galina balashova: the first space architect

Paper number

IAC-21,E4,1,6,x65779

Author

Ms. Cheila Arruda, Portugal

Year

2021

Abstract

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Galina Balashova (1931- ), was a Russian architect who worked in of the Soviet Space Program with the Experimental Design Bureau OKB-1, under the guidance of the rocket engineer and space Pioneer Sergei Korolev (1907-1966). She participated in the interior design of the Soyuz spacecraft and the Salyut Space Station and Mir Space Station and later as a consultant for the Buran Program. Her responsibilities went from designing the interior space, where she introduced ergonomic notions and innovations, and applied architectural concepts to the spacecraft and Space Station, reconfiguring the living and sleeping areas, and even designing a zero-gravity bathroom facility. She introduced innovations that are still used today such as the use of color to avoid disorientation in space. \par

She retired in 1991, and although other names of Soviet space program went down in history, hers was kept unknown and a secret, being her work highly classified.  She was a Woman (an architect nonetheless) in a world dominated by man engineers. An innovator in her field and the first Space Architect. \par




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Abstract document

IAC-21,E4,1,6,x65779.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-21,E4,1,6,x65779.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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