Аннотация: The Tale of how Nikita Sergeyevich and Leonid Ilyich "renewed" Konstantin Eduardovich
The Tale of how Nikita Sergeyevich and Leonid Ilyich "renewed" Konstantin Eduardovich
The Reader and the Readeress went along a summer street.
They saw a newspapers with the message about new space achievement in a newsstand.
- The term "Astronaut" is using in news about achievements of the USA in cosmic space.
It seems to me artificial: the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human who executed the flight in cosmic space.
Why it is necessary to use the term "astronaut"?
For example, an American captain, and a Russian captain is called "captain" (commander of the ship or other vessel) ('капитан' (командир корабля или другого судна))...
- If you today since morning have gone not to play cricket on stadium, and to read in library, then you would have the other opinion, - the Readeress has reported.
- And if I have gone to play rugby? - the Reader joked.
- I offer a compromise. You use, as intellectual persons, the bicycle. You do a bicycle ride - to a library!
- Very well! - the Reader has agreed. - And what I'll read in library on this theme?
- If you open the Russian-language article 'Космонавт' ("Cosmonaut") of Wikipedia, then you learn that "for the first time the term "Cosmonautics" has appeared in the title of scientific work of Ary Abramovich Sternfeld "Introduction to Cosmonautics" (фр. "Initiation à la Cosmonautique" (1933)). This work is about questions of interplanetary travel. (...) Thanks to him, the words 'космонавт' и 'космодром' ("cosmonaut" and "cosmodrome" ["spaceport"]) have entered Russian. Long time these terms were considered as exotic, and even Yakov Perelman reproached Sternfeld that he muddles a question, inventing neologisms instead of the settled names: 'астронавтика', 'астронавт', 'ракетодром' ("astronautics", "astronaut", "rocket airfield")".
In principle, the movement of thought implies the emergence of novelties. But nevertheless pay attention to the opinion of Yakov Perelman.
- An exotic terms? - the Reader specified.
- If you open the similar article in English, it will be called "Astronaut". And in it you can find a lot of information on the history of the issue. In this article, in particular, it is said that the word "astronaut", perhaps, has been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied in 1784 to balloonists. And the word "astronaut" appeared in one of the books in 1880.
- Aeronaut ... - the Reader has thoughtfully said. "Argonauts", - the name from the Ancient Greek myth has come into his memory.
- In the same article we meet the following phrase: "Coinage of the term kosmonavt has been credited to Soviet aeronautics pioneer Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900-1974)."
- A coinage? - the Reader repeated.
- However, there is no a relevant information in the article about Mikhail Tikhonravov. But there are two references to two books at a phrase about "coinage" . One book I didn't manage to read. But the author of another book is Mike Gruntman. Mike Gruntman wrote the book "From Astronautics to Cosmonautics". This work contains the history of the issue.
- Gruntman! - the Reader concluded..
- He describes in detail the development of terminology. He claims that Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky applied the term "Astronautics" in private correspondence. And the term of Tsiolkovsky "zvezdoplavanie" ["star navigation"] - this is "Astronautics". ("The compound word "zvezdoplavanie" is similar to, a linguistic calque of the word "astronautics": "zvezda" means "a star" and "plavanie" means "navigating" or "sailing"").
For me, the most interesting question was when the official use of the term "cosmonautics" and "cosmonaut" began.
But this raises another question: what does "official" mean?
The Russian-language article 'Космонавт' ("Cosmonaut") says: "When it came time to decide how to determine the status of Yuri Gagarin, the Council of leading experts (among whom were Sergei Korolev and Mstislav Keldysh) decided that "cosmonaut" is a more appropriate term. Since November 1960 in all official documents the word "pilot-astronaut" became the term "pilot-cosmonaut". But in 1959 in orders of the Air Force of the USSR was written: "to make selection of astronauts"."
Sergei Korolev is reflecting ... and at some point comes to the conclusion: it's neccesary to replace the term "astronaut" with "cosmonaut" ... It is somehow difficult to believe in this...
If after 17-18 January 1961, after the successful passing by six pilots (including Yuri Gagarin) exams, Chief Marshal of Aviation Konstantin Vershinin "bestowed upon them, for the first time, the ranks of "pilot-cosmonauts" of the Air Force", then this is the official use of the term. But nevertheless it is - the rank, it is - the characteristic of servicemen and professionals. This is not yet the conceptual separation, partly based on geopolitical features (on geopolitical sign, attribute).
According to Mike Gruntman, two days after the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the official decision was made to establish the title [rank] (honorary title [rank]) "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR".
And on April 9, 1962 the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Leonid Brezhnev signed the Decree "On the establishment of "Cosmonautics Day".
- He wouldn't solve such questions alone, - the Reader spoke.
- It wasn't without Nikita Sergeyevich. It is my personal opinion, - the Readeress has explained. - Personalities of a globally thinking ...
In the English-language article "Astronaut" there are such words: 'In 1959, when both the United States and Soviet Union were planning, but had yet to launch humans into space, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and his Deputy Administrator, Dr. Hugh Dryden, discussed whether spacecraft crew members should be called astronauts or cosmonauts. Dryden preferred "cosmonaut", on the grounds that flights would occur in the cosmos (near space), while the "astro" prefix suggested flight to the stars. Most NASA Space Task Group members preferred "astronaut", which survived by common usage as the preferred American term'.
- They respected Tsiolkovsky? - the Reader has specified with a smile.
- How were they supposed to react? - the Readeress replied with a smile.
The Reader and the Readeress continued their walk along the city street.
August 21, 2018 22:23
Translation from Russian into English: August 23, 2018 11:28.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Сказка о том, как Никита Сергеевич и Леонид Ильич Константина Эдуардовича 'развивали''.