Konstantin Vasilyevich Gerchik (, September 27, 1918 – June 24, 2001) was a Russian military officer who served in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and a program manager in former

Soviet space program The Soviet space program () was the state space program of the Soviet Union, active from 1951 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Contrary to its competitors (NASA in the United States, the European Space Agency in Western Euro ...

. He was

Colonel-General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a rank above full , but be ...

of the Soviet Army, Professor of the Academy of Military Sciences of Russia, a veteran of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, and the second head of the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

(1958–1961).

Biography

Gerchik was born on 27 September 1918 and in the village of Soroki (

Slutsky Uyezd Slutsky Uyezd (; ) was one of the uyezds of Minsk Governorate and the Governorate-General of Minsk of the Russian Empire and then of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic with its center in Slutsk from 1793 until its formal abolition in 1924 by S ...

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

). He was in the

from 1938, then enrolled in the 2nd Leningrad Artillery School, graduating in 1940. He took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War from the first days. After the victory Gerchik entered the Artillery Academy named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky, graduated from it, then taught General tactics and tactics of artillery in this school. In 1957, Gerchik was appointed chief of staff of the

Baikonur cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

. On 2 July 1958 he became the head of the cosmodrome. On 8 May 1960 he was promoted to Major general.

Accident at the cosmodrome

On October 24 1960 in the time of the accident at the 41 site of the spaceport, Gerchik together with his Deputy, Alexander Mrykhin, a

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

subsequently a

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

was in the vicinity of the outbreak missiles R-16. During the disaster,

Chief marshal of the branch Chief marshal of the branch () was a senior military rank of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was immediately above the rank of Marshal of the branch. Both ranks were equal to general of the army. History The ranks of chief marshal of aviation, a ...

M. I. Nedelin and about 70 people were killed. Gerchik was saved from death by the body of the rocket, which blocked the flame from the working engines of the second stage to burn out the immediate vicinity of the rocket. Still Konstantin Vasilyevich got severe burns when he ran away from the burning rocket. After the incident, General Gerchik was in critical conditions, but survived, then for a long time he was treated in hospitals.

Further biography

After cure in 1961 K. V. Gerchik became the chief of the formed Central Command Post of

Strategic Missile Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; ) is a separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinental ballistic miss ...

(RVSN), at the same time he became the Deputy chief of the General staff RVSN for combat management. In 1963 he became the chief of staff of a missile army. In 1968, Gerchik was awarded the rank of ieutenant Generaland in the same year he graduated from the Higher academic courses at Military Academy of the General staff. Since 1972 he was the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Smolensk missile army. In 1976 was promoted to the rank of

Colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

. In 1979 he retired from the military. He worked in several scientific institutes, including the institutions of the

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

. Since 1991 he is the Chairman of the Interregional Council of

veterans. In 1996, for his great personal contribution to the development of Russian cosmonautics K. V. Gerchik received official thanks from the

President of Russian Federation The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

br>
He died on 24 June 2001 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and was buried at

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (), is a cemetery in Moscow, Russia. The cemetery is located in the former village of Troyekurovo on the western edge of Moscow, which derives its name from the Troye ...

Honours and awards

;Soviet Union ;Foreign

Publications

* "A breakthrough in space" – Konstantin Vasilyevich Gerchik, M: LLC "Veles", 1994. * K. V. Gerchik is the author of the article "the Triumph of Russian science and technology", which was referred to and is still referred to by the authors of works on cosmonautics.

Literature

"Rockets and people"
– B. E. Chertok, M: "mechanical engineering", 1999.

–

Nikolai Kamanin Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin (; 18 October 1908 – 11 March 1982) was a Soviet Air Force general and a program manager in the Soviet space program. A career aviator, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1934 for the rescue of S ...

, М: "Инфортекс-ИФ, 1995.
"Korolev: Facts and myths"
– J. K. Golovanov, M: Nauka, 1994. * "People duty and honor" – A. A. Shmelev, "libris", 1996. * "People duty and honor" – A. A. Shmelev, the second book. M: Editorial Board "Moscow journal", 1998. * "Testing of rocket and space technology – the business of my life" Events and facts – A.I. Ostashev, Korolyov, 200

* "Unknown Baikonur" – edited by B. I. Posysaeva, M.: "globe", 2001.
"Top secret General"
– E.T. Beloglazova, M: "the Heroes of the Fatherland", 2005. * "Melua, A.I." " Rocket technology, cosmonautics and artillery. Biographies of scientists and specialists.- 2nd ed., supplement, St. Petersburg: "Humanistic

, 2005. С. 355. ISBN 5-86050-243-5 * "Rocket and space feat Baikonur" – Vladimir Порошков, the "Patriot" publishers 2007. * A.I. Ostashev, ''Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov – The Genius of the 20th Century'' — 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL . * "Bank of the Universe" – edited by Boltenko A. C.,

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix", * "To stand on the way to space" – Author:

Valentin Lebedev Valentin Vitalyevich Lebedev (; born April 14, 1942, in Moscow) is a former Soviet cosmonaut who made two flights into space. His stay aboard the Space Station Salyut 7 with Anatoly Berezovoy in 1982, which lasted 211 days, was recorded in t ...

, M: publisher ITRK in 2016, * "We grew hearts in Baikonur" – Author: Eliseev V. I. M: publisher OAO MPK in 2018, * "I look back and have no regrets. " - Author: Abramov, Anatoly Petrovich: publisher "New format" Barnaul, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerchik, Konstantin 1918 births 2001 deaths Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Soviet colonel generals Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet space program personnel Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia)