We describe some conditions of the beginning and further development of a new direction of activity, namely, the elaboration of launch vehicles and spacecraft (SC), at the Yuzhnoye SDO which was one of the leading enterprises-developers of strategic missile complexes. A list of SC developed at the Yuzhnoye SDO is given and an overview of directions of space researches carried out with the help of these SC from 1962 to 2012 is presented. The stages of SC creation work at the Yuzhnoye SDO are considered and a brief description of SC characteristics and design features is given. We show the contribution of the Yuzhnoye SDO to the solution of scientifictechnical problems of the elaboration of several spacecraft generations and the role of the Yuzhnoye SDO in the study and usage of space within the framework of Kosmos and Interkosmos programs as well as in the framework of the national space programs of Ukraine.