Russian space program by Richard S Pearson

Report No.

NASA TT F-812 4.

Government Accession No.

Recipient's Catalog No.

5. R e ~ o r Doto t

T i t l e and Subtitle

December

FROM SPACESHIPS TO OREXTING STATIONS Second Edition 7.

1973

6. Performing Organization Code

I 8.

Author(s)

A. Yu. Dmitriyev, V. P. Denisov, A . A. Yermilov, B. I. Zhelyabin, A. V. Kirsanov, I. L. Leonidov, V. A. Polyakov, A. A. Tirnonin and A. M. Tumanov

Performing Orgonixation Report

No.

10. Work Unit No. 11. Contract or Grant No.

Performing Orgonizotion Name ond Address

Sc i t r a n

Santa Barbara, CA 12.

TJASW-203 5 13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Translation

Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Nationax Aeronautics and Space AdministratiB-n Washington, D. C. 20546 IS.

Supplementary Notes

T r a n s l a t i o n of " O t kosmicheskikh korabley k orbital'nymn s t a n t s iyam, 2nd Edition, Revised ana Expanded, Edited by G. S. Narimanov, Moscow, "Mashinostroyeniye" Press, 1971, pp. 1-113

The main Abstract This book discusses t h e Soviet manned space program. stages of development-of Soviet cosmonautics a r e considered, as well.as t h e programs f o r the manned spacecraft "Vostok", "Voskhod"and "Soyuz", and t h e o r b i t a l research s t a t i o n "Salyut". The construction and equipment of the spacecraft, and t h e i r use on t h e e a r t h and i n f l i g h t a r e described. A d e s c r i p t i o n i s given of t h e f i r s t o r b i t a l space s t a t i o n of t h e "Soyuztt spacecraft, as w e l l as i t s operation and t h e experiments performed when t h e crew changed from one spacecraft t o another i n open space. The development of methods f o r assembling a s t a t i o n and performing s c i e n t i f i c s t u d i e s , and a l s o t h e s c i e n t i f i c s t a t i o n "Salyut", on which t h e Soviet cosmonauts l i v e d f o r s e v e r a l days a r e described. The book a l s o discusses t h e f u t u r e prospects f o r cosmonautics.

17.

Key Wards (Selected by Author(s))

Unclassified

18. Distribution Statement

Unclassified

omesticy$4.5c Foreign $7. O(

For sale by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151

ANNOT AT1ON T h i s book d i s c u s s e s t h e S o v i e t manned s p a c e program. The main s t a g e s of development of S o v i e t cosmonautics a r e con-

s i d e r e d , as w e l l as t h e programs f o r t h e manned s p a c e c r a f t V o s t o k " , "Voskhod" and "Soyuz" , and t h e o r b i t a l r e s e a r c h s t a t i o n l f S a l y u t ' f . The c o n s t r u c t i o n and equipment o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t , and t h e i r use on t h e e a r t h and i n f l i g h t a r e d e s c r i b e d . A d e s c r i p t i o n i s g i v e n of t h e f i r s t o r b i t a l s p a c e s t a t i o n of

t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t , as w e l l as i t s o p e r a t i o n and t h e experiments performed when t h e crew changed from one s p a c e c r a f t to a n o t h e r i n open s p a c e . The development of methods f o r assembling a s t a t i o n and performing s c i e n t i f i c s t u d i e s , and a l s o t h e s c i e n t i f i c s t a t i o n " S a l y u t " , on which t h e S o v i e t cosmonauts l i v e d f o r s e v e r a l days are d e s c r i b e d . The book also d i s c u s s e s t h e f u t u r e p r o s p e c t s f o r cosmonautics.

Twenty n i n e i l l u s t r a t i o n s .

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Pi

Anno t a t ion Foreword 1.

The Main S t a g e s of S o v i e t Cosmonautics

Programs of t h e "Vostok" and "Voskhod" Manned S p a c e c r a f t P r e p a r a t i o n f o r Human F l i g h t i n t o Space The "Vostok" Program The "Vostok," The World's F i r s t S p a c e c r a f t The "Voskhod" Program The F i r s t Man i n Open Space

The Program of t h e Manned "Soyuz" S p a c e c r a f t

The Tasks of t h e Program Design C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e "Soyuz" S p a c e c r a f t The Main Systems o f t h e "Soyuz" S p a c e c r a f t F a b r i c a t i o n and Ground T e s t i n g of t h e S p a c e c r a f t F a b r i c a t i o n of t h e S p a c e c r a f t Ground T e s t i n g o f Systems F l i g h t T e s t s of t h e S p a c e c r a f t Systems T r a i n i n g t h e Cosmonauts f o r Space F l i g h t s

The Main S t a g e s o f F l i g h t o f t h e "Soyuz" S p a c e c r a f t Orbit Injection Orbital Flight Gyroscopic O r i e n t a t i o n ("Warping") of t h e S p a c e c r a f t toward t h e Sun

C e l e s t i a l O r i e n t a t i o n of t h e Spacecraft O r b i t a l Correction Reentry and Descent i n t h e Atmosphere

48 49 51

The World's F i r s t Experimental Space S t a t i o n The Experimental O r b i t a l S t a t i o n o f t h e llSoyuzll C omp 1ex Docking o f Two S p a c e c r a f t Space Walk of t h e Cosmonauts S c i e n t i f i c I n v e s t i g a t i o n s and Experiments

When There Are T w e e S p a c e c r a f t i n O r b i t Maneuvering of S p a c e c r a f t S c i e n t i f i c and T e c h n i c a l Experiments and Observations Welding of Metals i n O r b i t

72 72 75 77

"Soyuz-9" Working i n O r b i t Medical and B i o l o g i c a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n s During Prolonged Space F l i g h t Maneuvering and Navigation Measurements I n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f Importance t o t h e N a t i o n a l Economy

78 78 83 88

The F i r s t O r b i t a l S t a t i o n of Long D u r a t i o n I s i n Space " S a l y u t " Is i n O r b i t Call S i g n s a r e " G r a n i t " I n t o Space Toward t h e S t a t i o n A Tour of t h e "Salyut'' Watch i n Space

89 89 90 92 93 96

The P r i n c i p a l Methods of Developing O r b i t a l S t a t i o n s Automatic o r Manned S t a t i o n s ? Design C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Fukure Space S t a t i o n s The Problem o f S e r v i c i n g Space S t a t i o n s Space S t a t i o n s i n t h e S e r v i c e o f Man The Bridge t o t h e F u t u r e i s Being E r e c t e d Today

55 56 63 67

101 101

105 111

114 118

FOREWORD

Cosmonautics, embodying t h e most advanced achievements of world s c i e n c e and t e c h n o l o g y , i s d e v e l o p i n g a t an impetuous p a c e .

/3*

F o u r t e e n y e a r s ago, on 4 October 1957, t h e f i r s t S o v i e t a r t i f i c i a l s a t e l l i t e announced t o t h e world t h e b e g i n n i n g of a new e r a - t h e era of s p a c e f l i g h t . S i n c e t h e n hundreds of d i f f e r e n t a r t i f i c i a l s a t e l l i t e s have been launched, which d a i l y move i n s p a c e . Tens of manned spacec r a f t have measured o f f many m i l l i o n s o f k i l o m e t e r s i n t h e r e a c h e s of s p a c e . Man has b r a v e l y "walked" i n open s p a c e , s e t f o o t on t h e s u r f a c e of t h e moon, and i s c o n f i d e n t l y overcoming t h e b i o l o g i c a l b a r r i e r of prolonged space f l i g h t s

A l i t t l e more t h a n t e n y e a r s s e p a r a t e u s from t h e l a u n c h of t h e

f i r s t manned "Vostok" s p a c e c r a f t , which completed one o r b i t around t h e

e a r t h . S p a c e c r a f t a r e now c a p a b l e of spending many d a y s i n f l i g h t , while t h e i r crews c a r r y out a l a r g e volume of s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and o b s e r v a t i o n s , of enormous p r a c t i c a l importance f o r t h e n a t i o n a l economy. Automatic i n t e r p l a n e t a r y s t a t i o n s i n t u r n a r e p e n e t r a t i n g deeply i n t o t h e s e c r e t r e a c h e s of t h e s o l a r system. They were t h e f i r s t t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e moon, photograph t h e s u r f a c e o f Mars, p e n e t r a t e t h e r e d h o t atmosphere of Venus and t r a n s m i t data t o t h e e a r t h on i t s comp o s i t i o n . Automatic s t a t i o n s have brought back samples of l u n a r s o i l to t h e e a r t h . *Numbers i n t h e margin i n d i c a t e p a g i n a t i o n i n t h e o r i g i n a l f o r e i g n text.

yii

fi '

1. THE M A I N STAGES OF SOVIET COSMONAUTICS

The 1960% have been c h a r a c t e r i z e d by t h e g r e a t e s t achievements i n many f i e l d s of human a c t i v i t y . The s c i e n t i f i c thought and work of man have l e f t f a r behind c o n c e p t s t h a t only r e c e n t l y seemed i m p o s s i b l e . These achievements have been most v i v i d l y e x p r e s s e d i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n and conquest of s p a c e . The s i x t h decade of o u r c e n t u r y became a time of t h e genuine triumph of space r o c k e t t e c h n o l o g y . Space r e s e a r c h accomplished d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d w i t h t h e a i d of a u t o m a t i c equipment and manned s p a c e c r a f t n o t only opened a q u a l i t a t i v e l y new s t a g e i n t h e development o f space s c i e n c e , b u t a l s o marked t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a new epoch i n t h e development of s c i e n c e i n g e n e r a l . During t h e p e r i o d 1957-1961, t h e S o v i e t Union launched a u t o m a t i c s t a t i o n s f o r s t u d y of t h e e a r t h and c i r c u m t e r r e s t r i a l s p a c e , t h e moon and d i s t a n t s p a c e . A s a r e s u l t o f t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s , t h e b a s i c systems o f space r o c k e t complexes were developed and t h e most v a l u a b l e s c i e n t i f i c data were o b t a i n e d . Many s c i e n t i f i c - t e c h n i c a l c o l l e c t i v e s were formed i n t h e S o v i e t Union, which are c a p a b l e of s o l v i n g t h e most d i f f i c u l t problems of cosmonautics, and a powerful i n d u s t r i a l b a s e was created.

At t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 1960's S o v i e t s p e c i a l i s t s s o l v e d t h e most complex problem - t h e y c r e a t e d t h e f i r s t manned s p a c e c r a f t . The e r a of manned space f l i g h t s began. I n t h e c o u r s e of t h e s e f l i g h t s , t h e e f f e c t s of G-forces and w e i g h t l e s s n e s s , r a d i a t i o n and prolonged r e s t r i c t i o n i n a c a b i n of l i m i t e d volume were g r a d u a l l y i n v e s t i g a t e d , Problems o f a p s y c h o l o g i c a l n a t u r e , concomitant w i t h comstep-by-step. p l e x space f l i g h t s and emergence of man i n t o open s p a c e , were s t u d i e d . S p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n was devoted t o d e t e r m i n i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of normal

human activity and to conducting scientific and technical investigations and experiments during these flights. The rapid pace was enhanced by automatic means for investigating outer space. The equipment of artificial satellites became more complex and technically more perfect, and specialized scientific satellites were developed. Automatic interplanetary probes began to transmit rich information on the properties of circumsolar space. The following main stages may be traced in the development of cosmonautics: -- launch of artificial satellites (providing acceleration to orbital velocity -- about 8 kilometers per second); -- launching of interplanetary probes (acceleratlon to escape velocity -- about 11.2 kilometers per second); -- injection into geocentric orbits, flight and landing of manned spacecraft; -- launching of automatic space vehicles on flights to the moon and planets, landing on the moon and creation of artificial lunar satellites; -- development of reentry in controlled and ballistic variants for vehicles returning to earth at escape velocity; -- emergence of man into open space and work outside the spacecraft ; -- development of processes for search, rendezvous and docking of space vehicles and spacecraft in both automatic and manned versions; -- flight of man to the moon; -- group flights o f several manned spacecraft, forming a single system, and creation of orbital stations; -- creation of automatic interplanetary probes which are returned to earth with the results of scientific investigations of the moon. All these stages have been successfully covered by world cosmonautics. Our science and space industry have permitted the Soviet Union to be first in successfully solving most of the tasks of 2

cosmonautics. At present, o u r achievements in space are an important indicator of the scientific, technical and economic development of the country. On 'the other hand, the program for conquest of space is predetermined by the requirements of science, the national economy and society as a whole. In accordance with this, several series of space vehicles have been developed in the Soviet Union. The most nLmerous of them is the series of "Kosmos" satellites, which are carrying out an extensive program of scientific research. 17 Several tens of satellites of this type are launched annually, and their total number exceeds 400. The "Kosmos" satellites are conducting important scientific investigations of circumterrestrial space and radiation from the sun and stars, and are studying the earth's magnetosphere, the composition of cosmic radiation and radiation belts, the "breathing" of the ionosphere and distribution of meteor particles in circumterrestrial space. Interesting medical and biological experiments are being carried out on these satellites, which extend the boundaries of penetration of life into limitless space. Forming complete systems, satellites of the "Kosmos" series aid man in the solution of practical problems, contribute to the progress of science, and have actually passed into the ranks of permanently operating systems. Some vehicles of the "Kosmos" series are being used to check the correctness of engineering solutions, development of the design elements of various spacecraft and methods of using them. Methods for automatic docking in orbit were tested with the aid of the "Kosmos" satellites, the "Meteor" and "Molniya" equipment was tested, and the possibilities of systems for heat regulation and provision of cosmonaut activity and many other complex assemblies of manned spacecraft were investigated. Automatic satellites solve problems of great practical importance. The Soviet specialized scientific satellites of the "Proton," "Elektron,"

and "Polyot." series are known worldwide. The continuously operating system of "Molniya" communication satellites provide 24-hour two-way telephone and telegraph communication over the entire territory of the Soviet Union. These satellites relay programs of the Central Television Studio to the extensive network of ground receiving stations of the "Orbita" system, due to which the programs of Moscow television have become accessible to most regions of Siberia and the Far North, Far East and Central Asia. Another continuously operating system -- that of meteorological satellites of the "Meteor" series -- provides 24-hour observation of the weather phenomena of our planet. Many thousands of photographs of the earth's surface, transmitted by these satellites, are processed daily by the automatic ground complex and transmitted to the Hydrometeorological Center of the USSR. Daily weather summaries, as well as reliable long-term forecasting are made on the basis of these data. Investigation of outer space acquires an ever more international character with each year. Artificial satellites of the "Interkosmos" series are launched periodically in the Soviet Union in accordance with the program for cooperation of the Socialist countries in the field of investigation and use of outer space f o r peaceful purposes. Scientific equipment, developed and prepared by specialists of a number of Socialist countries, is installed on board these satellites. Assembly and testing of this equipment immediately prior to launch, as well as control of the flight of "Interkosmos" satellites, is accomplished by operational groups from among representatives of a number of countries. Simultaneously with the measurements carried out on board the satellites, observatories of the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria, the Hungarian Peoples Republic, the German Democratic Republic, the Republi-c of Cuba, the Mongolian Peoples Republic, the Polish Peoples Republic, the Socialist Republic of Rumania, the Soviet Union and the Czechoslovakian Socialist Republic carry out radio astronomical, ionospheric and optical observations according to a coordinated program.

Along w i t h f l i g h t s i n c i r c u m t e r r e s t r i a l space, t h e s t u d y of t h e moon, p l a n e t s and t h e v a r i o u s r e g i o n s of t h e s o l a r system occupies an. i m p o r t a n t p o s i t i o n i n t h e S o v i e t s p a c e program. A l e a d i n g r o l e i n t h e s e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i s p l a y e d by a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s . They are c o n s i d e r a b l y more i n e x p e n s i v e t h a n manned v e h i c l e s , and are capable of t r a n s m i t t i n g or b r i n g i n g back to e a r t h t h e most v a l u a b l e s c i e n t i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n , o f t e n from t h o s e r e g i o n s which are completely i n a c c e s s i b l e or d i f f i c u l t f o r man to r e a c h . T h i s , of c o u r s e , does n o t exclude t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of man i n c e r t a i n s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of d i s t a n t space, t h e moon and p l a n e t s of t h e s o l a r s y s t e m . The enormous achievements of s c i e n c e , technology and e n g i n e e r i n g

i n t h e 1 9 6 0 ' s l e d to t h e c r e a t i o n of i d e a l means of e l e c t r o n i c s and r a d i o e n g i n e e r i n g , automation, o p t i c s and computer technology. The dimensions and weight of s c i e n t i f i c equipment have been reduced cons i d e r a b l y , and t h e speed of computers and t h e c a p a c i t y o f e l e c t r o n i c memory systems have been i n c r e a s e d . T h i s has been r e f l e c t e d i n t h e c r e a t i o n o f unique a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s f o r i n v e s t i g a t i n g o u t e r space and p l a n e t s of t h e s o l a r system. Automatic c o n t r o l machines have enormous p o s s i b i l i t i e s i n t h e Universe. With t h e i r a i d , s c i e n t i s t s o b t a i n e d t h e f i r s t p i c t u r e s of t h e l u n a r s u r f a c e and i n f o r m a t i o n about p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n s on t h e moon and Venus, and extremely r i c h s c i e n t i f i c data which w i l l undoubte d l y b e o f g r e a t a s s i s t a n c e i n l e a r n i n g about t h e o r i g i n of c e l e s t i a l b o d i e s and t h e e v o l u t i o n of t h e Universe. Important s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l problems were s o l v e d by t h e "Zond-5," "Zond-6," and "Zond-7'' a u t o m a t i c probes, which o r b i t e d t h e moon and r e t u r n e d to e a r t h . During t h e s e f l i g h t s two v a r i a n t s were checked f o r l a n d i n g space v e h i c l e s and r e t u r n i n g to e a r t h a t t h e p a r a b o l i c v e l o c i t y . The "Zond-5" probe was t h e f i r s t t o s o l v e t h i s problem upon r e t u r n from a f l i g h t a l o n g t h e e a r t h -- moon -e a r t h t r a j e c t o r y . The d e s c e n t c a p s u l e of t h e "Zond-5" probe e n t e r e d t h e atmosphere, through a comparatively narrow c o r r i d o r , and - p a s s i n g

t h r o u g h a l o n g a b a l l i s t i c t r a j e c t o r y - r e a c h e d t h e I n d i a n Ocean b a s i n i n t h e a s s i g n e d r e g i o n , having brought back to s c i e n t i s t s photographs of t h e e a r t h t a k e n from space and t h e r e s u l t s of s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a tions. An even more complex s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l problem -- c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t of t h e c a p s u l e which had o r b i t e d t h e moon -- was f i r s t s o l v e d 19 d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t of t h e "Zond-6'' probe. The r e e n t r y c a p s u l e of t h e p r o b e , u s i n g a l i f t - d r a g r a t i o , flew more t h a n 9 , 0 0 0 k i l o m e t e r s a f t e r f i r s t e n t e r i n g t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e e a r t h ' s atmosphere and f i n a l l y f i r e d i t s r e t r o r o c k e t s upon t h e second e n t r y , l a n d i n g i n t h e c a l c u l a t e d r e g i o n of t h e S o v i e t Union. C o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t p e r m i t s s e l e c t i o n of t h e l a n d i n g r e g i o n s , as w e l l as r e d u c t i o n of G-forces and h e a t i n g o f t h e c a p s u l e d u r i n g i t s motion i n t h e atmosphere. The "Zond-7" a u t o m a t i c probe brought back t o e a r t h unique photographs of t h e l u n a r s u r f a c e and our p l a n e t . The most v i v i d example of t h e t r u l y i n e x h a u s t i b l e p o s s i b i l i t i e s of a u t o m a t i c a s s i s t a n t s to man i s t h e f l i g h t of t h e S o v i e t a u t o m a t i c probe " L ~ n a - 1 6 . ~During t h e c o u r s e of t h e f l i g h t , t h e v e h i c l e was i n j e c t e d i n t o a s e l e n o c e n t r i c o r b i t , a number of maneuvers was made i n t h i s o r b i t and - u s i n g a i r b o r n e r a d i o a i d s f o r measuring f l i g h t speed and a l t i t u d e , computing systems and t h e r e t r o r o c k e t system - made a s o f t l a n d i n g on t h e l u n a r s u r f a c e i n t h e r e g i o n of t h e Sea of F e r t i l i t y . D r i l l i n g o f t h e l u n a r s o i l , which was t h e n r e l i a b l y s e a l e d i n t h e r e t u r n module, was c a r r i e d o u t f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n t h e h i s t o r y o f cosmonautics. On command from e a r t h a t t h e p r e c i s e l y d e s i g n a t e d t i m e , "Luna-16" b l a s t e d o f f from t h e l u n a r s u r f a c e , r e t u r n ed t o e a r t h a l o n g a b a l l i s t i c t r a j e c t o r y and landed on t h e t e r r i t o r y of t h e S o v i e t Union n e a r t h e l a u n c h s i t e . Thus, an a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e f i r s t brought back to e a r t h a sample of r o c k from a n o t h e r c e l e s t i a l body. The a u t o m a t i c probe "Luna-l7" d e l i v e r e d t h e l u n a r e x c u r s i o n v e h i c l e "Lunokhod-1'' t o t h e s u r f a c e of t h e moon. For t e n months

t h e Soviet l u n a r excursion v e h i c l e t r a v e l e d through l u n a r c r a t e r s , t r a n s m i t t i n g to e a r t h h i g h - q u a l i t y t e l e v i s i o n p i c t u r e s of t h e l u n a r l a n d s c a p e and d a t a from v a r i o u s s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . Automatic i n t e r p l a n e t a r y probes "Venera-5" and V e n e r a - 6 " were launched i n J a n u a r y , 1969, i n accordance w i t h t h e program. These v e h i c l e s , equipped w i t h v a r i o u s t y p e s of s c i e n t i f i c and measuring a p p a r a t u s , made i t p o s s i b l e to conduct new s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a l o n g t h e f l i g h t p a t h and to o b t a i n a d d i t i o n a l d a t a about t h e atmosphere of Venus. The "Venera-5" and Venera-6" probes r e a c h e d t h e p l a n e t i n t h e middle of May 1 9 6 9 , having flown a d i s t a n c e of about 250 m i l l i o n k i l o m e t e r s . The a u t o m a t i c probe "Venera-7,If a f t e r r e a c h i n g t h e s u r f a c e of t h e "morning s t a r " on December 15, 1 9 7 0 , s u c c e s s f u l l y c a r r i e d o u t i t s f l i g h t program.

F u r t h e r p e n e t r a t i o n of man i n t o space depends to a g r e a t e x t e n t on s o l v i n g t h e problem o f l i f e s u p p o r t d u r i n g prolonged space f l i g h t s . With t h i s a i m , a ground-based e x p e r i m e n t a l complex of l i f e - s u p p o r t s y s t e m s , based on u s e of t h e most r e c e n t achievements of b i o l o g y , / l J t e c h n o l o g y , c h e m i s t r y and medicine, was e r e c t e d i n our c o u n t r y . An experiment w i t h p a r t i c i p a t i o n of t h r e e t e s t s u b j e c t s was begun i n t h i s complex i n November, 1967, and was s u c c e s s f u l l y completed w i t h i n one y e a r . The experiment demonstrated t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of prolonged r e s t r i c t i o n of man i n a p r e s s u r i z e d c a b i n of l i m i t e d volume and t h e u s e of a r e g e n e r a t i v e l i f e - s u p p o r t s y s t e m , and i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e e f f e c t of c e r t a i n f a c t o r s of prolonged space f l i g h t on t h e human body and human e f f i c i e n c y . The S o v i e t space program p r o v i d e s f o r c a r e f u l stage-by-stage development of new systems under ground c o n d i t i o n s and for c o n d u c t i n g a l a r g e number of e x p e r i m e n t a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . New manned s p a c e c r a f t and t h e i r systems, a f t e r b e i n g developed on t h e ground, are r e p e a t e d l y t e s t e d i n unmanned v a r i a n t s d u r i n g s p a c e f l i g h t s , and o n l y a f t e r t h i s are f l i g h t s made w i t h cosmonauts on board. On J a n u a r y 1 4 , 1 9 6 9 cosmonauts V . A . S h a t a l o v , B. V. Volynov,

Ye. V. Khrunov and A . S. Y e l i s e y e v completed manual docking of t h e "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t . An e x p e r i m e n t a l space s t a t i o n was c r e a t e d f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e , and t r a n s f e r from one s p a c e c r a f t t o a n o t h e r was accomplished. The group f l i g h t of t h e "Soyuz-6,

"Soyuz-7, If and "Soyuz-8" s p a c e c r a f t , t h e unprecedented d u r a t i o n of t h e f l i g h t of t h e "Soyuz-9" s p a c e c r a f t , as w e l l as t h e complex of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s on board t h e " S a l y u t " s t a t i o n were t h e n e x t s t a g e s o n t h e way t o c r e a t i n g long-term orbital stations. S u c c e s s e s i n t h e s o l u t i o n of i m p o r t a n t s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l , problems n o t o n l y open up i m p o r t a n t p r o s p e c t s f o r t h e f u r t h e r conquest and s t u d y of s p a c e , b u t a l s o pose a number of completely new problems, r e l a t e d t o t h e u s e and f u r t h e r p e r f e c t i o n of s p a c e technology. The space environment i s f r a u g h t w i t h many s t i l l hidden d a n g e r s , which cannot b e d e t e c t e d d u r i n g one or s e v e r a l f l i g h t s . F l i g h t s of s p a c e v e h i c l e s of d i f f e r e n t d e s i g n -- b o t h S o v i e t and f o r e i g n -- c o n t r i b u t e t o d i s c o v e r y of these dangers and t h e r e l a t e d problems which a r i s e , and t o complex i n v e s t i g a t i o n and conquest of outer space. PROGRAMS OF THE "VOSTOK" AND "VOSKHOD" MANNED SPACECRAFT P r e p a r a t i o n f o r Human F l i g h t i n t o Space B i o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t of h i g h - a l t i t u d e r o c k e t s were b e i n g c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e S o v i e t Union even b e f o r e t h e l a u n c h of t h e f i r s t a r t i f i c i a l s a t e l l i t e , b e g i n n i n g i n 1949. S e v e r a l t e n s of e x p e r i m e n t s were c a r r i e d o u t w i t h f l i g h t s of animals on r o c k e t s up t o a l t i t u d e s of 450 k i l o m e t e r s . The i n v e s t i g a t i o n s e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t b o t h d u r i n g f l i g h t and f o r a l o n g p e r i o d a f t e r r e t u r n t o e a r t h , no s e r i o u s changes of any k i n d were found i n t h e organism of t h e a n i m a l s . These i n v e s t i g a t i o n s l a i d t h e basis f o r a s y s t e m a t i c s t u d y of t h e e f f e c t of t h e s p a c e environment and f l i g h t f a c t o r s on l i v i n g organisms. 2.

However, only b i o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s on s a t e l l i t e s may p r o v i d e a complete p i c t u r e of t h e long-term e f f e c t of w e i g h t l e s s n e s s and cosmic r a d i a t i o n on t h e organism. T h e f i r s t b i o l o g i c a l o b j e c t i n s p a c e was t h e dog L a y k a , which completed t h e f l i g h t on board t h e second S o v i e t a r t i f i c i a l e a r t h s a t e l l i t e . T h e n e x t s t e p i n p r e p a r i n g man f o r f l i g h t i n t o space w a s c r e a t i o n

of t h e "Vostok" l a u n c h r o c k e t and t e s t s and development of t h e spacec r a f t and i t s s y s t e m s . F i v e e x p e r i m e n t a l s a t e l l i t e - s p a c e c r a f t w i t h e x p e r i m e n t a l dogs on board were i n j e c t e d i n t o c i r c u m t e r r e s t r i a l o r b i t i n 1960 and, 1961. The main purpose of these l a u n c h e s was t o develop t h e on-board s y s t e m s / 12 of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , t o s t u d y t h e p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n s of s p a c e a l o n g t h e r o u t e of t h e impending f l i g h t of man and t o c a r r y o u t an e x t e n s i v e complex of medical and b i o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s r e l a t e d t o p r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h i s f l i g h t . The f l i g h t s of t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l s a t e l l i t e - s p a c e c r a f t s i m u l a t e d t o t h e maximum e x t e n t p o s s i b l e t h e c o n d i t i o n s and program of t h e impending f l i g h t of man i n t o s p a c e . They were accomplished a c c o r d i n g t o s i m i l a r programs, w i t h t h e same f l i g h t d u r a t i o n . A cosmonaut mannequin and a dog were i n t h e c a p s u l e . T h e e x p e r i m e n t s showed t h a t t h e s p a c e c r a f t f u l l y m e t t h e

r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r maximum s a f e t y f o r human f l i g h t i n t o space and p r o v i d e d f o r h i s normal a c t i v i t y and c o n d i t i o n s f o r f u l f i l l i n g t h e program of s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . T h i s was t h e s t a g e immediately p r e c e d i n g t h e f l i g h t of man i n t o s p a c e . But l o n g b e f o r e t h i s , e x t e n s i v e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s on t h e e f f e c t s of i n d i v i d u a l f a c t o r s of space f l i g h t on t h e human organism were b e i n g c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e S o v i e t Union w i t h t h e a i d of v a r i o u s ground-based f a c i l i t i e s . However, l a b o r a t o r y experiments i n thermal vacuum chambers and c e n t r i f u g e s d i d n o t u s u a l l y p.ermit a complex a n a l y s i s of t h e i r e f f e c t s on l i v i n g organisms, and t h e s t a t e of w e i g h t l e s s n e s s i n f l y i n g l a b o r a t o r i e s c o u l d n o t b e l o n g enough.

Development of various on-board systems was proceeding simultaneously with medical and biological investigations. Systematic and comprehensive verification and sequential development of individual systems and the spacecraft as a whole under both ground and flight conditions permitted the first flight of man into space. THE "VOSTOK" PROGRAM The first flight of man into space took place on April 12, 1961. The world's first cosmonaut was Soviet citizen Yuriy Alekseyevich Gagarin. The orbital flight of the "Vostok" manned spacecraft continued for 108 minutes, and the cosmonaut was in a state of weightlessness for 55 minutes. The flight showed that man could normally tolerate the conQitions of space flight and return to earth. It was also demonstrated that man completely retains his efficiency during space flight.

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THE "VOSTOK," THE WORLD'S FIRST SPACECRAFT. The manned flight program on board the "Vostok" spacecraft, carried out during the period 1961-1963, consisted of six sequential launches. The flights of space heroes Yu. A. Gagarin, G.S. Titov, A.G. Nikolayev, P.R. Popovich, V.F. Bykovskiy and V.V. Tereshkova made an important contribution in the development of cosmonautics to knowledge of the secrets of space. Their names have been entered in history.

