Monument To The Conquerors of Space - Design and Sculpture

Design and Sculpture

The main part of the monument is a giant obelisk topped by a rocket and resembling in shape the exhaust plume of the rocket. It is 107 meters (350 feet) tall and, on Korolyov's suggestion, covered with titanium cladding.

A statue of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the precursor of astronautics, is located in front of the obelisk.

A poem in Russian on the front of the stone base of the monument base says:

И наши тем награждены усилья,
Что поборов бесправие и тьму,
Мы отковали пламенные крылья

Своей

Стране

И веку своему!

Approximate translation: "And the reward for our efforts was that, having triumphed over oppression and darkness, we have forged wings of fire for our land and our century!"

Below, in smaller letters, is the dedicatory statement: "В ознаменование выдающихся достижений советского народа в освоении космического пространства сооружен этот монумент" ("This monument was constructed to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the Soviet people in space exploration"), and the year, 1964.

Both sides of the monument base, in their front parts, are decorated with haut- and bas-reliefs depicting men and women of the space program: scientists, engineers, workers, their occupations indicated by appropriate accoutrements of the professions. Notable figures include a computer programmer (or perhaps some other computing or telecommunications professional) holding a punched tape, a cosmonaut wearing a space suit, and Laika, the first space dog.

No contemporary Soviet politicians are depicted in the monument either (that would violate the convention existing in the post-Joseph Stalin Soviet Union against commemorating living persons in this fashion), but the crowd on the right side of the monument are moving forward under the banner of Vladimir Lenin.