How are spaceships built? Three generations of spaceships, USSR. Spaceship: what is it
Soyuz spacecraft
"Soyuz" - the name of a series of Soviet spacecraft for flights in orbit around the Earth; a program for their development (since 1962) and launches (since 1967; unmanned modifications - since 1966). Soyuz spacecraft are designed to solve a wide range of tasks in near-Earth space: testing the processes of autonomous navigation, control, maneuvering, rendezvous and docking; studying the effects of long-term space flight conditions on the human body; testing the principles of using manned spacecraft for Earth exploration in the interests of National economy and performing transport operations for communication with orbital stations; conducting scientific and technical experiments in outer space and others.
The mass of a fully refueled and completed ship is from 6.38 tons (initial versions) to 6.8 tons, the crew size is 2 people (3 people - in modifications before 1971), the maximum duration of an autonomous flight is 17.7 days (with a crew of 2 people ), length (along the hull) 6.98-7.13 m, diameter 2.72 m, span of solar panels 8.37 m, volume of two residential compartments along the pressurized hull 10.45 m3, free space - 6.5 m3. The Soyuz spacecraft consists of three main compartments, which are mechanically interconnected and separated using pyrotechnic devices. The structure of the ship includes: a system of orientation and motion control in flight and during descent; mooring and attitude thruster system; rendezvous and corrective propulsion system; radio communication, power supply, docking, radio guidance and rendezvous and mooring systems; landing and soft landing system; life supporting system; control system of the onboard instrumentation and equipment complex.
The descent vehicle - weight 2.8 tons, diameter 2.2 m, length 2.16 m, volume along the internal contours of the habitable compartment 3.85 m flight in orbit, during descent in the atmosphere, parachuting, landing. The sealed body of the descent vehicle, made of aluminum alloy, has a conical shape, turning into a sphere in the lower and upper parts. For ease of installation of apparatus and equipment inside the descent vehicle, the frontal part of the body is made removable. Outside, the hull has thermal insulation, structurally consisting of a frontal screen (fired off in the parachuting area), side and bottom thermal protection, the shape of the apparatus and the position of the center of mass provide a controlled descent with an aerodynamic quality (~0.25). In the upper part of the hull there is a hatch (clearance diameter 0.6 m) for communication with the inhabited orbital compartment and exit of the crew from the descent vehicle after landing. The descent vehicle is equipped with three windows, two of which have a three-pane design and one has a two-pane design (at the location of the orienting sight). The hull contains two airtight parachute containers closed with removable lids. 4 soft landing engines are installed on the frontal part of the hull. Landing speed on the main parachute system, taking into account the impulse of the soft landing engines, is not more than 6 m/s. The descent vehicle is designed for landing at any time of the year on soils of various types (including rock) and open water bodies. When landing on water bodies, the crew can stay afloat in the vehicle for up to 5 days.
The descent vehicle contains the cosmonauts' console, spacecraft control knobs, instruments and equipment of the main and auxiliary systems of the spacecraft, containers for the return of scientific equipment, reserve stock (food, equipment, medicines, etc.) radio communications and direction finding on the descent and after landing areas, etc. Inside, the hull and equipment of the descent vehicle are covered with thermal insulation in combination with decorative cladding. When launching the Soyuz into orbit, descending to Earth, performing docking and undocking operations, the crew members are in spacesuits (introduced after 1971). To ensure the flight under the ASTP program, the descent vehicle was provided with a control panel for compatible (operating at the same frequencies) radio stations and external lights, and special lamps were installed to transmit a color television image.
Inhabited orbital (domestic) compartment - weight 1.2-1.3 tons, diameter 2.2 m, length (with docking unit) 3.44 m, volume along the internal contours of the sealed case 6.6 m3, free volume 4 m3 - used as a working compartment when carrying out scientific experiments, to rest the crew, transfer it to another spacecraft and exit into outer space (acts as an airlock). The pressurized body of the orbital compartment, made of magnesium alloy, consists of two hemispherical shells with a diameter of 2.2 m, connected by a cylindrical insert 0.3 m high. The compartment has two viewing windows. There are two hatches in the hull, one of which connects the orbital compartment with the descent vehicle, and the other (with a “clear” diameter of 0.64 m) is used for landing the crew in the spacecraft at the launch position and for spacewalk. The compartment contains the control panel, instruments and assemblies of the main and auxiliary systems of the ship, household equipment, and scientific equipment. When testing and ensuring docking of automatic and manned modifications of spacecraft, if they are used as transport vehicles, a docking unit is installed in the upper part of the orbital compartment, which performs the following functions: absorption (damping) of spacecraft impact energy; primary hitch; alignment and contraction of ships; rigid connection of ship structures (starting with Soyuz-10 - with the creation of a sealed joint between them); undocking and separation of spacecraft. Three types of docking devices have been used in the Soyuz spacecraft:
the first, made according to the "pin-cone" scheme; the second, also made according to this scheme, but with the creation of an airtight joint between the docked ships to ensure the transfer of the crew from one ship to another;
(the third in the experiment under the ASTP program), which is a new, technically more advanced device - an androgynous peripheral docking unit (APAS). Structurally, the docking device of the first two types consists of two parts: an active docking unit installed on one of the spacecraft and equipped with a mechanism for performing all docking operations, and a passive docking unit installed on another spacecraft.