Each subsequent flight, based on the results and experience of preceding flights, was the next step in the conquest of space and made a contribution to the development of science and technology and led to an assault on new frontiers, But at the same time each flight confronted scientists and engineers with the necessity of solving new tasks and problems. What problems did the "Vostok" program solve? Completion of the first flight of man into space, spacecraft flights of many daysq duration in preparation for creation of earth orbital stations and for future interplanetary flights. The flights of different length by cosmonauts in the "Vostok" spacecraft revealed the possibility of active viability of man during space flight, operations were carried out on piloting the spacecraft, and various scientific and technical investigations and experiments were carried out. The cosmonauts retained good efficiency during flight, conducted astronomical, geophysical, meteorological and other investigations and experiments, observed the state of the 'cloud and ice situation on the earth and carried out movie and still photography. The "Vostok" program was the foundation on which development of Soviet and world cosmonautics was based. The principal problems of spacecraft design for space flights were 'resolved during implementation of this program, and the basic elements of the flight plan were clarified. The "Vostok" spacecraft consisted of a reentry capsule and an 12

i n s t r u m e n t compartment. T h i s l a y o u t o f s p a c e c r a f t c o n s t r u c t i o n was, as e x p e r i e n c e showed, r a t i o n a l w i t h r e s p e c t t o weight, t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y e f f i c i e n t and convenient for arrangement of t h e on-board equipment. The r e e n t r y c a p s u l e w i t h t h e cosmonaut c a b i n was made i n t h e form of a sphere 2 . 3 meters i n diameter and weighing 2 . 4 t o n s . The cosmonaut c a b i n c o n t a i n e d .three p o r t h o l e s , p r o t e c t e d a g a i n s t t h e e f f e c t s of h i g h t e m p e r a t u r e s d u r i n g t h e d e s c e n t phase by h e a t - r e s i s t a n t g l a s s , f o r conducting s c i e n t i f i c o b s e r v a t i o n s d u r i n g space f l i g h t . A s p e c i a l l i f e - s u p p o r t s y s t e m , m a i n t a i n i n g normal p r e s s u r e , s p e c i f i c chemical composition of t h e a i r , t e m p e r a t u r e w i t h i n t h e range o f 15-25OC and r e l a t i v e humidity from 30 t o T O % , was i n s t a l l e d i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t . The water and food supply and r e g e n e r a t i v e s u b s t a n c e s were c a l c u l a t e d f o r a f l i g h t l a s t i n g up to 1 0 d a y s . The cosmonaut c a b i n was p r o v i d e d w i t h adequate f a c i l i t i e s and

s a f e t y f o r human f l i g h t . Although a l l s y s t e m s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t passed a complete and e x t e n s i v e c y c l e of checks and f l i g h t - d e s i g n t e s t s , a s p e c i a l p r e s s u r e s u i t was used f o r a d d i t i o n a l i n s u r a n c e a g a i n s t p o s s i b l e unexpected events during f l i g h t . Design and c r e a t i o n of t h e cosmonaut's seat was a very complex t a s k . The s e a t p r o v i d e d f o r t h e s a f e t y o f t h e cosmonaut d u r i n g f l i g h t Various automatic d e v i c e s , t h e and d u r i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f G-forces. space s u i t v e n t i l a t i o n s y s t e m , c a t a p u l t and p y r o t e c h n i c d e v i c e s , p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m s , emergency s u p p l i e s , i n c l u d i n g s u p p l i e s of food, w a t e r , r e s c u e and s i g n a l l i n g a i d s , which t h e cosmonaut could u s e a f t e r l a n d i n g , were i n s t a l l e d i n t h e body of t h e s e a t . T h e s p a c e c r a f t c o n t a i n e d d e v i c e s which e n s u r e d t h e f l i g h t and

l a n d i n g of t h e c r a f t , f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e cosmonaut and f u l f i l l m e n t of t h e a s s i g n e d f l i g h t program by h i m . The most important o f them was equipment for monitoring t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e c o n t r o l s y s t e m s and i n s t r u m e n t s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , r a d i o equipment for communication between t h e cosmonaut and t h e e a r t h , a n automatic system f o r r e c o r d i n g

data on o p e r a t i o n of i n s t r u m e n t s , a r a d i o t e l e m e t r y s y s t e m , equipment f o r monitoring t h e c o n d i t i o n of t h e cosmonaut, equipment of t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l s y s t e m , a r a d i o s y s t e m f o r measuring o r b i t a l p a r a m e t e r s , a l a n d i n g s y s t e m , e l e c t r i c power s u p p l i e s , t h e "Vzor" o p t i c a l d e v i c e f o r manual a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l , t e l e v i s i o n equipment and r e t r o r o c k e t s . The c a b i n c o n t a i n e d a p i l o t console w i t h an i n s t r u m e n t p a n e l and a s t i c k w i t h a c o n t r o l u n i t f o r c o n t r o l l i n g t h e s p a c e c r a f t . The cosmonaut was a b l e to determine t h e p o s i t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t above t h e s u r f a c e of t h e e a r t h w i t h t h e a i d of a m i n i a t u r e globe of t h e e a r t h l o c a t e d on t h e i n s t r u m e n t p a n e l . The equipment of t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system i n c l u d e d c o n t r o l

i n s t r u m e n t s , a c t u a t i n g members and a s o l a r s e n s o r . A t t i t u d e c o n t r o l of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n space d u r i n g f l i g h t and d e s c e n t could b e accomplished b o t h a u t o m a t i c a l l y and manually. The s t a t e and well-being o f t h e cosmonaut, t h e o p e r a t i o n o f onboard systems and t h e environment i n t h e p i l o t ' s c a b i n were monitored c o n t i n u o u s l y throughout t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t w i t h t h e a i d of many t e n s of s e n s o r s and t h e t e l e m e t r y s y s t e m . The t e l e v i s i o n equipment i n s t a l l e d i n t h e c a b i n p e r m i t t e d t h e o b s e r v a t i o n of t h e cosmonaut's activity. The r e t r o r o c k e t and p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m s i n s t a l l e d on t h e space-

c r a f t were used d u r i n g t h e l a s t l e g of t h e f l i g h t f o r d e s c e n t and l a n d i n g . The r e t r o r o c k e t s were used d u r i n g r e e n t r y of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Descent and l a n d i n g were provided by t h e p a r a c h u t e system f o r l a n d i n g t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e and by t h e i n d i v i d u a l l a n d i n g system of t h e cosmonaut. What measures were t a k e n to e n s u r e t h e cosmonaut's s a f e t y ? A s p e c i a l p r e s s u r e s u i t p r o t e c t e d t h e cosmonaut a g a i n s t an

unexpected drop i n c a b i n p r e s s u r e . An e j e c t i o n seat w i t h a j e t b o o s t e r g u a r a n t e e d t h e s a f e t y of t h e

cosmonaut i n c a s e o f f a i l u r e s d u r i n g l a u n c h . One of two l a n d i n g systems - e i t h e r d e s c e n t irnside t h e cabin o r by t h e i n d i v i d u a l p a r a c h u t e system of t h e cosmonaut - c o u l d b e used d u r i n g t h e f i n a l s t a g e of flight. THE "VOSKHOD" PROGRAM

S u c e s s f u l implementation o f t h e llVostokll program opened t h e way f o r man t o f l y i n t o s p a c e . A f u r t h e r p a t h became c l e a r , - a l o n g which i t was n e c e s s a r y t o develop and p e r f e c t s p a c e t e c h n o l o g y , and new problems became a p p a r e n t . M u l t i p l a c e s p a c e c r a f t were r e q u i r e d f o r performing a more e x t e n s i v e complex of t e c h n i c a l o p e r a t i o n s , s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , e x p e r i m e n t s and f o r emergence o f man from t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n t o open spaere. T h i s task r e s u l t e d from t h e l o g i c a l development of cosmonautics. Prolonged f u t u r e s p a c e f l i g h t s , s a t u r a t e d w i t h a v e r y d i v e r s e and complex program of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , cannot be c a r r i e d o u t by one p e r s o n . Theref o r , i t i s e x p e d i e n t t o have a cosmonaut crew on b o a r d t h e s p a c e c r a f t , w i t h p r e c i s e d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e i r d u t i e s . The crew may c o n s i s t of an e n g i n e e r , who c a r r i e s o u t p e r i o d i c i n s p e c t i o n , and i f n e c e s s a r y , p r e v e n t i v e maintenance of i n d i v i d u a l systems; a s c i e n t i s t , who c o n d u c t s s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and e x p e r i m e n t s ; and a p h y s i c i a n who i s a s p e c i a l i s t i n t h e f i e l d o f s p a c e medicine and b i o l o g y . The crew may a l s o i n c l u d e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f o t h e r s p e c i a l t i e s . The crew o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t s h o u l d be headed by t h e most e x p e r i e n c e d cosmonaut, respons i b l e f o r t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t program as a whole. H i s f u n c t i o n s i n c l u d e performance of t h e most i m p o r t a n t o p e r a t i o n s and c o o r d i n a t i o n o f a l l crew members. The problems of c r e a t i n g m u l t i p l a c e s p a c e c r a f t and emergence of

man i n t o open s p a c e were s u c c e s s f u l l y c a r r i e d o u t d u r i n g i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of t h e S o v i e t s p a c e program f o r t h e llVoskhodll" The crews of t h e "Voskhod" (V.M.

Komarov, K . P . F e c k t i s t o v and B . B . Yegorov) and l a t e r of t h e "Voskhod-2' s p a c e c r a f t ( A . A . Leonov and P . I . Belyayev) performed very i m p o r t a n t work on complex r e f i n e m e n t o f m u l t i p l a c e s p a c e c r a f t and conducted e x t e n s i v e s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l investigations.

Cabin of three-man "Voskhod" space craft.

The program of scientific and technical investigations, carried out by each crew member of the "Voskhod" spacecraft throughout the flight, was very heavy. The spacecraft commander, V.M. Komarov, monitored operation of the on-board systems and observed the scientific instruments, maintained m'anual attitude control of the spacecraft, carried on radio communications with the ground and performed a number of scientific investigations. The

scientific specialist, cosmonaut K . P . Feoktistov, investigated the behavior of liquids in a state of weightlessness, conducted astronomical observations, and t o o k still and movie pictures of the horizon and of the aureole of the earth's atmosphere. He also monitored the operation of the on-board equipment and maintained orientation and control of the spacecraft. The work program of cosmonaut-physician B.B. Yegorov naturally consisted of medical and biological experiments. He studied the complex effect of the factors of space flight on the cosmonauts, investigated their efficiency, and monitored the operation of the life-support system. The "Voskhod" program also solved such important technical problems as creation of sufficiently comfortable conditions in the spacecraft cabin, with provision of complete pressurization, which permitted the cosmonauts to work without their space suits during the flight. The possibilities of man exercising manual control of the spacecraft during flight and during descent were determined. The "Voskhod" spacecraft was three-man. The spacecraft weighed 5.32 tons, and consisted of a pressurized cabin and instrument compartment. The retrorockets and landing system were redundant.

The s p a c e c r a f t c o u l d be c o n t r o l l e d b o t h a u t o m a t i c a l l y and manually.

The s p a c e c r a f t c o n t a i n e d two o r i e n t a t i o n systems - a s o l a r and i o n i c . The s p a c e c r a f t c o u l d b e landed b o t h manually and a u t o m a t i c a l l y . The F i r s t Man i n Open Space

s p a c e c r a f t was f o r man t o walk i n s p a c e . T h i s experiment i n c l u d e d p r a c t i c a l t e s t s of t h e main s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l s o l u t i o n s which c o u l d e n s u r e numerous prolonged and complex walks of cosmonauts i n open s p a c e i n t h e f u t u r e f o r conducting planned i n v e s t i g a t i o n s t h e r e . T h i s was t h e n e x t q u a l i t a t i v e jump i n conquest of s p a c e . The main purpose of t h e f l i g h t of t h e Voskhod-2"

What problems were s o l v e d by S o v i e t d e s i g n e r s i n performing t h i s experiment?

What i s t h e complexity of p r o v i d i n g l i f e s u p p o r t

f o r man i n open space? On 1 8 March 1965, t h e V 0 s k h o d - 2 ~ ~s p a c e c r a f t , p i l o t e d by p i l o t cosmonauts Pave1 I v a n o v i c h Belyayev and Aleksey Arkhipovich Leonov, went i n t o o r b i t . The l a u n c h was preceded by c a r e f u l ground p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t under t h e d i r e c t s u p e r v i s i o n of Sergey P a v l o v i c h Korolev. The cosmonauts underwent a l a r g e number of t r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s under c o n d i t i o n s which s i m u l a t e d r e a l c o n d i t i o n s t o t h e maximum e x t e n t p o s s i b l e . However, t h e r e s t i l l remained queswhat w i l l t h e cosmonaut t i o n s of a p u r e l y p s y c h o l o g i c a l n a t u r e f e e l and how w i l l he behave when he f i n d s h i m s e l f f a c e - t o - f a c e w i t h space?

P r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h e walk began immediately a f t e r s e p a r a t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t from t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t . The s p a c e c r a f t commander, P . I. Belyayev, gave t h e command from t h e c o n s o l e f o r c o n t r o l l i n g t h e space-walk systems t o open t h e a i r l o c k chamber. The c l e v e r l y d e s i g n e d a i r l o c k chamber expanded from t h e e x t e r n a l s i d e of t h e crew compartment, and i n c r e a s e d s e v e r a l times i n volume. A powerful p r e s s u r i z a t i o n system provided e q u a l p r e s s u r e i n t h e a i r l o c k apd s p a c e c r a f t c a b i n . G e t t i n g up from h i s s e a t , A. A. Leonov opened t h e main h a t c h and e n t e r e d t h e a i r l o c k chamber. 17

/18

The cosmonauts performed the main operations in preparation for the walk while the spacecraft was outside the zone of radio communication with the Soviet Union. Reliable operation of the automatic systems and the confident performance of the cosmonauts ensured successful completion of these functions. The main hatch connecting the airlock to the cabin was closed. Both cosmonauts, dressed in their space suits, again check the airlock system. The pressure in the airlock chamber gradually begins to decrease, becoming equal to that of the vacuum of space. However, the oxygen pressure in Leonov's spacesuit is maintained at 0.4 atmosphere. This ensures normal activity of the human organism, and at the same time the spacesuit under such pressure does not hinder the cosmonaut's functions too much. And this is very important, since a cosmonaut in a state of weightlessness in open space expends energy not only for movement and orientation, but in order to maintain himself near his point of support as well. And a great deal of energy is expended. For example, the force required by the cosmonaut to close his hand in the glove o f the pressurized spacesuit reaches, 25 kilograms. The spacecraft is over Africa. The pressure in the airlock has finally been equalized and the outer hatch opens. The cosmos "bursts" into the airlock chamber in a stream of blinding sunlight which literally weighs on the cosmonaut. Powerful solar radiation, a considerable fraction of which is hard ultraviolet radiation, is lethal to unprotected biological organisms. The heat fluxes of solar radiation heat objects to almost 150 degrees, while at the same time the temperature on the unilluminated side drops to -140O C. Therefore, special measures were taken in designing the spacesuit to maintain a normal temperature for the human organism. The autonomous life support system also creates the necessary gas composition and humidity. The mirror surface of the Black Sea floats by under the spacecraft. From an altitude of almost 4 5 0 kilometers, the cosmonauts can easily see the outline of its shoreline. In turn, television permits ground observation of the operations of Leonov as he emerges from the spacecraft. 18

119

Pushing himself away from t h e a i r l o c k , Leonov moves a s h o r t d i s t a n c e from i t , and t h e n makes the w o r l d ' s f i r s t independent walk i n open s p a c e . H e i s now connected t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t o n l y by t h e t h i n t h r e a d o f t h e l i f e l i n e , which p r o v i d e s r a d i o communications. The a c t i o n s o f t h e cosmonaut a r e c o n f i d e n t - t h e fears o f a psychol o g i c a l b a r r i e r were n o t confirmed. The m u l t i l a y e r f l e x i b l e c o v e r i n g o f t h e s p a c e s u i t of a s t r o n g s y n t h e t i c material r e l i a b l y p r o t e c t s t h e cosmonaut a g a i n s t a l l u n f a v o r a b l e f a c t o r s . P r e s s u r e a t a n a l t i t u d e o f s e v e r a l hundred k i l o m e t e r s i s e s s e n t i a l l y e q u a l t o z e r o . Under t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s , d e p r e s s u r i z a t i o n o f t h e p r o t e c t i v e c l o t h i n g c o u l d l e a d t o almost i n s t a n t a n e ous b o i l i n g o f t h e cosmonaut's blood and h i s d e a t h . The cosmonaut wears a p r e s s u r e helmet w i t h s p e c i a l g l a s s f o r o b s e r v a t i o n s and w i t h a l i g h t f i l t e r t o p r o t e c t h i s eyes a g a i n s t t h e b l i n d i n g e f f e c t s o f s u n l i g h t . A r t i c u l a t e d c o n n e c t i o n o f t h e elements o f t h e space s u i t p r o v i d e s a d e q u a t e freedom of movement o f t h e cosmonaut. Man and s p a c e c r a f t are moving t o g e t h e r a t a n enormous speed w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e E a r t h , c o v e r i n g many k i l o m e t e r s e v e r y second. During t h e p e r i o d , l a s t i n g for a l i t t l e more t h a n 1 0 minutes d u r i n g which Leonov was o u t s i d e t h e s p a c e c r a f t , t h e d i s t a n c e from t h e Black Sea t o S a k h a l i n I s l a n d was covered. However, t h e r e l a t i v e motions of man and s p a c e c r a f t were sensed more by t h e cosmonaut. The s p a c e c r a f t , weighing almost 70 t i m e s more t h a n t h e cosmonaut, "responded" s e n s i t i v e l y t o t h e maneuvering and o t h e r o p e r a t i o n s o f Leonov. H e even had t o be e s p e c i a l l y c a r e f u l n o t t o t a p t o o s t r o n g l y on t h e p o r t h o l e s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Moreover, t h e s p a c e c r a f t hegan t o r o t a t e slowly due t o t h e movements of t h e cosmonaut. Mounting and subsequent d i s a s s e m b l y o f t h e movie. camera a l s o r e q u i r e d s p e c i f i c s k i l l s . A l l t h i s was new, and c e r t a i n d e t a i l s c o u l d n o t be f o r e s e e n on t h e ground. The program for t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l s p a c e walk was completed. According t o h i s m i s s i o n , Leonov was supposed t o r e t u r n t o t h e spacec r a f t w h i l e on t h e i l l u m i n a t e d s i d e of t h e E a r t h . And t h i s d i d n o t t a k e p l a c e w i t h o u t s u r p r i s e s . The movie camera w i t h which t h e s p a c e

walk had been f i l m e d d i d n o t a t a l l "wish" t o r e t u r n t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t .

However, t h e cosmonaut r e t u r n e d t o t h e a i r l o c k chamber, t h e h a t c h was c l o s e d , and t h e c a b i n was a g a i n p r e s s u r i z e d . I n t h e c a b i n , Commander P . I. Belyayev was t h e f i r s t t o c o n g r a t u l a t e A . A. Leonov, who had s p e n t more t h a n 23 minutes i n open s p a c e , on h i s remarkable v i c t o r y . The remarkable S o v i e t pilot-cosmonaut P . I. Belyayev p l a y e d a n

i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n s u c c e s s f u l completion of t h i s experiment. During t h e f l i g h t , he c o n t r o l l e d t h e s p a c e c r a f t systems and equipment i n t e n d e d f o r t h e space walk, monitored t h e s t a t e of A . A. Leonov and m a i n t a i n e d c o n t i n u o u s communication w i t h h i m , r e a d y a t any moment t o go t o h i s a i d . H e a l s o c o n t r o l l e d t h e r e e n t r y of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , l a n d i n g of which o c c u r r e d on 19 March d u r i n g t h e 1 8 t h o r b i t i n t h e r e g i o n o f Perm'. Belyayev was t h e f i r s t t o e x e r c i s e manual a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l of a s p a c e c r a f t immediately p r i o r t o f i r i n g of t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s . Thus ended one of t h e b r i g h t e s t pages i n t h e h i s t o r y o f S o v i e t cosmonautics. Summing up t h e r e s u l t s of t h i s f l i g h t , t h e o u t s t a n d i n g d e s i g n e r of s p a c e hardware, Sergey P a v l o v i c h Korolev, s a i d : "The crew was a s s i g n e d t h e most d i f f i c u l t , q u a l i t a t i v e l y d i f f e r e n t t a s k compared t o p r e c e d i n g f l i g h t s . F u r t h e r development of cosmonautics depended on i t s s u c c e s s f u l s o l u t i o n t o t h e same d e g r e e as t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e f i r s t s p a c e f l i g h t . Pave1 Belyayev and Aleksey Leonov coped w i t h i t , and it i s d i f f i c u l t t o o v e r e s t i m a t e t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h i s e x p l o i t : t h e i r f l i g h t demonstrated t h a t man can s u r v i v e i n open s p a c e , s t e p o u t of t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i t h o u t f e e l i n g r e s t r i c t e d b y i t s walls, and he may work anywhere n e c e s s a r y . " "Without t h i s c a p a c i t y , i t would b e i m p o s s i b l e t o t h i n k about paving new r o u t e s i n s p a c e . " The r e s u l t s of t h e f i r s t s p a c e walk by man are e s p e c i a l l y a p p a r e n t today i n t h e e r a of t h e f i r s t o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . The s c h e m a t i c s f o r

c o n s t r u c t i n g t h e "Vostok" and l a t e r t h e "Voskhod" s p a c e c r a f t were t h e basis f o r d e s i g n and f u r t h e r p e r f e c t i o n of new t y p e s and c l a s s e s of spacecraft

THE PROGRAM OF THE MANNED "SOYUZ"

SPACECRAFT

The Tasks of t h e Program

Accomplishing s y s t e m a t i c and p u r p o s e f u l conquest of s p a c e , S o v i e t s c i e n t i s t s and d e s i g n e r s have begun work on t h e implementation of a new s p a c e program. Whereas t h e "Vostok" and "Voskhod" s p a c e c r a f t c a r r i e d o u t a s p e c i f i c r a n g e o f s c i e n t i f i c , t e c h n i c a l , and mainly e x p e r i m e n t a l r e s e a r c h tasks, t h e new manned s p a c e c r a f t had a m u l t i purpose d e s i g n a t i o n . They s h o u l d have more e x t e n s i v e t e c h n i c a l capab i l i t i e s and s o l v e a n e n t i r e complex of new problems, d e s i g n a t e d by t h e s p a c e f l i g h t program. It was i n t e n d e d from t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g t h a t s u c h s p a c e c r a f t complete a complex of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of circumt e r r e s t r i a l s p a c e and o p e r a t i o n s on assembly o f o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . An E a r t h o r b i t a l s t a t i o n i s t h e m i s s i o n of t o d a y and t h e s u c c e s s of i t s s p a c e f l i g h t depends on t h e methods and means used t o c r e a t e i t . Use of t h e same s p a c e c r a f t f o r d i f f e r e n t purposes f a c i l i t a t e s and r e d u c e s t h e c o s t of c r e a t i n g new space systems i n o r b i t . Use of t h e developed " b a s e l i n e " s p a c e c r a f t as t h e basis f o r assembly of an o r b i t a l s t a t i o n , o r g a n i z a t i o n of i t s s u p p l y , and investigation of space i s t h e main problem f a c i n g t h e new "Soyuz" space program.

123

The program a l s o e n v i s i o n s p r o l o n g e d s t u d y of n e a r s p a c e . T h e r e f o r e , t h e manned "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t are designed t o s o l v e t h e

f o l l o w i n g s p e c i f i c problems:

- extensive

maneuvering i n group f l i g h t s i n E a r t h o r b i t and docking w i t h o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t ;

- completion

of prolonged s p a c e f l i g h t s t o s t u d y t h e e f f e c t s of space f a c t o r s on t h e human organism;

- implementation

o f a n e x t e n s i v e program o f s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n n e a r space;

Model of "Soyuz" spacecraft. 1 - "active" docking units; 2 - orbital compartment; 3 instrument-equipment compartment. capsule; 4

- reentry

- investigations

of the Earth for practical purposes (weather forecasting, determination of water resources and the state of agricultural lands, observation of forest fires and the ice situation, solution of a number of problems of geodesy, geology, etc.);

- development

of new navigation and spacecraft control systems.

The designers developed a special type of spacecraft, consisting of elements of both the transport spacecraft and the orbital station, to solve these problems.

Construction of the "Soyuz" spacecraft denotes a new stage in development of manned vehicles. The presence of two manned compartthe cosmonauts' cabin (the reentry capsule) and the orbital ments compartment, reliable onboard systems and various types of engines for extensive maneuvering, and diverse scientific equipment permit multiple investigation, experiments, and observations in space.

Design Characteristics of the "Soyuz" Spacecraft The "Soyuz" spacecraft consists of the following main compartments: the cosmonaut's cabin, the orbital compartment and the instrument-equipment compartment. The docking unit - an assembly intended for rigid mechanical coupling of the spacecraft and their electrical circuits - is installed in the front part of the spacecraft in the orbital compartment. Solar panels with a useful area of about 14 square meters are attached to the instrument-equipment compartment in the rear part of the spacecraft. Antennas, attitude control sensors, television cameras and sensors of the scientific apparatus are located on the outer surface of the spacecraft. During injection into orbit, the spacecraft is protected from the effects of aerodynamic and thermal loads by a nose shroud. The solar panels and antennas are in the folded position at this time. The nose shroud is jettisoned after the spacecraft passes through the dense layers of the atmosphere. We shall begin o u r description of the main compartments and assemblies of the "Soyuz" spacecraft with the cosmonauts' cabin. The cosmonauts' cabin - the reentry capsule - is the command post of the spacecraft, as it were. The crew is in this compartment during injection into orbit, and while performing a number of operations during the flight. The crew returns to Earth in the cabin.

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The body of t h e c a b i n i s p r e s s u r i z e d .

A s p e c i a l heat s h i e l d i s

a p p l i e d t o i t s o u t e r s u r f a c e t o p r o t e c t a g a i n s t t h e i n t e n s i v e aerodynamic heat d u r i n g r e e n t r y . The t e m p e r a t u r e i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t c a b i n does n o t exceed 25 - 30' C a t t h e moment of l a n d i n g due t o t h e heat s h i e l d on t h e o u t e r h u l l of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e and t h e i n t e r n a l heat insulation layer. The cosmonauts' seats a r e a r r a n g e d i n s i d e t h e c a b i n . The p o s t u r e of t h e cosmonauts i n t h e s e a t s and t h e i r p o s i t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e G-forces d u r i n g r e e n t r y , as w e l l as t h e f o r m - f i t t e d seat, p e r m i t e a s y t o l e r a n c e of even t h e g r e a t e s t G-forces, i f t h e y occur i n i n d i v i d u a l situations. Various equipment and a p p a r a t u s f o r s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l , communic a t i o n and l i f e s u p p o r t systems are i n s t a l l e d i n t h e cosmonauts' c a b i n . The main and r e s e r v e p a r a c h u t e systems a r e l o c a t e d i n s p e c i a l c o n t a i n e r s . The s p a c e c r a f t commander i s l o c a t e d i n t h e c e n t e r s e a t . The s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l c o n s o l e , on which a r e mounted t h e i n s t r u m e n t s f o r m o n i t o r i n g t h e o p e r a t i o n of systems and assemblies, n a v i g a t i o n equipment, a t e l e v i s i o n s c r e e n and s w i t c h e s f o r c o n t r o l l i n g t h e onboard s y s t e m s a r e i n s t a l l e d d i r e c t l y i n f r o n t of h i m . Lateral a u x i l i a r y c o n s o l e s , f o r example, t h e c o n s o l e f o r medical monitoring of t h e s t a t e o f t h e cosmonauts d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n s i n open s p a c e , are a r r a n g e d alongs i d e t h e c e n t e r c o n s o l e . An o p t i c a l s i g h t i n g d e v i c e - a n a v i g a t i o n device i s i n s t a l l e d i n a special porthole.

There are two s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r o l l e v e r s a l o n g t h e s i d e s of t h e

commander's s e a t : t h e r i g h t one i s f o r a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l of t h e spacec r a f t around t h e c e n t e r of mass, and t h e l e f t one i s f o r changing t h e speed of t h e s p a c e c r a f t d u r i n g maneuvering. The c a b i n c o n t a i n s two p o r t h o l e s f o r v i s u a l o b s e r v a t i o n , and f o r t a k i n g s t i l l and movie pictures. The s p a c e c r a f t equipment p r o v i d e s f o r independent p i l o t i n g of t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i t h o u t p a r t i c i p a t i o n of t h e ground c o n t r o l complex.

Assembly o f equipment i n reentry capsule.

Assembly o f equipment i n o r b i t a l compartment.

With t h e a i d o f heat r e g u l a t i n g a n d r e g e n e r a t i v e s y s t e m s , t h e

s p a c e c r a f t c a b i n i s p r o v i d e d w i t h normal c o n d i t i o n s f o r f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e cosmonaut ( p r e s s u r e , gas c o m p o s i t i o n , t e m p e r a t u r e and h u m i d i t y ) . D u r i n g f l i g h t , t h e crew may wear normal c l o t h i n g w i t h o u t s p a c e s u i t s . C o n t a i n e r s w i t h f o o d and w a t e r s u p p l i e s a r e l o c a t e d i n t h e c a b i n . The o u t e r e n c l o s u r e o f t h e c o s m o n a u t s ' c a b i n ( t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e ) has a s p e c i a l s h a p e r e s e m b l i n g a h e a d l i g h t - a segmented body. This shape of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e w i t h t h e a p p r o p r i a t e l o c a t i o n o f the c e n t e r of g r a v i t y p r o v i d e s a c e r t a i n aerodynamic l i f t d u r i n g f l i g h t i n t h e atmosphere. The h u l l of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e c o n t a i n s j e t e n g i n e s f o r c o n t r o l l i n g b a n k i n g t u r n s d u r i n g r e e n t r y and s o l i d f u e l rocket engines f o r s o f t landing. The e x t e n t and d i r e c t i o n o f l i f t i n g f o r c e , by which i s a c h i e v e d c o n t r o l of t h e d e s c e n t t r a j e c t o r y , i s changed by t u r n i n g t h e r e e n t r y capsule i n a banking angle. A r e e n t r y t r a j e c t o r y u s i n g l i f t i n g f o r c e ,

i s much l o n g e r i n d u r a t i o n , and, a c c o r d i n g l y , r e e n t r y a l o n g i t o c c u r s a t lower G-forces t h a n t h a t a l o n g a b a l l i s t i c t r a j e c t o r y . The c o s m o n a u t s ' c a b i n i s c o n n e c t e d t o t h e o r b i t a l compartment

- t h e second l i v i n g compartment o f

t h e "Soyuzl' s p a c e c r a f t

- by

means

of a p r e s s u r i z e d hatch.

125

The orbital compartment is designed for scientific observations and investigations, for emergence into space, and also for the cosmonauts to rest. It is almost spherical in shape and has rather large dimensions. The compartment is equipped with places for the cosmonauts to work, rest and sleep. Control and communication equipment, a portable television camera, movie and photographic apparatus and scientific instruments are located at the work sites. The cosmonauts record the results of their observations in a logbook or on a dictaphone. Besides the special communication equipment, the orbital compartment contains an all-wave radio receiver for listening to programs of ground-based radio stations. There are special cupboards for stowing the life support equipment, food supplies, scientific apparatus, medicines and hygiene articles. The orbital compartment may be used as an airlock chamber for space walks. For this it is equipped with a special locking system which ensures exhaustion of gases and pressurization of the compartment. Exit is accomplished through a hatch which is opened either automatically or manually. The instrument-equipment compartment, designed for accommodation of the main onboard equipment and the spacecraft engines operating during orbital flight, is adjacent to the cosmonauts' cabin. The apparatus and equipment are located in a pressurized instrument compartment, inside which conditions are maintained which are necessary for normal functioning of them. The heat regulating and power supply systems, radio communication and radio telemetry equipment, and instruments for the attitude control systems using computers are concentrated in this compartment. The instrument-equipment compartment contains .? liquid jet engine which is used for maneuvering in orbit and also for reentry of the spacecraft. It has two engines with 400 kilograms thrust each. The

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capacity of the engines is such that the "Soyuz" spacecraft can complete maneuvers to an altitude of 1300 kilometers. There is an engine system with less thrust for attitude control, and for translation of the spacecraft during maneuvering. The Main Systems of the "Soyuz" Spacecraft One of the main systems of the "Soyuz" spacecraft is the attitude and motion control system. It provides attitude control of the spacecraft in space, its stabilization through operation of the engines, and control of the spacecraft during approach, mooring and docking of spacecraft both automatically and manually. The attitude and motion control system includes:

/28

attitude sensors and the cosmonaut's optical sighting device; gyroscopes and electronic computer control circuits; radio aids for search and homing; a system of auxiliary control members

- low-thrust

engines.

The power supply for the onboard equipment and apparatus is provided b.y a centralized electric power system. The spacecraft buffer batteries are charged by the solar batteries. In order that the solar batteries be continuously illuminated, they are oriented toward the sun and maintained in this position by turning the spacecraft with respect to this direction at a speed of several degrees per second. The radio aids of the "Soyuz" spacecraft provide reception of commands from the ground, two-way radio telephone and telegraph communications, calculation of orbital parameters, transmission to Earth of television images of the internal and external situation of the spacecraft. During the flights of the "Soyuz" spacecraft, there were several television reports from the craft directly to the ground television network. 27

Qverall assembly of "Soyuz" spacecraft. The multichannel radio telemetric system provides transmission of a large volume of data. When the spacecraft was flying beyond the visibility of ground receiving stations, the telemetry data were stored in the onboard memory devices and transmitted to Earth during the routine radio communication schedules. spacecraft are equipped with a docking system. This The "SOYUZ~~ system was checked twice during the flights of the "Kosmos" satellites and during the flight of the 11Soyuz-41f and "S0yuz-5~~spacecraft, and displayed high operational reliability. I

The normal hygiene-physiological conditions for the spacecraft crew are provided by the life support system. The atmospheric regenerative system maintains a gaseous composition in the compartments, similar to that on the ground.

T r a n s p o r t a t i o n of s p a c e c r a f t f o r f i n a l t e s t s . The h e a t r e g u l a t i n g s y s t e m m a i n t a i n s normal t e m p e r a t u r e and

h u m i d i t y i n t h e compartments, t h e l e v e l o f which may b e r e g u l a t e d a s t h e cosmonauts w i s h , The f l i g h t s o f t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t demons t r a t e d r e l i a b l e o p e r a t i o n o f a l l onboard s y s t e m s , p r o v i d i n g e f f i c i e n t p e r f o r m a n c e of complex s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l e x p e r i m e n t s i n s p a c e . The c o m f o r t a b l e c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e l i v i n g compartments o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t and t h e ease of c o n t r o l , work and r e s t t h r o u g h o u t t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t c o n t r i b u t e t o r e t e n t i o n o f h i g h e f f i c i e n c y o f t h e cosmonauts , and s u c c e s s f u l c o m p l e t i o n o f t h e a s s i g n e d program. These a r e t h e main f e a t u r e s o f t h e fTSoyuz" s p a c e c r a f t .

