Severodonetsk Center of Industrial Systems Engineering

According to Store Eternally author Boris Malinovsky
Translated from the Ukrainian by Doctor Nataliya Shulga
Pictures. Supplements

In 1956 in Severodonetsk a branch was created of the Moscow special design bureau (SKB-245), later - Scientific and Research Institute of Control Computing Machines SRI CCM (from 1960) - a powerful organization. At the same time construction of the Severodonetsk Instrument-Making plant had begun and was completed in 1960. The personnel of these organizations and enterprises was formed entirely of young specialists, graduated from the educational establishments of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkov, Lvov, Taganrog, Odessa and other cities. The director of the branch Andrey Novokhatny and his deputy Vladislav Rezanov, the scientific adviser of the works, were the only seniors.

The focal point of their scientific and technical policy was the idea of creation of generally marketed devices of control and computing techniques for different automation objects. On this basis under direction of V. Rezanov the concept of the unified fullfunction modular system of technical and programmable devices of control computer machines was elaborated and realized. It was done on the basis of standardized structural and technological solutions. The concept provided the possibility to use both technical and program means for diverse project compositions for multi-level control systems of any complexity and specificity. It remains unchanged until today. This approach justified itself completely, as it helped to create the full array of industrial control systems for diverse technological processes and energy objects. Starting from 1965, the demand for such means is dramatically increasing. The technical devices, developed in Severodonetsk, were manufactured at 18 large plants of the USSR.

The Severodonetsk research and production incorporation "Impulse", created on the base of SRI CCM, became the main executor of the largest Soviet economic and defense programs, which demanded the expansion of its research and production facilities. Until 1985, 12 thousands employees worked at the

"Impulse" and its branches. The number of systems built for industry and energy with the use of "Impulse" techniques was more than ten thousand. Around a thousand of design offices and research institutes became its partners; the "Impulse" cooperated with them in operating systems creating. It made possible to define the demands to the computer automation facilities more precisely and also helped to increase their technical level, to gain prestige in one of the most actual directions of science and technology.

As a result, a humble branch, which initial task was to introduce automation to the Lisichansk chemical plant, evolved into a powerful organization that provided equipment for thousands of operating systems, created in 1960s-1980s in the USSR. Thus, the center of industrial systems engineering appeared in Donbas along with the center of chemical industry.

In the years of "perestroika" the jointstock company "Impulse" was organized on the basis of the previous entity. In the provincial conditions a small group of leading experts, which was formed during the "Impulse" initiation period, managed to gather a team of many thousands people, united by one goal - to create and constantly improve the facilities for computer automation of technological processes and energy objects, including such complicated and crucial ones, as nuclear power stations.

The staff of the Severodonetsk "Impulse" devoted more than thirty years of dedicated and inspired work to the creation of the systems engineering of the I, II, III and IV generations, including 15 types of control machines.

It became possible due to the truly creative, innovative and responsible leadership of the incorporation. These people were not appointed by the authorities "from above"; they were the local specialists. They were the "Impulse" director Andrei Novokhatny and the irreplaceable scientific advisor Vladislav Rezanov.

Andrei Nowokhatny started his career at the Novo-Groznensky oil-refining plant, where he worked at first as an engineer, and later - as a head of a monitoring and automatic machinery department (1952- 1958). In 1958 he started to work at the Lisichansk branch of the Institute of Automatic Machinery of the State Planning Committee of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1959 he became its director. Due to his active efforts and a high organizational skills his branch was developing rapidly and successfully implemented some tasks of state programs. In 1964 the branch was reorganized into Scientific and Research Institute of Control Computing Machines, and in 1972 it became a research and Production Center - "Impulse", which was the largest in the country and united several big scientific organizations and production enterprises. Being a Director General, A. Novokhatny successfully combined research and production developments supervision and their implementations into the most important and unique operating systems, such as automated system of airline tickets reservation and sale "Siren" (1968-1973), an automated system "Olympiad-80" (1876-1980), a system of land-based and flight tests of the space objects "TEMP" (1973-1979). He promoted implementation of the "Impulse" developments at the centers of astronauts' training and flight tracking (1979-1985). He summarized his works and successfully defended as Ph.D. thesis (1974).

A.Novokhatny is a Severodonetsk honorable citizen, awarded with the medals "For Service in Battle", "For the Victory over Germany", "For Taking of Berlin" (1945) and with the orders "Red Banner"(1966), "October Revolution" (1971), "Red Labor Banner" (1976), "People's Friendship" (1981), II degree "Great Patriotic War" (1986). He's got a Honorary Diploma of the Supreme Soviet Presidium of the Ukrainian SSR (1986). He is a laureate of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine Prize (1979).

V.Rezanov took an active part in the formation and realization of the branch, Union and international programs of the operating techniques creation and implementation; he supervised the most important elaborations in this sphere in the USSR. It was namely him who managed to mobilize the team for elaboration of the system engineering facilities, to form a creative atmosphere of excitement about new business and selfless devotion to the common goal.

