Russian cosmonautics are usually associated with their icons and heroes: the Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, Laika, the first dog in space.

Frankfurt’s Deutsches Museum für Architektur (DAM) is currently showcasing the work of a protagonist of the Russian space age who is widely unknown, even in her own home country, despite the vital role she played: architect Galina Balashova who designed the interiors of the Soyus capsules and the space stations Salyut and Mir.

As a consultant for the Buran program, the Soviet counterpart to the American Space Shuttle, Balashova created some of the most iconic features of Russian cosmonautics, including the red font on the exterior of the spacecrafts that were shown prominently during nationwide broadcasts of rocket launches. More importantly, she defined an era of space architecture with her aesthetically stuctured and highly functional solutions. One of the reasons Balashova’s  achievements as the only woman on a team of engineers and scientists have remained widely unknown is that her work was strictly classified until her retirement in 1991. Balashova herself never sought the limelight. Today, she lives in a small apartment near Moscow, where she earns a little extra money with illustrations and water colors.

With its exhibition of designs and sketches for carrier rockets, laboratories and survival equipment, as well as plans and engineering drawings for Salyut and Mir, the DAM is presenting a peek into one of the most fascinating chapters of recent architecture history, honoring Balashova as the creative master mind of Russian cosmonautics that she truly was.

The exhibition is complemented by an English language catalogue.

“Design For The Soviet Space Programme. Galina Balashova, Architect” is on view through November 15, 2015 at Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt am Main. Click here for more info. Catalogue: Meuser, Philipp: “Galina Balashova Architect of the Soviet Space Programme”,  2015,  DOM publishers, Berlin.