Compared t o t h e V o s t o k " and "Voskhod" manned s p a c e c r a f t , t h e f o l l o w i n g i m p o r t a n t t e c h n i c a l p r o b l e m s were more c o m p l e t e l y r e s o l v e d here :

t h e cosmonauts were provided w i t h more l i v i n g space f o r work and r e s t - two l i v i n g compartments: t h e o r b i t a l compartment and t h e cos-

monauts' c a b i n ; r e l i a b l e docking and a s s e m b l y were accomplished ( w i t h t h e a i d of a u t o m a t i c s y s t e m s and m a n u a l l y ) ; e x t e n s i v e maneuvers were c a r r i e d o u t i n o r b i t and d u r i n g c o n t r o l l e d reentry ; prolonged s p a c e f l i g h t s were c a r r i e d o u t . F a b r i c a t i o n and Ground T e s t i n g of t h e S p a c e c r a f t F a b r i c a t i o n of t h e S p a c e c r a f t While t h e "Voskhod" s p a c e c r a f t were s t i l l f l y i n g i n s p a c e , d e s i g n and f a b r i c a t i o n of t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t - t h e b a s i s of o r b i t a l s p a c e s t a t i o n s and m u l t i p u r p o s e manned s p a c e c r a f t - were underway i n d e s i g n o f f i c e s , l a b o r a t o r i e s and p l a n t s . F a b r i c a t i o n of a s p a c e c r a f t i s a l o n g and complex p r o c e s s . Not only must i t s s t r u c t u r a l e l e m e n t s , compartments and assemblies be f a b r i c a t e d , b u t i t s systems and d i f f e r e n t equipment must b e developed and t e s t e d . We a r e i n t h e workshop f o r assembly of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e . There a r e s e v e r a l p r o d u c t i o n l i n e s h e r e . I n o r d e r to expand t h e area of ope r a t i o n s and f o r e a s e i n assembly, t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e , i s " d i v i d e d " i n t o two p a r t s : a lower p a r t - t h e bottom - and an upper p a r t o r " b e l l " . The s u p p o r t i n g frame i s assembled i n t h e bottom. The i n s t r u m e n t s i n s t a l l e d i n t h e lower p a r t of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e a r e a t t a c h e d t o t h e s u p p o r t i n g frame and t o t h e body of t h e bottom; t h e s u p p o r t i n g frame of t h e cosmonauts' s e a t s i s a t t a c h e d above t h e i n s t r u m e n t s . A s s e m b l y proceeds a c c o r d i n g t o a p r e c i s e l y planned i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e diagram each o p e r a t i o n i s c a r r i e d o u t i n t u r n . The b r a c k e t s f o r a t t a c h i n g t h e i n s t r u m e n t s a r e a l s o b e i n g

assembled i n t h e body of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e b e l l , t h e i n s t r u m e n t s themselves a r e t h e n i n s t a l l e d . The e l e c t r i c c a b l e i s l a i d out and t h e cosmonauts' c o n s o l e i s assembled. The remaining u n i t s and a s s e m b l i e s a r e assembled s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . And now e v e r y t h i n g i s r e a d y . The primary u n i t s , a s s e m b l i e s s y s t e m s and e n t i r e compartments f i r s t l e a v e t h e assembly shop f o r t e s t s . And only a f t e r t h e y have been t e s t e d ( f o r s t r e n g t h , v i b r a t i o n , h i g h p r e s s u r e , vacuum, e t c . ) a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e q u i r e d s p e c i f i c a t i o n s may t h e y be i n s t a l l e d i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Thermal models of t h e s p a c e c r a f t a r e t e s t e d i n a high-vacuum p r e s s u r e chamber. The e f f i c i e n c y of t h e mechanical systems f o r d e p l o y i n g t h e a n t e n n a s and s o l a r b a t t e r i e s i s checked and t h e cornp a r t m e n t s and assemblies are t e s t e d f o r a i r - t i g h t n e s s .

The h e a t s h i e l d of t h e h u l l of t h e cosmonauts' c a b i n i s t e s t e d i n a s p e c i a l "space oven" under t h e e f f e c t s o f u l t r a h i g h t e m p e r a t u r e s , which may o c c u r d u r i n g r e e n t r y . The compartments of t h e s p a c e c r a f t a r e s u b j e c t e d t o t e s t s on a l l The v i b r a t i o n t h e t e s t benches p o s s i b l e i n t h e s t r e n g t h l a b o r a t o r i e s .

r e s i s t a n c e of t h e compartments and of t h e s p a c e c r a f t as a whole i s t e s t e d . The s p a c e c r a f t and a l l i t s members should t o l e r a t e v i b r a t i o n s which occur d u r i n g t h e main s t a g e s of t h e f l i g h t . The r e l i a b i l i t y and e f f i c i e n c y o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t s t r u c t u r e are

checked on t h e dynamic s t r e n g t h t e s t benches: a f t e r a l l , t h e spacec r a f t may b e s u b j e c t e d t o h i g h G-forces d u r i n g f l i g h t . The s t r u c t u r e and equipment of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e a r e t e s t e d

i n impact s t r e n g t h l a b o r a t o r i e s . P o s s i b l e l a n d i n g c o n d i t i o n s are s i m u l a t e d . r o c k s , ground, snow, i c e , swamp and water

- on

Ground T e s t i n g of Systems Nose cone s e p a r a t i o n . Thus, t h e s p a c e c r a f t has been f a b r i c a t e d a t t h e f a c t o r y and has been t e s t e d . O p e r a t i o n of i t s s y s t e m s under c o n d i t i o n s similar t o f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s must now b e t e s t e d . 31

131

The s p a c e c r a f t i s mounted on t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t under a s p e c i a l nose cone w i t h emergency escape r o c k e t s . The nose cone i s used

t o p r o t e c t t h e s p a c e c r a f t from t h e e f f e c t s of t h e h i g h dynamic p r e s s u r e o f t h e atmosphere and h i g h t h e r m a l l o a d s which occur d u r i n g i n j e c t i o n i n t o o r b i t . The l a u n c h r o c k e t and s p a c e c r a f t p a s s e s through t h e atmosphere a t h i g h speed, which heats t h e body of t h e r o c k e t t o h i g h The nose cone i s supposed t o open and s e p a r a t e from temperatures. t h e r o c k e t a f t e r p a s s i n g through t h e zone of maximum thermal and dynamic l o a d s . It i s no l o n g e r needed. The s u c c e s s of t h e r e s t of t h e f l i g h t depends on how t h e nose cone was j e t t i s o n e d . The c o r r e c t n e s s of t h e t h e r o e t i c a l c a l c u l a t i o n s on t h e p r o c e s s o f j e t t i s o n i n g t h e nose cone i s v e r i f i e d by s p e c i a l e x p e r i m e n t s . A model of t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i t h f o l d e d a n t e n n a s , s o l a r b a t t e r y p a n e l s

and o p e r a t i n g nose cone and i t s systems i s mounted on t h e t e s t bench. The cone i s r e p e a t e d l y s h o t o f f . The e n t i r e p r o c e s s i s photographed by high-speed movie cameras and t e l e m e t r i c sensors record the o p e r a t i o n a l parameters of t h e systems. A s a r e s u l t of t h e experiments t h e a c t u a l t r a j e c t o r y of t h e cone elements with r e s p e c t t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t and t h e r o c k e t s t a g e , as w e l l as t h e speed of s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e l e a v e s , a r e c a l c u l a t e d . O p e r a t i o n of t h e t h r u s t e r e x p l o s i v e systems i s e v a l u a t e d and i f n e c e s s a r y t h e s i z e of t h e powder c h a r g e s and f o r c e of t h e t h r u s t e r s p r i n g s a r e a l t e r e d . Reentry c a p s u l e s e p a r a t i o n . The r e e n t r y c a p s u l e may s e p a r a t e from t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n two c a s e s : d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n of t h e emergency e s c a p e system, and d u r i n g r e e n t r y . The r e e n t r y c a p s u l e and t h e adj o i n i n g p o r t i o n o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t compartment w i t h i t s s e p a r a t i o n systems a r e mounted on t h e t e s t bench. A more s u i t a b l e speed of s e p a r a t i o n of t h e compartments i s s e l e c t e d due t o a change i n t h e f i r i n g r a t e of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e . Emergency s i t u a t i o n s which may occur a t t h e moment of s e p a r a t i o n of t h e compartments are reproduced. I n a l l c a s e s , t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e should s e p a r a t e a t t h e p r o p e r moment.

Joining o f the nose shroud and "Soyuz" spacecraft to launch rocket.

Deployment of the antennas and solar batteries. The spacecraft /34 cannot be injected into orbit in the form in which it flies in space, since the effective air f l o w during the active leg has enormous dynamic pressure and creates considerable thermal loads. Therefore, the antennas and solar all protruding parts of the spacecraft batteries -must be folded and covered with the nose cone. This complicates the construction and operation of the spacecraft systems. After injection into orbit, the antennas of the radio system are deployed and occupy their operating position, and the solar batteries' also unfold their panels several meters in length.

Operation of deployment of the worked out on the deployment of the chambers.

all systems and circuits which participate in antennas and solar battery panels is carefully ground. Operation of the mechanical assemblies and antenna systems is checked in high-vacuum pressure

T r a n s p o r t i n g l a u n c h r o c k e t from a s s e m b l y s h o p , A l l members l o s e w e i g h t i n s p a c e , which means t h a t t h i s must b e t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t d u r i n g ground t e s t s .

A model o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t

w i t h a c t u a l l y o p e r a t i n g a n t e n n a s and s o l a r b a t t e r i e s i s mounted on

I n order t o e l i m i n a t e the e f f e c t s of weight, long wires, s e v e r a l meters l o n g , which a r e f a s t e n e d t o t h e c e i l i n g of t h e t e s t bench.

the laboratory, a r e attached t o t h e folded antennas. T h e weight o f t h e a n t e n n a s i s n e u t r a l i z e d by t h e t e n s i o n o f t h e

wires t o s i m u l a t e w e i g h t l e s s n e s s .

The s o l a r b a t t e r i e s u n d e r t h e cone a r e f o l d e d i n a package a r o u n d t h e h u l l of t h e s p a c e c r a f t .

D u r i n g ground t e s t i n g o f t h e i r d e p l o y m e n t , t h e y r e s t on r o l l e r supp o r t s which move f r e e l y a l o n g a l e v e l s u r f a c e . The command i s g i v e n The e x p l o s i v e b o l t s and p i n s a r e a c t u a t e d . The f o r deployment. a n t e n n a s e c t i o n s and s o l a r b a t t e r y p a n e l s u n f o l d i n s e q u e n c e i n response t o the springs.

A p p r o p r i a t e s e n s o r s r e c o r d t h e deployment

Testing separation of reentry capsule. f o r c e s and t h o s e a c t i n g o n t h e a n t e n n a s and p a n e l s . R e l i a b l e and impactless methods o f deployment and s e c u r i n g of t h e a n t e n n a s and b a t t e r i e s are s e l e c t e d . F l i g h t T e s t s of t h e S p a c e c r a f t S y s t e m s C o n d i t i o n s s i m i l a r t o t h o s e d u r i n g a n a c t u a l s p a c e f l i g h t may be c r e a t e d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y f o r c e r t a i n s t a g e s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t f l i g h t . T h i s refers mainly t o t h e s t a g e s of f l i g h t through t h e dense layers o f t h e a t m o s p h e r e : r e e n t r y of t h e r e c o v e r y c a p s u l e and c o n t r o l l e d

d e s c e n t , o p e r a t i o n o f t h e emergency e s c a p e s y s t e m , p a r a c h u t e d e s c e n t i n t h e a t m o s p h e r e and s o f t l a n d i n g .

T e s t i n g s o l a r b a t t e r y and a n t e n n a deployment s y s t e m . T e s t i n g t h e heat s h i e l d of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e and t h e c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t s y s t e m . The heat s h i e l d , a e r o d y n a m i c s , and c o n t r o l s y s t e m o f the r e e n t r y capsule a r e tested under c o n d i t i o n s c l o s e t o c a l c u l a t e d , with t h e aid of geophysical rockets. A model o f t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e w i t h i t s h e a t s h i e l d and c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t s y s t e m s i s l i f t e d b y a g e o p h y s i c a l r o c k e t beyond t h e d e n s e l a y e r s o f t h e a t m o s p h e r e . The model i s s e p a r a t e d and makes a c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s close t o real. T e l e m e t r i c s e n s o r s , which r e c o r d t e m p e r a t u r e , a b l a t i o n o f t h e

heat s h i e l d and o p e r a t i o n o f t h e v a r i o u s s y s t e m s d u r i n g r e e n t r y are i n s t a l l e d on and i n s i d e t h e heat s h i e l d o f t h e model. The aerodynamic and b a l l i s t i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e , e f f e c t i v e Gf o r c e s d u r i n g r e e n t r y , and dynamic and thermal f l o w s a r e r e f i n e d as a r e s u l t o f f l i g h t t e s t s o f t h e model.

T e s t i n g the landing systems.

The

p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m and s o f t l a n d i n g e n g i n e s a r e t e s t e d by d r o p p i n g t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e from a n a i r c r a f t . All c o n d i t i o n s f o r deployment of t h e p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m - F l i g h t speed of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e ( a b o u t 200 meters per second), p r o f i l e of the descent t r a j e c t o r y and s p a t i a l o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e - are maintained during the drop. The p e r m i s s i b l e a n g l e s o f i n c i dence of the r e e n t r y c a p s u l e a t t h e moment o f deployment of t h e p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m and maximum dynamic p r e s s u r e s

Testing parachute system.

a c t i n g on t h e p a r a c h u t e d u r i n g d e p l o y ment a r e c a l c u l a t e d d u r i n g t h e t e s t s . The s t r e n g t h c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and e f f i c i e n c y of t h e various s t r u c t u r a l

e l e m e n t s o f t h e p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m s and f i r i n g systems of the hatches, covers, e t c . , a r e i n v e s t i g a t e d . When t h e a i r c r a f t r e a c h e s t h e r e q u i r e d a l t i t u d e and s p e e d , t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e separates from i t , and t h e n f l i e s i n d e p e n d e n t l y and s t a b i l i z e s i t s e l f u n t i l the p a r a c h u t e system deploys a t an a l t i t u d e of 1 0 k i l o m e t e r s . F u r t h e r d e s c e n t takes p l a c e by p a r a c h u t e . The dynamics of deployment of t h e d r o g u e and main p a r a c h u t e s i s c a l c u l a t e d during the tests. Movie cameras i n s t a l l e d i n t h e a r c r a f t t a k e p i c t u r e s o f t h e p a r a c h u t e s emerging from t h e p a r a c h u t e c o n t a i n e r , t h e i r d e p l o y m e n t , and o p e r a t i o n d u r i n g d e s c e n t . Landing of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e i s t e s t e d on snow, d r y l a n d , w a t e r , and r o c k y s u r f a c e s .

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I n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e s t a b i l i t y of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e d u r i n g water l a n d i n g . Sea t e s t s a r e c a r r i e d o u t t o determine t h e a c t u a l buoyancy of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e ( s u c h an e v e n t i s n o t e x c l u d e d ) . For t h i s , t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e i s dropped i n t o t h e water. The crew i s i n s i d e t h e c a p s u l e , and a l l systems r e q u i r e d f o r man t o l i v e and f u n c t i o n are i n s t a l l e d . The cosmonauts t e s t methods of l e a v i n g t h e c a p s u l e , remaining on t h e s u r f a c e of t h e water, and e v a c u a t i o n w i t h t h e a i d of h e l i c o p t e r s and s h i p s .

T e s t i n g t h e emergency escape system. The cosmonauts a r e i n t h e c a b i n d u r i n g l a u n c h and o r b i t i n j e c t i o n of t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t . T h e r e f o r e , s p e c i a l s o l i d - f u e l r o c k e t e n g i n e s , which s e p a r a t e t h e cosmonauts' c a b i n and nose cone and c a r r y it away from t h e launch r o c k e t d u r i n g dangerous f l i g h t s i t u a t i o n s d u r i n g m e a c t i v e phase of t h e t r a j e c t o r y , are i n s t a l l e d on t h e nose cone o f t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t . The c a b i n t h e n s e p a r a t e s from t h e s p a c e c r a f t , emerges from t h e nose cone and makes a p a r a c h u t e d e s c e n t and s o f t l a n d i n g . The emergency escape s y s t e m must be h i g h l y r e l i a b l e . The f i n a l t e s t o f t h e emergency escape s y s t e m t a k e s p l a c e d u r i n g

f l i g h t t e s t i n g . For t h i s t h e most d i v e r s e f l i g h t emergencies such as d e v i a t i o n of t h e r o c k e t from t h e f l i g h t t r a j e c t o r y , engine f a i l u r e , u n c a l c u l a t e d G-forces, f i r e s , e x p l o s i o n s , e t c . , are c r e a t e d d u r i n g the tests. T e l e m e t r i c s e n s o r s r e c o r d t h e o p e r a t i o n o f systems d u r i n g t h e t e s t s , a l l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of s y s t e m s o p e r a t i o n a r e a n a l y z e d , and o n l y a f t e r t h i s i s t h e r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e emergency escape system confirmed and recommendation made t h a t i t be i n s t a l l e d on t h e spacecraft. Thus, t h e s p a c e c r a f t has been d e s i g n e d , f a b r i c a t e d and t e s t e d and i s r e a d y f o r f l i g h t . The l a u n c h and command c o n t r o l complexes are ready.

T e s t i n g t h e emergency e s c a p e s y s t e m . And t h e t e s t s a r e s t i l l c o n t i n u e d , b u t now d u r i n g a c t u a l s p a c e f l i g h t . Unmanned v e r s i o n s o f t h e new s p a c e c r a f t a r e f i r s t l a u n c h e d i n t o s p a c e . Its f l i g h t program i s e x t e n s i v e and o p e r a t i o n o f a l l s y s t e m s and a s s e m b l i e s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t must b e t e s t e d and checked a l l t o g e t h e r . And cosmonauts f l y i n t o s p a c e o n l y a f t e r c a r e f u l t e s t i n g of t h e s p a c e c r a f t during o r b i t a l f l i g h t s i n automatic v e r s i o n s and a f t e r i t s r e l i a b i l i t y i s c o n f i r m e d . T r a i n i n g t h e Cosmonauts f o r Space F l i g h t s Cosmonaut s e l e c t i o n p r o c e d u r e s and t h e t r a i n i n g program a r e d e v e l o p e d on t h e basis of c a r e f u l a n a l y s i s o f t h e r e s u l t s o f i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f s p a c e f l i g h t f a c t o r s on t h e o r g a n i s m .

The f i r s t g r o u p of cosmonauts was

r e c r u i t e d from among p i l o t s . The f u t u r e cosmonauts were s u b j e c t e d t o

r i g o r o u s m e d i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n s . The c a p a b i l i t i e s o f t h e main p h y s i o l o g i c a l s y s t e m s o f t h e body were i n v e s t i g a t e d i n a p r e s s u r e chamber a t s i g n i f i c a n t l e v e l s of atmospheric r a r e f a c t i o n , d u r i n g d r o p s of b a r o m e t r i c p r e s s u r e , as w e l l a s i n c e n t r i f u g e s , on v i b r a t i o n tables, e t c . The cosmonaut c a n d i d a t e s were

a l s o s u b j e c t e d t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l examin a t i o n t o s e l e c t personnel having the b e s t memory, a l e r t n e s s , a n d a b i l i t y f o r r a p i d and p r e c i s e c o o r d i n a t e d movements. Rocket e n g i n e s of emergency escape system.

A g r o u p , which began a s p e c i a l

t r a i n i n g program, was formed a s a r e s u l t o f m e d i c a l and p h y s i o l o g i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n . The t r a i n i n g program was made up of a complex o f s p e c i a l t e s t s and t r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s , v a r i o u s t y p e s o f g e n e r a l p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n i n g , and a l s o s p e c i a l t h e o r e t i c a l study courses. The s p e c i a l t r a i n i n g program was d e s i g n e d f o r t h e cosmonauts t o

a c q u i r e t h e n e c e s s a r y i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e b a s i c t h e o r e t i c a l problems r e l a t e d t o t h e f l i g h t m i s s i o n s , as w e l l as p r a c t i c a l s k i l l s i n u s e o f t h e equipment and a p p a r a t u s o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t . The program p r o v i d e d s t u d y o f r o c k e t and s p a c e t e c h n o l o g y , s p a c e c r a f t d e s i g n , s p e c i a l p r o b l e m s o f a s t r o n o m y , g e o p h y s i c s and t h e fundaments o f s p a c e m e d i c i n e . The complex of s p e c i a l t r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s and t e s t s i n c l u d e d :

a i r c r a f t f l i g h t s under c o n d i t i o n s of weightlessness;

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training exercises in a model of the spacecraft cabin in a special simulator; proldnged restriction in a specially equipped soundproof chamber; training exercises on a centrifuge; parachute jumps from aircraft. The flights of the Soviet cosmonauts confirmed the correctness of the principles applied to the system for selection and training of cosmonauts. The cosmonaut training program consisted of two stages: the first stage included study of the spacecraft during its creation in . the design office and the second stage included direct flight training. The cosmonauts participated in solution of the problems related to experimental development of the compartment configuration and tests of the manual control systems. Participation in ground tests of the spacecraft and its systems was good preparation of the cosmonauts for future space flights. During the second phase of training the cosmonauts developed skills in special simulators in control of the spacecraft systems and in performing specific operations envisioned by the preflight program. Maximum simulation of a l l actual conditions was created in the various simulators. The cosmonauts had at their disposal a multiple simulator, special simulators as well as flying laboratories and pressure chambers. The multiple simulator was designed for developing the cosmonauts' skills in performing the various missions of space flight. A simulator is a full-scale electrically operated model of the spacecraft compartments, with simulation of the various characteristics of space flight, the internal configuration of the equipment and the external situation

Reentry capsule-simulator. visible from the spacecraft. The cosmonauts spent many hours in "flights" in the multiple simulator. During training exercises in the multiple simulator, the cosmonauts worked out the finishing touches for the flight program and flight mission and "performed" scientific investigations and experiments. Simultaneously with training exercises in the multiple simulator, exercises were carried out in the specialized and functional simulators, which more accurately simulate the dynamics of spacecraft motion during manual control. The more important individual operations on manual orientation, manual mooring and docking were developed in 143 these simulators.

Training exercises i n f u l l s c a l e models w i t h s t a n d a r d s y s t e m s i n s t a l l e d i n p r e s s u r e chambers, where t h e cosmonauts worked w i t h t h e a i r l o c k chamber, s p a c e s u i t s and autonomous l i f e s u p p o r t s y s t e m s i n a h i g h vacuum, i . e . , u n d e r cond i t i o n s s i m u l a t i n g t h o s e of space f l i g h t , occupied an important p l a c e i n flight training. T e s t i n g e x i t from r e e n t r y c a p s u l e at sea.

Along w i t h t r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s

i n ground s i m u l a t o r s , f l i g h t s were c a r r i e d o u t i n f l y i n g l a b o r a t o r i e s , where a l l e l e m e n t s , r e l a t e d t o t r a n s f e r o f cosmonauts from one s p a c e c r a f t t o a n o t h e r , were t e s t e d u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f b r i e f p e r i o d s of w e i g h t l e s s n e s s . T r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s w i t h G - f o r c e s , which d e v e l o p d u r i n g o r b i t i n j e c t i o n and c o n t r o l l e d r e e n t r y , were c a r r i e d o u t i n s p e c i a l c e n t r i f u g e s , which r e p r o d u c e d a c t u a l G - f o r c e s d u r i n g t h e s e phases o f t h e flight. Besides t h e s e t y p e s of p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n i n g ( i n c l u d i n g p h y s i c a l

and m e d i c a l - b i o l o g i c a l ) , and p a r a c h u t e t r a i n i n g .

t h e cosmonauts c a r r i e d o u t s p e c i a l f l i g h t

Both a i r c r a f t f l i g h t s and p a r a c h u t e jumps a r e a n i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f cosmonaut t r a i n i n g . H i g h - a l t i t u d e f l i g h t s i n f i g h t e r a i r c r a f t f a m i l i a r i z e d t h e cosmonauts w i t h t h e e x t e r n a l s i t u a t i o n s i m i l a r t o

t h a t of s p a c e f l i g h t . A i r c r a f t f l i g h t s p e r m i t t e d t h e cosmonauts t o p r e p a r e f o r work u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f v a r i a b l e G - f o r c e s and b r i e f p e r i o d s of w e i g h t l e s s n e s s , t o c o n d i t i o n t h e v e s t i b u l a r a p p a r a t u s and t o develop s k i l l s i n spatial o r i e n t a t i o n .

F l i g h t s i n a c l o s e d c o c k p i t and i n c l o u d s enhaced development o f s k i l l s of d i s t r i b u t i o n of a t t e n t i o n on t h e i n s t r u m e n t s . En r o u t e f l i g h t s p e r m i t t e d them t o develop v i s u a l o r i e n t a t i o n by ground r e f e r ence p o i n t s . Celestial n a v i g a t i o n was mastered and s k i l l s i n s t a r o r i e n t a t i o n and performance of a s t r o n o m i c a l measurements and observ a t i o n s were developed d u r i n g f l i g h t s i n a s p e c i a l l y equipped f l y i n g astronomical laboratory.

THE M A I N STAGES OF FLIGHT OF THE "SOYUZ" SPACECRAFT Orbit Injection

"Soyuz" t y p e s p a c e c r a f t are i n j e c t e d i n t o o r b i t s of a r t i f i c i a l E a r t h s a t e l l i t e s by powerful m u l t i s t a g e l a u n c h r o c k e t s . The ground l a u n c h complex of t h e Baykonur Cosmodrome p r o v i d e s p r e p a r a t i o n and l a u n c h of s p a c e c r a f t a t any t i m e of y e a r . Thus, t h e l a u n c h crews d u r i n g l a u n c h i n g of t h e "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t , d e s p i t e t h e s e v e r e c o n d i t i o n s of t h e Kazakhstan w i n t e r , c a r r i e d o u t pre-launch o p e r a t i o n s c a r e f u l l y and on s c h e d u l e . The huge body o f t h e r o c k e t , surrounded by s e r v i c e towers and u m b i l i c a l s , i s covered by l i g h t c l o u d s of f u e l vapors. Last-minute p r e p a r a t i o n s are b e i n g c a r r i e d o u t . Approximately two hours p r i o r t o l a u n c h t h e s p a c e c r a f t crew r i d e s t h e e l e v a t o r t o t h e t o p s e c t i o n of t h e r o c k e t and e n t e r s t h e o r b i t a l compartment through t h e e n t r a n c e h a t c h . After i n s p e c t i n g t h e equipment f o r t h e second t i m e , t h e cosmon a u t s descend t h r o u g h t h e t r a n s f e r h a t c h t o t h e crew compartment. Both h a t c h e s a r e t h e n h e r m e t i c a l l y sealed. The cosmonauts c a r e f u l l y i n s p e c t t h e numerous i n s t r u m e n t s and i n d i c a t o r s , s w i t c h on t h e v a r i o u s b u t t o n s and keys on t h e c o n s o l e ,

l o c a t e d d i r e c t l y i n f r o n t of them, i n o r d e r t o check them. During t h o s e s e v e r a l t e n s of minutes remaining p r i o r t o launch, t h e y check t h e s i g n a l l i n g d e v i c e s and i n i t i a l s t a t e of t h e s y s t e m s .

4 4.

Launch rocket in umbilicals. Check-out is now completed and everything is in order. The rocket is ready for launch. The cosmonauts strap themselves into their seats with the aid of restraining harnesses. A l l control over the complex systems of the spacecraft and

rocket is now exercised by the ground crews and automatically. The launch pad is empty. A l l members of the launch crew are in the command and observation posts. The umbilicals and cable tower move away from the rocket body one after the other. One hears the pre-launch commands for resetting the various systems and, finally, "Ignition! Launch!"

A b l i n d i n g flame b u r s t s f o r t h from u n d e r n e a t h t h e r o c k e t .

d e a f e n i n g r o a r i s heard. T h i s i s t h e r o c k e t e n g i n e s i g n i t i n g . However, t h e r o c k e t remains immobile. The hold-down arms r e s t r a i n it u n t i l t h e e n g i n e s r e a c h t h e i r c a l c u l a t e d o p e r a t i n g mode, and u n t i l t h e developed t h r u s t exceeds t h e l a u n c h weight of t h e r o c k e t . After s e v e r a l seconds t h e hold-down arms f a l l away and t h e r o c k e t

b e g i n s i t s headlong a c c e l e r a t i o n i n t o t h e r e a c h e s of s p a c e . v e r y slow a t f i r s t , b u t t h e n f a s t e r and f a s t e r .

It i s

The cosmonauts a r e p r e s s e d a g a i n s t t h e backs of t h e i r seats.

Like a l i v i n g t h i n g , t h e r o c k e t body v i b r a t e s and t h e n o i s e of t h e o p e r a t i n g e n g i n e s i s heard. The cosmonaut r e p o r t s : " F l i g h t i s normal. I f e e l f i n e . G-force 2.5." T h i s means t h a t t h e cosmonaut's weight a t t h i s moment i s two and one-half times g r e a t e r t h a n normal. The o p e r a t i n g p a r a m e t e r s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t and r o c k e t systems and a t e l e v i s i o n image of t h e cosmonaut are c o n t i n u o u s l y t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e ground command and c o n t r o l complex. O r b i t i n j e c t i o n i s t h e primary r e s p o n s i b l e s t a g e of space f l i g h t . A t t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e a c t i v e phase t h e r o c k e t r i s e s a t a

rather s t e e p angle i n order t o pass through t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere a l o n g t h e s h o r t e s t r o u t e . During t h i s p e r i o d t h e spacec r a f t , b e i n g i n t h e f r o n t s e c t i o n of t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t , i s covered by t h e cone. The cone i s j e t t i s o n e d a t a s p e c i f i c t i m e Deyond t h e d e n s e l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere. The a u t o m a t i c c o n t r o l system of t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t d e t e r m i n e s t h e

o p e r a t i n g mode of t h e e n g i n e s , p r o v i d e s motion s t a b i l i t y and c a r r i e s o u t s t a g i n g throughout t h e e n t i r e p e r i o d of t h e a c t i v e l e g of t h e f l i g h t . The c o n t r o l s y s t e m s f o r c e t h e r o c k e t t o d e v i a t e more and more from a v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n as f l i g h t a l t i t u d e i n c r e a s e s . Speed toward t h e end of o p e r a t i o n of t h e l a s t stage e n g i n e should b e n o t o n l y almost 8 k i l o m e t e r s p e r second, b u t should a l s o be d i r e c t e d s o t h a t t h e s p a c e c r a f t c o n t i n u e s t o move i n t h e o r b i t of a n a r t i f i c i a l Earth s a t e l l i t e . Weightlessness begins i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t a f t e r the e n g i n e s are c u t o f f and i t s e p a r a t e s from t h e l a s t s t a g e of t h e l a u n c h rocket.

Orbital Flight

147 -

The s p a c e c r a f t i s now i n o r b i t !

The s o l a r b a t t e r y p a n e l s and a n t e n n a s of t h e onboard r a d i o a i d s deploy upon command from t h e programming-timing u n i t . The s p a c e c r a f t i s r o t a t i n g slowly due t o t h e p e r t u r b a t i o n s induced d u r i n g s e p a r a t i o n from t h e l a s t s t a g e of t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t . T h e r e f o r e , one of ' t h e main systems of t h e s p a c e c r a f t - t h e a t t i t u d e

c o n t r o l system

- is

switched on immediately.

R e l i a b l e r a d i o communication i s m a i n t a i n e d w i t h t h e cosmonaut. Telemetry d a t a about t h e s t a t e of t h e onboard s y s t e m s and assemblies of t h e s p a c e c r a f t a r e t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e ground m o n i t o r i n g s t a t i o n s . The s p a c e c r a f t now " l e a v e s " t h e t e r r i t o r y of t h e S o v i e t Union and c o n t i n u e s i t s f l i g h t above t h e r e a c h e s of t h e P a c i f i c Ocean. However, communication w i t h t h e s p a c e c r a f t c o n t i n u e s f o r some t i m e v i a t h e s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h s h i p s of t h e Academy o f S c i e n c e s , which are o u t a t sea. Gyroscopic O r i e n t a t i o n ("Warping") of t h e S p a c e c r a f t toward t h e Sun The t i m e and p l a c e approach f o r implementing a r o u t i n e o p e r a t i o n c a l l e d "warping t h e s p a c e c r a f t toward t h e Sun. If The cosmonaut p r e s s e s a key w i t h t h e i n s c r i p t i o n "Warping."

Upon

e n g i n e s on t h e s p a c e c r a f t h u l l a r e switched on, e n s u r i n g t h a t i t r o t a t e s around one of t h e a x e s . Images of t h e E a r t h , s t a r s , Moon and Sun f l o a t by on t h e s c r e e n of t h e o p t i c a l sighting device.

t h i s command, t h e l o w - t h r u s t

The cosmonaut makes a s l i g h t motion w i t h t h e c o n t r o l knob and t h e Sun b e g i n s t o " d e s c r i b e a c i r c l e " w i t h i n t h e P i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e o p t i c a l sighting device.

Another motion and t h e c r o s s - h a i r s merge w i t h t h e image of t h e Sun.

I n t h i s p o s i t i o n the s p a c e c r a f t i s o r i e n t e d such that the spacecraft Sun a x i s i s p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e s u r f a c e of t h e s o l a r b a t t e r y p a n e l s . And t h i s means t h a t t h e maximum luminous f l u x w i l l impinge on them and, c o n s e q u e n t l y , t h a t t h e g r e a t e s t e l e c t r i c c u r r e n t d e v e l o p s . The e l e c t r i c a l energy t a k e n from t h e s o l a r b a t t e r y s u r f a c e w i l l now c h a r g e t h e s p a c e c r a f t s t o r a g e b a t t e r i e s .

I n order t o maintain the spacecraft i n t h i s position f o r a prolonged p e r i o d , a d d i t i o n a l e x p e n d i t u r e of f u e l and c o n s t a n t a t t e n t i o n of t h e cosmonaut would b e r e q u i r e d . T h e r e f o r e , t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s r o t a t e d around t h e s p a c e c r a f t - Sun a x i s a t a r a t e o f s e v e r a l d e g r e e s p e r second. Because of t h e g y r o s c o p i c e f f e c t , t h e s o l a r b a t t e r i e s w i l l now remain o r i e n t e d toward t h e Sun and t h e cosmonaut w i l l be a b l e t o c a r r y o u t t h e planned experiments. C e l e s t i a l O r i e n t a t i o n of t h e S p a c e c r a f t

P r e c i s e o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n space i s r e q u i r e d i n o r d e r t o c a r r y o u t o r b i t a l c o r r e c t i o n s and c e r t a i n experiments and s c i e n t i f i c observations. mented f o r t h i s .

