F.A. Tsander Museum of the History of Cosmonautics

About museum

The museum was opened on September 28, 1974. The creation of the museum involved K.I. Bely, a member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR and a researcher of F.A. Tsander's life, and former military pilot A.I. Basmanov (who became the museum's first director). The museum's first exhibition was created by World War II veteran L.N. Trufanov.

The museum operated for a long time on a voluntary basis. It was housed in the children's park of culture and recreation. In February 2003 the building was attacked by vandals. With great difficulty the space collection was saved. For more than a decade only a small exhibition, "Pages of the Space Chronicle," was on display in the building of the Kislovodsk Historical and Local Lore Museum "Krepost" ("Fortress").

The F.A. Tsander Museum of the History of Cosmonautics holds 2,890 items in its main collection and 2,870 items in its scientific and auxiliary fund. Among the exhibits are original documents of F.A. Tsander, a cosmonaut's flight seat, the "Sokol" emergency-rescue spacesuit, samples of space food, and much more. Currently the museum has a new exhibition, opened on September 19, 2015.

The F.A. Tsander Museum is a member of the Association of Space Museums (AMKOS). The museum regularly organizes all-Russian scientific and practical conferences with the participation of leading specialists from the rocket and space industry and relevant museum institutions. The museum holds research and exploratory conferences for secondary school students and other interesting events. An example is the "Ot Vinta" festival, held at the F.A. Tsander Museum in 2019.

The permanent exhibition regularly welcomes residents and guests of the resort, presenting the history of space and interplanetary exploration.