[1] Located roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Moscow in closed town of Krasnoznamensk, the centre was built in 1957 as part of the Soviet space program, and was known by the name of Golitsyno-2.

[2][3] A resolution of the Council of Ministers of 30 January 1956 provided for the establishment of a command and control complex for the first flight satellites.

GITSIU COP and subordinate military units together with the Mission Control Centre support the entire space programme.

Specialists at the main centre started working with the first launches, first artificial satellite, the first manned flight into space.

They also worked on Soviet Moonwalkers (lunokhody), and on the programme for the orbital station Mir, right up until the last seconds of its existence.