If Olga had to describe herself in one word, it would be: extraordinary. And that same word also describes the place where her story begins—the “Star Town” of Svyozdny Gorodok near Moscow. And indeed, this place is anything but ordinary. Zvyozdny Gorodok isn’t a place you just happen to pass by; history was made here. That’s because Star City is home to the famous Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, where, since the 1960s, Russian and—in the past—Soviet cosmonauts have been prepared for their missions into space and back. Here, generations of cosmonauts trained for their flights to destinations including the International Space Station (ISS). One of the cosmonaut instructors was Olga’s father, an engineer who knew the spacecraft like the back of his hand. Olga’s mom was also an engineer and was responsible for communication between the cosmonauts and the “earthlings.” According to Olga, back then, you simply couldn’t help but be part of it.
Cosmonaut Camp, skydiving, and a human centrifuge instead of “Kumbaya, my Lord” at summer camp
A childhood spent amid space exploration, scientific precision, strict secrecy, and curiosity shaped her view of the world. Olga grew up in the midst of this unique world. Olga understands the importance of discretion and thus meets all the requirements for CMb.industries. After all, someone like Olga—who traveled to the U.S. accompanied by the KGB to visit NASA facilities—knows that discretion can mean the difference between life and death.
While kids in the West were swinging on playgrounds, Olga was spinning in a human centrifuge and practicing skydiving from a helicopter. That’s because the training center is home to the world’s largest human centrifuge, which was built as early as 1980. At up to 36 revolutions per minute, the trainees are subjected to forces of up to 12 g. The facility also features a massive water tank where repairs can be simulated under weightless conditions. There used to be a faithful replica of a section of the Mir space station there, where crew members practiced dealing with technical malfunctions. That’s why power outages don’t trigger panic attacks in Olga—they’re just part of her everyday life.
As a teenager, Olga delved even deeper into this unique world. She participated in the “Young Cosmonauts” program—a training camp for teenagers that was a mix of adventure, discipline, and real spaceflight preparation. The cosmonauts themselves served as the instructors there. What was taught there was anything but theory. Olga learned how to fold a parachute correctly—step by step, precisely, with no room for error, because if something isn’t right here, it won’t work later in the air. Confidence in her own abilities was now essential, because on D-Day, the drill became reality. The fact that Olga is now helping shape the CMb.industries team shows that she survived that leap—or rather, that “push”—out of the helicopter back then.
Olga had the opportunity to try things that remain out of reach for many. When the Iron Curtain fell, she—as a teenager and former Soviet citizen—was allowed to travel to the U.S. and visit NASA’s most important facilities there. Or other facilities where both the body and the mind learn to cope with extreme situations—and everything else that astronauts experience and that is part of cosmonaut training.
Walls, access controls, passes. Things you usually only see in movies.
But back to Olga’s birthplace, Svyozdny Gorodok—the town isn’t just a training center; it’s a world of its own. Off-limits, isolated, controlled, mysterious, and nowhere to be found on any map. The town was built in a forest, consisting of 13 houses, and one of its first residents was Yuri Gagarin and his family. The area was top secret; the train station had a different name than the town itself, and the path from the train station to the town was a secret trail through the forest. Discretion was a given. During the Soviet era, Star City was strictly isolated from the outside world.
Even today, the compound is surrounded by walls and accessible only through controlled entry points. Anyone who wants to enter needs a special pass. At the same time, a small world of its own has emerged within these boundaries, where daily life consists of man-made lakes, schools, supermarkets, and the families of the cosmonauts who live there together—and right in the middle of it all is Olga.
After completing her studies in business informatics, Olga moved to Austria. It was a step away from spaceflight and the aerospace industry. Her personality and character opened doors to various job opportunities and continuing education programs, which in turn led to further possibilities. Organized, analytical, and curious, Olga loves it when a plan works out. At the Tabakfabrik Linz, she found her calling in event management. Back in Moscow, she continued to work in event management and collaborated with many celebrities from the arts and culture scene.
Today, her path has led her back to Austria, back to the grounds of the Tabakfabrik Linz. At CMb.industries, together with Chris Müller and Maria Dietrich—with old friendships and new ideas—Olga looks forward with confidence to the next adventures, which, like skydiving and human centrifuges, are being developed in strict confidence for the future. Just like in “Starnest,” CMb.industries thinks big and brings utopian ideas to life. This is just right for Olga, as she has always been eager to discreetly venture into the new and unknown. With her by our side, we dare to step into the unexplored dark side of the moon and open ourselves to the unknown, the mysteries, and the hidden things that still await us.
