molnya.
Of the heavy launchers N-1, about 1970.
Of the heavy launchers Energia, in the years 1980 and 1990, able to launch a load of 40 tons.

On the whole, 1600 launchers were built by the Progress factory in 35 years.

The factory Progress since 1991

After the dislocation of the USSR, the Progress factory was attached to the Russian Space agency (1994). Since 1996, it belongs to the “Space center of Samara”, which gathers:

the TsSKB research department;
the factory Progress.

In 2000, the Center employs approximately 20.000 people, including 16.000 for the Progress factory.

The French president Jacques Chirac paid an official visit of the Space center of Samara on July 3rd, 2001.

With the fall of the rocket motor controls, the Progress factory had to diversify its production. It thus became the principal manufacturing plant of disposable syringes of Russia and even of Europe.

External bonds

Site of TsSKB Progress

On Starsem

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