Data Center: how Moscow was updated for its 878th birthday

Moscow celebrates City Day on September 13 in full swing — the capital of the Russian state turns 878 years old. According to tradition, the main solemn event was held at Zaryadye. And Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin congratulated Muscovites on the holiday not only from the stage of the concert hall, but also a little later from the rostrum of the new headquarters of Roscosmos. The National Space Center has opened in Moscow. It is there that the MCC of the future Russian orbital station will be located, said Dmitry Bakanov, head of the state corporation. About the capital's contribution to the Russian space industry, the staggering pace of construction of roads and subways, and what Russians truly appreciate Moscow for - in the Izvestia report.

How was Moscow's main holiday at Zaryadye?

The solemn celebration of the City Day is in full swing in Moscow. The main event was traditionally held at the Zaryadye Concert Hall, which was opened 8 years ago in honor of the capital's birthday. Hundreds of guests came to celebrate the 878th anniversary of the founding of Moscow. Along with the famous artists, the main guests of the festival are invited — the Muscovites themselves.

— I have been working with my wife at an enterprise in Moscow for almost 50 years, and I was given an invitation at work. We're from Moscow, and we've lived here with our family all our lives. Of course, we are glad to celebrate this holiday here, in such a solemn atmosphere, with such a company," Alexey, a Muscovite, told Izvestia.

People's favorite actors, musical performers, as well as cultural and political figures gathered in Zaryadye. All of them willingly communicated with each other on the sidelines of the concert hall. To the sounds of a symphony orchestra playing hits about Moscow, the participants clung to the photo zones and shared their memories of the capital with each other.: How did you move, go to school or university, or get your first job?

— Moscow is an amazing city to realize, there are huge opportunities for everyone here. Yes, of course, I'm one of those who "let's go." But there are a lot of them in Moscow. And you know, they tear up their shoes in order to achieve something, to realize themselves. And they do it well. And this is only a plus for Moscow," Nadezhda Babkina, People's Artist of Russia, told Izvestia.

Traditionally, the president personally congratulated the guests of the Zaryadye festival, and along with them, all the residents of the city from the stage. Vladimir Putin, who was born in Leningrad, admitted at the beginning of his speech that he also considers Moscow to be one of the best cities on the planet.

— For millions of people, she embodies the fate and historical mission of Russia as a civilizational state. A city with a glorious history, great spiritual, cultural, military and labor traditions, today it is the flagship of the progressive, confident movement forward of the whole of Russia, strengthening our sovereign and strong state," he said.

This is confirmed by the figures: the capital today ranks second in the world among the largest urban economies. Moreover, innovations in transport, education and healthcare are actually being tested here in real conditions.

In recent years, Moscow has built 30% of all roads that have been built in the entire history of the capital, as well as 87% of the metro and the MCC of the length of the metro, which was built over the previous 75 years. The significant potential of digital and medical technologies has already been used in the reconstruction of 343 children's and adult polyclinics in the capital, as well as to equip dozens of hospital buildings, including the new complex of St. Vladimir's Children's Hospital opened on September 13.

— The implementation is happening quickly in Moscow, which is encouraging. Thank you, Sergey Semenovich," the president remarked.

The economy of unmanned systems is also developing in the capital. For example, autonomous solutions running on domestic software are being tested in taxis, logistics, construction sites, as well as for fire fighting and cleaning areas. Just a few days ago, Russia's first unmanned trams started operating on regular routes.

— I would like to add that over the past six years, the Moscow IT sector has more than quadrupled. Can you imagine: it has quadrupled in six years, that is, it has increased by about 80-85% annually. It's just great! It's an excellent indicator," the president emphasized.

The next step is to automate the metro, Vladimir Putin said. Moreover, hand in hand with technical modernization, there is an active construction of new metro lines and stations. In honor of the City Day, four more stations of the Troitskaya line opened in Moscow. Construction of the Rublyovo-Arkhangelsk and Biryulevskaya metro lines is also underway, which will improve transport accessibility for 2 million Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region.

Separately, the president spoke about the contribution of Moscow and its residents to the special military operation. The capital has become a strong rear of the Russian army. More than 500 Moscow enterprises ensure the production of critical products for the front. Wounded servicemen are undergoing rehabilitation in the capital's clinics, and hundreds of Moscow specialists provide daily assistance to residents of Donbass and Novorossiya.