The instrument-assembly compartment weighing 2.7-2.8 tons is designed to accommodate the apparatus and equipment of the main systems of the spacecraft, which ensure orbital flight. It consists of transitional, instrumental and aggregate sections. In the transition section, made in the form of a uniform structure connecting the descent vehicle with the instrument section, 10 approaching and orientation engines with a thrust of 100 N each, fuel tanks and a single-component fuel supply system (hydrogen peroxide) are installed. Hermetic instrument section with a volume of 2.2 m3, has the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of 2.1 m, a height of 0.5 m with two removable covers. The instrument section contains devices for orientation and motion control systems, control of the onboard complex of apparatus and equipment of the ship, radio communication with the Earth and a program-time device, telemetry, and a single power supply. The hull of the aggregate section is made in the form of a cylindrical shell, turning into a conical one and ending with a base frame designed to install the ship on the launch vehicle. Outside the power section there is a large radiator-emitter of the thermal control system, 4 mooring and orientation motors, 8 orientation motors. In the aggregate section there is a rendezvous and corrective propulsion unit KTDU-35, consisting of the main and backup engines with a thrust of 4.1 kN, fuel tanks and a two-component fuel supply system. Radio communication and telemetry antennas, ion sensors of the orientation system and part of the batteries of the ship's unified power supply system are installed near the base frame. Solar panels (they are not installed on ships used as transport ships for servicing the Salyut orbital stations) are made in the form of two "wings" of 3-4 wings each. Radio communication antennas, telemetry and color on-board orientation lights (in the experiment under the ASTP program) are placed on the end flaps of the batteries.
All compartments of the spacecraft are closed from the outside with screen-vacuum thermal insulation of green color. When launching into orbit - in the flight segment in dense layers of the atmosphere, the ship is closed by a drop nose fairing, equipped with an emergency rescue system propulsion system.
The ship's orientation and motion control system can operate both in automatic mode and in manual control mode. Onboard equipment receives energy from centralized system power supply, including solar, as well as autonomous chemical batteries and buffer batteries. After docking the spacecraft with the orbital station, the solar panels can be used in common system power supply.
The life support system includes blocks for regenerating the atmosphere of the descent vehicle and the orbital compartment (similar in composition to the Earth's air) and thermal control, food and water supplies, and a sewage and sanitary device. Regeneration is provided by substances that absorb carbon dioxide while releasing oxygen. Special filters absorb harmful impurities. In the event of a possible emergency depressurization of the living compartments, spacesuits are provided for the crew. When working in them, the conditions for life are created by supplying air to the spacesuit from the onboard pressurization system.
The thermal control system maintains the air temperature in the residential compartments within 15-25 ° C and relates. humidity within 20-70%; gas temperature (nitrogen) in the instrument section 0-40°C.
The complex of radio engineering means is designed to determine the parameters of the spacecraft orbit, receive commands from the Earth, two-way telephone and telegraph communication with the Earth, transmit television images of the situation in the compartments and the external environment observed by the TV camera to the Earth.
For 1967 - 1981 38 Soyuz manned spacecraft were launched into the orbit of an artificial Earth satellite.
Soyuz-1, piloted by V.M. Komarov, was launched on April 23, 1967 in order to test the ship and work out the systems and elements of its design. During the descent (on the 19th orbit), Soyuz-1 successfully passed the deceleration section in the dense layers of the atmosphere and extinguished the first cosmic velocity. However, due to the abnormal operation of the parachute system at an altitude of ~7 km, the descent vehicle descended at a high speed, which led to the death of the cosmonaut.
The spacecraft Soyuz-2 (unmanned) and Soyuz-3 (piloted by G.T. Beregov) made a joint flight to test the operation of systems and construction, to practice rendezvous and maneuvering. At the end of the joint experiments, the ships made a controlled descent using aerodynamic quality.
A formation flight was carried out on Soyuz-6, Soyuz-7, Soyuz-8 spacecraft. A program of scientific and technical experiments was carried out, including testing methods for welding and cutting metals in conditions of deep vacuum and weightlessness, navigation operations were practiced, mutual maneuvering was carried out, the ships interacted with each other and with ground command and measurement posts, and simultaneous flight control of three spacecraft was carried out.
