In April 1988 the city of Gomel (Byelorussian SSR) hosted the 1st scientific and technical conference "Non-rocket industrialization of space: problems, ideas, projects". This forum was held in order to summarize the results and coordinate the research and design work undertaken by the USSR Federation of cosmonautics.
The main event of the conference was the report of a member of the USSR Federation of cosmonautics Anatoli Unitsky "Principles to create an optimal transport system for industrial exploration of near-Earth space". The report substantiated physical and technological conditions that determine a large-scale industrialization of space with cargo traffic of millions of tons per year and passenger traffic of millions per year as an inevitable stage in the development of the human civilization. Based on the four energy conservation laws the criteria were specified and a systematic search for the optimal geocosmic transport that meets these criteria was conducted.
On commission of the USSR Federation of cosmonautics, the film studio "Belarusfilm" has produced a documentary "To the sky by wheel" about the inventor Anatoli Unitsky and the results of the conference. In 1989 the film was shown in cinemas of the USSR, as well as abroad - in English.