"Non-rocket industrialization of space: problems, ideas, projects" was the title of the 1^st scientific and technical conference that was held in Gomel. The session was attended by pilot-cosmonauts of the USSR Igor Volk and Yury Malyshev, more than a hundred prominent scientists from 20 cities of the country, designers, engineers and philosophers.

The conference participants paid special attention to the unconventional technological ideas and solutions aimed at creating a space transport. Most active discussion was caused by the GPV project, the author of which was the Head of Patent Bureau of the Institute of mechanics for metal polymer systems under the Byelorussian Academy of Sciences Anatoly Yunitskiy. Thanks to his developments, the city of Gomel became the venue of the conference.

Read more details in the article "Into space without rockets" (in Belarusian) published in the Minsk newspaper "Zvezda" in the issue of April 30, 1988.