The Soyuz-23 and Soyuz-25 spacecraft were scheduled to dock with the Salyut-type orbital station. Due to incorrect operation of the equipment for measuring relative motion parameters (the Soyuz-23 spacecraft), deviations from the specified operating mode in the manual berthing section (Soyuz-25), docking did not take place. On these ships, maneuvering and rendezvous with orbital stations of the Salyut type were carried out.
During long space flights a large complex of studies of the Sun, planets and stars was carried out in a wide range of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. For the first time (Soyuz-18), a comprehensive photo- and spectrographic study of auroras, as well as a rare natural phenomenon - noctilucent clouds, was carried out. Comprehensive studies of the reactions of the human body to the effects of long-term space flight factors have been carried out. Various means of preventing the adverse effects of weightlessness have been tested.
During the 3-month flight Soyuz-20, together with Salyut-4, endurance tests were carried out.
On the basis of Soyuz spacecraft, a cargo transport spacecraft GTK Progress was created, and on the basis of the experience of operating Soyuz spacecraft, a significantly modernized Soyuz T spacecraft was created.
Soyuz spacecraft were launched by a 3-stage Soyuz launch vehicle.
Soyuz spacecraft program.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-1". Cosmonaut - V.M. Komarov. The call sign is Ruby. Launch - 04/23/1967, landing - 04/24/1967. The goal is to test a new ship. It was planned to dock with the Soyuz-2 spacecraft with three cosmonauts on board, two cosmonauts go through open space, and land with three cosmonauts on board. Due to the failure of a number of systems on the Soyuz-1 spacecraft, the Soyuz-2 launch was canceled. (This program was carried out in 1969 by the spacecraft
"Soyuz-4" and "Soyuz-5"). Astronaut Vladimir Komarov died while returning to Earth due to off-design work of the parachute system.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-2" (unmanned). Launch - 10/25/1968, landing - 10/28/1968. Purpose: verification of the modified ship design, joint experiments with the manned Soyuz-3 (rapprochement and maneuvering).
Spacecraft "Soyuz-3". Cosmonaut - G.T. Beregovoy. The call sign is "Argon". Launch - 10/26/1968, landing - 10/30/1968 Purpose: verification of the modified ship design, rendezvous and maneuvering with the unmanned Soyuz-2.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-4". The first docking into orbit of two manned spacecraft is the creation of the first experimental orbital station. Commander - V.A.Shatalov. The call sign is "Amur". Launch - 14.01.1969 16.01. 1969 docked manually with the Soyuz-5 passive spacecraft (the mass of the bundle of two spacecraft is 12924 kg), from which two cosmonauts A.S. Eliseev and E.V. Khrunov crossed through open space into Soyuz-4 (time spent in outer space - 37 minutes). After 4.5 hours, the ships undocked. Landing - 01/17/1969 with cosmonauts V.A. Shatalov, A.S. Eliseev, E.V. Khrunov.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-5". The first orbital docking of two manned spacecraft is the creation of the first experimental orbital station. Commander - B.V. Volynov, crew members: A.S. Eliseev, E.V. Khrunov. The call sign is Baikal. Launch - 01/15/1969 01/16/1969 docked with the active spacecraft "Soyuz-4" (the mass of the bundle is 12924 kg), then A.S. Eliseev and E.V. Khrunov went through open space to "Soyuz-4" ”(time spent in open space - 37 minutes). After 4.5 hours, the ships undocked. Landing - 01/18/1969 with cosmonaut B.V. Volynov.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-6". Performing the world's first technological experiment. Group mutual maneuvering of two and three spacecraft (With Soyuz-7 and Soyuz-8 spacecraft). Crew: commander G.S. Shonin and flight engineer V.N. Kubasov. The call sign is "Antey". Launch - 10/11/1969 Landing - 10/16/1969
Spacecraft "Soyuz-7". Performing group mutual maneuvering of two and three ships ("Soyuz-6" and "Soyuz-8"). Crew: commander A.V.Filipchenko, crew members: V.N.Volkov, V.V.Gorbatko. The call sign is Buran. Launch - 10/12/1969, landing - 10/17/1969
Spacecraft "Soyuz-8". Group mutual maneuvering of two and three ships ("Soyuz-6" and "Soyuz-7"). Crew: commander V.A. Shatalov, flight engineer A.S. Eliseev. The call sign is "Granite". Launch - 10/13/1969, landing - 10/18/1969
Spacecraft "Soyuz-9". First long flight (17.7 days). Crew: commander A.G. Nikolaev, flight engineer - V.I. Sevastyanov. The call sign is "Falcon". Launch - 06/1/1970, landing - 06/19/1970
Spacecraft "Soyuz-10". First docking with the Salyut orbital station. Crew: commander V.A. Shatalov, crew members: A.S. Eliseev, N.N. Rukavishnikov. The call sign is "Granite". Launch - 04/23/1971 Landing - 04/25/1971 Docking was completed with the Salyut orbital station (04/24/1971), but the crew could not open the transfer hatches to the station, 04/24/1971 the spacecraft separated from the orbital station and returned ahead of schedule.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-11". The first expedition to the Salyut orbital station. Crew: commander G.T.Dobrovolsky, crew members: V.N.Volkov, V.I.Patsaev. Launch - 06/06/1971. On 06/07/1971, the ship docked with the Salyut orbital station. 06/29/1971 Soyuz-11 undocked from the orbital station. 06/30/1971 - landing was carried out. Due to the depressurization of the descent vehicle at high altitude, all crew members died (the flight was carried out without spacesuits).
