KRUNICHEV STATE RESEARCH

To the most important space center in Russia, the President of Business Initiative Directions, Jose E. Prieto, granted the B.I.D. Arch of Europe Award to Krunichev Space Center for its commitment to quality and innovation.
Serving as principal manufacturers and suppliers of components for the space industry both in Russia and on an international level, they also contribute with engineering applications for a variety of sectors that range from communications to medicine.
Krunichev Research & Production Space Center is renowned for having manufactured the first components of the International Space Station as well as creator of the main Russian space stations later to be taken over by MIR. They also played an important role in the launch centers Plesetsk and Baikonur as well as in the production of launch vehicles such as the Angara or the Rokot, as well as leader in all types of rockets and missiles.
With over 20,000 employees in its ranks, it employs over 120,000 through all of its subsidiaries. Included among Krunichev’s most important partners are Boeing, Motorola and Iridium, including the European Community of Satellite Systems.
Its role as a leader in the aerospace sector has led it to the awarding of the World Quality Commitment International Star Award presented by B.I.D. and its President Jose E. Prieto, that serves as acknowledgement of excellence and high quality of projects.

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is a Moscow-based producer of space-launch systems. It is named after Mikhail Khrunichev, a Soviet minister.
The Khrunichev plant was established during World War II. as Factory No. 23, to produce heavy bomber aircraft, and continued in this role during the 50s. In 1951, it was augmented by the addition of OKB-23, the factory’s own design bureau.
Khrunichev was transferred to the Salyut Design Bureau in the late seventies, then between 1981 and 1988 was part of NPO Energia. It became an independent entity in 1988.
Khrunichev is also part of the International Launch Services (ILS) joint venture with Space Transport Inc., a privately held corporation based in the British Virgin Islands. ILS provides commercial sales and mission management of satellite launches on the Proton.
Khrunichev is the manufacturer of manned space stations including Mir, the Salyut series and the Almaz modules.

Image of Goddard Space Flight Center

The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA’s first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC, one of ten major NASA field centers, is named in recognition of Dr. Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945), the pioneer of modern rocket propulsion in the United States.
GSFC is the largest combined organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to increasing knowledge of the Earth, the Solar System, and the Universe via observations from space in the United States. GSFC is a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. GSFC conducts scientific investigation, development and operation of space systems, and development of related technologies. Goddard scientists can develop and support a mission, and Goddard engineers and technicians can design and build the spacecraft for that mission. Goddard scientist John C. Mather shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on COBE.
GSFC also operates two spaceflight tracking and data acquisition networks (the Space Network and the Near Earth Network), develops and maintains advanced space and Earth science data information systems, and develops satellite systems for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
GSFC manages operations for many NASA and international missions including the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Explorer program, the Discovery Program, the Earth Observing System (EOS), INTEGRAL, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and Swift. Past missions managed by GSFC include the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, SMM, COBE, IUE, and ROSAT. Typically, unmanned earth observation missions and observatories in Earth orbit are managed by GSFC, while unmanned planetary missions are managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a global city. It is also the seventh largest city proper in the world, a megacity. The population of Moscow (as of 1 June 2009) is 10,524,400.
It is located by the Moskva River in the Central Federal District, in the European part of Russia. Moscow sits on the junction of three geological platforms. Historically, it was the capital of the former Soviet Union, Russian Empire, Tsardom of Russia and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. It is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, one of the World Heritage Sites in the city, which serves as the residence of the President of Russia. The Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) and the Government of Russia also sit in Moscow.
Moscow is a major economic centre and is home to one of the largest numbers of billionaires in the world; in 2008 Moscow was named the world’s most expensive city for foreign employees for the third year in a row. In 2009, however, Moscow moved to third after Tokyo and Osaka came in first and second, respectively.
It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system, that includes 4 international airports, 9 railroad terminals, and the world’s second busiest (after Tokyo) metro system which is famous for its architecture and artwork. Its metro is the busiest single-operator subway in the world.
Over time, the city has earned a variety of nicknames, most referring to its pre-eminent status in the nation: The Third Rome (Третий Рим), Whitestone (Белокаменная), The First Throne (Первопрестольная), The Forty Forties (Сорок Сороков.)
A person from Moscow is called a Muscovite in English, Moskvich in Russian.