The National Space Center opened in Moscow

After the performance at Zaryadye, the head of the Russian state and the mayor of the capital moved to the northwest of Moscow. Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin opened a complex of buildings of the National Space Center (NCC) on the territory of the Khrunichev State Scientific and Scientific Center in the Filevsky Park area. The new "house" for Roscosmos was built on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation.

— Without any doubt, Moscow's contribution to the development of the space industry...It directly concerns our entire country. Because this marks a new stage in the development of the space industry, cementing Russia as one of the centers and leaders of development in this important area," Putin said.

In addition to the president, cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov also congratulated on the opening of the NCC directly from the ISS.

The scale of the NCC is impressive, matching Russia's ambitious goals in the space industry. The nearest goal is to launch more than 20 rockets during 2025. By the way, the main 47-storey high-rise of the new complex resembles a rocket installed at launch. About 30 specialized companies will gather under the roof of the entire center, which occupies about 280 thousand square meters. meters. Its construction has become one of the most complex engineering and construction projects implemented in Moscow in recent years, Sergei Sobyanin stressed.

It will be a kind of headquarters and situation center of Roscosmos, from where it will be possible to quickly solve urgent tasks, for example, to quickly contact the International Space Station. But the most important thing is that the Flight Control Center of the future Russian orbital station will be located here, said Dmitry Bakanov, head of Roscosmos.

"There will be control centers for the entire orbital group of the Russian Federation, both communications, navigation, and remote sensing of the Earth," he said.

At the same time, the Roscosmos press service emphasized that the launch of a rocket "on the button" is not yet expected here, although anything may happen in the future, and the new center does not devalue the work of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TsNIIMash) in Korolev, the parent company of Roscosmos, which occupies a leading position in the space industry. infrastructure.

At a minimum, the state corporation expects that the opening of the NCC will accelerate the development of new rocket and space technologies. Although Russia is already recognized as a leader in space exploration and rocket science, competition in this area has intensified recently.

— The United States, China and India have been increasing their space programs in recent years. The recent successful missions of these countries to the Moon and Mars are proof of this. It is worth noting that the emergence of China and India among space players is largely due to the close scientific and technical cooperation with our country. At the same time, it is worth noting Russia's success in two areas: in the development of superheavy launch vehicles, which is necessary for manned missions, and in the use of nuclear energy for space, which is necessary for deep space flights," Alexander Mazhuga, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, told Izvestia.

The NCC will very conveniently have its own laboratories that will simulate new space technology. In the meantime, you can see firsthand what the old, but truly iconic one looks like. An impressive museum exhibit will appear in the new center: a whole "alley" of historical apparatuses is already meeting in the lobby with high ceilings. Among them is Lunokhod 2, launched in 1973, which traveled 39 km across the surface of the Earth's satellite, sending 80 thousand images. Or, for example, Venus-7 is the first spacecraft in the world to "set foot" on this planet. He stayed there for 90 minutes at a temperature of 540 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 180 atmospheres, which is more than at the bottom of Lake Baikal.

There are also witnesses to recent space history, in particular, the MS-25 cargo ship, launched in 2024 under the control of a crew consisting of ship commander Oleg Novitsky, flight engineer Tracy Dyson and the first female cosmonaut of Belarus Marina Vasilevskaya.

It was possible to see not only the systems controlled by astronauts, but also them. Among them are Oleg Kononenko, Sergey Kud—Sverchkov and Sergey Krikalev, currently Deputy Director General for Manned Programs at Roscosmos. "Say cosmonaut pilot," Krikalev replied modestly when some journalists asked him to clarify his position.

The NCC will also officially house a NASA representative office. Space is perhaps one of the few areas that, if politicized, is at least not as large-scale as energy or economics. A vivid confirmation of this is the close and long-standing Russian-American cooperation. And the return of Donald Trump to the White House has given him a new impetus.

In April, representatives of Roscosmos and NASA discussed the development of orbital space after the completion of the ISS and the lunar program. The last manned mission to the Earth's satellite took place more than half a century ago, back in 1972. According to Dmitry Bakanov, the technology and functional tasks of the two departments "do not depend on politics," and Roscosmos is "happy to continue cooperation" with its American colleagues.

In particular, the agreement on cross-country flights has already been extended until 2026. And in July, the first meeting of the heads of the Russian and US space agencies in eight years took place. In Houston, Dmitry Bakanov agreed with acting head of NASA Sean Duffy on the operation of the ISS until 2028.