Spacecraft "Soyuz-12". Conducting tests of advanced on-board systems of the ship. Checking the crew rescue system in case of emergency depressurization. Crew: commander V.G. Lazarev, flight engineer O.G. Makarov. The call sign is "Ural". Launch - 09/27/1973, landing - 09/29/1973
Spacecraft "Soyuz-13". Performing astrophysical observations and spectrography in the ultraviolet range using the Orion-2 telescope system of sections of the starry sky. Crew: commander P.I. Klimuk, flight engineer V.V. Lebedev. The call sign is "Kavkaz". Launch - 12/18/1973, landing - 12/26/1973
Spacecraft "Soyuz-14". The first expedition to the Salyut-3 orbital station. Crew: commander P.R.Popovich, flight engineer Yu.P.Artyukhin. The call sign is Berkut. Launch - July 3, 1974, docking with the orbital station - July 5, 1974, separation - July 19, 1974, landing - July 19, 1974.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-15". Crew: commander G.V. Sarafanov, flight engineer L.S. Demin. The call sign is "Danube". Launch - 08/26/1974, landing 08/28/1974 Planned docking with the Salyut-3 orbital station and continued scientific research on board. The docking did not take place.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-16". Testing of the on-board systems of the modernized Soyuz spacecraft in accordance with the ASTP program. Crew: commander A.V. Filipchenko, flight engineer N.N. Rukavishnikov. The call sign is Buran. Launch - 12/2/1974, landing - 12/8/1974
Spacecraft "Soyuz-17". The first expedition to the Salyut-4 orbital station. Crew: commander A.A. Gubarev, flight engineer G.M. Grechko. The call sign is "Zenith". Launch - 01/11/1975, docking with the Salyut-4 orbital station - 01/12/1975, separation and soft landing - 02/09/1975.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-18-1". Suborbital flight. Crew: commander V.G. Lazarev, flight engineer O.G. Makarov. Callsign - not registered. Launch and landing - 04/05/1975. It was planned to continue scientific research at the Salyut-4 orbital station. Due to deviations in the operation of the 3rd stage of the launch vehicle, a command was issued to terminate the flight. The spacecraft landed in an off-design area southwest of the city of Gorno-Altaisk
Spacecraft "Soyuz-18". The second expedition to the Salyut-4 orbital station. Crew: commander P.I. Klimuk, flight engineer V.I. Sevastyanov. The call sign is "Kavkaz". Launch - 05/24/1975, docking with the Salyut-4 orbital station - 05/26/1975, separation, descent and soft landing - 07/26/1975
Spacecraft "Soyuz-19". The first flight under the Soviet-American ASTP program. Crew: commander - A.A. Leonov, flight engineer V.N. Kubasov. The call sign is Soyuz. Launch - 07/15/1975, 07/17/1975 -
docking with the American spacecraft "Apollo". 07/19/1975, the ships undocked, performing the experiment " Solar eclipse”, then (July 19) the re-docking and final undocking of the two spacecraft was carried out. Landing - 07/21/1975. During the joint flight, the cosmonauts and astronauts made mutual transitions, a large scientific program was completed.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-20". Unmanned. Launch - 11/17/1975, docking with the Salyut-4 orbital station - 11/19/1975, separation, descent and landing - 02/16/1975. Life tests of the ship's onboard systems were carried out.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-21". The first expedition to the Salyut-5 orbital station. Crew: commander B.V. Volynov, flight engineer V.M. Zholobov. The call sign is Baikal. Launch - 07/06/1976, docking with the Salyut-5 orbital station - 07/07/1976, undocking, descent and landing - 08/24/1976
Spacecraft "Soyuz-22". Development of the principles and methods of multi-zonal photography of areas of the earth's surface. Crew: commander V.F. Bykovsky, flight engineer V.V. Aksenov. The call sign is "Hawk". Launch - 09/15/1976, landing - 09/23/1976