S o - c a l l e d c e l e s t i a l o r i e n t a t i o n i s imple-

The arrangement of c e l e s t i a l o b j e c t s

- the

Sun, Moon, p l a n e t s r e s p e c t t o each o t h e r i s known p r e c i s e l y a t any and stars - w i t h moment o f t i m e . T h e r e f o r e , i f one of t h e s p a c e c r a f t a x e s i s d i r e c t e d , f o r example, toward t h e Sun, and t h e o t h e r a x i s - toward one of t h e c e l e s t i a l o b j e c t s , t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i l l occupy a s p e c i f i c p o s i t i o n i n space. The n e c e s s a r y data f o r c e l e s t i a l o r i e n t a t i o n a r e f i r s t f e d i n t o t h e programming-timing u n i t upon command from E a r t h .

I n t h i s case, depending on t h e c e l e s t i a l o b j e c t s e l e c t e d , f o r example, a s p e c i f i c s t a r , one of t h e o p t i c a l s e n s o r s i s s e t i n such a p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e a n g l e between t h e a x e s of t h i s s e n s o r and t h e s o l a r s e n s o r c o r r e s ponds t o t h e F e l a t - i v e l o c a t i o n of t h e Sun and t h e g i v e n s t a r .

/49

Launch r o c k e t w i t h "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t on l a u n c h pad. The p r o c e s s o f c e l e s t i a l o r i e n t a t i o n b e g i n s w i t h a s e a r c h f o r t h e Sun. The l o w - t h r u s t j e t s a r e s w i t c h e d on and t h e s p a c e c r a f t r o t a t e s a r o u n d i t s l o n g i t u d i n a l a x i s u n t i l t h e Sun e n t e r s t h e f i e l d o f v i s i o n of t h e s o l a r s e n s o r . The o t h e r e n g i n e s a r e t h e n s w i t c h e d on and t h e s p a c e c r a f t b e g i n s t o r o t a t e a r o u n d a S u n - f i x e d a x i s u n t i l t h e s o l a r s e n s o r " l o c k s on" t o t h e g i v e n s t a r . The s p a c e c r a f t i s s t a b i l i z e d i n t h i s p o s i t i o n and i s t h e n main-

t a i n e d t h u s l y b y t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l j e t s b y commands from t h e gyroscopic instruments. O r b i t a l Correction

The "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t make o r b i t a l c o r r e c t i o n s i n o r d e r t o

c a r r y o u t t h e f l i g h t program.

What i s t h e p u r p o s e of t h i s o p e r a t i o n ?

Correction i s c a r r i e d out primarily t o increase the f l i g h t a l t i t u d e of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Atmospheric d e n s i t y 2 0 0 k i l o m e t e r s above t h e E a r t h ' s s u r f a c e i s n e g l i g i b l e . However, d e s p i t e t h e c o n s i d e r a b l e r a r e f a c t i o n o f t h e atmosphere, i t s t i l l has a s p e c i f i c b r a k i n g e f f e c t on a s p a c e c r a f t of s u c h dimensions as t h e "Soyuz." O r b i t a l a l t i t u d e d e c r e a s e s c o n t i n u o u s l y and t h e b r a k i n g e f f e c t of t h e atmosphere i n c r e a s e s . T h i s may l e a d i n t i m e t o f o r c e d l a n d i n g o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Moreover, t h e purpose of c o r r e c t i o n i s t o e n s u r e f l i g h t of t h e s p a c e c r a f t above a g i v e n r e g i o n a t a s p e c i f i c time. The p e r i o d of r o t a t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t around t h e E a r t h i n c r e a s e s as f l i g h t a l t i t u d e i n c r e a s e s . The s p a c e c r a f t t r a n s f e r s t o a lower o r b i t and t h e p e r i o d of r o t a t i o n around t h e E a r t h d e c r e a s e s under a s p e c i f i c b r a k i n g impulse. By making t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c o r r e c t i o n s , t h e f l i g h t of one s p a c e c r a f t o v e r t h e l a u n c h p o i n t of a n o t h e r may b e g u a r a n t e e d and i t may o b s e r v e o r b i t i n j e c t i o n of t h e second s p a c e c r a f t from space. Depending on t h e f l i g h t program, c o r r e c t i o n may b e accomplished b o t h w i t h t h e a i d of t h e manual c o n t r o l s and a u t o m a t i c a l l y by u s i n g c e l e s t i a l o r i e n t a t i o n . O r b i t a l c o r r e c t i o n u s i n g manual o r i e n t a t i o n i s accomplished i n t h e f o l l o w i n g manner. The n e c e s s a r y data f o r c o r r e c t i o n a r e t r a n s m i t t e d from E a r t h

and r e c o r d e d i n t h e onboard memory. The cosmonaut presses t h e n e c e s s a r y key on t h e c o n s o l e . The i n s c r i p t i o n s "Maneuver w i t h manual o r i e n t a t i o n ' ' and t h e " O p t i c a l s i g h t i n g d e v i c e f o r a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l " l i g h t up. The s p a c e c r a f t commander's hands r e s t on t h e c o n t r o l knobs and h i s a t t e n t i o n i s c o n c e n t r a t e d on t h e s c r e e n of t h e o p t i c a l s i g h t i n g d e v i c e . The E a r t h s l o w l y " s a i l s by," p a s s i n g on t h e s c r e e n . O p e r a t i n g t h e c o n t r o l knob, t h e cosmonaut s w i t c h e s on t h e a p p r o p r i a t e t h r u s t e r j e t s and r o t a t e s the spacecraft u n t i l the c e n t r a l portion of the screen coincides with a d i r e c t i o n toward t h e c e n t e r of E a r t h . I n t e r s e c t i o n has now c o i n c i d e d w i t h t h i s d i r e c t i o n and t h e E a r t h ' s "course" p a s s e s by a l o n g

the spacecraft axis.

The s p a c e c r a f t i s now o r i e n t e d .

A button i s

p r e s s e d and t h e i n s c r i p t i o n " O r i e n t a t i o n by gyroscopes" l i g h t s up. T h i s means t h a t t h e gyroscopes have begun t o r o t a t e and t h e i r a x e s i n s p a c e have occupied a p o s i t i o n independent of t h e s p a c e c r a f t h u l l . They have "memorized" t h e o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t ; commands are t r a n s m i t t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y t o t h e e n g i n e s upon any d e v i a t i o n s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t h u l l , which t h e n r e t u r n i t t o i t s i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n . A l l f u r t h e r o p e r a t i o n s are n o w c a r r i e d o u t a u t o m a t i c a l l y .

The

s i g n a l to r o t a t e t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s t r a n s m i t t e d from t h e onboard memory. The s p a c e c r a f t must occupy a s p e c i f i c p o s i t i o n i n s p a c e . A l l t h e s e data a r e "remembered" by t h e a u t o m a t i c c o n t r o l d e v i c e s . They t h e n i s s u e t h e command t o s w i t c h on t h e engine a t t h e c a l c u l a t e d t i m e . T h e t h r u s t e r e n g i n e s o p e r a t e t o p r o v i d e o r b i t a l c o r r e c t i o n and

maneuvers. The f o r c e of i n e r t i a a g a i n p r e s s e s t h e cosmonaut's body a g a i n s t h i s s e a t . F i g u r e s which c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e e x t e n t of t h e developed v e l o c i t y impulse lrjump" a c r o s s t h e i n d i c a t o r . T h e i r c o u r s e has now stopped. The s p a c e c r a f t commander r e p o r t s t o t h e ground m o n i t o r i n g s t a t i o n s : " C o r r e c t i o n was normal. The s p a c e c r a f t i s o r i e n t e d c o r r e c t l y . The engine was c u t o f f a t t h e c a l c u l a t e d time." The cosmonaut's working day i s coming t o a n end. S l e e p i s n e x t . For t h i s t h e cosmonaut a g a i n t r a n s f e r s t o t h e o r b i t a l compartment,

takes o u t h i s s l e e p i n g bag and, having s t r a p p e d himself down on t h e couch, f a l l s a s l e e p . The s p a c e c r a f t i s i n t h e " s o l a r warping" mode.

Reentry and Descent i n t h e Atmosphere The m u l t i t o n "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t , moving a t an o r b i t a l v e l o c i t y of about 8 k i l o m e t e r s p e r second a t more t h a n 2 0 0 k i l o m e t e r s above t h e E a r t h , has enormous k i n e t i c and p o t e n t i a l energy. O r b i t a l v e l o c i t y must be reduced t o accomplish r e e n t r y .

It would seem t h a t t h i s would r e q u i r e t h e same powerful e n g i n e s which provided o r b i t i n j e c t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . However, complete e x t i n c t i o n of o r b i t a l v e l o c i t y w i t h t h e a i d o f r e t r o r o c k e t s i s n o t

/5l

f e a s i b l e , s i n c e t h i s would r e q u i r e a l a r g e i n c r e a s e i n t h e weight o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Another method i s used i n which t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s g i v e t h e s p a c e c r a f t a comparatively weak b r a k i n g impulse, s u f f i c i e n t f o r o r b i t a l v e l o c i t y t o become somewhat l e s s t h a n o r b i t i n j e c t i o n v e l o c i t y . The s p a c e c r a f t b e g i n s t o descend and main b r a k i n g takes p l a c e i n t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere due t o atmospheric r e s i s t a n c e . The problem of r e t u r n i n g a s p a c e c r a f t t o E a r t h from a n a r t i f i c i a l s a t e l l i t e o r b i t c o n s i s t s of two s t a g e s . The f i r s t s t a g e i s organiz a t i o n of r e e n t r y and f l i g h t of t h e s p a c e c r a f t u n t i l i t e n t e r s t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere. The second s t a g e i s c o n t r o l of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n t h e d e n s e l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere and s o f t l a n d i n g .

Commands, encoded i n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e manner, are f e d from E a r t h i n t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t programming-timing u n i t d u r i n g t h e o r b i t p r e c e d i n g r e e n t r y . These commands c a r r y data about t h e t i m e f o r s w i t c h i n g on t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s and about t h e f o r c e of t h e r e q u i r e d b r a k i n g impulse. Before t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s are f i r e d , t h e s p a c e c r a f t should b e o r i e n t e d i n space such t h a t i t s speed i s reduced when t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s f i r e . O r i e n t a t i o n of t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t p r i o r t o d e c e l e r a t i o n may b e accomplished e i t h e r a u t o m a t i c a l l y o r by manual c o n t r o l . A f t e r t h e s p a c e c r a f t has been o r i e n t e d , t h e r e t r o r o c k e t n o z z l e i s d i r e c t e d i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f motion of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , and t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system t h e n m a i n t a i n s t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n t h i s p o s i t i o n . The r e t r o r o c k e t s a r e f i r e d a t t h e p r e c i s e l y c a l c u l a t e d t i m e upon command from t h e programming-timing u n i t . A second command from t h e v e l o c i t y v a r i a t i o n meter c u t s t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s o f f s o t h a t subsequent r e e n t r y f o l l o w s t h e c a l c u l a t e d t r a j e c t o r y . The r e t r o r o c k e t s a r e f i r e d s e v e r a l thousand k i l o m e t e r s beyond t h e t e r r i t o r y of t h e USSR. The speed of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s reduced, t h e compartments s e p a r a t e

and t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e r u s h e s toward t h e E a r t h . The remaining sect i o n s o f t h e S p a c e c r a f t burn up a f t e r e n t e r i n g t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere. The r e e n t r y c a p s u l e i t s e l f , w i t h t h e a i d of t h e

engine of t h e d e s c e n t c o n t r o l system, t u r n s s o t h a t i t w i l l e n t e r t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere i n a p r e c i s e l y c a l c u l a t e d p o s i t i o n . The d e s c e n t c o n t r o l system p r o v i d e s safe passage t h r o u g h t h e

dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere d u r i n g t h e l a s t l e g of t h e f l i g h t and p r e c i s e l a n d i n g of t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e i n t h e g i v e n r e g i o n of t h e S o v i e t Union. What f a c t o r s a c t on t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e and may b e dangerous f o r t h e crew?

F i r s t of a l l , d u r i n g d e c e l e r a t i o n i n t h e dense l a y e r s of t h e atmosphere, h i g h G-forces d e v e l o p : t r a v e l speed d u r i n g t h i s l e g of t h e f l i g h t d e c r e a s e s from s e v e r a l k i l o m e t e r s p e r second t o s e v e r a l hundred meters p e r second. Consequently, t h e l e g of i n t e n s i v e d e c e l e r a t i o n must b e extended i n t i m e s o t h a t t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n s developed and t h e G-forces caused by them do n o t exceed t h e maximum p e r m i s s i b l e f o r t h e human body, and, i f p o s s i b l e , so t h a t t h e y are low. I n t h i s c a s e t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e e f f e c t of G-forces i s very important. The r e e n t r y c a p s u l e should f l y i n a p r e c i s e l y s t a b i l i z e d p o s i t i o n

s o t h a t t h e cosmonauts a r e s u b j e c t e d t o t h e l e a s t e f f e c t o f G-forces. The enormous energy of a n o b j e c t e n t e r i n g t h e E a r t h ' s atmosphere

from space i s almost completely converted t o thermal energy. Even a p a r t of t h i s energy i s q u i t e enough f o r t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e t o burn up completely. I n o r d e r t o p r e v e n t t h i s , t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s equipped w i t h a heat s h i e l d . The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e o f c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t , u n l i k e b a l l i s t i c d e s c e n t , i s t h e c o n s i d e r a b l e r e d u c t i o n of G-forces and heat f l u x e s which a c t on t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e . However, t h e main advantage of controlled descent i s that the reentry capsule lands with high accuracy i n t h e g i v e n r e g i o n .

152

Considerable v a r i a t i o n of t h e l a n d i n g p o i n t s i s p o s s i b l e d u r i n g u n c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t . T h i s o c c u r s f o r many r e a s o n s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , d e v i a t i o n s , even s l i g h t ones, i n t h e f o r c e of t h e b r a k i n g impulse, accuracy of s p a c e c r a f t o r i e n t a t i o n d u r i n g r e t r o r o c k e t f i r i n g , d e v i a t i o n s of atmospheric d e n s i t y from c a l c u l a t e d v a l u e s a t d i f f e r e n t a l t i t u d e s , a i r c u r r e n t s and many o t h e r s a f f e c t t h i s v a r i a t i o n . These f a c t o r s a r e t a k e n i n t o account d u r i n g d e s c e n t of t h e c a p s u l e i n cont r o l l e d r e e n t r y , which e n s u r e s h i g h accuracy of l a n d i n g . How i s c o n t r o l l e d d e s c e n t accomplished? The a i r flow around t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e i s asymmetrical, due t o

which a l i f t i n g f o r c e develops. We say t h a t such r e e n t r y c a p s u l e s have aerodynamic e f f i c i e n c y , which i s d e f i n e d as t h e l i f t - t o - d r a g r a t i o . Aerodynamic e f f i c i e n c y o f r e e n t r y c a p s u l e s , adapted f o r t h e s e v e r e c o n d i t i o n s of d e s c e n t i n t h e atmosphere, i s of c o u r s e cons i d e r a b l y l e s s t h a n t h a t of a i r c r a f t . By t u r n i n g t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e around i t s l o n g i t u d i n a l a x i s w i t h t h e a i d o f t h e d e s c e n t c o n t r o l e n g i n e , f l i g h t d i s t a n c e may be con-

t r o l l e d . The a b s o l u t e v a l u e of l i f t i n g f o r c e remains t h e same d u r i n g such r o t a t i o n , b u t i t s p r o j e c t i o n o n t o t h e v e r t i c a l p l a n e v a r i e s . The maximum e f f e c t i v e v a l u e of l i f t i n g f o r c e o c c u r s d u r i n g z e r o r o l l a n g l e . When t h e c a p s u l e i s r o t a t e d b y goo, t h e e f f e c t i v e v a l u e of l i f t i n g f o r c e becomes e q u a l t o z e r o , and a c q u i r e s a n e g a t i v e v a l u e with further rotation. T h i s f o r c e compels a d e s c e n t a l o n g a s t e e p e r t r a j e c t o r y . During d e s c e n t t h e a u t o m a t i c c o n t r o l system r e g u l a t e s r o l l a n g l e c o n t i n u o u s l y , which e n s u r e s h i g h accuracy of l a n d i n g . Implementation o f c o n t r o l i n t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e s of ffSoyuzf' s p a c e c r a f t , i n a d d i t i o n t o providing p r e c i s e landing i n the given r e g i o n , p e r m i t s a c o n s i d e r a b l e r e d u c t i o n i n maximum G-forces d u r i n g t h e d e s c e n t t r a j e c t o r y and a d e c r e a s e i n t h e weight o f t h e heat shield.

When t h e r e e n t r y c a p s u l e r e a c h e s t h e g i v e n r e g i o n a t a n a l t i t u d e o f about 1 0 k i l o m e t e r s , t h e p a r a c h u t e system i s deployed. The s o f t l a n d i n g e n g i n e s are f i r e d p r i o r t o l a n d i n g .

154

THE WORLD'S FIRST EXPERIMENTAL SPACE STATION

The Experimental O r b i t a l S t a t i o n of t h e "Soyuz" Complex

C r e a t i o n of t h e w o r l d ' s f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t a l o r b i t a l s t a t i o n i s a l o g i c a l c o n t i n u a t i o n o f development of t h e program of manned f l i g h t s of t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t . A t t h e same t i m e t h i s s u c c e s s i s based on t h e t e c h n i c a l and s c i e n t i f i c achievements of p r e c e d i n g s p a c e f l i g h t s , d u r i n g which new data were o b t a i n e d on t h e p r o p e r t i e s of space and t e c h n i q u e s of c o n t r o l l i n g o b j e c t s i n s p a c e . Both t h e l a u n c h e s of t h e f i r s t s a t e l l i t e s and t h e f l i g h t s of S o v i e t cosmonauts and b o t h t h e space walk of man and l a u n c h e s of a u t o m a t i c p r o b e s t o t h e lvloon and p l a n e t s a l l c r e a t e d t h e s t r o n g f o u n d a t i o n on which cosmonautics i s now c o n s t r u c t e d . The b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s of d e s i g n and c o n f i g u r a t i o n of t h e "Soyuz"

s p a c e c r a f t i n d i c a t e t h e complex n a t u r e of s o l v i n g t h e problems r e l a t e d t o c e r a t i o n of manned space s t a t i o n s . The "Soyuz" i s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y t h e p r o t o t y p e of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s and t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t which w i l l make r e g u l a r t r i p s between t h e s t a t i o n s and E a r t h and f o r r o t a t i o n of crews and d e l i v e r y of t h e n e c e s s a r y c a r g o s . The "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t has a n e n g i n e system, long-range r a d i o

communication equipment, a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system w i t h a computer u n i t , l i f e - s u p p o r t system and a crew compartment from which t h e space-' c r a f t i s c o n t r o l l e d d u r i n g f l i g h t and i n which t h e cosmonauts r e t u r n t o E a r t h . J u s t such s y s t e m s w i l l b e r e q u i r e d by t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t t o communicate w i t h t h e o r b i t a l s t a t i o n , t o approach i t , f o r maneuveri n g i n o r b i t and f o r docking w i t h t h e s t a t i o n , and t h e n r e t u r n o f t h e cosmonauts t o E a r t h .

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A t t h e same time t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t may be c o n s i d e r e d as a

model of a n o r b i t a l s t a t i o n of t h e f u t u r e . The "Soyuz" i s t h e f i r s t s p a c e c r a f t having two l i v i n g compartments i n i t : t h e crew compartment and t h e o r b i t a l compartment. T h i s c o n s i d e r a b l y f a c i l i t a t e s t h e work of t h e cosmonauts and expands t h e i r a b i l i t y t o c o n t r o l t h e spacec r a f t and t o c a r r y o u t s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . The o r b i t a l compartment of t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t i s t h e p r o t o t y p e o f t h e s c i e n t i f i c l a b o r a t o r i e s and l i v i n g q u a r t e r s of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . The work o f t h e cosmonauts i n t h i s compartment d u r i n g f l i g h t s w i l l a i d i n d e t e r mining t h e s p e c i f i c s of s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h on board t h e s t a t i o n and i n d e v e l o p i n g r a t i o n a l methods and p r o c e d u r e s f o r c o n d u c t i n g i n v e s t i g a t i o n s under such c o n d i t i o n s . The j o i n t f l i g h t of t h e 1'Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t was t h e n e x t s t a g e i n c r e a t i o n of l o n g - l i v e d o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s and i s a development of a whole complex of o p e r a t i o n s i n c r e a t i o n and o p e r a t i o n of them. Approach and docking of s p a c e c r a f t i s a p r a c t i c a l s o l u t i o n of t h e problem of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n assembly from s e p a r a t e s e c t i o n s , launched s e q u e n t i a l l y i n t o o r b i t , a s w e l l as s o l u t i o n of t h e problem o f docking t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t t o t h e s t a t i o n . The walks o f cosmonauts i n open space and t h e experiments c a r r i e d out by them c o n s t i t u t e s t h e development o f autonomous l i f e s u p p o r t systems, d e s i g n of s p a c e s u i t s and checking of t h e p s y c h o p h y s i o l o g i c a l c a p a c i t i e s and e f f i c i e n c y of cosmonauts. A l l t h i s i s n e c e s s a r y f o r e n s u r i n g f u t u r e work of cosmon a u t s i n open space on assembly o f s t a t i o n s and c o n d u c t i n g o f s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . F i n a l l y , t r a n s f e r from one s p a c e c r a f t t o a n o t h e r c o n s t i t u t e s r o t a t i o n o f crews i n t h e s t a t i o n and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of t h e n e c e s s a r y c a r g o s , as w e l l as o p e r a t i o n s i n r e s c u e of cosmonauts d u r i n g c e r t a i n p o s s i b l e emergency s i t u a t i o n s . L e t u s now c o n s i d e r i n more d e t a i l how t h e f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t a l o r b i t a l s t a t i o n was c r e a t e d and o p e r a t e d .

Dockinp. of Two S p a c e c r.a.f t A t 1 O : O O h o u r s Moscow t i m e on 1 5 J a n u a r y t h e "Soyuz-4"

spacecraft, p i l o t e d by V l a d i m i r Aleksandrovich S h a t a l o v , passed over t h e Baykonur Cosmodrome.

s p a c e c r a f t was underway. I t s c a b i n c o n t a i n e d t h r e e S o v i e t pilot-cosmonauts: s p a c e c r a f t commander L t . C o l . B o r i s V a l e n t i n o v i c h Volynov and t h e crew members f l i g h t e n g i n e e r , c a n d i d a t e of t e c h n i c a l s c i e n c e s A l e k s e y S t a n i s l a v o v i c h Yeliseyev and e n g i n e e r - i n v e s t i g a t o r L t . Col. Yevgeniy V a s i l ' y e v i c h Khrunov. A t t h i s moment t h e l a u n c h of t h e "Soyuz-5"

V. A. S h a t a l o v o b s e r v e s t h e o r b i t i n j e c t i o n of t h e new s p a c e c r a f t

t h r o u g h t h e p o r t h o l e s of h i s own c r a f t . Animated c o n v e r s a t i o n s a r e t a k i n g p l a c e between t h e s p a c e c r a f t and E a r t h . The j o i n t f l i g h t of t h e two s p a c e c r a f t b e g i n s . The commanders of t h e "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t r e p o r t t h a t t h e y have begun t h e program of j o i n t experiments. The f l i g h t of t h e "Soyuz-4''

and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t i s r e l i a b l y s u p p o r t e d by t h e ground command-monitoring complex, t h e network o f m o n i t o r i n g s t a t i o n s which a r e l o c a t e d throughout t h e S o v i e t Union from i t s w e s t e r n b o u n d a r i e s t o t h e P a c i f i c Ocean. These s t a t i o n s , equipped w i t h f a c i l i t i e s f o r t r a j e c t o r y and t e l e m e t r y measurements, t e l e v i s i o n and communications, command r a d i o s t a t i o n s and o t h e r means of c o n t r o l , o b s e r v a t i o n and m o n i t o r i n g , c a r r y o u t c o n t i n u o u s o p e r a t i o n s on r e c e p t i o n and p r o c e s s i n g o f data coming from t h e s p a c e c r a f t and m a i n t a i n s t a b l e r a d i o c o n t a c t w i t h t h e crews. The s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h v e s s e l s of t h e USSR Academy of S c i e n c e s , __

t h e "Morzhovets" and t h e "NevelT1, which a r e l o c a t e d n e a r t h e c o a s t

o f A f r i c a i n t h e r e g i o n of t h e Gulf of Guinea, and t h e "Kosmonaut V l a d i m i r Komarov," l o c a t e d i n t h e n o r t h w e s t e r n p a r t of t h e A t l a n t i c Ocean, a l s o p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e o p e r a t i o n s of t h e command-monitoring complex. The morning of 1 6 J a n u a r y 1969 dawned.

The crews of b o t h space-

c r a f t checked a l l t h e onboard systems. P e r m i s s i o n f o r docking was g i v e n from t h e ground. The s p a c e c r a f t f i r s t maneuvered f o r a u t o m a t i c approach. The i n s c r i p t i o n s " P r e p a r e f o r approach" and "Approach regime" l i g h t up on t h e cosmonauts' c o n s o l e . T h i s means t h a t t h e onboard radar system f o r s e a r c h and g u i d a n c e , which p r o v i d e s approach of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , has been switched on. 58

During t h i s l e g of t h e f l i g h t , approach i s a u t o m a t i c from a d i s t a n c e o f s e v e r a l hundred k i l o m e t e r s and t h e r o l e o f t h e crews i s reduced t o o b s e r v a t i o n and m o n i t o r i n g of t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e onboard systems. The "Soyuz-4" s p a c e c r a f t was equipped w i t h a n a c t i v e docking w i t h a passive system. system and t h e "Soyuz-5"

The radar system of t h e "Soyuz-5"

spacecraft continuously e m i t s s i g n a l s , which are r e c e i v e d by t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g systems o f t h e "Soyuz-4" s p a c e c r a f t . I n t h i s c a s e t h e "Soyuz-4'' does a l l t h e maneuv e r i n g n e c e s s a r y f o r approach, w h i l e t h e o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t " t r a c k s " i t and o r i e n t s i t s e l f so t h a t t h e i r docking u n i t s are p r e c i s e l y a l i g n e d w i t h each o t h e r . During t h i s p e r i o d t h e s i g n a l s incoming t o t h e radar system of t h e "Soyuz-4" s p a c e c r a f t are fed i n t o t h e onboard computing u n i t s of t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l system, which i s s u e commands t o f i r e t h e e n g i n e s , t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e o b j e c t i v e laws of o r b i t a l f l i g h t i n o r d e r t o f u l f i l l t h e a s s i g n e d m i s s i o n w i t h minimum f u e l consumption.

/59

Even a s l i g h t v e l o c i t y increment i n a r t i f i c i a l s a t e l l i t e o r b i t t o approach a n o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t i n e v i t a b l y leads t o a n i n c r e a s e i n o r b i t a l a l t i t u d e . An impulse of t h e t h r u s t e r s i n a l a t e r a l d i r e c t i o n i n t u r n a l t e r s t h e o r b i t a l i n c l i n a t i o n . Only a c c u r a t e o p e r a t i o n of a l l a u t o m a t i c and a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l systems c a n e n s u r e e f f e c t i v e approach of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . Beginning a t a d i s t a n c e of 1 0 0 meters, V l a d i m i r S h a t a l o v takes o v e r c o n t r o l o f motion of t h e "Soyuz-4" s p a c e c r a f t . The cosmonaut c o n t r o l s t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e a p p r o p r i a t e j e t t h r u s t e r s . I n t h i s c a s e , w i t h t h e a i d of t h e l e f t c o n t r o l knob, he r e g u l a t e s t h e l i n e a r speed of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , i . e . , he d e c e l e r a t e s o r a c c e l e r a t e s t h e s p a c e c r a f t o r d e c r e a s e s l a t e r a l speed. O p e r a t i n g t h e r i g h t - h a n d c o n t r o l knob, t h e cosmonaut c a r r i e s o u t t h e p r o p e r o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n s p a c e , b y r o t a t i n g i t about i t s c e n t e r of mass. The s p a c e c r a f t have now approached w i t h i n

-cI,

k cd

40 meters and have e q u a l i z e d t h e i r speeds.

It i s t h e n t h a t t h e

f o l l o w i n g i s r e p o r t e d : "Everything i s normal. D i s t a n c e 4 0 meters. Speed approximately z e r o . We have begun approach.!? Tens o f m i l l i o n s of p e o p l e observe t h i s remarkable experiment on t h e s c r e e n s of t h e i r t e l e v i s i o n s e t s . L i k e two g i g a n t i c f a i r y t a l e b i r d s , g l i s t e n i n g i n t h e r a y s of t h e Sun, t h e "Soyuz-4" ( c a l l s i g n trAmur") and "Soyuz-5" ( c a l l s i g n !fBaykal'l) s p a c e c r a f t b e g i n t h e i r approach. Ground c o n t r o l ( c a l l s i g n "Zarya") c l o s e l y o b s e r v e s t h e docking p r o c e s s , which i s t a k i n g p l a c e over t h e t e r r i t o r y o f t h e S o v i e t Union.

.. . T h i s "Zarya": possible.

i s "Amur.

Do you p e r m i t docking?

Docking i s p e r m i t t e d .

Keep your r e p o r t s b r i e f i f

"Amur": "Baykal" i s on t h e s c r e e n . Speed 0.25 meter second. We are p r o c e e d i n g . I see t h e wings c l e a r l y . ''Zarya": "Amur":

per

A l l s y s t e m s a r e go.

D i s t a n c e 20, speed 0.25.

''Baykal'' : A-oKay

, A-okay

"Amur": I a m approaching. lock-on. Docking!

We are a w a i t i n g c o n t a c t .

Everything i s normal.

Contact

The docking probe t o u c h e s t h e i n n e r wall of t h e docking cone,

s l i d e s a l o n g i t and e n t e r s d i r e c t l y i n t o t h e c r a d l e . The i n s c r i p t i o n s "Mechanical lock-on" and "Contact" l i g h t up. The s p a c e c r a f t come i n t o c o n t a c t i n t h e i r alignment p l a n e s . The clamps are engaged and t h e e l e c t r i c p l u g and s o c k e t u n i t s a r e j o i n e d .

llAmurll: We a r e r o t a t i n g . proceeding. "Zarya":

Alignment of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s

Everything i s f i n e .

The s p a c e c r a f t i s now s t a b i l i z i n g .

Docking proceeded e x c e l l e n t l y . The s p a c e c r a f t have been a l i g n e d . T i g h t e n i n g c o n t i n u e s . There i s no r e l a t i v e motion between t h e spacec r a f t . . . T h e i n s c r i p t i o n "Docking completed" l i g h t s up. Thus, t h e w o r l d ' s f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t a l s p a c e s t a t i o n , s e r v i c e d b y a four-man crew, was c r e a t e d i n a r t i f i c i a l s a t e l l i t e o r b i t . The s t a t i o n was c r e a t e d by docking of llSoyuzll s p a c e c r a f t , providing . mechanical, power and a data i n t e g r i t y o f t h e e n t i r e dacking complex. After r i g i d mechanical docking t h e space s t a t i o n became a s i n g l e u n i t w i t h a common f l i g h t c o n t r o l system. The c o n t r o l p u l s e s of t h e c o r r e c t i o n t h r u s t e r s and a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l j e t s were now t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e e n t i r e s t a t i o n and i t o b e d i e n t l y changed i t s p o s i t i o n i n space. The common power s y s t e m of t h e s t a t i o n was achieved by j o i n i n g of t h e e l e c t r i c p l u g and s o c k e t u n i t s , which ensured c o n n e c t i o n of t h e e l e c t r i c a l c i r c u i t s of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n t o t h e common e l e c t r i c a l network of t h e space s t a t i o n . T h i s provided i m p o r t a n t c a p a b i l i t i e s

f o r c o n c e n t r a t i o n and r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of e l e c t r i c power a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of experiments. Moreover, c o n n e c t i o n of t h e e l e c t r i c a l c i r c u i t s p e r m i t s t h e cosmonaut t o c o n t r o l t h e s t a t i o n from any of t h e crew compartments. Connection of t h e t e l e p h o n e c i r c u i t s provided t h e space s t a t i o n w i t h a complete i n f o r m a t i o n network. The cosmonauts were now a b l e t o m a i n t a i n c o n t i n u o u s two-way communications, and t o exchange i n f o r mation from any of t h e f o u r compartments of t h e s t a t i o n .

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A space complex, . c o n s i s t i n g of

f o u r s e p a r a t e l i v i n g Compartments w i t h a n o v e r a l l volume o f 1 8 c u b i c m e t e r s , was i n space f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e . It i s n a t u r a l t h a t t h e f r e e space i n t h e compartments had a f a v o r a b l e e f f e c t on t h e e f f i c i e n c y and well-being of t h e cosmonauts.

O r b i t i n j e c t i o n and docking of

Having t h e two combined engine systems of t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t a t its d i s p o s a l , t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l space s t a t i o n was f u l l y c a p a b l e of maneuv e r i n g , o r b i t c o r r e c t i o n and a t t i t u d e control.

"Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t . Space Walk o f t h e Cosmonauts One of t h e main experiments c a r r i e d o u t d u r i n g t h e f u n c t i o n i n g of t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l space s t a t i o n was t h e w a l k of t h e cosmonauts i n open space and t r a n s f e r from one o r b i t a l compartment of t h e s t a t i o n t o a n o t h e r . N e w s p a c e s u i t s w i t h autonomous l i f e s u p p o r t systems were t e s t e d d u r i n g t h i s complex experiment, t h e a i r l o c k system was checked, assembly o p e r a t i o n s and s c i e n t i f i c o b s e r v a t i o n s and s t i l l and movie photography were c a r r i e d o u t , and t h e p s y c h o p h y s i o l o g i c a l c a p a b i l i t i e s and e f f i c i e n c y of cosmonauts i n open space were s t u d i e d . The a i r l o c k system on t h e "SoyuzV' s p a c e c r a f t i s c o n s i d e r a b l y

more p e r f e c t t h a n t h a t on t h e "Voskhod" s p a c e c r a f t , which was equipped w i t h a s p e c i a l a i r l o c k from which Aleksey Leonov made t h e f i r s t space walk. The a i r l o c k on t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t f u l f i l l s t h e f u n c t i o n of a n o r b i t a l compartment. T h i s same system p r o v i d e s r e t u r n of t h e cosmonauts from space back t o t h e s t a t i o n . The cosmonauts r e t u r n t o t h e o r b i t a l compartment through t h e p r e v i o u s l y opened o u t e r h a t c h . A f t e r t h e o u t e r h a t c h has been h e r m e t i c a l l y sealed, t h e o r b i t a l compartment i s f i l l e d w i t h a gaseous m i x t u r e f o r b r e a t h i n g and t h e cosmon a u t s remove t h e i r s p a c e s u i t s .

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T h i s t y p e of a i r l o c k system proved i t s e l f completely: it i s

d i s t i n g u i s h e d by s i m p l i c i t y , economy and h i g h d e g r e e of r e l i a b i l i t y . There are now t h r e e i n t h e o r b i t a l compartment. Volynov h e l p s Khrunov and Y e l i s e y e v i n t o t h e i r space armor - new s p a c e s u i t s d e s i g n e d f o r working i n open s p a c e . The p e o p l e on E a r t h , who are o b s e r v i n g them w i t h t h e a i d of t e l e v i s i o n , t h i n k t h a t t h e cosmonauts accomplish t h i s work c o m p a r a t i v e l y e a s i l y . T h i s i s t h e r e s u l t of m e t i c u l o u s p r e p a r a t i o n and m u l t i p l e t r a i n i n g s e s s i o n s on E a r t h . T h e r e f o r e , t h e work r e q u i r i n g c l o s e a t t e n t i o n and s p e c i a l c a r e a l s o succeeds.

Having a s c e r t a i n e d t h a t t h e s y s t e m s p r o v i d i n g e x i t from t h e s p a c e c r a f t a r e i n working o r d e r , t h e cosmonauts r e p o r t t o t h e command e r t h a t t h e y a r e r e a d y . Volynov t r a n s f e r s t o t h e crew compartment. The h a t c h c o n n e c t i n g t h e crew and o r b i t a l compartments i s c l o s e d and t h e o r b i t a l compartment i s d e p r e s s u r i z e d . The i n t e r n a l p r e s s u r e o f t h e cosmonauts' s p a c e s u i t s i s m a i n t a i n e d

a t a s p e c i f i c l e v e l s o t h a t , on t h e one hand, i t d o e s n o t t h r e a t e n t h e h e a l t h of t h e cosmonauts, and on t h e o t h e r i t does n o t cons t r i c t t h e i r movements.

...The

e x i t h a t c h opens. The cosmonauts l e a v e t h e 11Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t one a f t e r t h e o t h e r . Autonomous backpack r e g e n e r a t i v e systems m a i n t a i n t h e n e c e s s a r y chemical composition of t h e gaseous m i x t u r e f o r b r e a t h i n g , humidity and p r o v i d e t h e a p p r o p r i a t e heat r e g u l a t i o n i n t h e s p a c e s u i t s d u r i n g t h e i r s t a y i n open s p a c e . Heat r e g u l a t i o n i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t , s i n c e a man i n space expends c o n s i d e r a b l y g r e a t e r e f f o r t s , and c o n s e q u e n t l y energy, f o r any movement t h a n he d o e s under o r d i n a r y c o n d i t i o n s . A l l t h i s i s r e l a t e d t o l i b e r a t i o n of a l a r g e amount o f heat and may lead t o o v e r h e a t i n g o f t h e body. The easiest method of locomotion i s "walking" on t h e hands, f o r which s p e c i a l h a n d r a i l s were i n s t a l l e d between t h e spacecraft

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The m u l t i l a y e r e d e l a s t i c membrane of t h e s p a c e s u i t of a r a t h e r s t r o n g material r e l i a b l y p r o t e c t s t h e cosmonauts from u n f a v o r a b l e

f a c t o r s . They v a t i o n s , above light filter. v i d e s adequate

wear p r e s s u r e helmets w i t h s p e c i a l g l a s s f o r obserwhich a movable v i s o r i s mounted, which a c t s as a s o l a r A r t i c u l a t e d c o n n e c t i o n of t h e s p a c e s u i t elements profreedom of movement of t h e cosmonauts.

A modern s p a c e s u i t i s n o t simply a s p e c i a l s u i t , b u t a complex

u n i t , designed t o p r o v i d e l i f e support and e f f i c i e n c y of man i n open space. Only a f e w c e n t i m e t e r s from t h e body s u r f a c e o f t h e cosmonaut beyond t h e m u l t i l a y e r e d membrane o f t h e s p a c e s u i t are t h e vacuum and c o l d of s p a c e , t h e s c o r c h i n g r a y s of t h e Sun and m e t e o r i t i c d u s t p a r t i c l e s which t r a v e l a t enormous v e l o c i t y . The e n t i r e system prot e c t i n g t h e cosmonaut a g a i n s t t h e s e l e t h a l f a c t o r s of space i s comp l e t e l y autonomous. The cosmonaut i s l i n k e d t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t o n l y b y a t h i n l i f e l i n e which c o n t a i n s t h e conductors f o r t e l e p h o n e communication and f o r t h e system f o r m o n i t o r i n g t h e cosmonaut's h e a l t h . Work o f t h e cosmonauts i n open space, which continued f o r more t h a n a n hour, confirmed t h e c o r r e c t n e s s of t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s and d e s i g n s o l u t i o n s employed i n development of t h e s p a c e s u i t . The cosmonauts gave h i g h marks t o t h e s p a c e s u i t s and autonomous l i f e s u p p o r t s y s t e m s : t h e s p a c e s u i t s d i d n o t r e s t r i c t t h e i r movements, v e n t i l a t i o n i n them was good, t h e r e was no o v e r h e a t i n g of t h e cosmonauts' b o d i e s and t h e windows o f t h e p r e s s u r e helmets d i d n o t f o g up. During t h e i r walk i n space t h e cosmonauts i n v e s t i g a t e d v a r i o u s probyems r e l a t e d t o p u r p o s e f u l a c t i v i t y of man i n space. While o u t s i d e t h e s p a c e c r a f t , t h e cosmonauts m a i n t a i n e d c o n t i n u o u s communication w i t h t h e s p a c e c r a f t commander through t h e l i f e l i n e . The s p a c e c r a f t commanders observed t h e movement and work of t h e two cosmonauts w i t h t h e a i d of t e l e v i s i o n cameras mounted on t h e s p a c e c r a f t hull.

A f t e r emerging i n t o open s p a c e , t h e cosmonauts c a r r i e d o u t

e x t e r n a l i n s p e c t i o n of t h e s t a t i o n h u l l , t h e docking u n i t and s o l a r b a t t e r i e s and observed o p e r a t i o n of t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l j e t s . Removal and i n s t a l l a t i o n of t h e bar from t h e movie camera, i n s t a l l a t i o n and stowing t h e h a n d r a i l s f o r emerging from t h e o r b i t a l compartment and e n t r y i n t o i t , i n s t a l l a t i o n and stowing of t h e t e l e v i s i o n t u b e s , s i m u l a t i o n of c e r t a i n r e p a i r o p e r a t i o n s on assembly of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s - t h i s i s a f a r from complete l i s t of t h e o p e r a t i o n s which t h e cosmonauts c a r r i e d o u t . W e i g h t l e s s n e s s c o n s i d e r a b l y c o m p l i c a t e s f i x i n g of t h e body i n a s p e c i f i c p o s i t i o n i n s p a c e , which i s e s p e c i a l l y m a n i f e s t e d when performing o p e r a t i o n s r e q u i r i n g h i g h p r e c i s i o n ( f o r example, a s t r o nomical o b s e r v a t i o n s ) . Y e . V. Khrunov, having completed t h e planned work c y c l e , approaches t h e open h a t c h of t h e o r b i t a l compartment of t h e "Soyuz-4"

spacecraft.

A . S. Y e l i s e y e v f o l l o w s h i m i n t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t .

S h a t a l o v meets t h e cosmonauts i n t h e o r b i t a l compartment and h e l p s them t o remove t h e i r s p a c e s u i t s . There joyous e x c i t e m e n t , exchange of i m p r e s s i o n s , l e t t e r s and newspapers which Xhrunov has brought from E a r t h t h r o u g h space f o r S h a t a l o v . V. A.

There i s no doubt t h a t t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h e p u r p o s e f u l a c t i v i t y of t h e cosmonauts, a c q u i r e d d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n of t h e s t a t i o n , y i e l d e d much new data f o r s t u d y of a number of p s y c h o l o g i c a l and p h y s i o l o g i c a l problems r e l a t e d t o f u n c t i o n i n g o f man i n open s p a c e . Thus, f o r example, it becomes c l e a r t h a t t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l b a r r i e r i n t h e d i r e c t e n c o u n t e r of man and open space ( s o - c a l l e d "agoraphobia) has been overcome completely. The complex o f s p e c i a l t r a i n i n g s e s s i o n s , development of e x i t from a model of t h e s p a c e c r a f t under c o n d i t i o n s of w e i g h t l e s s n e s s , c r e a t e d b r i e f l y d u r i n g s p e c i a l f l i g h t s o f f l y i n g l a b o r a t o r i e s and p a r a c h u t e jumps a l l t h i s p r e p a r e s t h e cosmonaut f o r walking i n space t o such a n e x t e n t t h a t none of t h e a n t i c i p a t e d p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s was observed. Thus, t h e s e n s a t i o n s which

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Yevgeniy Khrunov e x p e r i e n c e d upon emerging i n t o space were similar t o those experienced during parachute jumps. The s t a t i o n c o n t i n u e s i t s

f l i g h t . V l a d i m i r Shatalov c a r r i e s o u t experiments on c o n t r o l of t h e s t a t i o n . It i s e a s y t o c o n t r o l t h e s t a t i o n and i t r e s p o n d s t o t h e s l i g h t e s t movement of t h e c o n t r o l knob. Shatalov o r i e n t s the s t a t i o n i n a s p e c i f i c p o s i t i o n . Undocking Orbital correction, r e t o r f i r i n g and d e s c e n t of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . may b e g i n . The s p a c e c r a f t , a s i f u n w i l l i n g , slowly move away from each o t h e r . B o r i s Volynov remains a l o n e i n t h e 1'Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t . After undocking t h e "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t c o n t i n u e t h e i r group f l i g h t . The crews o f b o t h s p a c e c r a f t s u c c e s s f u l l y c a r r y o u t t h e i r work program. The new crew members of t h e "Soyuz-4" spacec r a f t , cosmonauts Yevgeniy Khrunov and Aleksey Yeliseyev have become familiar w i t h t h e i r work p o s i t i o n s , check t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e spacec r a f t systems and c a r r y o u t t h e o b s e r v a t i o n s and experiments e n v i s ioned by t h e f l i g h t program. Thus ended t h i s h i s t o r i c a l day of 1 6 January 1969.

S c i e n t i f i c I n v e s t i g a t i o n s and Experiments During t h e f l i g h t of t h e "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" s p a c e c r a f t , as w e l l as d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t of t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l s p a c e s t a t i o n , t h e cosmonauts c a r r i e d o u t a broad complex o f d i f f e r e n t s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . T h i s experiment i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n s p a c e b y a c o l l e c t i v e of i n v e s t i g a t o r s i s e x t r e m e l y e f f e c t i v e and p e r m i t s complex experiments of v a r i e d n a t u r e . The

r i

‘d 0

cosmonauts carried out observations of the Earth and atmosphere, investigated the effect of space factors on the spacecraft system and conducted celestial navigation investigations, physical experiments and medical and biological investigations. Meteorological observations may be cited as an example of the multifaceted investigations of Earth carried out by the cosmonauts. They observed the cloud cover of the Earth, typhoons and cyclones. Periodic or continuous observation of the meteorological situation permits analysis of the dynamics of different processes, for example, the birth of a cyclone, the speed and direction of motion of a hurricane, etc. These investigations aid forecasting of the various meteorological phenomena and will control them in the future. Observations of the snow and ice cover of the Earth were also carried out. These observations are useful for predicting the characteristics of snowmelts and floods, as well as for study of ice drift, determination of the ice cover and freeing water basins of ice. Observations were carried out from space to study the Earth's geological structure. The cosmonauts observed and photographed the various types and shapes of relief, which provides valuable information for subsequent compiling of topographical maps, in particular, of mountain regions which are difficult to reach. Observations of the daytime and twilight horizons of our planet, as well as investigations of the Earth's brightness at different angles of inclination of the Sun are of great interest. The richness of color tones of "space sunsets" is explained by the non-uniformity of the properties of the Earth's atmosphere and by the degree of scattering and absorption of solar radiation by the atmosphere. Aerosol layers - accumulations of solid particles suspended in the atmosphere, the presence of which explains the brightness layers discovered by the cosmonauts on the Earth's "morning" and "evening" horizons - play an important role in these processes. These observations are especially important not only in study of the atmosphere, but also for developing the accuracy of space navigation, when the edge of the Earth is selected as one of the reference points.

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The cosmonauts conducted celestial navigation investigations, observations of the astral sky during both day and night and photographed the night sky in a direction opposite the Sun. Experiments were carried out on study of the initial stages of the development of comet tails, observation of luminescent particles and on investigation of the Earth's magnetic field. Primary cosmic rays and their multicharge component were also investigated and the relative distribution of helium and tritium isotopes in cosmic rays was studied. The effect of micrometeorites on the structure and system of the spacecraft was investigated and the intensity of penetrating radiation was measured.

A complex of medical and biological investigation comprised a considerable part of the overall flight program of the "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" spacecraft. It was known that man in space finds himself in a completely unusual environment. In connection with this the entire functioning of the human organism is readjusted: the energy, water-salt and hormone metabolism are altered and the functioning of the cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive systems, and central nervous system change. Although these changes are not a threat during short space flights, careful study of them permits development of procedures to counteract the unfavorable factors of space during future prolonged flights. Careful and preliminary special preparation of the cosmonauts is of special importance in this regard. Thus, for example, a high level of physical training broadens the compensatory capacities of the organism under mental and physical stress, as well as the effects of the dynamic and static factors of space flight.

To study the dynamics of changes which take place in the cosmonaut's body during activity in space, data about the state of the cosmonaut's organism is processed operationally and transmitted to flight control stations b y a medical monitoring system.

167

Investigations on selection of the optimum food ration for cosmonauts, corresponding to the physical loads on the organism, are also of great interest. The suggested space menu completely satisfied the cosmonauts. What was the ration of a cosmonaut? This is indicated by the labels on the packages: "Liver pate," "Roast beef ," "Chocolate , I ' "Pastry," "Cheese. All this was washed down by fruit juice from special tubes. It is delicious and nourishing. The provisions are vitamin-supplemented. The daily food intake of a cosmonaut is 2400 2700 kilocalories, and special emphasis was given to increased consumption of high-quality proteins and carbohydrates.

Space flights provide interesting data on human biological rhythm. Selection of the proper sleep and wakefulness pattern, frequency of eating, etc., is of great importance in providing high efficiency of the cosmonauts. Preliminary investigations already show that, despite the high specifics of life in space, it is desirable to maintain rhythms similar to those on Earth.

A great deal of work was carried out to provide radiation safety during training for the flights of the l'Soyuz" spacecraft and during the flights themselves. Forecasting of solar activity for the scheduled time of the flight was carried out. Measures were taken both before and during the flight for antiradiation protection. The entire complex of medical and biological investigations is directed toward study of the problems of adaptation of man to space conditions. In this regard the flights of man into space have not only scientific and applied, but philosophical importance as well, if we consider the living organism in relation to its environment, and this environment is being considerably expanded and complicated by man's emergence into space.

A large amount of data, which was processed by tens of scientific collectives, was derived during preparation and conducting of investigations on creation of an experimental space station. These investigations provide the most valuable material for improvement of space

technology and make an important contribution to geophysics, geology, physics of the atmosphere, meteorology, astronomy and other sciences.

6. WHEN THERE ARE THREE SPACECRAFT IN ORBIT

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Maneuvering of Spacecraft On 11 October 1969, the "Soyuz-6" spacecraft, piloted by Lt. Col. Georgiy Stepanovich Shonin and Flight Engineer Valeriy Nikolayevich Kubasov, was injected into orbit. A day later the "Soyuz-7" spacecraft was launched with three cosmonauts on board: Anatoliy Vasi1'yevich Filipchenko, Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov and Viktor Vasil!yevich Gorbatko. On 1 3 October, a third spacecraft, the "Soyuz-8" was launched with a crew consisting of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Shatalov and Aleksey Stanislavovich Yeliseyev. The spacecraft flew as a group for 7 days, during which the cosmonauts performed an extensive program of scientific and technical experiments. The history of cosmonautics had never known such excitement in space. The main tasks confronting the spacecraft crews may be formulated as follows: joint maneuvering using manual control, development of methods of autonomous navigation, and observation and photography of the Earth's geological and geographical objects. Certain improved spacecraft systems were tested during the flight and complex medical and biological investigations and meteorological observations were carried out. The "Soyuz" spacecraft were launched from the Baykonur Cosmodrome, one of the largest in the Soviet Union. The rate of the launches by the powerful launch rockets at one-day intervals predetermined intensive operations of all services of the launch complex. Methods of preparing the most complex systems of launch rockets and spacecraft for flight within such compressed time periods were tested for the first time in history. This was a type of rehearsal for launches of future series of transport spacecraft for the assembly of large orbital space stations. 72

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Launch rocket with "Soyuz" spacecraft.

When there were three spacecraft in orbit, the command-monitoring complex of the Soviet Union was faced with an unprecedented load. The added work of the Earth-space system, demonstrated throughout the entire flight, is no less important for the development of space navigation. What is the complexity of simultaneous control of three manned spacecraft? During the flight, the "Soyuz" spacecraft were sometimes located at a considerable distance from each other and sometimes approached to within several hundred meters. In the first case the tracking station, having completed radio contact with one' spacecraft, had to rotate its antennas within the shortest possible time in the direction of another spacecraft, located within the zone of radio visibility, and make adjustments for working with it. When the spacecraft were located within several kilometers of each other, they entered the "field of vision'' of the radio beam simultaneously. Therefore, the communication session was literally

scheduled i n seconds. During t h e b r i e f r a d i o communication s e s s i o n , i t was n e c e s s a r y t o r e c e i v e t e l e m e t r y data, t o t r a n s m i t commands t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t , and t o make a t e l e v i s i o n r e p o r t . A t t h e same t i m e , t h e s p a c e c r a f t m a i n t a i n e d i n t e n s i v e r a d i o communications o u t s i d e t h e zone of r a d i o v i s i b i l i t y from t h e S o v i e t Union. S e v e r a l r a d i o bands were u t i l i z e d f o r communications. S h o r t waves were employed f o r l o n g d i s t a n c e s . Continuous communications were c a r r i e d on w i t h t h e a i d of u l t r a s h o r t waves w i t h i n t h e r a n g e of d i r e c t r a d i o v i s i b i l i t y . T h e r e f o r e , when t h e s p a c e c r a f t p a s s e d o v e r t h e t e r r i t o r y of t h e S o v i e t Union, t h e ground s t a t i o n s t r a n s f e r r e d each s p a c e c r a f t t o e a c h o t h e r , l i k e a r e l a y b a t o n , e n s u r i n g c o n t i n u o u s communications w i t h i t . The assembly of l a r g e o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s i s a problem of t h e n e a r

f u t u r e . T h i s r e q u i r e s e x t e n s i v e maneuvering o f s p a c e c r a f t . Some of them w i l l d e l i v e r t h e s t r u c t u r e s f o r f u t u r e s t a t i o n s t o t h e d e s i g n a t e d o r b i t , some w i l l d e l i v e r f u e l and p r o v i s i o n s , and o t h e r s w i l l d e l i v e r t h e crews of t h e o r b i t a l space systems. T h i s i s why s o much a t t e n t i o n was devoted t o t h e j o i n t maneuvering of t h e t h r e e manned "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t . The main problem s o l v e d by t h e t h r e e crews c o n s i s t e d of c o o r d i n a t e d approach of t h e s p a c e c r a f t from a d i s t a n c e of s e v e r a l hundred o r even thousand k i l o m e t e r s t o a d i s t a n c e of s e v e r a l hundred meters. During t h e maneuvering i n o r b i t , methods were t e s t e d f o r i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e ground complex, whose s t a t i o n s are d i s t r i b u t e d througho u t t h e S o v i e t Union, as w e l l as w i t h t h e r e s e a r c h v e s s e l s of t h e Academy o f S c i e n c e s , which were l o c a t e d a t d i f f e r e n t p o i n t s a t sea. Data from t r a j e c t o r y measurements were f e d c o n t i n u o u s l y from t h e t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s t o t h e computer c o o r d i n a t i o n c e n t e r , where t h e y were p r o c e s s e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y on e l e c t r o n i c computers. The space s i t u a t i o n was c a r e f u l l y a n a l y z e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e mutual p o s i t i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t . The i n i t i a l p a r a m e t e r s r e c e i v e d f o r approach maneuv e r s were t r a n s m i t t e d from t h e ground t o t h e s p a c e c r a f t and r e c o r d e d i n t h e onboard memory.

/7l

The powerful engines of the spacecraft were fired automatically at the calculated time. After operating for the prescribed period, they cut off automatically. As a result, the spacecraft transferred to another orbit, ensuring its approach to the other spacecraft. Successful maneuvering permitted the "Soyuz-6 , I 1 "Soyuz-7" and ffSoyuz8" spacecraft to approach each other repeatedly to such close distances that the cosmonauts were able to carry out necessary measurements and observations of the maneuvering of their comrades.

Launch rocket with "Soyuz" spacecraft on launch pad. Scientific and Technical Experiments and Observations While carrying out extensive maneuvering during group flight, the cosmonauts simultaneously completed an extensive program of experiments of importance to the national economy and medical and biological experiments.

172

They made meteorological observations over practically the entire portion of the globe, encompassed by the spacecraft trajectories. The cosmonauts photographed cloud cover distribution, observed the birth of cyclones and tracked their further development and direction of travel. These data were systematically computed in the Hydrometeorological Center of the Soviet Union.

Observations and photography of the Earth's surface in different regions of the spectrum permitted not only the prediction of threatening natural phenomena - hurricanes, floods and dust storms. These investigations are also of great importance for solving the varied problems of geology, goebotany, hydrology and other Earth sciences. One of the most promising trends in the analysis of space photographs is using them to compile geomorphological maps of small and medium scales, as well as geomorphological ranging. Practically all types and many forms of relief, including underwater forms, can be distinguished on such photographs. Therefore, the cosmonauts of the three spacecraft photographed characteristic sections of the Earth's surface according to the program of geological and geographical investigations. In particular, they investigated in detail the relief of mountain massifs, the coast lines of the Caspian Sea, the Volga Delta and forests of the USSR. They studied the reflectivity of forest massifs and desert regions of the planet. Besides the extensive program of still and movie photography of the Earth's oceans and cloud cover, the crews made a large number of navigational measurements. Procedures were tested for visual celestial orientation by stars of the fourth and fifth magnitudes, making it possible to calculate the precise position of the spacecraft on the space trajectories without the use of ground facilities. After all, in future interplanetary trajectories, the larger stars may be obliterated by the Sun or be located under conditions unfavorable for observation. The program of developing procedures for autonomous navigation included observation and photography of the daytime and twilight horizon, measurement of the intensity of illumination o f the daytime and shaded surface of the Earth, brightness of stars in different bands of the visible spectrum, and also evaluation of the visibility of the Moon and stars on the background of the horizon. The possibilities of manual orientation were calculated by using an optical sighting device under twilight conditions and in the Earth's shadow. 76

Welding of Metals in Orbit On 16 October 1970 the crew o f the "Soyuz-6" spacecraft conducted a unique experiment on welding metals under space flight conditions. Prior to the beginning of welding, the spacecraft commander, Shonin, opened the hatch t o the spacecraft cabin. On the 77th orbit, he depressurized the orbital compartment, in which was installed a unique piece o f technological equipment designed to investigate various methods o f welding metals in a high vacuum and during weightlessness. Flight Engineer Kubasov regulated the operating modes of the autonomous experimental device "Vulkan" from the .control console in the crew cabin. This device, connected to the spacecraft only by a telemetry cable, consisted of two units. The first contained various welding devices and the second - power supplies, control instruments, measuring and conversion systems and automatic aids and communication facilities. They were in a pressurized compartment filled with nitrogen. After a high vacuum had been established ment, the cosmonaut switched on an automaton, (plasma) compression arc welding. The device electron beam welding. The third mode of the electrode arc welding.

in the orbital compartadjusted for low-pressure was then switched to "Vulkan" was consumable-

Thus, the world's first practical technological process, related to heating and fusion of metals, was accomplished in orbital flight. This success was preceded by prolonged ground investigations which permitted the design of small welding devices for installation in spacecraft. The results of the experiments permit certain preliminary practical conclusions. It was determined that under conditions of weightlessness considerable changes occur in the microstructure of welds, related to the absence o f gravity. Welded joints are strengthened somewhat, but in some cases local porosity of the welds is observed. It turned out that, during consumable-electrode arc welding under conditions of

weightlessness, special measures are required which would ensure reliable transfer of the metal from the electrode to the bath. A vacuum complicates ignition of the arc discharge as well. Therefore, special methods of ignition were developed for welding in space.

It is important that the results of the investigation and developments, accomplished during preparation for space welding, have already been applied in the national economy of the country. For example, techniques of vacuum arc welding have been improved, and a small-size and highly productive apparatus has been created for joining metals by an electron beam and compressed arc. The successful experiment in welding on board the "s0yuz-6~~ spacecraft opens up future prospects for improving techniques in the assembly of large orbital stations. The energy for welding operations in orbit may be obtained from such an inexhaustible source as that o f the Sun.

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It is difficult at present to foresee what type of welding will be most promising. Therefore, it is not excluded that such a progressive method of bonding materials as diffusion welding may possibly become widespread. After all, the conditions of space are ideal for this type of welding. 7.

"SOYUZ-9"

IN WORKING ORBIT

Medical and Biological Investigations During Prolonged Space Flight On 1 June 1970, the "Soyuz-9" spacecraft was injected into an artificial Earth satellite orbit with a crew consisting of spacecraft commander Col. Andriyan Grigor'yevich Nikolayev and flight engineer Vitaliy Ivanovich Sevest'yanov. The record space flight in which the cosmonauts took an active part lasted for 424 hours. After completing an 18-day program of scientific experiments and observations, the "Soyuz-9" made a precise landing in the calculated region.

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Radio complex o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t f l i g h t c o n t r o l c e n t e r a t n i g h t . The most i m p o r t a n t p a r t of t h e f l i g h t was t h e e x t e n s i v e m e d i c a l

and b i o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s s t u d y i n g t h e e f f e c t o f p r o l o n g e d s p a c e f l i g h t s on t h e human body. Moreover, s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n was d e v o t e d t o m e a s u r e s on r e t e n t i o n and m a i n t e n a n c e o f a good f u n c t i o n a l s t a t e of t h e o r g a n i s m and a h i g h l e v e l o f e f f i c i e n c y of t h e cosmonauts. What d i d t h i s s p a c e f l i g h t , u n p r e c e d e n t e d i n d u r a t i o n ,

yield that

was new f o r c o s m o n a u t i c s ?

How d i d t h e cosmonauts t o l e r a t e t h e s e v e r a l d a y s o f " c o n f i n e m e n t " and t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f w e i g h t l e s s n e s s d u r i n g o r b i t a l f l i g h t ? The a n s w e r s t o t h e s e q u e s t i o n s c o u l d be g i v e n by s c i e n t i s t s a f t e r c a r e f u l a n a l y s i s of t h e data o b t a i n e d . It i s n a t u r a l t h a t t h e main a t t e n t i o n d u r i n g s u c h a p r o l o n g e d

f l i g h t was d e v o t e d t o m e d i c a l a n d b i o l o g i c a l p r o b l e m s .

It was known

from p r e v i o u s s p a c e f l i g h t s t h a t cosmonauts, e v e n d u r i n g l e s s p r o longed "excursions" i n t o space, f e e l t h e e f f e c t s of space f a c t o r s t o a certain extent.

It was established that the spacesuits used by the cosmonauts during the initial flights not only constrict their movements, but also cause "numbing" of individual parts of the body. Other comparatively insignificant physiological changes also occurred in the human body. In particular, the calcium balance in the bones was disrupted, and partial changes in blood composition and dehydration of the body were noted. During the final stages of the flights, torpidness of movements and decreased responses began, and disruptions in the function of the vestibular analyze were observed. Typically, these and other deviations are at times purely of an individual nature. Therefore, it was important f o r scientists to determine the main trends of "shifts" in the human body during prolonged space flights.

In order to compensate for the possible unfavorable effects of weightlessness, the crew of the "Soyuz-9" spacecraft regularly performed a cycle of gymnastic exercises in the spacious orbital compartment. A special weighted suit forced the cosmonauts to expend additional efforts, simulating the effect of the force of Earth's gravity. The crew exercised with an expansion device, the tension of which required a slight exertion of 10 kilograms according to Earth standards. However, under conditions of weightlessness the cosmonauts were forced to spend more time on gymnastics than was previously planned. In turn, the medical support services saw to it that the complex of physical exercises were fulfilled completely. Careful medical and biological monitoring of the health of the 11Soyuz-9"crew members was accomplished throughout the flight. Pulse, respiration frequency and blood pressure were measured regularly, the cardiovascular and nervous systems were investigated and water-salt metabolism was monitored. The data were regularly transmitted to Earth and studied closely. Stable radio communication was maintained with the cosmonauts, and television permitted observation of their work and rest several times daily.

177

The cosmonauts' e f f i c i e n c y while performing work o p e r a t i o n s was i n v e s t i g a t e d d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t . The q u a l i t y of performing s p e c i a l t e s t s was a n a l y z e d . Moreover, c e r t a i n experiments were conducted w i t h t h e a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of t h e cosmonauts i n accordance w i t h t h e program of b i o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . The o v e r a l l aim o f t h e s e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s was t o s t u d y t h e e f f e c t o f w e i g h t l e s s n e s s on growth, development,and h e r e d i t y of v a r i o u s t y p e s of l i v i n g organisms. Experiments were cond u c t e d on Drosophela, wheat n o d u l e s , b a r l e y , o n i o n s , and C h l o r e l l a and blue-green a l g a l c u l t u r e s . The cosmonauts f e l t f i n e d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t . D e s p i t e t h e heavy 178 l o a d o f t h e f l i g h t program, t h e y r e t a i n e d t h e i r e f f i c i e n c y a t a h i g h l e v e l . However, t h e y sometimes n o t i c e d some t i r e d n e s s , a f t e r performing complex experiments and a f t e r a busy work day, which d i s a p p e a r e d completely a f t e r s l e e p . The cosmonauts' v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g and v a l u a b l e o b s e r v a t i o n s of

t h e i r c o n d i t i o n d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t , l i k e t h e data o f o b j e c t i v e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , made i t p o s s i b l e t o o b t a i n i m p o r t a n t data on t h e charact e r i s t i c s o f a d a p t a t i o n of t h e human organism t o w e i g h t l e s s n e s s . A c e r t a i n amount of t i m e was r e q u i r e d a t t h e beginning of t h e

f l i g h t t o develop new s k i l l s i n performing movements, e s p e c i a l l y for moving about i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t . By t h e t h i r d o r f o u r t h d a y of t h e f l i g h t , t h e cosmonauts were a l r e a d y c o n f i d e n t l y moving about i n s i d e the spacecraft. The p r o c e s s e s o f a d a p t a t i o n t o w e i g h t l e s s n e s s were m a n i f e s t e d

i n t h e area of t h e v e g e t a t i v e s p h e r e as w e l l . Thus, f o r example, p u l s e frequency d u r i n g t h e t h i r d t o s i x t h o r b i t s had a l r e a d y reached p r e f l i g h t l e v e l s and t h e n remained a t a lower l e v e l . P u l s e and r e s p i r a t i o n frequency and e l e c t r o c a r d i o g r a m i n d i c e s had s t a b i l i z e d by t h e t h i r d t o f o u r t h d a y of f l i g h t . I n t h i s c a s e , t h e s y s t o l i c f r e q u e n c y of A . G . Nikolayev varded w i t h i n t h e r a n g e of

8 0 , and t h a t o f V . I .

