In the early sixties, during the rapid development of the rocket and space industry, a powerful and promising organization of the design office for electrical instrument engineering was created in Kharkov, now the NGO “Hartron”. She was entrusted with the creation of modern control systems for carrier rockets, and later for space objects.
For more than a quarter of a century, this organization was headed by the well-known scientist, doctor of technical sciences, academician, laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes, twice Hero of Socialist Labor Vladimir Grigoryevich Sergeev.
The largest technical university of Ukraine KHPI, in the presence of such a modern organization in Kharkov with great scientific and technical potential, could not stand aside and not participate in the training of specialists for the aerospace industry. The close interaction of the instrument-making instrument and our institute soon gave results – in 1964 the specialty “Flight Dynamics and Control of the Motion of Missiles and Spacecraft” was opened at the Faculty of Engineering and Physics.
To ensure the educational process on this specialty, on February 1, 1964, the Department of Automatic Traffic Control (AUD) was opened. She engaged in the preparation of mechanical engineers-researchers in this specialty. The head of the department is Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Areg Vagarshakovich Dabagyan.
At the same time, in 1964, between the Instrument Design Bureau and the KhPI, an agreement was concluded on the targeted training of engineers-mechanics-researchers in the specialty “Flight Dynamics and Control” for the design bureau. The basis for the creation of this specialty was the experience of training engineers-researchers, graduated from the Department of Engineering and Physics of the Department of Dynamics and Strength of Machines (on which the scientific group of Prof. AV Dabagyan worked) and the physics of metals.
Beginning with the 1968 issue (the group that was recruited for the 3rd year in 1964), the specialty “Flight Dynamics and Control” has graduated over 820 research engineers to date. More than 130 graduates became scientists – candidates and doctors of sciences, who work in various sectors of the national economy of Ukraine, including NTU <KHPI> (doctors of technical sciences, professors MD Godlevsky, AS Kutsenko, EE Aleksandrov, Doctor of Economics, Professor V.Ya. Zaruba).
Most of the graduates work at the NGO “Hartron” (formerly KB of electrical instrument engineering). They constitute the main intellectual potential of the enterprise. Many of them took a direct part in the creation of control systems for launch vehicles and space vehicles for more than 800 objects (AN Kalnoguz – First Deputy General Director, A.Ya. Makarenko – Senior Researcher ., AG Chigirev – Finance Director, Candidate of Technical Sciences Yu.A. Kuznetsov – Head of the Sector, EV Galkin – now the Director for Human Resources of Westron, VP Moskovchenko – Head of Sector and many others).
Department of Systems and Control Processes (until 2001 – automatic traffic control) was established in 1964 in connection with the current needs of technical progress and the urgent need to train engineers of the highest class with fundamental mechanical and mathematical training.
At the origins of the specialty “The Dynamics of Flight and Control of the Motion of Missiles and Spacecrafts” created in those years were Hero of Socialist Labor, General Director of NPO Elektropribor Academician V.G. Sergeev and Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor A.Dabaghyan – now Honored Worker of Public Education, Honorary Doctor of NTU “KhPI”. A significant contribution to its formation and development was made by well-known scientists – the laureate of the Lenin Prize, the General Designer of JSC “HARTRON” Ya.E. Eisenberg, professors V.N. Shcherbina, V.P. Avramov, who worked at the department in different years.
Since 1977, the department is headed by the State Prize Laureate, Honored Worker of the Higher School of Ukraine, Honorary Doctor of NTU “KhPI”, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor EGGoloskokov – a well-known specialist in the field of dynamics and strength of machinery, as well as control of moving objects.
During these years the department organizes new specialties, its name changes, but one thing remains unchangeable: high level of students’ preparation. The department conducts work on specializations: “Optimization and flight control” and “Organization and optimal management of technological processes.”
Over the past 30 years, the department has trained about 600 mechanical engineers-researchers, of which more than 100 people became candidates of sciences and six people – doctors of science. Graduates of the department create unique control systems for aerospace objects, nuclear power facilities, turbine construction and other high-tech industries. The specialists for the base enterprises of JSC “HARTRON” and the “Monolit” software (Kharkiv) are trained in a targeted way. Among the well-known graduates of the chair are professors MDGodlevsky, V.Ya.Zaruba, A.Kutsenko, E.E. Aleksandrov, director of SPE “HARTRON-Arcos” A.Kolnaguz, former deputy director of NPO “Elektropribor” A . Borisovsky and many others.
At the department there is an active scientific research work. The main scientific direction is “Algorithmic and program management of mechanical systems and technological processes”. The department takes an active part in research work on the program of fundamental and exploratory research (NAS of Ukraine), the program for creating control systems for aerospace objects.
Interesting work is carried out at the department in cooperation and on the instructions of KB “HARTRON-Arcos”. Many contractual topics developed jointly under the state program “Theoretical Foundations of Design and Creation of Advanced Aerospace Equipment” have been introduced at the enterprise.
The department successfully develops and improves international relations. Thus, postgraduate students and students from China specializing in “Applied Mathematics” are trained at the department.
The fundamental education received by students in mathematical and computer disciplines for more than a decade allows them to become highly qualified specialists with a powerful creative potential, mobile in mastering new knowledge and applying their professional forces in various fields of science.4
The chair of computer modeling of processes and systems (the current name of the department) continues cooperation with the NGO “Hartron” in the training of personnel, including the highest qualification, conducting scientific research in the field of navigation and development of control systems for space vehicles. By specialty, the department trains undergraduates, graduate students and doctoral students, including from distant foreign countries. In 2003, a graduate student from the People’s Republic of China, Liu Hui, defended his thesis on “Development of effective gyrosilon control of the reorientation of an elastic spacecraft”.
Scientists of the department carried out research related to the development of control systems of the <Zarya> block – the first module of the international space station <Alpha>, the satellite <Arkon> and the orbital solar observatory.