Spacecraft "Soyuz-23". Crew: commander V.D. Zudov, flight engineer V.I. Rozhdestvensky. The call sign is "Radon". Launch - 10/14/1976 Landing - 10/16/1976 Work was planned at the Salyut-5 orbital station. Due to the off-design mode of operation of the spacecraft rendezvous system, docking with Salyut-5 did not take place.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-24". The second expedition to the Salyut-5 orbital station. Crew: commander V.V. Gorbatko, flight engineer Yu.N. Glazkov. The call sign is "Terek". Launch - 02/07/1977 Docking with the Salyut-5 orbital station - 02/08/1976 Undocking, descent and landing - 02/25/1977
Spacecraft "Soyuz-25". Crew: commander V.V. Kovalenok, flight engineer V.V. Ryumin. The call sign is "Photon". Launch - 10/9/1977 Landing - 10/11/1977 It was planned to dock with the new Salyut-6 orbital station and carry out a scientific research program on it. The docking did not take place.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-26". Delivery of the crew of the 1st main expedition to the Salyut-6 orbital station. Crew: commander Yu.V.Romanenko, flight engineer G.M.Grechko. Launch - 12/10/1977 Docking with Salyut-6 - 12/11/1977 Undocking, descent and landing - 01/16/1978 with the crew of the 1st visiting expedition consisting of: V.A. Dzhanibekov, O.G. .Makarov (for the first time there was an exchange of spacecraft included in the Salyut-6 complex).
Spacecraft "Soyuz-27". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the 1st visiting expedition. Crew: commander V.A. Dzhanibekov, flight engineer O.G. Makarov. Launch - 01/10/1978 Docking with the Salyut-6 orbital station - 01/11/1978 Separation, descent and landing on 03/16/1978 with the crew of the 1st main expedition consisting of: Yu.V. Romanenko, G. M. Grechko.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-28". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the 1st international crew (the 2nd visiting expedition). Crew: commander - A.A. Gubarev, cosmonaut-researcher - citizen of Czechoslovakia V. Remek. Launch - 03/2/1978 Docking with Salyut-6 - 03/3/1978 Docking, descent and landing - 03/10/1978
Spacecraft "Soyuz-29". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the crew of the 2nd main expedition. Crew: commander - V.V. Kovalenok, flight engineer - A.S. Ivanchenkov. Launch - 06/15/1978 Docking with Salyut-6 - 06/17/1978 Undocking, descent and landing on 09/03/1978 with the crew of the 4th visiting expedition consisting of: V.F. Bykovsky, Z. Yen ( GDR).
Spacecraft "Soyuz-30". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station and return of the crew of the 3rd visiting expedition (the second international crew). Crew: commander P.I. Klimuk, cosmonaut-researcher, citizen of Poland M. Germashevsky. Launch - 06/27/1978 Docking with Salyut-6 - 06/28/1978 Docking, descent and landing - 07/05/1978
Spacecraft "Soyuz-31". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the crew of the 4th visiting expedition (3rd international crew). Crew: commander - VF Bykovsky, cosmonaut-researcher, citizen of the GDR Z. Yen. Launch - 08/26/1978 Docking with the Salyut-6 orbital station - 08/27/1978 Docking, descent and landing - 11/2/1978 with the crew of the 2nd main expedition consisting of: V.V. Kovalenok, A .S. Ivanchenkov.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-32". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the 3rd main expedition. Crew: commander V.A. Lyakhov, flight engineer V.V. Ryumin. Launch - 02/25/1979 Docking with Salyut-6 - 02/26/1979 Undocking, descent and landing on 06/13/1979 without a crew in automatic mode.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-33". Crew: commander N.N. Rukavishnikov, cosmonaut-researcher, citizen of Bulgaria G.I. Ivanov. The call sign is Saturn. Launch - 04/10/1979. On 04/11/1979, due to deviations from the normal mode in the operation of the rendezvous-correcting installation, docking with the Salyut-6 orbital station was canceled. 04/12/1979 the ship made a descent and landing.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-34". Launch 06/06/1979 without a crew. Docking with the Salyut-6 orbital station - 06/08/1979 06/19/1979 undocking, descent and landing with the crew of the 3rd main expedition consisting of: V.A.Lyakhov, V.V.Ryumin. (The descent module is exhibited at the State Museum of the Interior named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky).