Sevast'yanov - 60 - 70 beats p e r m i n u t e , n a t u r a l l y i n c r e a s i n g when p e r f o r m i n g p h y s i c a l e x e r c i s e s , as w e l l as d u r i n g c e r t a i n complex experiments. Pulse frequency d e c r e a s e d somewhat d u r i n g s l e e p . It i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e

t h a t A. G. Nikolayev's p u l s e , compared t o h i s f i r s t f l i g h t i n the V 0 s t o k - 3 ~ ~ and d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t o f t h e "Soyuz-9" s p a c e c r a f t , was somewhat l o w e r d u r i n g comparable l e g s o f t h e f l i g h t . A r t e r i a l p r e s s u r e a t r e s t h a r d l y v a r i e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e f l i g h t . The r e a c t i o n of t h e h e a r t t o s t a n d a r d p h y s i c a l l o a d s d i d n o t u n d e r g o any a p p r e c i able changes throughout t h e f l i g h t .

The computer complex o f t h e Space Flight Control Center continuously p r o c e s s e d t h e d a t a r e c e i v e d from "Soyuz-9. "

The cosmonauts r e p o r t e d t h a t , d u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l phase o f t h e f l i g h t when t h e y a b r u p t l y i n c l i n e d t h e i r body o r h e a d , t h e y e x p e r i enced a s e n s a t i o n s i m i l a r t o t h a t which t h e y f e l t on t h e ground d u r i n g v e s t i b u l a r l o a d s , which a p p a r e n t l y i n d i c a t e s some d e c r e a s e i n t h e t h r e s h o l d of v e s t i b u l a r r e s p o n s e s d u r i n g w e i g h t l e s s n e s s . T h e i r a p p e t i t e d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t was good.

T h i r s t was somewhat

r e d u c e d . The amount of w a t e r consumed ( t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e water i n t h e i r f o o d ) was e q u a l t o 1 . 6 - 1 . 8 l i t e r s p e r d a y . The l i f e s u p p o r t s y s t e m s of t h e 1'Soyuz-911 s p a c e c r a f t e f f i c i e n t l y

maintained the given c o n d i t i o n s of gaseous composition, temperature j h u m i d i t y and a t m o s p h e r i c p r e s s u r e i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t c o m p a r t m e n t s . The cosmonauts were p r o v i d e d w i t h f o o d i n t h e form o f n a t u r a l p r o d u c t s and t h e a v e r a g e d a i l y c a l o r i c c o n t e n t o f t h e i r r a t i o n s was a b o u t 2600 k i l o c a l o r i e s . The s p a c e c r a f t c o n t a i n e d a f o o d h e a t e r . The cosmon a u t s n o t e d t h e f a v o r a b l e e f f e c t of h a v i n g h o t c o f f e e i n t h e morning. F o r l u n c h t h e y u s u a l l y h e a t e d up s u c h common f i r s t c o u r s e s as c o o k ' s

soup or green borscht. Rational structuring of the work-rest cycle played an important role in maintaining efficiency. Valuable data were obtained during postflight observation and examination of the cosmonauts. Marked changes in the motor sphere were detected in the cosmonauts on the day of landing. Their sensations were similar to those observed during the effects of G-forces of 2 - 2.5 on the centrifuge. The head, extremities and other parts of the body seemed unusually heavy, and the cosmonauts felt their weight. This condition continued for about two to three days. Statics and movements had practically returned to normal by the tenth day after return to Earth. And generally, the changes in physiological functions had basically returned to normal within ten days after the flight. Thus, scientists concluded that adaptation to the ordinary conditions of existence on the ground after prolonged periods of weightlessness proceeds with certain difficulties, and is apparently achieved by greater stress on the physiological systems than adaptation to weightlessness. Maneuvering and Navigation Measurements The working day of the crew usually comprises 14 - 16 hours. Besides the medical and biological investigations, further testing of spacecraft manual control systems and navigation instruments was carried out during the flight, and complex checking and testing of practically all onboard systems were accomplished under the conditions of prolonged space flight. The cosmonauts corrected their orbit three times using the manual attitude control system. As already noted, the "Soyuz" spacecraft may be maneuvered automatically, by commands from ground control, and with the aid of manual control. The latter method was tested

"Soyuz-9" commander A . G . N i k o l a y e v ( f o r e g r o u n d J and f l i g h t e n g i n e e r V. I . S e v a s t ' y a n o v i n t h e c a b i n o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t . e s p e c i a l l y c a r e f u l l y i n p r e c e d i n g f l i g h t s . Moreover, t h e c o s m o n a u t s , o b s e r v i n g t h e E a r t h w i t h t h e a i d of t h e o p t i c a l s i g h t i n g d e v i c e , o r i e n t e d t h e s p a c e c r a f t manually. The a u t o m a t i c s y s t e m was t h e n s w i t c h e d o n .

The g y r o s c o p i c

i n s t r u m e n t s "held" t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n i t s i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n , and t h e p o w e r f u l r o c k e t e n g i n e f i r e d a t t h e g i v e n moment upon command from t h e programming-timing u n i t . The s p a c e c r a f t t r a n s f e r r e d t o h i g h e r o r b i t s , ensuring such a prolonged f l i g h t . The dynamics o f o r b i t a l f l i g h t and t h e program of s c i e n t i f i c

experiments r e q u i r e d t h a t t h e cosmonauts s t a b i l i z e t h e s p a c e c r a f t p e r i o d i c a l l y w i t h r e s p e c t t o a g i v e n d i r e c t i o n toward a s e l e c t e d s t a r o r some ground r e f e r e n c e p o i n t and t h a t t h e y t h e spacec r a f t t o w a r d t h e Sun i n o r d e r t h a t t h e s o l a r b a t t e r i e s be exposed t o

a c o n t i n u o u s luminous f l u x f o r a prolonged p e r i o d . I n t h i s c a s e , s p e c i a l s i g n i f i c a n c e was g i v e n t o d e v e l o p i n g methods of autonomous navigation. During t h e f l i g h t of t h e "Soyuz-9" s p a c e c r a f t , t h e crew r e p e a t e d l y made n a v i g a t i o n measurements, u s i n g i n p a r t i c u l a r , a s t a r s e n s o r of new d e s i g n . The cosmonauts c a l c u l a t e d t h e o r b i t a l parameters and g e o g r a p h i c a l l a t i t u d e of t h e p o i n t above which t h e spacec r a f t was f l y i n g a t t h e moment from t h e p o s i t i o n of a s e l e c t e d s t a r above t h e h o r i z o n . The d i f f i c u l t y of making such measurements i s t h a t t h e s p a c e c r a f t i s moving c o n t i n u o u s l y and, c o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e measured a n g l e s a l s o " d r i f t . " T h e r e f o r e , t h e measurements must be made many times. The experiment w i t h t h e s t a r s e n s o r was performed d u r i n g one o f t h e working days f o r two whole o r b i t s .

I n view of t h e complexity of t h e measurements, communication was n o t maintained w i t h t h e spacec r a f t during t h i s period. A f t e r r e c e i v i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s from ground c o n t r o l t o perform t h i s experiment, t h e cosmonauts f i r s t t u r n e d t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t i n a d i r e c t i o n o p p o s i t e t h e Sun. The s t a r Vega i n t h e c o n s t e l l a t i o n Lyra, s e l e c t e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e program, was t h e n found. I n summer, t h e Sun and Vega a r e l o c a t e d i n o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e Earth. The l a r g e and b r i g h t s t a r Vega i s c l e a r l y d i s t i n g u i s h e d a g a i n s t t h e n i g h t s k y . T h e r e f o r e , t h i s s t a r was s e l e c t e d . Having found Vega, t h e cosmonauts t u r n e d t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i t h t h e a i d o f t h e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l j e t s , s o t h a t t h e s t a r came w i t h i n t h e , f i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e s t a r s e n s o r . The d e s i g n of t h e s e n s o r p e r m i t s i t s a d j u s t m e n t t.o a s p e c i f i c magnitude of a c e l e s t i a l body. I n t h e g i v e n c a s e , it was a d j u s t e d t o Vega and, c o n s e q u e n t l y , d i d n o t respond t o o t h e r l i g h t s o u r c e s o f g r e a t e r o r l e s s e r magnitude. The i n s c r i p t i o n "Lock-on"

l i t up, c o n f i r m i n g t h e r e l i a b l e opera-

t i o n of t h e s e n s o r . This e x p e r i m e n t a l d e v i c e on t h e "Soyuz-9" spacec r a f t was n o t connected t o t h e c o n t r o l s y s t e m s . T h e r e f o r e , keeping '

t h e s t a r i n t h e c e n t e r of t h e f i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e s e n s o r , t h e

cosmonauts s t a b i l i z e d t h e s p a c e c r a f t manually. Moreover, t h e y s i m u l t a n e o u s l y photographed t h e t e c h n i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e i n s t r u m e n t under t h e r e a l c o n d i t i o n s of s p a c e f l i g h t . The s p a c e c r a f t p a s s e s t o t h e d a y l i g h t s i d e of E a r t h . However, o r i e n t a t i o n on Vega c o n t i n u e s t o be m a i n t a i n e d . A s t r i p of t h e b r i g h t l y i l l u m i n a t e d E a r t h f a l l s i n t o t h e f i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e s e n s o r . The i n s c r i p t i o n "Forbidden" l i g h t s up i m m e d i a t e l y . T h i s means t h a t t h e s e n s o r h a s responded c o r r e c t l y t o e x t r a n e o u s e m i s s i o n s , r e g i s t e r i n g only t h e g i v e n s t a r . Henceforth, i t w i l l " n o t i c e " o n l y Vega. The cosmonauts t r a n s f e r s t a b i l i z a t i o n c o n t r o l of t h e s p a c e c r a f t

t o t h e g y r o s c o p i c i n s t r u m e n t s , which must now "hold" t h e s t a r i n t h e f i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e s e n s o r . However, due t o p r e c e s s i o n , t h e gyroscopes " d r i f t away" from t h e i r i n i t i a l p o s i t i o n w i t h i n a s p e c i f i c t i m e i n t e r v a l . The e x t e n t of t h i s " d r i f t i n g , " which leads t o d i s r u p t i o n of p r e c i s e a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t , i s one o f t h e most i m p o r t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e i n s t r u m e n t . T h e r e f o r e , t h e cosmonauts c a r e f u l l y r e c o r d e d even t h e s l i g h t e s t " d r i f t i n g " of Vega from t h e c e n t r a l f i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e s e n s o r d u r i n g prolonged g y r o s c o p i c s t a b i l i z a t i o n of t h e " S O ~ U Z - -s ~ p a~c' e c r a f t . The h i g h a c c u r a c y o f t h e new i n s t r u m e n t confirmed t h e c o r r e c t n e s s o f t h e d e s i g n s o l u t i o n s f o r f u t u r e n a v i g a t i o n systems. What importance does t h i s have f o r t h e f u t u r e development of

space f l i g h t t e c h n o l o g y ? Autonomous n a v i g a t i o n a i d s p e r m i t c a l c u l a t i o n of o r b i t a l p a r a m e t e r s by i n s t r u m e n t s and d e v i c e s on board t h e s p a c e c r a f t . I n t h i s c a s e , t h e a i d of t h e ground command m o n i t o r i n g complex i s n o t required. I n p r a c t i c e , ground c o n t r o l may o b s e r v e t h e s p a c e c r a f t o n l y w i t h i n t h e zone of r a d i o v i s i b i l i t y . During prolonged i n t e r p l a n e t a r y f l i g h t s , r a d i o t r a n s m i t t e r s may f a i l and r a d i o communications may b e 86

/8 2 -

d i s r u p t e d by magnetic storms induced by s o l a r f l a r e s . Moreover, t a r g e t d e s i g n a t i o n s from ground c o n t r o l may n o t always a r r i v e i n time. For example, passage of a r a d i o s i g n a l from t h e r e g i o n o f Venus t o E a r t h and r e t u r n , even w i t h t h e most f a v o r a b l e p o s i t i o n of them, r e q u i r e s more t h a n f o u r m i n u t e s . However, t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' s p o s i t i o n i n space may b e c a l c u l a t e d w i t h h i g h p r e c i s i o n w i t h t h e a i d of a s p e c i a l onboard s e x t a n t . T h i s i n s t r u m e n t i s used i n combination w i t h o t h e r n a v i g a t i o n a i d s : s o l a r and s t a r s e n s o r s , t h e cosmonautls o p t i c a l s i g h t i n g d e v i c e and o t h e r systems. During t h e f l i g h t o f t h e "Soyuz-9" s p a c e c r a f t , t h e p o s s i b i l i t y was checked of o r i e n t a t i o n by o t h e r t h a n t h e most p o p u l a r s t a r s , S i r i u s and Canopus, i n cosmonautics. Angular d i s t a n c e was a l s o c a l c u l a t e d by A r c t u r u s i n t h e c o n s t e l l a t i o n BoGtes, Deneb i n t h e c o n s t e l l a t i o n Cygnus, and c e r t a i n o t h e r s . The s e a r c h f o r them was carried o u t a t d i f f e r e n t times o f day d u r i n g passage of t h e spacec r a f t t h r o u g h t h e t e r m i n a t o r - t h e boundary of l i g h t and shadow. After t h e cosmonaut, by f i r i n g t h e j e t t h r u s t e r s , had ''led" t h e

s t a r i n t o t h e f i e l d of v i s i o n of t h e s t a r s e n s o r , t h e s p a c e c r a f t was s t a b i l i z e d . Sometimes t h i s p o s i t i o n was m a i n t a i n e d f o r a n e n t i r e o r b i t , and t h e n t h e s t a r a g a i n " f e l l " i n t o t h e s t a r t r a c k e r . Moreover, t h e cosmonauts c a l c u l a t e d t h e i r o r b i t a l e l e m e n t s by g i v e n ground r e f e r e n c e p o i n t s - f o r example, b y t h e most c h a r a c t e r i s t i c lakes and mountain r i d g e s of A f r i c a and South America. I n d o i n g s o , one cosmonaut u s u a l l y o r i e n t e d t h e s p a c e c r a f t , o b s e r v i n g t h e E a r t h w i t h t h e a i d of t h e o p t i c a l s i g h t i n g d e v i c e , and t h e o t h e r would make t h e n a v i g a t i o n a l c a l c u l a t i o n s . T h i s method may b e u s e f u l i n t h e f u t u r e when a s p a c e c r a f t i s r e t u r n i n g t o E a r t h from l o n g i n t e r p l a n e t a r y voyages, as w e l l as d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n s on l o n g - d u r a t i o n o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . The n a v i g a t i o n experiments i n d i c a t e d t h e broad p o s s i b i l i t i e s of t h e o r i e n t a t i o n and a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l systems of t h e "Soyuz-9" s p a c e c r a f t

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Investigations of Importance to the National Economy During the flight, the crew completed an extensive program of scientific investigations of space and carried out a number of interesting experiments and observations of importance to the national econom.Y Thus,photography of the Earth's

analysis permits refinement of the main characteristics of mountain formations and possible regions of mineral deposits from them. Photography of sea expanses, carried out in different regions of the spectrum, aids in determination of current propagation, accumulations of zooplankton, and determination of the most promising regions of the seas and oceans for fishing. Photography of the snow and ice cover establishes water resources, which is very important for agriculture. The results of recording the distribution of the Earth's cloud cover is of no less practical interest. Thus, during this flight multiple investigations of the meteorological characteristics of the atmosphere and western part of the Indian Ocean were conducted for the first time. This region was /84 "inspected" simultaneously from an altitude of more than 600 kilometers by the "Meteor" satellite, by the "Soyuz-9" spacecraft, and by the scientific research vessel "Akademik Shirshov," which carried out soundings of the atmosphere with meteorological sounding balloons. The investigations will aid more accurate forecasting of the weather phenomena of our planet. It should be noted that successful completion of the space flight was due to a great extent to the well-coordinated work of the ground command monitoring complex, the flight control center, and

f l o a t i n g s c i e n t i f i c m o n i t o r i n g s t a t i o n s , headed by t h e v e s s e l "Kosmonaut V l a d i m i r Komarov." T h i s f l i g h t demonstrated t h a t modern space technology r e l i a b l y e n s u r e s t h e cosmonauts' performance of a l a r g e volume o f s c i e n t i f i c and p r a c t i c a l o p e r a t i o n s d u r i n g o r b i t a l f l i g h t s of unprecedented d u r a t i o n .

THE FIRST ORBITAL STATION OF LONG DURATION I S I N SPACE

"Salyut" I s I n O r b i t Completion of t h e work of t h e 24th Congress of t h e CPSU, which noted t h e p r o s p e c t s f o r development of o u r c o u n t r y d u r i n g t h e Ninth Five-Year P l a n , c o i n c i d e d w i t h a h i s t o r i c a l d a t e : 1 0 y e a r s ago S o v i e t c i t i z e n Yu. A. Gagarin completed a f l i g h t i n t o space i n t h e l e g e n d a r y "Vostok" s p a c e c r a f t , a f l i g h t which opened t h e way t o t h e s t a r s f o r mankind. Only t e n y e a r s have passed. The s p a c e i n d u s t r y i s now i n t h e s e r v i c e of t h e p e o p l e and c o n t r i b u t e s t o d i s c o v e r y of new s e c r e t s o f t h e Universe and t o t h e development of s c i e n c e and t h e n a t i o n a l economy. Space v e h i c l e s have become more complex, more roomy, and more modernized. They have been equipped w i t h new a p p a r a t u s and s y s t e m s f o r performing a n e x t e n s i v e complex of e x p e r i m e n t s . I

On t h a t day, when p e o p l e were r e c a l l i n g t h e e x p l o i t of Yu. A . Gagarin and n o t i n g 1 2 A p r i l as t h e Day of Cosmonautics, l a s t - m i n u t e p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r a r o u t i n e f l i g h t were underway a t t h e Baykonur Cosmodrome... A gradiose structure

-a

new powerful l a u n c h r o c k e t and an o b j e c t of enormous dimensions, covered by shrouds, i s on t h e l a u n c h pad. The e n g i n e e r s c a l l it simply a "payload'' o r space o b j e c t . A new envoy t o space i s hidden behind t h e s h r o u d s . Who i s he?

...On

1 9 A p r i l 1971, t h e r o a r of powerful e n g i n e s a g a i n awakens t h e Kazakh S t e p p e s , covered t h i s t i m e by b r i g h t m u l t i c o l o r e d t u l i p s .

T h i s r o a r was c o n s i d e r a b l y more powerful t h a n p r e v i o u s l y , and no

wonder: a heavy v e h i c l e about 20 meters i n l e n g t h i s b e i n g launched i n t o space! And w i t h i n a s h o r t p e r i o d , Yu. B. L e v i t a n , announcer of A l l Union Radio, read t h e f i r s t l i n e s of a new TASS communication: " I n accordance w i t h t h e program for i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f s p a c e , on 19 A p r i l 1 9 7 1 t h e o r b i t a l s c i e n t i f i c s t a t i o n ' S a l y u t ' was launched... The purpose o f l a u n c h i n g t h e s t a t i o n i s t o t e s t t h e d e s i g n e l e m e n t s o f onboard systems and c a r r y o u t s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and experiments during space f l i g h t . " The l o n g - d u r a t i o n o r b i t a l s c i e n t i f i c s t a t i o n " S a l y u t " i s t a k i n g a n examination i n s p a c e f l i g h t . The o p e r a t i o n of t h e onboard systems, u n i t s , and s c i e n t i f i c equipment i s b e i n g checked. According t o t e l e metry data, e v e r y t h i n g i s i n o r d e r . The o r b i t i s c o r r e c t e d a t t h e c a l c u l a t e d t i m e .

The s t a t i o n i s

c o n t r o l l e d w i t h t h e a i d of a n e x t e n s i v e network o f m o n i t o r i n g s t a t i o n s , l o c a t e d throughout t h e t e r r i t o r y of our c o u n t r y . The s h i p s o f t h e USSR Academy of S c i e n c e s , t h e "Morzhovets," "Kegostrov" and "Akademik Sergey Korolev," l o c a t e d i n t h e A t l a n t i c Ocean, a l s o conduct j o i n t operations with t h e "Salyut" s t a t i o n . But i t w i l l soon t a k e on board i t s f i r s t - c r e w . The world i s e x c i t e d l y f o l lowing t h e b e g i n n i n g of a new s p a c e p r e m i e r e The s t a t i o n i s now o p e r a t i n g i n t h e a u t o m a t i c mode.

...

Call S i g n s are " G r a n i t "

Four days l a t e r , on 23 A p r i l , a new launch! The "Soyuz-10" s p a c e c r a f t i s i n j e c t e d i n t o t h e c a l c u l a t e d o r b i t w i t h a crew cons i s t i n g o f well-known space c o n q u e r e r s pilot-cosmonauts of t h e USSR V. A. S h a t a l o v , A. S. Yeliseyev and a new r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e cosmonaut detachment, N . N. Rukavishnikov. T h i s i s t h e f i r s t manned f l i g h t o f t h e new s p a c e decade!

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The cosmonauts c a r r y o u t t h e n e c e s s a r y p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e

s p a c e c r a f t f o r j o i n t experiments w i t h t h e "Salyut" s t a t i o n , maneuver i n o r b i t and check t h e s y s t e m s . "Granit" - " T h i s i s ' Z a r y a . ' Over!" i s heard o v e r t h e l o u d s p e a k e r s i n t h e Computer C o o r d i n a t i o n C e n t e r and i n t h e F l i g h t C o n t r o l C e n t e r .

Thousands of p e o p l e are t a k i n g p a r t i n c r e a t i o n o f t h e s p a c e o b j e c t and p r e p a r a t i o n o f i t f o r launch. P a r t of them i n t h e shops, l a b o r a t o r i e s and d e s i g n bureaus are a l r e a d y engaged i n a new p r o j e c t - t h e y are p r e p a r i n g new s p a c e c r a f t . O t h e r s began work a f t e r t h e launch these are t h e b a l l i s t i c s e x p e r t s , t e l e m e t r y , and r a d i o s p e c i a l i s t s . But all o f them a r e caught up i n t h e e x c i t e m e n t and p r i d e i n t h e might o f o u r technology and i n t h e beauty and grandeur of man.

On 24 A p r i l 1971, one d a y a f t e r l a u n c h , t h e "Soyuz-10" s p a c e c r a f t approaches t o w i t h i n 1 8 0 m e t e r s of t h e " S a l y u t " s t a t i o n . The crew t h e n takes o v e r c o n t r o l . Approach, mooring and, f i n a l l y , docking t a k e p l a c e ! Moscow t i m e i s 4 h o u r s 47 m i n u t e s . The f l i g h t o f t h e s t a t i o n - s p a c e c r a f t system c o n t i n u e s f o r 5 hours 30 minutes i n docking mode. During t h i s t i m e , t h e most i m p o r t a n t o p e r a t i o n s i n checking t h e onboard systems were performed, t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f o r i e n t a t i o n and c o n t r o l of t h e complex were a n a l y z e d , and complex t e c h n i c a l experiments were c a r r i e d o u t . A p i c t u r e of t h e " S a l y u t " s t a t i o n and i t s i n d i v i d u a l s t r u c t u r a l elements i s t r a n s m i t t e d t o Earth with t h e a i d of t e l e v i s i o n cameras. F i n a l l y , w e see t h e v e h i c l e s s e p a r a t e and llSoyuz-lO" moves away from t h e s t a t i o n . The scheduled program o f experiments has been completed and o p e r a t i o n s are b e i n g c a r r i e d o u t i n p r e p a r a t i o n f o r r e t u r n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t t o E a r t h . Next day, on 25 A p r i l a t 2 hours 4 0 m i n u t e s , t h e s p a c e c r a f t made a s o f t l a n d i n g i n t h e c a l c u l a t e d r e g i o n . S p e c i a l i s t s of t h e s e a r c h group, s p o r t s commissars, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e p r e s s and f r i e n d s embrace t h e crew of llSoyuz-lO.l' The f l i g h t has been completed and t h e program of scheduled i n v e s t i g a t i o n s has been f u l f i l l e d , b u t t h e bold experiments w i t h t h e " S a l y u t " s t a t i o n w i l l b e c o n t i n u e d and v e r y soon

...

I n t o Space Toward t h e S t a t i o n May, 1971. " S a l y u t " c o n t i n u e s i t s f l i g h t , The onboard systems are b e i n g checked. Upon command from ground c o n t r o l , t h e s c i e n t i f i c equipment r e c o r d s t h e s i t u a t i o n i n n e a r s p a c e . By 7 May t h e s t a t i o n has completed 295 r e v o l u t i o n s around t h e E a r t h . Within t h e f o l l o w i n g days of t h e week, it w i l l complete a n o t h e r 200 o r b i t s . The p a r a m e t e r s on t h e s t a t i o n are normal: t e m p e r a t u r e i s 1 5 O C and p r e s s u r e i s 920 mm Hg. The s t a t i o n i s r e a d y t o r e c e i v e t h e new envoys of E a r t h . And t h e days on E a r t h are busy ones: t h e crew of "Soyuz-10" i s g i v i n g t h e r e s u l t s of t h e i r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and i m p r e s s i o n s t o t h e crew of "Soyuz-11." P r o c e s s i n g and a n a l y s i s of t e l e m e t r y on t h e f l i g h t of t h e "Soyuz-10" s p a c e c r a f t have been completed and p r e p a r a t i o n s are underway f o r a new launch. I n c i d e n t a l l y , t h e f a m i l y of space envoys i s e v e r expanding. Three v e h i c l e s two S o v i e t and one American a r e r u s h i n g toward Mars i n t h e y e a r of t h e g r e a t o p p o s i t i o n . The "Mars-3" probe c a r r i e s on board, a l o n g w i t h S o v i e t equipment, French a p p a r a t u s , p r e p a r e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e program of i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n . The mass o f t h e "Mars-2" and "Mars-3" p r o b e s i s i m p r e s s i v e - 4.5 tons!

The S o v i e t a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e "Lunokhod-1" c o n t i n u e s i t s work on t h e Moon.

S i x months o f f r u i t f u l work -much more t h a n t h e s p e c i a l i s t s c a l c u l a t e d . And t h e l u n a r r o v i n g v e h i c l e c o n t i n u e s t o move a b o u t , i t s s c i e n t i f i c equipment f u n c t i o n s f a u l t l e s s l y , and a mass of new and unique data i s t r a n s m i t t e d ! Automatic v e h i c l e s have an i m p o r t a n t f u t u r e i n s t u d y i n g d i f f i c u l t - t o - r e a c h r e g i o n s of t h e Universe. Economically, a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s are more advantageous; f u r t h e r m o r e , t h e y have a h i g h i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e n t , are r e l i a b l e , and e f f i c i e n t . The c o o p e r a t i o n of man and a u t o m a t i c d e v i c e s i s i n c r e a s i n g . There i s no c o n f l i c t h e r e , b u t rather r a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n and i n t e l l i g e n t s t r a t e g y and t a c t i c s of i n v e s t i g a t i o n and conquest of space. S p r i n g i n s p a c e i s ending and t h e h o t summer i s beginning: l a u n c h e s and new a s s a u l t p o s i t i o n s .

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"Soyuz-11" i s f l y i n g above t h e Earth. T h i s o c c u r r e d on 6 June a t 7 h o u r s 55 minutes Moscow t i m e . The new s p a c e c r a f t was i n j e c t e d i n t o a low o r b i t . The crew c o n s i s t s of s p a c e c r a f t commander G . T. Dobrovol'skiy (cosmonaut-24), f l i g h t e n g i n e e r pilot-cosmonaut of t h e USSR V. N. Volkov and i n v e s t i g a t o r - e n g i n e e r V. I. Patsayev (cosmonaut2 5 ) . The m i s s i o n o f t h i s crew i s t o go i n t o space t o t h e "Salyut" s t a t i o n f o r prolonged o p e r a t i o n s . A Tour of t h e "Salyut"

On 7 June 1971 t h e manned s t a t i o n llSalyutll was c r e a t e d and began t o move i n a low o r b i t . At 1 0 hours 45 minutes Moscow t i m e , t h e crew of t h e "Soyuz-11" s p a c e c r a f t e n t e r e d t h e compartment of t h e s c i e n t i f i c s t a t i o n a f t e r t h e y e h i c l e s had docked and a l l systems were checked. The most important e n g i n e e r i n g and t e c h n i c a l problem of d e l i v e r i n g a crew by t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t t o a s c i e n t i f i c s t a t i o n - a n E a r t h s a t e l l i t e - was s o l v e d f o r t h e f i r s t time. The cosmonauts e n t e r e d t h e s t a t i o n compartment through a n i n t e r n a l passage.

L e t ' s t a k e a b r i e f t o u r of t h e " S a l y u t " w i t h them. Before e n t e r i n g t h e s t a t i o n , i t i s n e c e s s a r y , w h i l e s t i l l i n t h e llSoyuz" t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t , t o check t h e p r e s s u r i z a t i o n o f t h e compartments and o p e r a t i o n of t h e onboard systems o f t h e s t a t i o n , t h e m i c r o c l i m a t e parameters i n t h e compartments o f t h e docked v e h i c l e s , t o e q u a l i z e p r e s s u r e , open t h e cover of t h e sealed h a t c h c o n n e c t i n g them and t h e n e n t e r t h e t r a n s f e r compartment. A number o f c o n t r o l c o n s o l e s and p a r t of t h e s c i e n t i f i c a s t r o p h y s i c s equipment a r e l o c a t e d i n t h i s compartment. T h i s i s one of t h e l i v i n g compartments of t h e s t a t i o n and, t h e r e f o r e , i t s diameter i s q u i t e l a r g e , o f t h e o r d e r of two meters. ' The h u l l w i t h i t s p o r t h o l e s i s p r e s s u r i z e d , t h e i n t e r i o r i s covered w i t h d e c o r a t i v e materials, and t h e a n t e n n a s , s o l a r b a t t e r i e s and s c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s a r e mounted on t h e o u t s i d e . The cosmonauts e n t e r t h e working compartment t h r o u g h a s p e c i a l

h a t c h . A p l a t f o r m i s l o c a t e d beyond t h e h a t c h . On it faci.ng t h e h a t c h are two cosmonauts i n t h e i r work seats. There are s e v e r a l

consoles and instrument panels in front of them and command-signalling devices and equipment to the sides. The compartment is located in the center part of the station and is the main compartment. This is essentially a comfortable laboratory, suitable for prolonged scientific investigations in the station and control of it. The cosmonauts can carry out the necessary complex of physical exercises, eat and rest here. Inside the hull there are water and food supplies in special containers, life support systems, radio instruments, equipment for controlling the complex, an electric power supply, devices for moving about, attachment and physical training of the crew, and scientific and experimental equipment. The compartment is equipped with 12 portholes with removable equipment for orientation and navigation, photography, and visual observations. The places for the cosmonauts to work and rest are comfortable. The sleeping arrangement of the station permits the sleeper to strap himself into a comfortable posture. An onboard medicine chest is located in the compartment.

Humidity, temperature, and pressure are maintained at normal levels, which permits the cosmonauts in the work compartment to wear ordinary light overalls without spacesuits. Part of the scientific equipment and the main onboard equipment, powering the station, are installed in this compartment.

A station is located near the equipment compartment for investigating the plasma parameters around the spacecraft. There are also two additional work sites. The antennas and sensors are located outside the work compartment. The equipment compartment is arranged behind the work compartment. It is unpressurized and consists of a supporting skirt on which are located antennas, ion sensors, assemblies of the heat regulating system and the engine compartment, which is linked to the entire system of servomechanisms, permitting maneuvering of the station. The fuel tanks, television cameras for external viewing, and solar battery panels are located in the engine compartment.

The l o n g - d u r a t i o n o r b i t a l s t a t i o n " S a l y u t " i s a m u l t i p u r p o s e space r e s e a r c h l a b o r a t o r y f o r prolonged i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and r o t a t i o n of crews. The s c i e n t i f i c equipment and i n s t r u m e n t s i n s t a l l e d i n t h e s t a t i o n make i t p o s s i b l e t o c a r r y o u t a n e x t e n s i v e complex of a s t r o p h y s i c a l , p h y s i c o t e c h n i c a l and m e d i c a l - b i o l o g i c a l experiments, as w e l l as t o develop e x p e r i m e n t a l methods of c o n t r o l l i n g s y s t e m s o f the orbital station. E x t e r n a l l y , "Salyut" l o o k s i m p r e s s i v e : t h e r e i s a cone, on t h e end of which i s t h e docking u n i t , t h e n a: c y l i n d e r two meters i n diameter, t h e n expansion of t h e c y l i n d e r t o t h r e e meters, t h e n expans i o n t o approximately f o u r meters, and, f i n a l l y a s p h e r i c a l bottom and cone - t h e f u e l t a n k s , and behind them, t h e engine. Four s o l a r b a t t e r y p a n e l s , a n t e n n a s , alid equipment are l o c a t e d on t h e h u l l . The t o t a l l e n g t h of t h e s t a t i o n i s about 20 meters, and i t s volume i s a l m o s t 1 0 0 c u b i c meters. The mass of t h e "Soyuz"-"Salyut" s y s t e m i s a r e c o r d f o r manned o b j e c t s i n o r b i t - about 25 t o n s . Prolonged o p e r a t i o n of t h e bases t a t i o n i s e n s u r e d by t h e l a r g e r e s o u r c e s f o r o p e r a t i o n o f t h e s y s t e m s , a s s e m b l i e s , and equipment, e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e which must f u n c t i o n continuously

The g r a n d e u r o f t h e " s p a c e dwelling,i1 i n j e c t e d i n t o t h e low

o r b i t of a n E a r t h s a t e l l i t e , i s s t r i k i n g . It somewhat resembles a modern submarine. It has t h e same p r e s s u r i z e d compartments, t r a n s f e r h a t c h e s , work s i t e s w i t h t h e c o n s o l e s f o r d i f f e r e n t equipment, b u t , . o f c o u r s e , t h e work compartment i s more s p a c i o u s t h a n t h a t i n a submarine. The cosmonauts a l s o have a t t h e i r d i s p o s a l t h e compartments of t h e "Soyuzl' t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t , i n which are l o c a t e d p a r t ' of t h e s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h a p p a r a t u s and equipment. They may a l s o work and r e s t i n t h e s e compartments.

