A new exhibit at the Museum of Cosmonautics: a stand-in for the first Mayak crowdfunding satellite will add to the collection

On September 27, 2025 , the Museum of Cosmonautics at VDNH will host a solemn transfer to the funds of a unique exhibit, the Mayak satellite stand—in. The device, created by the hands of space enthusiasts with funds raised through crowdfunding, will become part of the museum's exhibition projects.

 

The Mayak satellite was launched into low-Earth orbit on July 14, 2017 from the Baikonur cosmodrome by a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a Fregat upper stage. This is the first Russian spacecraft created by enthusiasts and funded by citizens through a crowdfunding platform. The project has attracted thousands of supporters and has become a symbol of the fact that space is becoming closer and more accessible to non-governmental initiatives.

 

A stand-in (second copy) of the satellite is being transferred to the museum, which will replenish the space technology fund , a collection of more than 100 thousand objects that traces its history back to In 1969.

 

Alexander Shayenko, the leader of the 435nm project:

For anyone who is interested in space, the Museum of Cosmonautics is a landmark place. Here you literally fall into history and seem to communicate with those people who discovered space for us. I am immensely glad to have the opportunity to expand the museum's exposition," he noted Alexander Shayenko, handing over the exhibit. 

 

The 435nm project, which is part of the Frontiers of Science Guild's portfolio, is currently developing space biotechnology technologies, and Alexander Shayenko himself is one of the creators of Mayak.

 

In recent years , the collection of the Museum of Cosmonautics has been actively replenished with modern spacecraft. Among them are the Tomsk—TPU-120 nanosatellite (the first Russian satellite created using 3D printing) and the SiriusSat-1 scientific and educational satellite , assembled by students of the Sirius Educational Center.

 

In addition, by the end of the year, the triptych of the outstanding artist and illustrator Mikhail Romadin "The Past", "The Present", "The Future" (1986) will be presented in the Space House in Orbit hall . The oil paintings, according to the author's plan, are displayed in a diamond and symbolically represent three epochs of space exploration — from the mythological Icarus to the orbital stations and the ship of the future.

 

The ceremonial transfer of the Mayak satellite stand-in will take place on September 27 at 16:00 at the Museum of Cosmonautics. Admission is free. Guests will be able to learn more about the history of the project, communicate with the developers and see the new exhibit, which will soon take its place in the permanent exhibition.