Spacecraft "Soyuz-35". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the 4th main expedition. Crew: commander L.I. Popov, flight engineer V.V. Ryumin. Launch - 04/09/1980 Docking with Salyut-6 - 04/10/1980 Undocking, descent and landing on 06/03/1980 with the crew of the 5th visiting expedition (4th international crew consisting of: V.N. Kubasov, B. Farkash.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-36". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station of the crew of the 5th visiting expedition (4th international crew). Crew: commander VN Kubasov, cosmonaut-researcher, citizen of Hungary B. Farkas. Launch - 05/26/1980 Docking with Salyut-6 - 05/27/1980 Docking, descent and landing on 08/3/1980 with the crew of the 7th visiting expedition consisting of: V.V. Gorbatko, Pham Tuan (Vietnam) ).
Spacecraft "Soyuz-37". Delivery to the orbital station of the crew of the 7th visiting expedition (5th international crew). Crew: commander V.V. Gorbatko, cosmonaut-researcher, Vietnamese citizen Pham Tuan. Launch - 07/23/1980 Docking with Salyut-6 - 07/24/1980 Docking, descent and landing - 10/11/1980 with the crew of the 4th main expedition consisting of: L.I. Popov, V.V. .Ryumin.
Spacecraft "Soyuz-38". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station and return of the crew of the 8th visiting expedition (6th international crew). Crew: commander Yu.V.Romanenko, cosmonaut-researcher, Cuban citizen M.A.Tamayo. Launch - 09/18/1980 Docking with Salyut-6 - 09/19/1980 Docking, descent and landing 09/26/1980
Spacecraft "Soyuz-39". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station and return of the 10th visiting crew (7th international crew). Crew: commander V.A. Dzhanibekov, cosmonaut-researcher, citizen of Mongolia Zh. Gurragcha. Launch - 03/22/1981 Docking with Salyut-6 - 03/23/1981 Docking, descent and landing - 03/30/1981
Spacecraft "Soyuz-40". Delivery to the Salyut-6 orbital station and return of the crew of the 11th visiting expedition (8th international crew). Crew: commander L.I.Popov, cosmonaut-researcher, citizen of Romania D.Prunariu. Launch - 05/14/1981 Docking with Salyut-6 - 05/15/1981 Docking, descent and landing 05/22/1981
Is it so easy to put a person in a jar or about the design of manned spacecraft January 3, 2017
Spaceship. Surely many of you, having heard this phrase, imagine something huge, complex and densely populated, a whole city in space. This is how I once imagined spaceships, and numerous science fiction films and books actively contribute to this.
It's probably good that the authors of films are limited only by fantasy, unlike space technology design engineers. At least in the cinema, we can enjoy gigantic volumes, hundreds of compartments and thousands of crew members...
A real spaceship is not at all impressive in size:
The photo shows the Soviet Soyuz-19 spacecraft, taken by American astronauts from the Apollo spacecraft. It can be seen that the ship is quite small, and given that the habitable volume does not occupy the entire ship, it is obvious that it must be quite crowded there.
It is not surprising: large size is a large mass, and mass is enemy number one in astronautics. Therefore, spacecraft designers try to make them as light as possible, often at the expense of crew comfort. Notice how crowded the Soyuz is:
American ships in this regard are not particularly different from Russian ones. For example, here is a photo of Ed White and Jim McDivit in the Gemini spacecraft.
Only the crews of the Space Shuttle could boast of at least some freedom of movement. They had two relatively spacious compartments at their disposal.
Flight deck (actually the control cabin):
The middle deck (this is a household compartment with sleeping places, a toilet, a pantry and an airlock):
Unfortunately, the Soviet ship Buran, similar in size and layout, has never flown in a manned mode, like the TKS, which still has a record habitable volume among all ships ever designed.
But habitable volume is far from the only requirement for a spacecraft. I have heard statements like this: "They put a man in an aluminum can and sent him to spin around Mother Earth." This sentence is, of course, incorrect. So how is a spaceship different from a simple metal barrel?
And the fact that the spacecraft must:
- Provide the crew with a breathable gas mixture,
- remove carbon dioxide and water vapor exhaled by the crew from the habitable volume,
- Provide an acceptable temperature regime for the crew,
- Have a sealed volume sufficient for the life of the crew,
- Provide the ability to control the orientation in space and (optionally) the ability to perform orbital maneuvers,
- Have the necessary supplies of food and water for the life of the crew,
- Ensure the possibility of a safe return of the crew and cargo to the ground,
- Be as light as possible
- Have an emergency rescue system that allows you to return the crew to the ground when emergency at any stage of the flight,
- Be very reliable. Any one equipment failure must not result in a flight cancellation, any second failure must not endanger the life of the crew.
