Russian scientist and designer in the field of rocket and space technology. He was born on March 1, 1912 in Lodz, Poland, where his father worked as an accountant in a textile factory. In Poland, the family was because of a revolutionary mother, who after the defeat of the revolution of 1905 was forced to emigrate, lived in Switzerland, in France, and then settled with her husband in Lodz. In 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, when Poland was a war zone, the family, along with the
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Russian scientist and designer in the field of rocket and space technology. He was born on March 1, 1912 in Lodz, Poland, where his father worked as an accountant in a textile factory. In Poland, the family was because of a revolutionary mother, who after the defeat of the revolution of 1905 was forced to emigrate, lived in Switzerland, in France, and then settled with her husband in Lodz. In 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, when Poland was a war zone, the family, along with the flow of refugees, left for Russia and settled in Moscow.
Boris’ childhood passed behind the Presnensky outpost. Near the house were located Khodyn radio station (the most powerful in the country in those years) and the Central Republican airfield. This neighborhood was the reason for the passion for aviation and radio technology, largely determined the fate of Chertok in the future. As a schoolboy, he ran to a radio club and even published in the magazine Radio All.
In 1929 he graduated from high school and tried to enter the electrotechnical faculty of the Moscow Higher Technical School, but was not accepted due to lack of proletarian origin. I had to get a job as an electrician at the Krasnopresnensky silicate plant. In the autumn of 1930 he began to work as an electrician at the aircraft plant No. 22 named after the Decade of October (now the Khrunichev Plant). He was an active Komsomol member, and in 1932 he joined the RCP (Bolshevik). He was fond of public work, organized a flight school, agitated to enroll in a parachute circle. In 1932 he was elected secretary of the Komsomol Committee of the plant. He was passionate about invention. One of his first major inventions was the automatic bomb dropper. For this invention, he received an unheard-of prize of 500 rubles. He was one of the creators of equipment for the newest aircraft at that time.
In 1934, having earned the necessary work experience, he entered the evening department of the Moscow Energy Institute. In the same year, as an active inventor, he was sent to the design bureau (KB) of Viktor Fedorovich Bolhovitinov and immediately found himself at the head of the brigade that developed special equipment for aircraft. The work in the Bolkhovitinov team turned out to be an excellent school for a young engineer. It should be noted that many wonderful domestic designers passed the Bolkhovitinov school: Alexander Bereznyak, Alexei Isayev, Vasily Mishin, Konstantin Bushuev, Nikolai Pilyugin, Arkhip Lyulka and others. In 1937, Chertok was appointed a leading engineer for special equipment of the first DB-2 aircraft, which under the index of polar aviation H-209 was preparing for a flight from Moscow to the United States through the North Pole. The flight, undertaken on the initiative of the famous polar pilot S. A. Levanevsky, ended in a disaster, the causes of which are still unknown. In 1937, KB Bolkhovitinov moved to Kazan, but Chertok remained in Moscow and was transferred to the post of head of the brigade of special equipment and weapons in KOSTR - serial design bureau of plant No. 22. At the end of 1938 he left factory No. 22 to finish his studies in the fifth year of the institute. In 1939, he returned to the Bolkhovitinov team, who by that time had returned from Kazan to Moscow and settled in a small experimental plant No. 293. Here Chertok wrote his thesis project "Act-current system for a heavy bomber", which he defended in the same 1939. At Factory No. 293 he worked until 1944, headed the department of special equipment. One of the participants in the creation of the first Soviet missile aircraft BI-1, developed for it an ignition system and a radio guidance system.
In 1945-1946 he was in Germany, where, together with other Soviet specialists, he studied the missile technology of defeated Germany. It was in Germany that the first meeting of Chertok and the Queen took place, which connected them for 20 years of joint work until the death of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
After returning to Moscow, he began working at the Research Institute-88, headed the department "U" (control systems department). He took part in the study, assembly and first launches of captured V-2 missiles, and then in the development, production and testing of their Soviet counterpart R-1, and then all subsequent Soviet combat missiles. In 1950 he moved to work in OKB-1 (KB Korolev) as deputy head of department No. 5 (management systems department), whose head at that time was Mikhail Kuzmich Yangel. In 1952, after the transfer of Yangel from OKB-1 to the post of director of the NII-88, he was again appointed head of the department.
Chertok was one of the closest associates of the Queen, his deputy, "general from space." He developed control systems for all rockets of the Royal Design Bureau, for artificial Earth satellites, automatic interplanetary stations. He was involved in astronautical problems. None of the development of the royal KB did not pass without the participation of Chertok and all the successes of Chertok are successes and KB.
Participant in the creation of the R-5 missile, a carrier of nuclear weapons. On April 20, 1956, he was awarded the Order of Lenin for his participation in the development and testing of the R-5 rocket. He participated in the creation of the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile R-7 and the first space launches. In 1957, he was awarded the Lenin Prize for his participation in the creation of the R-7 rocket and the launch of the first artificial Earth satellites. He participated in the creation of the first interplanetary stations and the preparation of the world's first human flight into space. On June 17, 1961, he was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor for his participation in the work on the implementation of the world's first human space flight. In 1976 he was awarded the State Prize of the USSR for participation in the development of samples of rocket and space technology. Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1968, full member of the International Academy of Astronautics. In 1992 he was awarded the gold medal of the RAS named after B. N. Petrov.
He currently lives in Moscow, but continues to work actively, is the chief scientific consultant of NPO Energia, chairman of the section of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on traffic control and navigation. He continues to lecture students of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
He is the author of Rockets and People and Rockets and People. Philly, Sticky, Turatam.