He noted that participation in the firing tests of the RD-107 rocket engine was for him "a return to flying not in a dream, but in reality."
SAMARA, April 11. /tass/. Oleg Atkov, a medical scientist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, cosmonaut pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union, took part in the firing tests of the RD-107 rocket engine, which took place on the eve of Cosmonautics Day at the site of the ODK-Kuznetsov test base in Samara, a TASS correspondent reports.
Employees and honorary guests of the UEC-Kuznetsov, including Oleg Atkov, visited the testing base site on a guided tour. They were shown samples of rocket engines manufactured by the company. Then the participants of the tour saw a 40-second fiery burn of the RD-107 engine. The tests were successful, and the engine will be delivered to the RCC Progress plant for installation on the first stage of the Soyuz rocket. The company's employees said that at the same stand they tested the engine of the device, which was piloted by Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.
"For me, this is a return to my small homeland, a return to the events of my wild and turbulent youth, flying not in a dream, but in reality. And the opportunity to say "thank you" to the people who make the equipment. Still, there are not very many of us, especially those who have been working in orbit for more than six months - a little more than 50 people," admitted Atkov.
A native of the Kuibyshev region (currently the Samara region), he visits his small homeland. Atkov said that he was coming to Samara to fly, but now he was flying an LA-8 amphibious aircraft manufactured by the local NP Aerovolga. "Space certainly changes people. When you work at the station for a long time and from time to time look at both the Earth and space, you realize that we are probably not alone," the cosmonaut concluded, answering a question from TASS.
Atkov was born in 1949 in the Kuibyshev region. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of Cardiology, since 2016, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), since 2022, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In his scientific work, he studied the cardiovascular system of astronauts who completed long-term orbital flights. On March 9, 1983, Atkov was enlisted in the cosmonaut corps of the CPC as part of a special set of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences to fly a cardiologist into space. From February 8 to October 2, 1984, he made a space flight lasting 236 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes, as a cosmonaut-medical researcher of the 3rd main expedition to the Salyut-7 DOS, during the flight Atkov monitored the health of the crews. In 1984, Atkov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he was also awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 2011 - the medal "For Merits in Space Exploration."
About the company
PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov specializes in the creation of aviation and rocket and space technology, and is part of the Rostec Group. All domestic manned launches, starting with Yuri Gagarin's flight on April 12, 1961, were provided with power plants manufactured at the Samara UEC enterprise. More than 12 thousand serial rocket engines came off the stocks of the enterprise. As of April 11, 2025, 2004 launches of space rockets with RD-107/RD-108 engines of the ODK-Kuznetsov serial production have been carried out.