As you can see, this is no longer a simple barrel, but a complex technological device, stuffed with a variety of equipment, having engines and a supply of fuel for them.
Here, for example, is the layout of the first-generation Soviet spacecraft Vostok.
It consists of a sealed spherical capsule and a conical instrument-aggregate compartment. Almost all ships have such an arrangement, in which most of the instruments are placed in a separate unpressurized compartment. This is necessary to save weight: if all the devices are placed in a sealed compartment, this compartment would turn out to be quite large, and since it needs to hold Atmosphere pressure and withstand significant mechanical and thermal loads during entry into the dense layers of the atmosphere during descent to the ground, its walls must be thick, durable, which makes the entire structure very heavy. And an unpressurized compartment, which will separate from the descent vehicle upon return to earth and burn up in the atmosphere, does not need strong heavy walls. The descent vehicle without unnecessary instruments during the return turns out to be smaller and, accordingly, lighter. A spherical shape is also given to it to reduce mass, because of all geometric bodies of the same volume, a sphere has the smallest surface area.
The only spacecraft where all the equipment was placed in a sealed capsule is the American Mercury. Here is his photo in the hangar:
One person could fit in this capsule, and then with difficulty. Realizing the inefficiency of such an arrangement, the Americans made their next series of Gemini ships with a detachable leaky instrument-aggregate compartment. In the photo, this is the back of the ship in white:
By the way, this compartment is painted white for a reason. The fact is that the walls of the compartment are pierced by many tubes through which water circulates. This is a system for removing excess heat received from the Sun. Water takes heat from inside the habitable compartment and gives it to the surface of the instrument-aggregate compartment, from where heat is radiated into space. To make these radiators less heated in direct sunlight, they were painted white.
On the Vostok ships, the radiators were located on the surface of the conical instrument-aggregate compartment and were closed with shutters similar to blinds. By opening a different number of shutters, it was possible to regulate the heat transfer of the radiators, and hence the temperature regime inside the ship.
On Soyuz ships and their cargo counterparts Progress, the heat removal system is similar to Gemini. Pay attention to the color of the surface of the instrument-aggregate compartment. Of course, white :)
Inside the instrument-assembly compartment are sustainer engines, low-thrust shunting engines, a supply of fuel for all this stuff, batteries, oxygen and water supplies, and part of the on-board electronics. Outside, radio communication antennas, proximity antennas, various orientation sensors and solar panels are usually installed.
The descent vehicle, which simultaneously serves as the cabin of the spacecraft, contains only those elements that are needed during the descent of the vehicle in the atmosphere and a soft landing, as well as what should be directly accessible to the crew: a control panel, a radio station, an emergency supply of oxygen, parachutes , lithium hydroxide cassettes for removal carbon dioxide, soft landing engines, lodgements (chairs for astronauts), rescue kits in case of landing at an off-design point, and, of course, the astronauts themselves.
Soyuz ships have one more compartment - household:
It contains everything you need on a long flight, but without which you can do without at the stage of launching the ship into orbit and upon landing: scientific instruments, food supplies, Sanitation device (toilet), spacesuits for extravehicular activities, sleeping bags and other household items. items.
There is a well-known case with the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft, when, in order to save fuel, the household compartment was fired not after issuing a braking impulse to deorbit, but before. Only now there was no braking impulse: the orientation system failed, then it was not possible to start the engine. As a result, the cosmonauts had to stay in orbit for another day, and the toilet remained in the shot-out amenity compartment. It is difficult to convey what inconvenience the astronauts experienced during these days, until, finally, they managed to land safely. After this incident, they decided to score on such fuel economy and shoot the household compartment together with the instrument-aggregate after braking.
That's how many all sorts of difficulties turned out to be in the "bank". We will separately go over each type of spacecraft of the USSR, the USA and China in the following articles. Stay tuned.
A spacecraft used for flights in near-Earth orbit, including under human control.
All spacecraft can be divided into two classes: manned and launched in control mode from the Earth's surface.
In the early 20s. 20th century K. E. Tsiolkovsky once again predicts the future exploration of outer space by earthlings. In his work "Spaceship" there is a mention of the so-called celestial ships, the main purpose of which is the implementation of human spaceflight.
The first spaceships of the Vostok series were created under the strict guidance of general designer OKB-1 (now Energia Rocket and Space Corporation) S. P. Korolev. The first manned spacecraft "Vostok" was able to deliver a man into outer space on April 12, 1961. This cosmonaut was Yu. A. Gagarin.
The main objectives of the experiment were:
1) study of the impact of orbital flight conditions on a person, including his performance;
2) verification of the principles of spacecraft design;
3) development of structures and systems in real conditions.
