Private company

Museum of Space and Missile Technology (Saint Petersburg)

Soviet rocket laboratory 1921 to 1933

Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) (Russian: Газодинамическая лаборатория) was the first Soviet research and development laboratory to focus on rocket technology. Its activities were initially devoted to the development of solid propellant rockets, which became the prototypes of missiles in the Katyusha rocket launcher, as well as liquid propellant rockets, which became the prototypes of Soviet rockets and spacecraft. At the end of 1933 it became part of the Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII).² It was founded by Nikolai Tikhomirov.¹ It is part of Red Army.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1921Founded¹

HeadquartersMoscow¹

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) (Russian: Газодинамическая лаборатория) was the first Soviet research and development laboratory to focus on rocket technology. Its activities were initially devoted to the development of solid propellant rockets, which became the prototypes of missiles in the Katyusha rocket launcher, as well as liquid propellant rockets, which became the prototypes of Soviet rockets and spacecraft. At the end of 1933 it became part of the Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII). A number of craters on the far side of the Moon are named after GDL employees.²

The story

Founded by Nikolai Tikhomirov in 1921.¹

First rocket research and development organization in the USSR.

Created on 1 March 1921 in Moscow as the "Laboratory for the development of inventions by N. I. Tikhomirov" as part of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army.

In 1928 the laboratory was relocated to Leningrad.

In July 1928, was renamed the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) of the Military Scientific Committee under the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR.

by early 1933 approximately 200 personnel were working for GDL.

At the end of 1933 GDL merged with the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD) to become the Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII).

From Wikipedia’s article on Gas Dynamics Laboratory, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Leadership

Who has led Museum of Space and Missile Technology (Saint Petersburg), and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

FounderNikolai Tikhomirov¹

Products and brands

Location of the laboratory in Leningrad in the 1930s

In the Admiralty building.

In the building Peter and Paul Fortress there are stands for testing ERD and liquid-propellant engines.

Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology named after V. P. Glushko

The V. P. Glushko Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology is a memorial museum telling about the beginning of the domestic space engine industry, including the history of GDL. The museum is located in the Peter and Paul Fortress, which in the 1930s housed GDL stands for testing rocket engines. It was opened on April 12, 1973.

From Wikipedia’s article on Gas Dynamics Laboratory, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Red Army

From Wikidata.¹

Timeline

1933Dissolved Dissolved¹
1921Founded Founded¹

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.