Watch i n Space The crew has a r r i v e d a t t h e " S a l y u t " s p a c e s t a t i o n and has

t a k e n o v e r c o n t r o l of t h e f l i g h t themselves - t h i s e x c i t i n g news was r e p o r t e d by t h e newspapers of a l l c o u n t r i e s on t h e evening of 7 June 1 9 7 1 . What i s t h e program o f s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n s and experiments which awaited completion by t h e crew o f t h e "Soyuz-11" s p a c e c r a f t ? F i r s t , t h e r e was thorough checking and t e s t i n g of t h e s t r u c t u r e , assemblies and onboard systems and equipment of t h e " S a l y u t " under c o n d i t i o n s of extended f l i g h t . The s t a t i o n i s new, a f i r s t - b o r n of o u r s p a c e i n d u s t r y , and, t h e r e f o r e , l i k e a new a i r c r a f t o r automobile, e v e r y t h i n g must be checked: t h e e f f i c i e n c y of t h e systems, t h e i r c o n t r o l l a b i l i t y , communications w i t h t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r , and much more. O p e r a t i o n of t h e s e r v i c e systems, which e n s u r e t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e s c i e n t i f i c equipment and l i f e s u p p o r t systems, was checked as e a r l y as A p r i l , when "Salyut" was f u n c t i o n i n g i n t h e a u t o m a t i c mode. It p a s s e d t h e examination on s t r e n g t h and adherence t o s p e c i f i c a t i o n s s u c c e s s f u l l y - t h e m i c r o c l i m a t e p a r a m e t e r s i n t h e compartments a r e normal, t h e power systems a r e a l s o normal, and r a d i o and t e l e v i s i o n communications w i t h ground c o n t r o l are e x c e l l e n t . They may now t u r n t o checking t h e maneuvering q u a l i t i e s of t h e

docked space system. The f i r s t experiments on o r i e n t a t i o n were performed a f t e r docking of t h e "Soyuz-10" s p a c e c r a f t . The program has now been expanded: i t i n c l u d e s experiments on f l i g h t c o n t r o l d i r e c t l y from t h e s t a t i o n , maneuvering i n o r b i t , and t e s t i n g of methods and autonomous a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l f a c i l i t i e s and n a v i g a t i o n of t h e s t a t i o n . O p e r a t i o n s on changing t h e o r b i t had already begun on t h e f o l l o w i n g d a y . By c o r r e c t i n g i t , t h e s t a t i o n i s t r a n s f e r r e d t o a h i g h e r o r b i t . The f i r s t t i m e , t h e mooring and a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l t h r u s t e r s were f i r e d f o r t h i s . The crew observed o p e r a t i o n of t h e t h r u s t e r s : behind t h e windows of t h e p o r t h o l e s t h e y observed t h e f l a r e s and f l i g h t of b r i g h t p a r t i c l e s . After changing t h e p e r i g e e - t h e minimum d i s t a n c e

from Earth they began to carry out a routine task: also had to be raised somewhat.

the apogee

The second correction was made on the following day. We are reporting: the engines fired for 73 seconds!"

"Zarya!"

the station is flying high above the Everything is normal Earth in optimum orbit. Correction of it, obviously, does not occur at once. The complex is easy to control, and it is now necessary to orient the solar battery panels toward the Sun. The cosmonauts also perform this operation manually. The attitude control systems are operating normally. Preparations for conducting scientific investigations began on the first day that the cosmonauts arrived at "Salyut." But the scientific equipment must first be unpacked, adjusted, and prepared for operation. There are many instruments and various systems. A l l preparatory operations required almost three days of work by the crew. By this time, stowing of a number of systems of the "Soyuz-11" spacecraft had been completed - after all, undocking and return to Earth would not take place anytime soon and, consequently, part of the instruments and equipment of the transport spacecraft are not required at present. Their condition may be subsequently monitored by telemetry data. The scientific instruments installed in the "Salyut" station permit extensive investigations of the physical processes and phenomena in the atmosphere and space, observation of celestial bodies, investigation of the radiation and micrometeor situation in space, and study of the various types of cosmic radiation.

A wide-angle optical sighting device

-a

new instrument designed was tested among the for precise orientation on the Sun and planets experiments conducted in the "Salyut" station. While making navigational measurements, the cosmonauts calculated the orbital parameters of the station with the aid of the onboard computer.

Experiments carried out with the aid of the station's gamma telescope are interesting and full of promise for science. The intensity, angular distribution, and energy spectrum of primary cosmic radiation were studied. Moreover, the crew commander switched on the gamma telescope and monitored its operation, while the flight engineer carried out attitude control and stabilization of the station. Experiments were performed on investigating the effect of the space environment on the properties of special optical specimens with the aim of developing gstronomical telescopes, brought out into space beyond the atmosphere to eliminate interference. Interesting data were obtained as a result of investigating different types of radiation, which barely reach the Earth and which are distorted considerably by the atmosphere. Investigation of geological and geographical objects on the Earth's surface, various atmospheric formations and the Earth's snow and ice cover is of great practical importance to develop methods for utilizing these data to solve national economic problems. The Earth is a very convenient object for observations from space. Large areas can be scanned within a very short period of time, and panoramic observations are very easy. Geologists can judge the characteristic features of the structure of Earth's core, oceanographers can observe the water surface and estimate the water resources in the world ocean, icthyologists and fishermen can determine the locations of fish shoals and plankton, and botanists can compile accurate charts of the distribution of vegetation (incidentally, the first such chart was obtained from the photography of the "Zond" probe) from the results o f the investigations. A l l crew members of the orbital station carried out systematic

investigations: they made spectrographs of individual sections of the Earth's surface over the USSR to study natural formations and the water surface, measured the optical characteristics of the atmosphere, photographed various atmospheric formations, and observed the weather

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a l o n g t h e f l i g h t r o u t e . The cosmonauts photographed t h e c l o u d c o v e r i n t h e Volga r e g i o n , and a t e l e v i s i o n s u r v e y was s i m u l t a n e o u s l y made of i t from t h e "Meteor" s a t e l l i t e . They made a s p e c t r a l s u r v e y i n t h e r e g i o n of t h e Caspian Sea i n o r d e r t o u t i l i z e t h e data i n a g r i c u l t u r e , l a n d r e c l a m a t i o n , geodesy and c a r t o g r a p h y . A e r i a l photography of t h e same r e g i o n s was c a r r i e d o u t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y from a i r c r a f t by s c i e n t i s t s of t h e USSR Academy of S c i e n c e s and Leningrad U n i v e r s i t y . Many t h i n g s came i n t o t h e f i e l d o f v i s i o n of t h e a s t r o n a u t s : large burned areas, c y c l o n e s and typhoons. And a l l these a r e o b j e c t s for o b s e r v a t i o n s and i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of t h e cosmonauts. T h i s i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g - man on t h e Earth and i n space i s now h o s t of t h e p l a n e t and he should b e concerned w i t h i t s p r e s e n t and f u t u r e f a t e . The m e d i c a l and b i o l o g i c a l e x p e r i m e n t s , d i r e c t e d toward f u r t h e r s t u d y of t h e e f f e c t of prolonged s p a c e f l i g h t f a c t o r s on t h e human body, and e x p e r i m e n t s t o determine t h e cosmonauts' a b i l i t y t o perform d i f f e r e n t o p e r a t i o n s , and t o s t u d y t h e i r p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o m p a t i b i l i t y i n c l o s e d s p a c e were a n e s p e c i a l l y i m p o r t a n t group of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . Thus began t h e s t a g e of c r e a t i n g l o n g - f u n c t i o n i n g o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . W i l l man l i v e and r e t a i n a h i g h l e v e l of e f f i c i e n c y under these c o n d i t i o n s ? How w i l l t h e p r o c e s s of r e a d a p t a t i o n proceed upon r e t u r n t o E a r t h ? What measures w i l l have t o be t a k e n by p h y s i c i a n s and t e c h n i c i a n s t o i n c r e a s e t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e crew's s t a y i n t h e s t a t i o n ? We know, f o r example, t h a t prolonged exposure t o weightl e s s n e s s may lead t o a number o f s e r i o u s c h a n g e s i n t h e human organism. S o l u t i o n o f t h i s p r c b l e m should proceed b o t h toward i n c r e a s i n g t h e amount of p h y s i c a l t r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s of t h e cosmonauts and toward c r e a t i n g s o - c a l l e d " a r t i f i c i a l g r a v i t y " i n t h e f u t u r e by b r i n g i n g t h e f o r c e of g r a v i t y i n t h e s t a t i o n t o l e v e l s c l o s e t o t h o s e on E a r t h , I n the l a t t e r case, e i t h e r individual sections or the e n t i r e s t a t i o n must b e r o t a t e d a t s p e c i f i c a n g u l a r v e l o c i t i e s . Many o t h e r problems must a l s o b e s o l v e d : problems of t h e everyday l i f e and hygiene of t h e crew d u r i n g f l i g h t , f e e d i n g , s l e e p , r e s t , and c r e a t i o n of c l o s e d

ecological systems which provide complete regeneration of the atmosphere and water in the station. Many of the enumerated problems were included in the program of the manned flight of the "Salyut" s t a t ion ! During the flight of the orbital station, the cosmonauts tested specially created overalls of various designs, permitting them to tolerate weightlessness. Such overalls permit the cosmonauts' bodies and their osteomuscular systems to retain their accustomed Earth load. Due to this, as scientists assume, calcium depletion, which weakens the bone system and which occurs during weightlessness, may be prevented. The cosmonauts approved the new overall designs and stated that they were comfortable and suitable for continuous wear.

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The program of medical and biological investigations, conducted by the first crew of the "Salyut," was extensive. Data on the radiation safety of space flights and problems of dosimetric monitoring were studied, investigations were carried out on the state of the cardiovascular system, functional samples of expiration, gaseous metabolism, and energy expenditures were taken, and the light and contrast sensitivity of the eyes and the psychophysiological state of the cosmonauts were investigated. After completing the large and complex volume of prolonged scientific experiments on board the world's first long-duration orbital station "Salyut," its first crew died tragically upon return to Earth in the "Soyuz-11" transport spacecraft. Spacecraft of this type had made repeated space flights and had safely returned cosmonauts to Earth. However, it is almost impossible to exclude an accident when testing new technology. The heroic exploits of the courageous conquerers of space, G. T. Dobrovol'skiy, V. N. Volkov and V. I. Patsayev will be permanently entered in this history of cosmonautics. The first crew of the "Salyut"

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completed t h e e x t e n s i v e program of s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s t o t h e f u l l e x t e n t and w i t h g r e a t s u c c e s s and f u l f i l l e d t h e m i s s i o n of t h e i r F a t h e r l a n d w i t h honor.

The e f f o r t s of S o v i e t s c i e n t i s t s , d e s i g n e r s , workers, and

courageous e x p e r i m e n t e r s c r e a t e d t h e w o r l d ' s f i r s t l a r g e b u i l d i n g i n a n E a r t h s a t e l l i t e o r b i t . People were able t o work beyond t h e conf i n e s of t h e atmosphere. T h i s b u i l d i n g i s t h a t of a l l mankind. T r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t w i l l b e a b l e t o p r o v i d e r o t a t i o n of s t a t i o n crews, t o f e r r y t h e n e c e s s a r y equipment, and food and water s u p p l i e s t o them, and t o r e p l a c e i n s t r u m e n t s and equipment which break down. The e x c e l l e n t space l a b o r a t o r i e s a r e a t t r a c t i v e t o s c i e n t i s t s . There w i l l be more and more o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . And, D. Dennis, P r e s i d e n t o f t h e French N a t i o n a l Space C e n t e r , i s undoubtedly c o r r e c t when he said i n t h e name of a l l s c i e n t i s t s o f many c o u n t r i e s : "An import a n t s t e p forward has been t a k e n , which i n d i c a t e s a q u a l i t a t i v e l y new phase i n t h e s t u d y and i n v e s t i g a t i o n of s p a c e . . . C r e a t i o n of t h e f i r s t o r b i t a l s t a t i o n d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t what we o n l y r e c e n t l y dreamed about i s becoming r e a l i t y . . . ' I

Yes, dreams do come t r u e !

THE PRINCIPAL METHODS OF DEVELOPING ORBITAL STATIONS

Automatic o r Manned S t a t i o n s ? V a r i o u s d e s i g n s , sometimes v e r y e x o t i c , of f u t u r e space s t a t i o n s are o f t e n found i n t h e c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e . When one becomes familiar w i t h t h e i r d e s c r i p t i o n , many q u e s t i o n s a r i s e . Why does mankind need manned space s t a t i o n s ? Cannot a l l space r e s e a r c h be conducted by a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s a l o n e ? What p o s s i b i l i t i e s do manned space s t a t i o n s open f o r s c i e n t i s t s ? I s i t n o t p o s s i b l e t o manage s p a c e r e s e a r c h w i t h o u t t h e d i r e c t p a r t i c i p a t i o n of man? 101

The appearance of these questions is explained by the rapid development of automatics and telemechanics, improvement of automatic control systems, means of control and telemetry, and by progress in the field of programming and computing devices. In the course of technical progress, individual human functions - reception, storage, transmission, and processing of information - are more and more being handed over to automatic machines. Two organically related aspects must be taken into account when evaluating the role of man in space research. On the one hand, there is the ongoing process of automatic machines replacing man, and in connection with this the range of problemswhicha certain system is capable of solving. On the other hand, the greater the number of automatic machines introduced into the control process and the broader the range of problems solved by them, the more necessary it becomes to integrate their operation, i.e., the relative role of man increases.

It should be noted that there are serious arguments among the proponents of pure automation. They feel that scientific research, for example, study of the parameters of near space, may be accomplished ("and is being accomplished) with the aid of automatic Earth satellites, which have proved themselves as reliable facilities for scientific research in space. As automatic aids for observation and telemetry are further developed, more and more complex investigations can be carried out without the direct participation of man. And what is especially important, automatic equipment can be employed successfully in those cases, when the participation of man in an experiment is impossible or difficult. For example, study of such planets as Saturn, Uranus and Neptune may already be begun with the aid of automatic vehicles, while at the same time, expeditionary flights by man to them with subsequent landing on their surface and take-off are impossible in the foreseeable future. The gravitational forces on these planets are many times greater than those on Earth.

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Investigations of the Moon, Mars and Venus with the aid of automatic stations have already permitted much new information about them to be obtained. Moreover, the cost of launching automatic vehicles is considerably less than that of manned flights. Participation of man in space flights should be regarded as feasible only when it is necessary and justified. Another argument of the proponents of replacing man by automatic machines is the complexity of providing life support for man exposed to the effects of space, which hinders the possibility of a prolonged stay of man in flight. Undoubtedly, the requirement for life support systems for man on board a space station reduces the space available for scientific equipment by those weights and volumes, but at the same time, because of the presence of man, some systems (for example, the attitude control system of stations) may be simplified, and this increases the possibility of installing additional equipment. And it is quite obvious that we can only gain from the presence of man as the weight of space stations in orbit and the time of their active functioning increase, with expansion of the complex of problems solved by them. Man is capable of rapidly analyzing a developing situation, actively interfering in it and taking the necessary actions. Whereas an automatic machine sometimes wins in the speed of "thinking," it can hardly be compared to man in the flexibility and completeness of "thought." The human brain has the ability to generalize, which no automatic machine yet has. Man can carry out rapid and most precise analysis and synthesis of information and select from an enormous 196 amount of diverse information that which he requires at a given moment. The functions of man on board a space station may be varied. Besides observations and transmission of information to Earth, man is also entrusted with the function of monitoring the performance of the flight, maintenance of the complex onboard equipment, exercising of manual flight control and landing on Earth in case of failure of automatic systems and other tasks. 103

Thus, during the flights of the "Soyuz" spacecraft, the cosmonauts not only conducted scientific and technical investigations, maintained communication with Earth and monitored the instrument readings, they also oriented the spacecraft toward the Sun with the aid of the manual control system to ensure optimum power supplies for the onboard instruments. Approach of the "Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5" spacecraft proceeded automatically within the range of the search and guidance radar. Fuqther approach and docking were performed manually by the cosmonauts. Thus, both man and automatic machines actively participated in the creation of the first experimental station. Participation of man in space research increases the efficiency of fulfilling the task due to utilization of his reactions, ability' to analyze information, to draw conclusions, and to make decisions in unexpected situations. The ability of man to select the solution required from among several possible versions simplifies certain components of onboard equipment and their principles of operation. The role of man in monitoring equipment consists of "detecting manfunctions," i.e., man, by using the display systems, should be able to detect and localize the failed component. Man usually combines a number of functions, performing them either simultaneously or in sequence. Man is capable of changing the methods of controlling a system in case some previously unforeseen circumstances occur. An automatic machine has its own, rather ponderable advantages: it is not subject to fatigue, irritability, uncertainty, fear and similar emotions. But only man possesses will, reason, and creativity. These qualities were clearly demonstrated by our cosmonauts and ensured magnificent performance of the complete flight program, which included such complex phases as docking, transfer from spacecraft to spacecraft, controlled descent, etc. Automatic machines do not exclude man from

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the sphere of creative activity, and we are concerned here only with the optimum, most advantageous combination of pzzoperties and qualities of man and machine for best performance of the assigned task. The necessity for man's presence in space should not be understood as his presence in every space vehicle or during every scientific investigation. Creation of manned stations does not exclude, and even assumes, the presence of automatic laboratories during orbits around the Earth. It may be that they will be serviced by cosmonauts, and crew members of orbital stations, using llSoyuz"type spacecraft, will visit them periodically for inspection, readjustment, replacement, ar repair of failed equipment and to retrieve information. The necessity of implementing manned flight should be justified and dictated primarily by the extent and the program of operations, rather than by a desire for an external effect or emotional impressions. There are still many problems in cosmonautics which man can solve, but he should not have to do everything himself. Design Characteristics of Future Space Stations One naturally assumes that, following the first long-duration experimental space station, new stations of various weight, dimensions, and designation with an extended lifetime will appear in low orbits in the near future. Let's try to imagine what kind of stations these will be ana what will be their principal design characteristics. The method of assembly determines the design of a space station. Two methods are more probable. On the ground. In this case, the station is completely assembled on the ground and launched into orbit ready to perform its tasks immediately. In orbit. In this case, the station is assembled in orbit from several individual units, sections, components o r spacecraft, which are orbited in sequence by several launch rockets. The station is

r e a d y t o perform i t s t a s k s a f t e r f i n a l assembly. any w e i g h t , dimensions and t y p e may be created.

Thus, a s t a t i o n of

I n t h e f i r s t c a s e , t h e crew may be e i t h e r i n j e c t e d i n t o o r b i t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h t h e s t a t i o n o r d e l i v e r e d t h e r e s e p a r a t e l y by a n o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t . I n t h e second c a s e , t h e s t a t i o n may be assembled a u t o m a t i c a l l y o r by a s p e c i a l a s s e m b l y - r e p a i r team. T h i s team comp l e t e s assembly and checks t h e assembled s t a t i o n . A f t e r w a r d s , . s p e c i a l s p a c e c r a f t d e l i v e r t h e crew t o t h e s t a t i o n and t h e assembly-repair team may r e t u r n t o E a r t h i n t h e same s p a c e c r a f t . Both methods of c r e a t i n g o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s have t h e i r a d v a n t a g e s and d i s a d v a n t a g e s . Some l o s s e s i n payload weight a r e i n e v i t a b l e d u r i n g o r b i t a l assembly, because e a c h u n i t o r s e c t i o n from which t h e s p a c e s t a t i o n i s assembled must have i t s own onboard systems and e n g i n e s f o r approach. These l o s s e s are i n c r e a s e d i f l i g h t w e i g h t u n i t s o r s e c t i o n s are used i n assembly of a l a r g e s t a t i o n . However, o r b i t a l assembly o f a s t a t i o n p e r m i t s t h e c r e a t i o n o f one of any r e q u i r e d weight o r dimensions u s i n g e x i s t i n g l a u n c h r o c k e t s f o r o r b i t i n j e c t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l u n i t s , whereas i n ground assembly t h e weight and dimensions of t h e s t a t i o n a r e l i m i t e d by t h e t h r u s t o u t p u t of t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t . Moreover, u n s u c c e s s f u l l a u n c h of one of t h e u n i t s does n o t mean a n i n t e r r u p t i o n of t h e e n t i r e program, and l a u n c h may be r e p e a t e d , whereas a n u n s u c c e s s f u l l a u n c h of a s t a t i o n assembled on t h e ground may postpone o r b i t i n g of t h e s t a t i o n f o r a prolonged p e r i o d . It i s obvious t h a t s o - c a l l e d small s t a t i o n s w i l l be c r e a t e d b y t h e method of assembly on t h e ground. The b a s i s of c r e a t i n g large s t a t i o n s , on t h e o t h e r hand, i s t h e method of o r b i t a l assembly. What t h e n a r e "small" and " l a r g e " s t a t i o n s ?

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These concepts are, of course, arbitrary, and we will understand them henceforth as the following. Small stations, weighing from several tons to several tens of tons, are intended for solving more important scientific and national economic problems, which are as similar as possible in nature. The active lifetime of such stations will obviously not exceed several months or a year, and they will be more maneuverable than large stations. Large stations, weighing hundreds of tons, will be designed for solving a broad range of scientific and national economic problems. Stations of this type will have a prolonged active lifetime (up to several years or even tens of years), which will require the latest means for delivery of the crew, equipment and material and technical supplies to the station. The characteristic feature of these stations is that an entire complex of different scientific and national economic problems may be solved on them. What will be the external and internal appearance of future space stations? The external appearance of the station will depend mainly on the method of assembly. By using orbital docking, stations of any weight, dimensions and configurations may be created, with any number of compartments. The compartments from which the space stations will be assembled will obviously be spherical or cylindrical in shape. Such shapes give the greatest weight in a given volume and are convenient for assembly and configuration of the equipment inside them. A station assembled from such sections may have any configuration: cylindrical, spherical, in the form of a hub with spokes, dumbbell, toroidal, etc. Depending on its purpose, the station will consist of different compartments. However, both small and large stations will apparently contain the basic compartments found in f'Soyuzff type spacecraft.

The command compartment (the cosmonauts' cabin in the " S O ~ U Z ~ ~ spacecraft) is a pressurized compartment, designed for disposition of the cosmonauts' work sites and control consoles of the onboard equipment of the station. This same compartment may serve t o return the cosmonauts t o Earth, depending on its design. The laboratory compartment is a pressurized compartment which contains the equipment required t o carry out experiments and scientific investigations, as well as part of the service equipment. The orbital compartment is a pressurized compartment, designed for crew members off duty. This compartment will contain everything necessary for rest and preparation and eating of food. The food stores and life support equipment will also be located here. The compartment will be equipped with a special hatch o r airlock chamber for the cosmonauts t o exit into open space (such as, for example, that on the "Voskhod" spacecraft) and for performing external operations, experiments and scientific investigations outsiee the spacecraft and transfer of the crew and cargo from the transport spacecraft t o the station. The instrument-equipment compartment is designed for disposition of the main part of the service equipment, onboard systems, power sources, fuel supplies for the attitude orientation, stabilization, approach, and correction thrusters. The command, laboratory, and orbital compartments will be equipped with hatches for transfer from one compartment to another. Of course, small stations may consist of other compartments. A l l this depends on their specific purpose. When considering the possible configurations of large stations, preference is usually given to cylindrical or toroidal shapes. However,.these shapes have both advantages and disadvantages. Thus, for example, a cylinder, yielding an ideal geometrical and compositional configuration of a station, has considerable disadvantages for the creation of artificial gravity by rotation about the main

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a x i s of i n e r t i a . The s t a t i o n becomes u n r e l i a b l e when t h e s t a b i l i z a t i o n s y s t e m f a i l s , and t h e motions o f t h e crew lead t o o s c i l l a t i o n s of t h e s t a t i o n . But such s t a t i o n s e a s i l y f i t t h e g e n e r a l c o n t o u r of t h e l a u n c h r o c k e t , which cannot be said of t o r o i d a l s t a t i o n s . However, t h e l a t t e r are v e r y convenient f o r c r e a t i n g a r t i f i c i a l g r a v i t y . S t a t i o n s of t o r o i d a l shape w i l l b e assembled i n o r b i t . Depending on t h e t y p e o f s t a t i o n , t h e number of crew members may v a r y and may even r e a c h s e v e r a l t e n s of p e o p l e . The composition of t h e crew w i l l depend on t h e purpose o f t h e s t a t i o n and may c o n s i s t of pilot-cosmonauts and e n g i n e e r s , who c o n t r o l t h e f l i g h t and perform maintenance, e n g i n e e r - i n v e s t i g a t o r s , p h y s i c i a n s , b i o l o g i s t s , p h y s i c i s t s , astronomers and s c i e n t i s t s of o t h e r s p e c i a l t i e s . The o r b i t a l p a r a m e t e r s of t h e s t a t i o n a r e determined by t h e

problems which i t w i l l s o l v e , a s w e l l as by such f a c t o r s as f u e l e x p e n d i t u r e s f o r o r b i t a l c o r r e c t i o n , e n s u r i n g r e l i a b l e and q u a l i t a t i v e r a d i o and t e l e v i s i o n communication of t h e s t a t i o n w i t h t h e E a r t h , t h e economy o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n communications between t h e s t a t i o n and Earth, e t c . Thus, f o r example, l o w - a l t i t u d e o r b i t s c o n s i d e r a b l y r e d u c e t h e c o s t of s e r v i c i n g a s t a t i o n , s i n c e t h e lower t h e o r b i t , t h e greater t h e payload t h a t can be d e l i v e r e d t o t h e s t a t i o n , u s i n g l a u n c h r o c k e t s of i d e n t i c a l t h r u s t . O r b i t a l a l t i t u d e a l s o a f f e c t s t h e weight of t h e s t a t i o n i t s e l f ,

because a l e s s powerful r o c k e t may d e l i v e r compartments of g r e a t e r weight, from which t h e s t a t i o n w i l l be assembled, t o low o r b i t s .

As a n example, l e t ' s t r y t o imagine one of t h e p o s s i b l e d e s i g n s of a f u t u r e s p a c e s t a t i o n . The s t a t i o n has t h e shape of a "wheel" i n o r b i t , c o n s i s t i n g of a 1 2 t o 16-angle " r i m , " a "hub," and 6 t o 8 llspokes,'l c o n n e c t i n g t h e r i m and hub. Such a s t a t i o n may be assembled from c y l i n d r i c a l compartments, which are f i r s t o r b i t e d . The s t a t i o n i s d i v i d e d i n t o compartments i s o l a t e d from each o t h e r . The compartments a r e l i n k e d t o g e t h e r by sealed h a t c h e s . Each compartment may be

equipped with autonomous life-support systems. This increases the safety of the station crew members. Since the station is designed for a prolonged lifetime, artificial gravity is created on it by slow rotation. This has a favorable effect on the crew's health, and the crew members may stay in the station for prolonged periods. The rim compartments are designed for living and working quarters. Some compartments are designed for sleep, rest, and eating by the crew members. They contain sleeping bunks, a dining area, lounge, etc. In short, the conditions in these compartments will hardly differ from those on Earth. Other rim compartments will be used to control the station and to conduct experiments and investigations. They will contain everything necessary for normal work of the crew. The working and living compartments are connected to the spokes, which are in turn connected to the hub. The spoke compartments contain the service and scientific equipment, storage areas for disposition of the life support system supplies, spare equipment, fuel for the engines, etc. The hub will serve as a dock for transport spacecraft and as a laboratory,#in which experiments and scientific investigations may be conducted under weightlessness. Transport spacecraft will rotate the crew, deliver components for the life support system, fuel for the correction and stabilization thrusters, new equipment for the service systems, scientific equipment, etc. These same spacecraft will return the crew, completing its shift, to Earth, and the equipment and materials of scientific investigations, which must be returned to Earth. The crew of such a station may reach several tens of persons, depending on the tasks being resolved. The crew will be delivered to the station gradually, after the station has been assembled in

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o r b i t . S p e c i a l cosmonaut-assemblers w i l l assemble t h e s t a t i o n . The t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t , t h e r e q u i r e d number of which w i l l be docked t o t h e s t a t i o n a t a l l times, w i l l be used t o e v a u c a t e the crew i n case of a n emergency. It i s q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e crews o f these s t a t i o n s w i l l c o n s i s t of r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s , who w i l l s e t up j o i n t experiments, s i n c e t h e problems of s t u d y and conquest o f space and c e l e s t i a l b o d i e s a r e even now becoming more and more g r a d i o s e , concerning t h e i n t e r e s t s of a l l c o u n t r i e s , and space r e s e a r c h and technology are more and more e n t e r i n g t h e l i f e of mankind, are beginning t o p l a y a n e v e r g r e a t e r r o l e i n economics, and have a n e v e r g r e a t e r e f f e c t on t h e development of a l l human c u l t u r e , i n a d d i t i o n t o s c i e n c e and technology.