In 1954 V.Rezanov was appointed chief designer of the Aggregate system of computer technique facilities (ASVT). The work was done according to the Union's plan; the machines M-1000, M-2000, M-3000 were manufactured as series at the Kiev plant of control computing machines, the Severodonetsk instrument-making plant, and Tbilisi plant of control computing machines. On the ASVT basis the scientists and engineers created several control systems of economical and defense significance. Among them was a famous "Siren" system of airline seat reservation, which was the first working system of massive service.

Since 1968 V.Rezanov is the chief designer of the family of M-6000 and M-7000 ASCT models, which became the foundation to construct the systems of control over the processes in almost all spheres of economy and in some defense sectors of the USSR. For ten years Kiev plant of control and computing machines, the Severodonetsk instrument-making plant and the Tbilisi plant of control computing machines manufactured more that 18 thousand M-6000 complexes that were used to assemble more that 15 thousand control systems.

In 1976 V.Rezanov becoms the deputy chief designer of the system of small computers (in Russian - systema malykh elektronno-vychislitel'nykh mashin - SM EVM). They replaced M-6000, M-7000 machines.

During the period of 1978-1987 he served as chief designer of super productive geophysical computing complexes of aggregate computer system on the structures that can be reorganized (computer complex PS). This task of the Council of Ministers of the USSR aimed to secure research on natural resources of the Earth and its space probing. From 1981 till 1989 "Impulse" produced 150 complexes ASVT-PS-2000, which are still in use for the cosmic information processing centers, in special hydro acoustic systems, etc.

In 1984-1991 V. Rezanov served as a deputy chief designer of the nuclear power stations control systems, as a chief designer of the program and technical complexes for the very important objects. The first set of the super-reliable program-technical complexes was approved by the State Commission in 1990. The control complexes of such profile are still the main brand of the "Impulse" company nowadays.

Many prominent workers at "Impulse" recognized with awards.

Vladimir Kostelyansky, the senior circuit technique specialist, served at all periods of its development. The author of the circuit concepts and projects, key technical and program means, created at the "Impulse". Awarded with the Order of the "Red Labor Banner".

Vladimir Somkin. Engineering and design ideas, elaborated under his supervision, were accepted as standards of the computer facilities creation at the "Impulse" and at the Ministry of Instrument-Making Industry of the USSR. He is the laureate of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR Prize.

Leonid Sopochkin. Great Patriotic War participant. The irreplaceable head of the works on creation of communication devices with the object for all generations of control and information computing complexes, elaborated at the "Impulse". Awarded with the order "October Revolution" and with medals.

Mikhail Obuvalin. The founder of the Severodonetsk school of systemic and applied programming. Awarded with the medals "For Courageous Labor" and "The Veteran of Labor".

Vladimir Vinokurov. The systemic programmer, who managed to provide the independence of the "Impulse" in creation of program-technical complexes of control technique for thirty years.

Illia Itenberg. Directed over several "Impulse" departments, which implemented the key elaborations, was an organizer of the big projects, took part in the creation of the operating control system, served as chief designer of the unique multi-level control system for the sorting complex of the Bratsk timber industry, also as chief designer of the control complexes M-6000 and SM-2, of the highly productive complexes PS-2000 and PS-2100.

Gennady Vshyvtsev. Great Patriotic War participant. Inventor of the storage devices of different destinations for all developments at the "Impulse". Awarded with the order of the "Red Labor Banner" and with medals.

Vasiliy Deyneko. The chief designer and the head of works on the power-supply systems for all elaborations.

Vladimir Kot. Elaborated the automated layout system for the "Impulse" engineering. Awarded with the order of the "Red Labor Banner" and with medals.

Eduard Belikov. Coordinated the activities of several research institutes and design offices, and also of eleven plants, included into the scope of interest of the "Impulse".

Vladimir Barabanov. The chief designer of the first control computer for the direct digital control "Autooperator". Elaborated the microprocessors for the computing complexes, designed at the "Impulse". Awarded with the order of the "Red Labor Banner" and with medals.

Tom Lymansky. Directed the works on reliability questions, including the product elaboration, production and exploitation stages. The author of the complex system of quality control at the "Impulse".

Deed of the young talents will stay in computer history forever. Today Close Corpora- tion "Severodonetsk Research and Production Association "Impulse" successfully continues the glorious business of predecessors.



Additional materials:

Chapters of history of Severodonetsk RPA "Impulse"  ›››

Pictures:

Andrei Novokhatny
Vladislav Rezanov
The system "Avtodispetcher" Control machine "Avtooperator"
System designers The ferrite-transistor machine "MPPI-1"
The ferrite-transistor control machine "UM-1" System designers
The ferrite-transistor coordinating computer "KVM-1" The semiconductor computing complex "M-3000"
The computing control system "M-6000" The double-processor control complex "M-7000"
The control complex "SM-1" The double-processor control computing complex "SM2M"
The control machine on microchips "Parametr" Geophysical computing complex "PS-2000"
The regional geophysical computing complex "PS-3000" The highly productive computing complex "PS-2100"
Control Computers founders "Mogutshaya Kutchka"
Military On Board, Submarine Computers and Atomic Ice-Breakers