OKB in the context of "Research and development"

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⭐ Core Definition: OKB

OKB (Russian: ОКБ) is a transliteration of the Russian initials for "Опытно-Конструкторское Бюро" (Opytno-Konstruktorskoye Byuro), which translates to "Experimental Design Bureau". It could also mean Osoboye konstruktorskoye byuro or "Special Design Bureau" in English. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. The corresponding English language term for such a bureau's activity is R&D or "research and development".

For security, each bureau was only officially identified by a number, but were often semi-officially referenced by the name of its lead designer. For example, OKB-51 was led by Pavel Sukhoi, and it eventually became known as simply Sukhoi. Successful and famous bureaus often retained these names after the departure of their founding designer.

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👉 OKB in the context of Research and development

Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations, wealthy industrialists (such as Alfred Lee Loomis ), or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage of development of a potential new service or the production process.

Although R&D activities may differ across businesses, the primary goal of an R&D department is to develop new products and services. R&D differs from the vast majority of corporate activities in that it is not intended to yield immediate profit, and generally carries greater risk and an uncertain return on investment. R&D is crucial for acquiring larger shares of the market through new products. R&D&I represents R&D with innovation.

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OKB in the context of Soviet space program

The Soviet space program (Russian: Космическая программа СССР, romanizedKosmicheskaya programma SSSR) was the state space program of the Soviet Union, active from 1951 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Contrary to its competitors (NASA in the United States, the European Space Agency in Western Europe, and the Ministry of Aerospace Industry in China), which had their programs run under single coordinating agencies, the Soviet space program was divided between several internally competing design bureaus led by Korolev, Kerimov, Keldysh, Yangel, Glushko, Chelomey, Makeyev, Chertok and Reshetnev. Several of these bureaus were subordinated to the Ministry of General Machine-Building. The Soviet space program served as an important marker of claims by the Soviet Union to its superpower status.

Soviet investigations into rocketry began with the formation of the Gas Dynamics Laboratory in 1921, and these endeavors expanded during the 1930s and 1940s. In the years following World War II, both the Soviet and United States space programs utilised German technology in their early efforts at space programs. In the 1950s, the Soviet program was formalized under the management of Sergei Korolev, who led the program based on unique concepts derived from Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, sometimes known as the father of theoretical astronautics.

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OKB in the context of Chemical Automatics Design Bureau

Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (CADB), also KB Khimavtomatika (Russian: Конструкторское бюро химавтоматики, КБХА, KBKhA), is a Russian design bureau founded by the NKAP (People's Commissariat of the Aircraft Industry) in 1941 and led by Semyon Kosberg until his death in 1965. Its origin dates back to a 1940 Moscow carburetor factory, evacuated to Berdsk in 1941, and then relocated to Voronezh city in 1945, where it now operates. Originally designated OKB-296 and tasked to develop fuel equipment for aviation engines, it was redesignated OKB-154 in 1946.

In 1965 A.D. Konopatov [ru] took over leadership. He was succeeded by V.S. Rachuk [ru] in 1993, then by Viktor D. Gorokhov [ru] (RD-0124 Chief designer) in 2015. During this time the company designed a wide range of high technology products, including liquid propellant rocket engines, a nuclear reactor for space use, the first Soviet laser with an output of 1 MW and the USSR's only operational nuclear rocket engine. The company has designed more than 60 liquid propellant engines with some 30 having entered production.

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OKB in the context of Ministry of General Machine-Building

The Ministry of General Machine-Building (Russian: Министерство общего машиностроения; MOM), also known as Minobshchemash, was a government ministry of the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1957 and from 1965 to 1991. The ministry supervised design bureaus that managed the research, development, and production of ballistic missiles as well as launch vehicles and satellites in the Soviet space program.

While Soviet rocketry organizations date back to 1921, the Ministry of General Machine-Building, upon being founded in 1955, became a dedicated department for aerospace technology. It was dissolved in 1957 but was reinstated in 1965. Various projects of the Soviet space program were developed at the ministry. It also began commercially providing launch services abroad through its Glavkosmos agency during the perestroika reforms of the late 1980s. The ministry was permanently abolished in 1991 amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Russian Space Agency, which would later become Roscosmos, was created in 1992 as its successor.

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OKB in the context of Tupolev

Tupolev (Russian: Туполев, IPA: [ˈtupəlʲɪf]), officially United Aircraft Company Tupolev - Public Joint Stock Company, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow.

UAC Tupolev is successor to the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau (OKB-156, design office prefix Tu) founded in 1922 by aerospace pioneer and engineer Andrei Tupolev, who led the company for 50 years until his death in 1972. Tupolev designed over 100 models of civilian and military aircraft and produced more than 18,000 aircraft for Russia, the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc since its founding, and celebrated its 100th anniversary on 22 October 2022. Tupolev is involved in numerous aerospace and defence sectors including development, manufacturing, and overhaul for both civil and military aerospace products such as aircraft and weapons systems, and also missile and naval aviation technologies.

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