An episode from the Cold War Era space race: the creation of the "Dunaev coating" at the Leningrad Physicotechnical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the 1950s and early 1960s

Purpose of the study. This article examines a previously unexplored story from the USSR's struggle for space leadership in the 1950s and early 1960s. It analyzes the contributions of scientists from the secret laboratory of the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Department of Hydroaerodynamics of the M.I. Kalinin Leningrad Polytechnic Institute to the development of technologies subsequently used in the space industry. As part of the space race, accelerating the pace of theoretical and experimental work became a priority for Soviet science. In the early 1950s, at the request of S.P. Korolev, Chief Designer of Research Institute 88, and with the active participation of I.L. Povkh, a graduate of the Physics and Mechanics Department of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, a physical gas dynamics laboratory was established at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology. Professor Yu.A. Dunayev, who was the first to propose an effective method of thermal protection for spacecraft and ballistic missiles, became its head. A comparison of calculated data and actual flight test results confirmed that the developed thermal insulation was fully suitable for ensuring cosmonaut safety throughout the entire flight trajectory and descent. This method, dubbed "Dunayev coating," was used in preparation for the first manned space flight. As a result of this study, the author concludes that the aerodynamic and thermal insulation developments of the LPTI Physical Gas Dynamics Laboratory played a significant role in the USSR's success in the early stages of space exploration in the 1950s and early 1960s.