Forty years ago the famous Gagarin’s words "Let’s go!" have started the beautiful April morning of our great Motherland.

That day the Mankind saw itself as a single intelligent and powerful
civilization capable of overcoming the Earth’s gravity and taking the
starry road towards new heights of knowledge of the mysteries of Universe.

This happened through determined and dedicated work of the pioneers
of the world space science, and first of all, of the staff of our company
which, in those days, was called Special Design Bureau Number 1, and
was headed by Chief Designer Academician Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

Putting together the talents and skills of many outstanding scientists,
engineers, specialists and workers, our excellent team made it possible
to put into space a man, Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin. The first manned
flight around our planet Earth was perceived as a common success of
the entire Mankind and caused much exultation throughout the world.
It opened a new page in the world history, marking the first step of
human civilization out of its earthly cradle into space, which will
inevitably be followed by exploration of other worlds.

We have every right to be proud of the fact that after having taken
this first step we have not been resting on our laurels and have been
continuously working in this difficult knowledge-intensive field which
is so vital for the development of the Mankind. Having accomplished,
in cooperation with other organizations in our country’s space industry,
the launch of the first Earth’s artificial satellite, the flights of
the first interplanetary probes to the Moon, Mars, and Venus, and having
come a long way in manned space flight from Gagarin’s mission to one-of-a-kind
space stations – space station Mir and its continuation in the International
Space Station – our company remains a universally recognized leader
in the development of manned space stations and spacecraft.

Having developed advanced technologies in the framework of manned space
flight, we then continue their life in new projects, such as Sea Launch
system, satellite communications systems Yamal, launcher systems Aurora
and Air Launch and many others, demonstrating to the entire world the
highest scientific and technological potential of the staff of our company,
and of domestic industry as a whole.

Today RSC Energia is the prime company in the field of manned space
flight in our country, including the development of the Russian Segment
of the International Space Station. It measures up to the task of carrying
out this ambitious project of the early 21st century, representing in
it the interests of our nation.

The years of manned space flight development that passed since April
12, 1961, saw many happy days. There also have been failures, which
taught us to pay close attention to any minute detail, negligible as
it may seem.

Our staff and the entire domestic rocket and space industry will always
remember and remain deeply grateful to Sergei Korolev, the founder and
the first head of our company, who succeeded in laying foundations for
a school of high professionalism and enduring traditions, which allow
the Corporation, being a world leader in manned space flight and satellite
and launch vehicle engineering, to enter into markets of knowledge-intensive
technologies and products not related to space.

We are grateful to outstanding chief designers V.P.Glushko, M.K.Yangel,
N.A.Pilyugin, M.F.Reshetnev, G.N.Babakin, A.M.Isaev, V.N.Chelomei and
many other pioneers for their single-mindedness and talent, which enabled
their teams to travel with us the thorny path of space trailblazers
and to raise the domestic rocket and space technology to the level which
guaranteed the success of Gagarin’s mission and our country’s defensive
capability.

Looking back on the activities of our team over the years since the
launch of Gagarin, we can safely say that our specialists are capable
of developing, manufacturing, testing and operating the most complex
space hardware, and introducing the most advanced developments into
other fields of human endeavor. They, as all our distinguished veterans,
are worthy of high praise for their work aimed at strengthening the
power of our Motherland. I am confident that we will be able to overcome
the difficulties in the development of domestic science and technology
that emerged during the restructuring of our national economy, and make
the work of our specialists highly prestigious and well-paid.

The management of S.P.Korolev RSC Energia heartily congratulate all
the employees of the company, our honored veterans and colleagues on
the Cosmonautics Day, which gained universal recognition thanks to Yuri
Gagarin’s splendidly accomplished mission!

I wish you and your families good health, great happiness and new successes
in our creative work in space for the good of Russia and the entire
Mankind!

Yu.P.Semenov
President and Designer General of S.P.Korolev RSC Energia,
Mamber of the Russian Academy of Sciences