Named after acclaimed Soviet rocket engineer and local lad Sergei Korolyov, this surprisingly well-curated museum is famous across the former Soviet Union. Suitably space-aged music plays and fake stars glimmer as you walk around a dark hall packed with assorted mementos of the Soviet space program, including several satellites, a lunar ranger and an actual Soyuz rocket.
More amusing exhibits include black-and-white photos of dogs the Soviets propelled into space, sachets and tubes of real space food (cottage cheese, mashed potato!), and a section on the Soviet space shuttle that literally never got off the ground. All in all, not bad for a country that struggled to produce reliable combustion engines and functional plumbing.
The house where Korolyov was born, now a museum (same hours) dedicated to his life, is directly across the street from the museum, but is of little interest to foreign visitors.
To reach the museum, from pl Soborna head along vul Velika Berdychivska for two blocks until you reach vul Ivana Franka. Turn left here and continue for 400m until you see the museum on your right.
