Space education in Russia

Orbicraft

Center for Space Education: from school physics to satellite launch.

A community of professionals in love with space since childhood. Our main expertise is practical pedagogy: development of effective and relevant educational modules for secondary schools and higher education.

Our mission: To make space visual and understandable for school students, and most importantly – real.

“Orbit” Simulator

The "Orbit" simulator is a website where you can design and launch spacecraft under conditions close to real ones. The simulator includes a series of increasingly complex missions, such as creating landers for planets of the Solar System and exploring them, as well as solving real private spaceflight tasks in Earth orbit. A database of real existing devices is used for spacecraft design.

VK Orbicraft

Official group of the company “Education of the Future.” Space science at schools and universities: news about space contests and project sessions, courses for teachers, NTI Olympiad, the “On Duty for the Planet” program, WorldSkills “Space Systems Engineering” and much more.

“Orbit” Contest

The contest “Orbit – Applied Space Systems” within the program "On Duty for the Planet" is dedicated to the development of spacecraft payloads – the very reason they are launched into space.

YouTube “Education of the Future”

Education of the Future – educational materials on working with the “Introsat” kit and the Space Engineering Lab for teachers, as well as reports from Olympiads and contests.

Mentor Courses

Mentor courses – a detailed guide to working with the Space Engineering Lab, from the introductory course on the “Orbit – Applied Systems” contest to working in GMAT and programming microcontrollers.

National Technology Olympiad

Team engineering competitions for school and university students. A multi-level project that unites very different people who want and can solve the priority technological challenges facing Russia.

Analysis of Satellite Images and Geospatial Data

This track is focused on collecting and processing satellite images of the Earth’s surface. Physical and economic geography, knowledge of natural and anthropogenic landscapes, ecosystem dynamics.

Aerospace Systems

During the track, participants test their skills by creating a prototype payload for a small rover, practice robot programming, radio engineering, and wireless communication; in on-site stages – 3D modeling and circuit design. The gained experience helps them navigate a wide range of robotics fields applicable both in space and on Earth.

On Duty for the Planet

“On Duty for the Planet” is a program combining technology contests and projects for school and university students in the field of space.

Winners of the contests go to the Sirius Educational Center for a real space session, where they work on actual space projects, meet astronauts, and become young heroes of modern Russian astronautics.

Aerospace Engineering School

The youth All-Russian educational project “Aerospace Engineering School” organizes and holds championships among school and student teams, where participants compete in spacecraft and rocket building, while also studying the principles of spacecraft, rockets, data transmission, as well as modern methods of design, ballistics, and mechanics.

Altair

The regional center for identifying and supporting gifted children “Altair” develops and supports talented kids who actively show abilities in science, sports, and arts.

“Altair” is an ambassador of the All-Russian Contest of Science and Technology Projects “Grand Challenges” in the Novosibirsk region.

Vzlet

The “Vzlet” Educational Center is a regional center for identifying, supporting, and developing the abilities and talents of children and youth in the Moscow region. It operates under the Primakov Gymnasium and includes several activity areas.

Orion

The “Orion” Educational Center provides additional education in the Voronezh region, organizes Olympiads, conferences, contests, and festivals for school students; prepares special sessions for gifted children at the “Solnyshko in Repnoye” center, and develops professional training programs for teachers.

Summer Space School

The Summer Space School is a multi-day in-person science and outreach program for diverse audiences. It uses virtual observatory approaches, flight and Mission Control simulations to immerse participants in astronautics, astrophysics, space engineering, space medicine, and science journalism.

Abitu.Net

Abitu.Net is a social network for school students with learning opportunities. It connects students, teachers, and educational institutions.

The site provides up-to-date Olympiads (like MIPT Aerospace Olympiad), lecture courses in physics, mathematics, programming, biology, as well as preparation materials for final exams.

Space-π

Space-π connects school and university students with space companies and universities. The project gives them a chance to conduct their own experiment in orbit and learn about the profession of space engineer before graduating! Programs are developed with the help of specialists: teachers, designers, programmers – those who build satellites and ground stations for them.

Kruzhkovoe Dvizhenie

“Kruzhkovoe Dvizhenie” is an all-Russian community of technical creativity enthusiasts, built on the principle of horizontal connections between people, ideas, and resources.

Stepik

Education of the Future/Modern Astronautics – a course dedicated to the basics of designing automatic spacecraft operating in Earth orbit. You will learn about satellite applications, their orbits, cost estimation, and subsystem design. By completing the course, you will be able to calculate key spacecraft parameters, understand the main concepts used in Russian and foreign space technology, and build a foundation for further specialized studies in astronautics.

Stepik

Education of the Future/Spacecraft Design – In this course, practicing engineers from the Russian space industry explain how to choose key parameters and design features of spacecraft systems such as:

1. Structure
2. Onboard cable network
3. Rocket engines and tank sections
4. Antennas and waveguides
5. Chemical batteries
6. Solar panels
7. Thermal control system
8. Attitude and stabilization system

Key to Launch

“Key to Launch. Space for Children” – a space for students’ self-education and career orientation in the world of space activities. The portal helps children not only understand the industry, but also take part in educational and career projects implemented by Roscosmos: specialized shifts at children’s centers, contests, and more.

World Space Week

Space Film Screening – a thematic selection of feature films, documentaries, cartoons, and foreign films with descriptions and links to open sources.

YouTube “Summer Space School”

Summer Space School Lecture Hall – online lectures by industry experts, scientists, and researchers.

YouTube “Radio Amateur TV”

Radio Amateur TV – a channel explaining electronics and amateur radio in simple language. For beginners, it offers step-by-step video lessons from scratch in the playlist: “Electronics Lessons / Radio Amateur TV.”

“CosmoPilgrims” Channel

Space Tours “CosmoPilgrims” – a project organizing excursions and trips to exhibition halls, museums, and memorial sites related to astronautics.

Art Project “In Space We Trust”

A project dedicated to the most important events in the history of space exploration: the first spacecraft, flights to planets, and landings on celestial bodies.

YouTube “UNITED BY SPACE”

An edutainment channel about space with interviews featuring both participants of school space Olympiads and leading specialists in the space industry and astronauts, along with contests and games.