Problems of i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n i n c r e a t i o n o f complex space systems have a l r e a d y been d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l a t t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l COSPAR Conference i n May 1970. The Problem of S e r v i c i n g Space S t a t i o n s

The problem of e n s u r i n g t h e prolonged f u n c t i o n i n g of manned space s t a t i o n s i s one of t h e main ones. The s t a t i o n s should remain i n o r b i t f o r one o r s e v e r a l y e a r s . T h e o r e t i c a l l y , a l a r g e o r b i t a l s t a t i o n may b e r e t u r n e d t o E a r t h and a g a i n i n j e c t e d i n t o o r b i t , b u t t h i s i s very d i f f i c u l t i n p r a c t i c e (powerful l a u n c h r o c k e t s a r e r e q u i r e d ) and economically u n f e a s i b l e . T h e r e f o r e , s t a t i o n s w i t h a prolonged a c t i v e l i f e t i m e should be i n o r b i t permanently. However, t h e c r e a t i o n of a d e q u a t e r e s e r v e s (components f o r t h e l i f e s u p p o r t system, f u e l , s p a r e p a r t s and assemblies f o r t h e s e r v i c e equipment, s c i e n t i f i c equipment, e t c . ) on board o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s f o r autonomous o p e r a t i o n f o r a prolonged p e r i o d i s p r a c t i c a l l y i m p o s s i b l e . Moreover, t h e s t a t i o n crew must b e r o t a t e d p e r i o d i c a l l y . Regular supply of t h e s t a t i o n i s a n extremely important problem. So-called t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t , c a p a b l e of e x t e n s i v e maneuvering, w i l l be c r e a t e d f o r s o l v i n g t h i s problem. 111

T r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t w i l l be launched p e r i o d i c a l l y from Earthbased cosmodromes, w i l l approach t h e s t a t i o n s and dock w i t h them. The e x t e r n a l c o n f i g u r a t i o n s of t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t a r e determined t o a c o n s i d e r a b l e d e g r e e by t h e s e r e q u i r e m e n t s . D i f f e r e n t t y p e s of e x t e r n a l shape of t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t are p o s s i b l e , f o r example : w i n g l e s s s p a c e c r a f t , u t i l i z i n g t h e l i f t i n g f o r c e c r e a t e d by t h e i r h u l l upon r e e n t r y i n t o t h e E a r t h ' s atmosphere; winged s p a c e c r a f t , designed f o r r e e n t r y a t h i g h speeds, b u t having good aerodynamic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s when g l i d i n g a t low speeds, i.e. ;s p a c e a i r c r a f t . These s p a c e c r a f t w i l l b e c a p a b l e o f maneuvering a t hypersonic speeds. The main advantage of a h i g h l i f t - t o - d r a g r a t i o a t h y p e r s o n i c speeds i s t h e broad c a p a b i l i t y f o r h o r i z o n t a l maneuvering d u r i n g r e e n t r y , and i n i n d i v i d u a l c a s e s , d u r i n g t a k e - o f f , and t h e c a p a b i l i t y of r e p e a t e d u s e of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c i n g t h e c o s t of supply and s e r v i c i n g o f space s t a t i o n s . Development of a t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t i n v o l v e s a number o f p e c u l i a r i t i e s , regardless of the s p a c e c r a f t category. For i n s t a n c e , t h e r e q u i r e d number of cargos d e l i v e r e d i s determined by t h e purpose of t h e s t a t i o n b e i n g s e r v i c e d , by t h e number o f i t s crew and by i t s t y p e of onboard systems, i n p a r t i c u l a r , l i f e s u p p o r t and power supply systems. The t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t and t h e f r e q u e n c y w i t h which i t i s launched have d i f f e r e n t e f f e c t s on t h e e n t i r e p r o g r a m o f material and t e c h n i c a l supply. Launch frequency i s a f f e c t e d by t h e number o f crew members at t h e s t a t i o n , t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e i r s t a y i n o r b i t ( p e r i o d i c i t y of crew r o t a t i o n ) , requirement f o r r e p l e n i s h i n g consumables and d e l i v e r y of new equipment, and by t h e t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t l i f t i n g power. 112

Problems, r e l a t e d t o prolonged f u n c t i o n i n g of manned o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s and a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s , may b e s o l v e d w i t h t h e a i d o f transport spacecraft. T r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t may b e u t i l i z e d f o r : d e l i v e r y o f crew members t o o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s and r e t u r n t o Earth; r e s c u e of s t a t i o n crew members and crews of o t h e r manned space v e h i c l e s d u r i n g emergencies i n o r b i t ; r e s u p p l y o f s t a t i o n s w i t h components of l i f e s u p p o r t and v i t a l systems, v a r i o u s t y p e s of equipment, materials, f u e l , e t c . , which t h e y consume d u r i n g t h e i r f u n c t i o n i n g ; d e l i v e r y of e x p e r i m e n t a l equipment t o t h e s t a t i o n f o r conducting i n v e s t i g a t i o n s under c o n d i t i o n s o f space and r e t u r n of t h e n e c e s s a r y e x p e r i m e n t a l and s c i e n t i f i c equipment from t h e space s t a t i o n s t o Earth;

r e p a i r and p r e v e n t i x e maintenance i n s p e c t i o n s of t h e a u t o m a t i c a t y p e o f " r e s u s c i t a t i o n " of them space equipment i n o r b i t ( r e s t o r a t i o n of t h e i r f u n c t i o n i n g ) ;

t r a i n i n g t h e crews of f l y i n g v e h i c l e s . These t a s k s p l a c e t h e f o l l o w i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s on t r a n s p o r t systems:

economy i n o p e r a t i o n of t h e t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t ( e n s u r i n g r e t u r n with repeated use); p r o v i d i n g o p e r a t i o n s f o r rendezvous i n o r b i t , docking and d e l i v e r y of c a r g o s ; e x t e n s i v e m a n e u v e r a b i l i t y f o r rendezvous and docking w i t h o r b i t a l space s t a t i o n s ; c a p a b i l i t y of r e e n t r y w i t h i n a wide c o r r i d o r and l a n d i n g i n t h e given region; h i g h r e l i a b i l i t y , i . e . , t h e c a p a b i l i t y of emergency r e s c u e d u r i n g a l l s t a g e s of f l i g h t ;

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p r o v i d i n g a l l n e c e s s a r y c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e p r e s e n c e of man; c o n t i n u o u s r e a d i n e s s for r e t u r n t o E a r t h . Even now t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t meets many of t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s placed' on t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t . Thus, f o r example, t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t may: d e l i v e r t h e crews of manned s p a c e c r a f t t o E a r t h ; r e s c u e cosmonauts d u r i n g emergencies; r e s u p p l y manned space s t a t i o n s w i t h t h e n e c e s s a r y c a r g o e s and e x p e r i m e n t a l and s c i e n t i f i c equipment; rendezvous, approach, moor and dock i n o r b i t ; land i n the given region w i t h high precision. Thus, w e can c o n f i d e n t l y s a y t h a t s o l u t i o n of t h e problem of s e r v i c i n g space s t a t i o n s has begun t o be s u c c e s s f u l l y s o l v e d i n t h e S o v i e t Union, and t h a t t h e w o r l d ' s f i r s t p r o t o t y p e of a n o r b i t a l s t a t i o n and t r a n s p o r t s p a c e c r a f t has been c r e a t e d . Space S t a t i o n s i n t h e S e r v i c e of Man Manned o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s p e r m i t t h e s o l u t i o n of a n e x t e n s i v e complex of s c i e n t i f i c problems and t h o s e of n a t i o n a l economic import a n c e , r e l a t e d t o t h e f u r t h e r conquest o f s p a c e . Many problems have a l r e a d y been s o l v e d by t h e "Vostok" and "Voskhod" s p a c e c r a f t , and many a r e b e i n g s o l v e d w i t h t h e a i d o f t h e "Soyuz" s p a c e c r a f t . But t h e p r o s p e c t s , opened up w i t h t h e appearance of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s , are d i f f i c u l t t o o v e r e s t i m a t e . L e t u s take astronomy, for example. Rocket technology opened new p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r s t u d y i n g t h e p l a n e t s , s t e l l a r worlds, and cosmic space.

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Astronomy has a l r e a d y undergone s e v e r a l r e v o l u t i o n s , and i t s h i s t o r y may b e d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e s t a g e s . The f i r s t s t a g e i s t h e s t u d y of c e l e s t i a l b o d i e s w i t h t h e a i d of o p t i c a l f a c i l i t i e s ( f i e l d glasses, telescopes, etc.). The second i s t h e "era of r a d i o astronomy," and t h e t h i r d i s t h e c r e a t i o n of a s p a c e s t a t i o n , opening t h e way t o l o c a t i n g a s t r o n o m i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s o u t s i d e t h e E a r t h ' s atmosphere. The atmosphere p l a c e d s e v e r a l b a r r i e r s b e f o r e s c i e n t i s t s , which

c o u l d n o t be overcome on Earth. Space i s f i l l e d w i t h e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c waves of a l l f r e q u e n c i e s . Each one c a r r i e s i t s own t y p e of i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e s e c t i o n of t h e u n i v e r s e where i t was born. But o n l y a n i n s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t of r a d i o waves p e n e t r a t e t h e atmosphere and r e a c h t h e E a r t h . Some a r e r e p e l l e d by r a d i a t i o n b e l t s , some a r e absorbed by t h e atmosphere, o t h e r s are s c a t t e r e d , e t c . The atmosphere n o t o n l y c o n c e a l s many t h i n g s from s c i e n t i s t s ,

i t c o n s t a n t l y a t t e m p t s t o b e g u i l e them, even i n t h e s m a l l p o r t i o n which t h e y manage t o see t h r o u g h i t . It makes t h e stars t w i n k l e , b u t t h e cosmonauts see t h a t t h e b r i l l i a n t p o i n t s of t h e stars glow s t e a d i l y . The a i r of t h e atmosphere c i r c u l a t e s c o n t i n u o u s l y and i s mixed w i t h t h e numerous p a r t i c l e s i n i t .

And, t h e r e f o r e , a s t r o n o m e r s a t t e m p t t o t a k e t h e i r t e l e s c o p e s h i g h upon mountains i n o r d e r t o e l i m i n a t e somewhat t h e e f f e c t s of t h e atmosphere and i t s t u r b u l e n c e .

The p r o c e s s e s t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e u n i v e r s e , of g r e a t i n t e r e s t t o a s t r o n o m e r s , r e v e a l themselves i n t h e u l t r a v i o l e t , i n f r a r e d o r X-ray p o r t i o n s of t h e spectrum, which a r e completely absorbed by t h e atmosphere. We will f i n a l l y b e a b l e t o c a r r y o u t o b s e r v a t i o n s of t h e

u n i v e r s e i n t h e u l t r a v i o l e t band. T h i s means t h a t w e w i l l f i n d o u t much about b l u e stars and white dwarfs, and, p o s s i b l y , w i l l be a b l e t o g u e s s t h e o r i g i n o f t h e energy p r o c e s s e s t a k i n g p l a c e i n them.

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Moreover, i t may be p o s s i b l e t o r e v e a l t h e n a t u r e o f such p u z z l i n g phenomena, a p p a r e n t l y r e l a t e d t o o u r E a r t h , as counterglow t h e o v a l l i g h t s p o t on t h e background of t h e n i g h t sky on t h e side o p p o s i t e t h e Sun, as well as t o d e t e r m i n e whether the E a r t h i s s u r rounded by a cosmic d u s t cloud. It may be p o s s i b l e t o d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between z o d i a c a l l i g h t and t h e o u t e r s o l a r corona, i t may b e p o s s i b l e t o c o l l e c t cosmic material, which f i l l s t h e s o l a r system, and t o d e t e r m i n e i t s p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s .

Comets a r e t h o s e b o d i e s which l i n k u s t o i n t e r s t e l l a r space. They may e x i s t i n i t f o r i n d e f i n i t e l y l o n g p e r i o d s , b u t b r e a k up r a p i d l y upon e n t e r i n g t h e s o l a r system. Study of t h e p r o p e r t i e s of comet n u c l e i , composition of comets, and t h e o r g a n i c compounds c o n t a i n e d i n them are of enormous i n t e r e s t f o r t h e development of astronomy. T h i s w i l l f i n a l l y lead t o a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e p r o p e r t i e s of i n t e r s t e l l a r c l o u d s , from which t h e p l a n e t s a r e formed and from which are c r e a t e d t h e p r e l i m i n a r y c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e o r i g i n of l i f e . A s t u d y of comets would b e o f s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t .

A space o b s e r v a t o r y w i l l have a c c e s s t o t h e s t u d y of r a d i a t i o n

a t a l l wavelengths, and t h e r e f o r e , i t w i l l be p o s s i b l e t o s t u d y o b j e c t s of t h e most d i v e r s e n a t u r e , which e x i s t i n space and which are b a r e l y o r almost completely unknown: s o u r c e s which e m i t gammaand X-rays, as i s i n h e r e n t , f o r example, t o n e u t r o n stars, as w e l l as sources w i t h a n e g l i g i b l e s u r f a c e temperature b l a c k dwarfs, which /lo5 a r e abundant i n o u r Galaxy and, p o s s i b l y , a d j a c e n t t o t h e s o l a r s y s t e m .

Study of q u a s a r s and p u l s a r s w i l l throw a d d i t i o n a l l i g h t on t h e s o l u t i o n of t h e problem of t h e o r i g i n of t h e u n i v e r s e as a whole. There i s no doubt t h a t t h e materials, o b t a i n e d i n a space o b s e r v a t o r y , w i l l r e v e a l many s e c r e t s o f t h e u n i v e r s e . Astronomical i n s t r u m e n t s are u s u a l l y unique and, t h e r e f o r e , expensive. They a r e designed f o r prolonged o p e r a t i o n : d i s c o v e r y of new p r i n c i p l e s i n t h e world of c e l e s t i a l b o d i e s r e q u i r e s prolonged s y s t e m a t i c o b s e r v a t i o n of n o t j u s t one, b u t o f t e n of many o b j e c t s of t h e same t y p e . However, even t h e most modern a p p a r a t u s r e q u i r e prev e n t i v e maintenance, a d j u s t m e n t , and s e r v i c i n g . 116

Manned orbital astronomical observatories, whose personnel may be rotated from time to time, are the ideal solution to the problem of efficient and rational use of expensive equipment. No less important is the role of man as the investigator in performing scientific experiments. Considerable changes in the program of observations, which could not be previously predicted, may be required during astronomical observations in space. Novae and supernovae flares, discovery of a previously unknown body, unexpected intensive solar flares, unusual forms of protuberances, ejection of a gaseous jet from a star and many other "puzzling" phenomena, which occur unexpectedly in celestial bodies and which are usually shortlived, and sometimes, simply unique all this is valuable material for scientific research. In such cases, man should act decisively, analyze the situation quickly, change, if possible, the program of observations, and also do everything possible to obtain the maximum amount of data with the aid of available instruments.

It will finally be possible to free the scientific instruments in an orbital station from the interfering "filter" of the atmosphere, which absorbs a considerable portion of the radiation spectrum coming from the planets, the Sun, stars and galaxies. Physicists will have.an excellent laboratory - the ideal vacuum of space and all the components of cosmic radiation. With the creation of orbital stations, geophysics and physics of the atmosphere will have the opportunity of conducting prolonged investigations regularly and on a global scale.

It will be interesting to conduct extensive medical and biological investigations on people, animals, and plants in space stations under conditions of prolonged exposure to the space environment. A l l this is necessary for man to fly to other planets and to improve methods of selection and training of cosmonauts. It does not rule out the /lo6 possibility that weightlessness will be useful in treating certain human diseases.

The d i f f e r e n t i n s t r u m e n t s i n s t a l l e d i n o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s w i l l be

a b l e t o s o l v e n a t i o n a l economic problems. I n t h e same way as meteorol o g i c a l s a t e l l i t e s moni'tor t h e weather on a g l o b a l s c a l e , many problems o f p r a c t i c a l importance can be s o l v e d w i t h t h e a i d o f o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s . It i s d i f f i c u l t a t p r e s e n t t o d e t e r m i n e t h e p o t e n t i a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s , and it i s i m p o s s i b l e t o enumerate t h e problems o f t h e n e a r f u t u r e , which may b e s o l v e d w i t h t h e i r a i d by s c i e n c e and technology.

However, i t i s q u i t e obvious t h a t o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s w i l l c o n t r i b u t e g r e a t l y t o t h e f u t u r e p r o g r e s s of mankind. The Bridge t o t h e F u t u r e Is Being E r e c t e d Today

The achievements i n t h e conquest of space and t h e f l i g h t s of t h e cosmonauts have g r e a t l y ceased t o be s e n s a t i o n a l , and are becoming somewhat r o u t i n e .

A c t u a l l y , a f t e r t h e c r e a t i o n of a n e x p e r i m e n t a l o r b i t a l s t a t i o n , simultaneous group f l i g h t o f t h r e e s p a c e c r a f t of t h e ffSoyuzf' s e r i e s , photography of Mars, o b t a i n e d w i t h t h e a i d of t h e "Mariner" automatic probe, d i r e c t i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e atmosphere and s u r f a c e o f Venus and, f i n a l l y , t h e f l i g h t o f t h e American a s t r o n a u t s t o t h e Moon and t h e triumphant f l i g h t s of t h e una-16" and "Luna-17" a u t o m a t i c p r o b e s , i t seems t h a t t h e r e remains no t a s k i n t h e conquest of space which would c a p t u r e t h e t o t a l a t t e n t i o n o f t h e p u b l i c . Now, i f t h e cosmonauts were t o f l y f o r y e a r s and f a r f a r away, l e t ' s s a y t o Mars, t o t h e r i n g s o f S a t u r n o r t o t h e moons o f J u p i t e r , t h i s would a p p a r e n t l y a g a i n c a p t u r e t h e i m a g i n a t i o n of E a r t h l i n g s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , i s n o t such a t o n e i n e v a l u a t i n g t h e c u r r e n t l e v e l of t h e conquest of space t o o p r o s a i c ? Could people r e a l l y imagine 2 0 0 , 1 0 0 and even 30 years ago what k i n d s o f e v e n t s would e x c i t e t h e world i n t h e 1 9 6 0 ' s and 197Ots? We have reached t h e p o i n t about which our a n c e s t o r s dreamed, c r e a t i n g l e g e n d s and t a l e s about f l i g h t s i n t h e s k y , t o t h e Moon and t o t h e p l a n e t s . The a c t u a l e v e n t s have s u r p a s s e d

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even the most daring predictions, which only yesterday seemed impossible. Man, armed with the achievements of science, technology, economics and culture, is transforming the face of our planet, understanding the secrets of the universe, the microworld, and of living matter, and is acquiring new types of energy. Manned flights have opened up extensive opportunities. They have yielded unique scientific information about near space. Man has walked on the Moon. Preparations are underway for more complex and prolonged flights. Automatic vehicles (they already number over a thousand) have become reliable assistants of man in understanding the universe

Space research has laid the basis for new achievements in the most diverse fields of human knowledge. Within an unprecedented short period, cosmonautics has become one of the main levers of scientific and technical progress. A multiple approach to problem solving, use of the latest achievements of science and technology and a high level of automation are inherent to it. The workers, designers, technicians, engineers, scientists, and pilot-cosmonauts, who are creating space vehicles and who are implementing with their aid a gradiose program of investigation and conquest of space, have made a considerable contribution to the labor exploits of our people. Space itself is a gigantic, inexhaustable, infinitely diverse laboratory, created by nature. Such sciences as physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, medicine and many others, on whose development depends the growth of the productive forces of society and its progress, require information from space to an ever greater extent. The contribution of cosmonautics to the development of machine building, electronics, study of materials, power engineering and computer technology is considerable. 3

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A great deal of practical experience on the creation and operation of the most diverse highly efficient space facilities has been accumulated, and a powerful scientific and industrial base has been created the forefather of theoretical and practical cosmoin our country nautics, a country which plays the leading role in the conquest of space and which is making a significant contribution to world cosmonaut ic s

The new technology, new instruments and assemblies, created for satellites, automatic interplanetary stations and spacecraft, are being effectively utilized in the day-to-day practice of enterprises, which manufacture ordinary "Earth" products. For example, one of the most important problems faced by industry in constructing rockets was the creation of new materials, capable of tolerating superlow and superhigh temperatures and resistant t o variable loads and vibrations. Such materials were created, and have become widely used. Many metallurgical processes (for example, bonding of stainless steel and aluminum alloys and welding of aluminim alloys developed for space rocket technology) are finding broad application in other branches of industry. And the industrial equipment and accessories, developed for forming the large components of rocket hulls, are being used in shipbuilding. Limitation of the weight and.size of instruments - a necessary condition for successful investigations in space had a significant effect on progress in the field of microminiaturization of technical facilities in general.

The unusual operating conditions during space flight, the unique nature of the problems solved, and the requirements for high reliability led t o the fact that space rocket complexes became one of the most complex and perfect types of technology. At the same time, /lo8 organization itself of space research and the solution of a number of problems related t o these investigations, are having and will continue t o have a considerable effect on the overall level of development of technology and are stimulating this development. 120

Everyone knows that the Soviet space program is distinguished by a structured aspect and strict sequence in completing specific stages. We go from one important stage to another, concerning ourselves with exhaustive preparation and reliable support of each new step. The step-by-step complication of the tasks performed and, as data are accumulated, the desire to switch from single preliminary experiments to extensive multiple investigations can be clearly followed. At present, three main fields for application of space vehicles may be rather confidently distinguished - near space, the Moon and circumlunar space, and Venus and Mars. Near space is the main arena of systematic scientific research and national economic experiments with the aid of automatic vehicles and manned spacecraft. It is here that specialized systems of automatic vehicles are formulated for national economic and scientific purposes. It is here that manned orbital stations will be created in the future and will begin to function, and it is here that future launches of expeditions to Mars, Venus and other planets of the solar system will be possible in the future. Artificial Earth satellites are serving man even today. Satellites of national economic importance are operating successfully in low orbits for communications and meteorology. The "Orbita" communication system, which employs "Molniya-1" artificial Earth satellites and which is designed for the relay of television programs and long-range telephone and telegraph communications, has already recovered its production costs. Moverover, due to implementation of this system, it is no longer necessary to erect more than 15,000 kilometers of overhead radio relay lines. We are also obtaining much valuable data from the "Meteor" meteorological satellite system. The "Kosmos" series of satellites, equipped with different apparatus, are fulfilling an extensive program of diverse scientific investigations. The number of satellites in this series is already approaching 500. 121

The use of satellites for navigation and geodesy is of great importance for science and technology, transportation and construction. In the near future, such systems will enter regular service in maritime and air traffic control, in laying traverses of intercontinental power transmission lines and petroleum pipelines, and in selecting and surveying the locations of new industrial and residential /lo9 construction. A new branch of utilizing satellite technology direct accumulation of data for the fishing industry, water and forest management, agriculture and geology t o determine the Earth's natural resources (including the world ocean) and monitoring the will acquire a special role. Both rationale of their exploitation automatic and manned spacecraft will be employed for these purposes.

It is no longer so fantastic t o imagine launching of entire industrial-technical installations into near space. Let's say that it is very difficult t o create a high vacuum on Earth, powerful radiation, superlow temperatures or intense magnetic fields. An orbital station is an ideal place where all these conditions are present in combined form. They provide the possibility of developing essentially new technology of many branches of industrial production. In the more distant future, we will apparently be forced t o take numerous power installation beyond the confines of the Earth. Otherwise, their operation, which involves release of heat into the surrounding environment, will ultimately lead to an undesirable increase in the temperature of the Earth's surface. We may assume that artificial satellites will become more specialized and will permit a deeper study of certain processes. At the same time, the service equipment heat regulating will be standardized t o a systems, telemetry and radio equipment greater extent and will be designed t o function for many years. If necessary, specialized systems may be created from this automatic apparatus. The cost of automatic stations and launch rockets will decrease significantly in the future, their launches will make a greater contribution t o science and the national economy, and they will yield a discernible saving.

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Manned spacecraft and orbital stations, on the contrary, will be more universal and will permit extensive scientific investigations and experiments during flight. Essentially, entire "institutes" will function in orbit. This will permit technical experiments and flight tests of ever more complex circumterrestrial stations and spacecraft, designed for flights t o the planets of the solar system. In a number of cases, heavy automatic multi-purpose satellites will be employed for systematic investigations in space. Equipment, which will be able t o function for a prolonged period, should be created for these satellites. International cooperation will acquire a special role in the conquest of space. Even now the USSR is successfully cooperating with the Socialist countries and France. We hope that an even greater number of countries will join forces in the future. This will considerably expand the front of investigations and rational balancing of expenditures for cosmonautics. The Moon and circumlunar space in the current Soviet space program is a kind of scientific and technical "test range," where a diverse program of scientific investigations is being carried out and where exhaustive checks are being made on the correctness of the engineering solutions and efficiency of designs and systems under conditions of sharp temperature drops, vacuum, and weak gravitation. Stationary and mobile automatic facilities permit a study of the physical and chemical characteristics of the Moon and circumlunar space. They expand our concepts about the origin and structure of the universe. They operate successfully on the Moon, and are providing scientists and engineers with practical knowledge and necessary experience for creation of new automatic machines. Venus and Mars are the nearest planets,,neighbors of Earth. Like the Moon, they are the objects of study with the aid of space vehicles. These investigations yield unique data, which even the latest Earth-based optical and radio astronomical facilities are

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unable t o provide. Venus and Mars are unique targets for modern space technology. Automatic interplanetary probes have already been launched toward them. Scientific and technical investigations are being conducted on trajectories, measured in tens of millions of miles, and near the planets. During prolonged flights at great distances from the Earth, the onboard and ground-based facilities for radio control and telemetry, operation of scientific and service equipment, which is affected by the real factors of interplanetary flight, are checked exhaustively and complex ballistics calculations are made. As in a study of the Moon, a foundation is being laid for more complex space flights in the future. Scientists and engineers are designing new automatic vehicles which will replace current ones within a f e w years. In the near future, automatic vehicles will begin a study of Saturn, Jupiter and other planets, even t o the most distant planet from us, Pluto, in addition t o Venus and Mars. Exceptionally broad possibilities for using automatic vehicles open up in the study of small celestial bodies: comets, asteroids, satellites of planets, as well as the remote regions of the solar system, where man cannot yet go. And it is no accident that automatic vehicles are being given an important role in the current Soviet space program, because they are tens of' times more inexpensive than manned vehicles, are highly reliable, and transmit data from inaccessible regions. Manned flights in both circumterrestrial space and t o the Moon and planets will be undertaken in lesser numbers in relation t o automatic vehicles, as required. Recently different circles of the public, journalists and specialists in the West, have been studying Soviet space research /111 more intently. Its clearness of thought and logical development are noted. The purposeful development of the space program may be followed by the example of 1970. In 1970, the Soviet Union continued its systematic conquest of space in the interests of science, the national economy and for the welfare of the Soviet people -the builders of communism. This was a year of a renowned anniversary -the 100th year from the birth of the founder of the Party and of our state,

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y e a r , which concluded t h e f i v e - y e a r p l a n , a y e a r of p r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h e 24th Congress of t h e CPSU. It was one of importance and r e f l e c t i o n f o r S o v i e t cosmonautics. More t h a n 85 space v e h i c l e s were launched d u r i n g t h e y e a r . These were t h e s a t e l l i t e s of t h e "Kosmos," "Molniya," "Meteor," and "Interkosmos" s e r i e s , t h e 11Soyuz-91' manned s p a c e c r a f t , t h e 'IZond-8 ,""Luna-16 ,"and "Luna-17" a u t o m a t i c p r o b e s , t h e "Venera-7" i n t e r p l a n e t a r y probe and t h e " V e r t i k a l -1" r o c k e t a s t r o p h y s i c a l o b s e r v a t o r y and g e o p h y s i c a l r o c k e t .

V. I. Lenin

During t h e c o u r s e of t h e S o v i e t experiments, e s s e n t i a l l y new t y p e s of s p a c e f a c i l i t i e s were approved, t e c h n i c a l systems and equipment were t e s t e d , a s e a r c h was conducted f o r new methods of s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h and data t r a n s m i s s i o n , and t h e main problems on which f u t u r e prolonged f l i g h t s of man depend were s o l v e d . We r e c a l l , f o r example, t h e h i s t o r i c f l i g h t o f t h e "Luna-16" probe, which r e t u r n e d to E a r t h w i t h samples o f l u n a r r o c k s . The

s u c c e s s f u l f l i g h t of t h i s probe was a new phase i n t h e development of s p a c e automation. The f l i g h t of t h e " L ~ n a - 1 6 probe ~~ opens prosp e c t s f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of p l a n e t s w i t h t h e a i d o f a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s , which o b t a i n n o t o n l y t h e r e q u i r e d i n f o r m a t i o n , b u t r e t u r n i t t o E a r t h . How c a n w e not r e c a l l t h e a n a l y s i s of t h e f l i g h t o f t h e "Luna-16" probe, given b y P r o f e s s o r Bernard L o v e l l , d i r e c t o r of t h e J o r d r e l l Bank Observatory: "The task accomplished by 'Luna-16' i s a r e a l r e v o l u t i o n i n t h e conquest of s p a c e . . . I a m c o n f i d e n t t h a t 'Luna-16' w i l l open up p o s s i b i l i t i e s even d u r i n g t h i s decade t o a g a i n t a k e samples of r o c k , i n p a r t i c u l a r on Mars, w i t h t h e a i d of a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s , I n s h o r t , a new page has been opened i n i n t e r p l a n e t a r y communication and r e s e a r c h . " And what a b o u t t h e f l i g h t of t h e 11Luna-1711probe? On 17 November, t h e v e h i c l e d e l i v e r e d t o t h e r e g i o n of t h e Sea of Rains t h e a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e llLunokhod-lll - t h e w o r l d ' s f i r s t mobile a u t o m a t i c space v e h i c l e , which completed a n e x t e n s i v e program of s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n v a r i o u s r e g i o n s of t h e l u n a r s u r f a c e , and which opened up new p o s s i b i l i t i e s . 125

The instruments for determining the physiocomechanical properties and chemical composition of the lunar soil, installed on the lunar roving vehicle, permitted experiments at different points over the route of its travel. Astrophysical observations were carriedout with the aid of an X-ray telescope on the lunar roving vehicle. We know that the stars of galaxies and other astronomical objects emit powerful X-rays, caused by the superhigh temperatures of the stars and the unusual and transient processes in development of whole galaxies. Observations of such emissions are impossible from Earth, because the Earth's atmosphere is essentially opaque to this type of radiation. Observations from the Moon, which is devoid of an atmosphere, may provide much new data unknown t o science. "Lunokhod-1" also has a laser reflector, manufactured in cooperation with French specialists. This device permits the calculation of the distance from the Earth t o the Moon with an accuracy of meters. And such precise measurements are very important, because they permit the determination of the effect of the Earth's gravitational field on the motion of the Moon, the effects of slight rotational motions of the Moon with respect t o the Earth, and much more. The creators of the llLunokhod-lll vehicle had t o overcome a number of design and operational problems - the vehicle had to operate reliably under specific conditions, over terrain with a relief characterized by depressions, cracks, rocks and ridges. Specific requirements were also placed on the control system: the distance between the control center and "Lunokhod-1" is about 400,00O_kilometers! The kilometers covered over a broken terrain, the mass of scientific and technical information and the practical experience in controlling the movement of an automatic mobile investigator - these are far from complete results which confirm that the idea of using such vehicles is not only real, but is very promising for a systematic investigation of the Moon and planets. The " L ~ n a - 1 6and ~ ~ 11Luna-171v vehicles are essentially new types of automatic devices which are opening up truly unlimited possibilities.

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But l e t ' s r e t u r n t o manned f l i g h t s . The l a u n c h of e v e r y manned s p a c e c r a f t a t t r a c t s t h e a t t e n t i o n of the e n t i r e p l a n e t , and p e o p l e of a l l c o u n t r i e s of t h e world f o l l o w i t s c o u r s e c l o s e l y . The f l i g h t of a s p a c e c r a f t i s a complex s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l experiment, i n which thousands o f p e o p l e t a k e p a r t , and e a c h s u c h experiment means t h a t mankind has g a i n e d y e t a n o t h e r v i c t o r y over t h e f o r c e s o f n a t u r e , t h a t a n o t h e r s t e p forward has been made i n t h e development o f s c i e n c e and technology. It i s on these basis t h a t w e must c o n s i d e r t h e unique s c i e n t i f i c - t e c h n i c a l and medic a l and b i o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , and t h e experiments i n t h e i n t e r e s t s of t h e n a t i o n a l economy o f t h e c o u n t r y , which were c a r r i e d o u t on board t h e " S a l y u t " o r b i t a l s t a t i o n .

R e c e n t l y s p a c e f l i g h t s have brought u s c o n s i d e r a b l y c l o s e r t o t h e c r e a t i o n of o r b i t a l s t a t i o n s , t o l a u n c h e s of a u t o m a t i c v e h i c l e s f o r deep s y s t e m a t i c s t u d y o f v a r i o u s r e g i o n s o f t h e " u n i v e r s e , and t o t h e c r e a t i o n o f l a r g e l a b o r a t o r i e s and p o s s i b l y e n t i r e c i t i e s i n c i r c u m t e r r e s t r i a l space. The d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e of t h e S o v i e t s p a c e program i s i t s r u s h toward t h e f u t u r e . Even now t h e base i s b e i n g l a i d f o r a unique

s p a c e " b r i d g e " which w i l l p r o v i d e a n e s s e n t i a l l y new approach t o f u t u r e development o f world cosmonautics. We have a t t e m p t e d t o c i t e s e v e r a l c l e a r examples of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e s o f S o v i e t cosmonautics, t o show i t s c u r r e n t l e v e l , t o d e l i n e a t e t h e t r e n d s f o r f u r t h e r development, and t o pres e n t t h o s e b e n e f i t s which mankind may r e a p from s p a c e t e c h n o l o g y . Yes, even b e n e f i t s , and t h e r e f o r e , everyone needs s p a c e now. The s p a c e v e h i c l e s of v a r i o u s c o u n t r i e s have a l r e a d y v i s i t e d s p a c e : t h e __ USSR, United S t a t e s , England, France, Canada, West Germany, A u s t r a l i a , I t a l y , J a p a n and t h e Chinese Peoples Republic. Tens o f c o u n t r i e s are p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n j o i n t experiments ( w i t h i n t h e framework o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n and space programs). The d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s are a l s o b e i n g brought i n t o t h i s s p h e r e . The e x p e r i e n c e

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of s p a c e r e s e a r c h d u r i n g r e c e n t y e a r s d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t t h e r e i s p r e s e n t l y n o t one c o u n t r y which i s a p p a r e n t l y n o t c a p a b l e of i t s e l f implementing e v e r more v a l u a b l e and t e c h n i c a l l y f e a s i b l e p r o j e c t s . T h i s i s a l l r e l a t e d t o t h e enormous p e c u n i a r y i n v e s t m e n t s and t o t h e maximum i n p u t o f t h e c r e a t i v e and p r o d u c t i v e e f f o r t s of p e o p l e . It i s f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h a t t h e r o l e of i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n i n space r e s e a r c h w i l l i n c r e a s e s h a r p l y i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e . It w i l l encompass a s i g n i f i c a n t l y g r e a t e r number of c o u n t r i e s , and w i l l perm i t a more e f f e c t i v e s t u d y and conquest of space. Cosmonautics w i l l c r o s s n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s more and more o f t e n , w i l l be t h e basis f o r s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l c o o p e r a t i o n of d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s , and w i l l c o n t r i b u t e t o a mutual u n d e r s t a n d i n g between t h e p e o p l e s o f t h e world. Again and a g a i n , w e t h i n k a b o u t t h e enormous c o n t r i b u t i o n o f o u r c o n t r y t o t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f s p a c e , a b o u t how t h e homeland of t h e Great October R e v o l u t i o n i s l e a d i n g world s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l p r o g r e s s i n t h i s e s s e n t i a l l y i m p o r t a n t d i r e c t i o n . The S o v i e t p e o p l e a r e t u r n i n g toward t h e Communist P a r t y , are proud of t h e s t e a d i l y growing might of S o c i a l i s t economics, t h e r a p i d development of S o v i e t technology, and t h e i n c r e a s i n g s k i l l s of o u r e n g i n e e r i n g t e c h n i c a l and working c a d r e s . O f c o u r s e , w e a r e s t i l l j u s t l e a r n i n g how t o d e r i v e s p e c i f i c

b e n e f i t s from s p a c e r e s e a r c h . But t h e p r o p e r o r g a n i z a t i o n of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and r a t i o n a l u t i l i z a t i o n of t h o s e achievements of cosmon a u t i c s , which w e now p o s s e s s , w i l l p e r m i t u s even i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e t o change s p a c e i n t o one of t h e most promising and p r o f i t a b l e branches of t h e economy. We have a t t e m p t e d t o c h a r a c t e r i z e p r e s e n t and f u t u r e cosmonautics. D e t a i l e d a n a l y s e s are s u p e r f l u o u s a t p r e s e n t , and t h e y a r e u s u a l l y d e b a t a b l e . But one t h i n g i s i n d i s p u t a b l e space i s n e c e s s a r y f o r man, and i t w i l l s e r v e man f o r p e a c e f u l p u r p o s e s .

The b r i d g e t o t h e f u t u r e i s b e i n g e r e c t e d even today!

*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1973-739-155/74

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