The total mass of the ship was 4.7 tons, diameter - 2.4 m, length - 4.4 m. Among the on-board systems with which the ship was equipped, the following can be distinguished: control systems (automatic and manual modes); system of automatic orientation to the Sun and manual - to the Earth; life supporting system; thermal control system; landing system.
In the future, the developments obtained during the implementation of the Vostok spacecraft program made it possible to create much more advanced ones. To date, the "armada" of spacecraft is very clearly represented by the American reusable transport spacecraft "Shuttle", or Space Shuttle.
It is impossible not to mention the Soviet development, which is currently not used, but could seriously compete with the American ship.
"Buran" - that was the name of the program Soviet Union to create a reusable space system. Work on the Buran program began in connection with the need to create a reusable space system as a means of deterring a potential adversary in connection with the start of the American project in January 1971.
To implement the project, NPO Molniya was created. In the shortest possible time in 1984, with the support of more than a thousand enterprises from all over the Soviet Union, the first full-scale copy was created with the following technical characteristics: its length was more than 36 m with a wingspan of 24 m; starting weight - more than 100 tons with a payload weight of up to
30 tons
"Buran" had a pressurized cabin in the bow compartment, which could accommodate about ten people and most equipment for flight in orbit, descent and landing. The ship was equipped with two groups of engines at the end of the tail section and in front of the hull for maneuvering, for the first time a combined propulsion system was used, which included oxidizer and fuel fuel tanks, pressurization temperature control, fluid intake in zero gravity, control system equipment, etc.
The first and only flight of the Buran spacecraft was made on November 15, 1988 in an unmanned, fully automatic mode (for reference: the Shuttle still only lands on manual control). Unfortunately, the flight of the ship coincided with the difficult times that began in the country, and due to the end of the Cold War and the lack of sufficient funds, the Buran program was closed.
The start of a series of American spacecraft of the "Shuttle" type was laid in 1972, although it was preceded by a project of a reusable two-stage aircraft, each stage of which was similar to a jet.
The first stage served as an accelerator, which, after entering orbit, completed its part of the task and returned to Earth with the crew, and the second stage was an orbital ship and, after completing the program, also returned to the launch site. It was the time of an arms race, and the creation of a ship of this type was considered the main link in this race.
To launch the ship, the Americans use an accelerator and the ship's own engine, the fuel for which is placed in an external fuel tank. Spent boosters after landing are not reused, with a limited number of launches. Structurally, the ship of the Shuttle series consists of several main elements: the Orbiter aerospace plane, reusable rocket boosters and a fuel tank (disposable).
The first flight of a spacecraft a large number shortcomings and design changes took place only in 1981. In the period from April 1981 to July 1982, a series of orbital flight tests of the Columbia spacecraft was carried out in all flight modes. Unfortunately, in a series of flights of the Shuttle series, there were tragedies.
In 1986, during the 25th launch of the Challenger, a fuel tank exploded due to an imperfect design of the apparatus, as a result of which all seven crew members died. Only in 1988, after a number of changes were made to the flight program, the Discovery spacecraft was launched. To replace the Challenger, a new ship, the Endeavor, was put into operation, which has been operating since 1992.
World Space Week kicked off today. It is held annually from 4 to 10 October. Exactly 60 years ago, the first man-made object, the Soviet Sputnik-1, was launched into low Earth orbit. It orbited the Earth for 92 days until it burned up in the atmosphere. After that, the road to space and man was opened. It became clear that it cannot be sent with a one-way ticket. Vladimir Seroukhov, correspondent of the MIR 24 TV channel, learned how space technologies developed.
In 1961, Saratov anti-aircraft gunners spotted an unidentified flying object on the radar. They were warned in advance: if they see such a container falling from the sky, it is not worth interfering with its flight. After all, this is the first space descent vehicle in history with a man on board. But landing in this capsule was not safe, so at an altitude of 7 kilometers he ejected and descended to the surface already with a parachute.
The capsule of the ship "Vostok", in the slang of engineers - "Ball", also descended by parachute. So Gagarin, Tereshkova and other space pioneers returned to Earth. Due to the design features, passengers experienced incredible overloads of 8 g. The conditions in Soyuz capsules are much easier. They have been used for more than half a century, but they should soon be replaced by a new generation of ships -.
“This is the seat of the crew commander and co-pilot. Just those places from which the ship will be controlled, control of all systems. In addition to these chairs, there will be two more chairs on the sides. This is for researchers,” says Oleg Kukin, Deputy Head of the Flight Test Department of RSC Energia.
Compared to the Soyuz family of ships, which are still morally obsolete, and where only three astronauts could fit in close quarters, the Federation capsule is a real apartment, 4 meters in diameter. Now the main task is to understand how convenient and functional the device will be for the crew.
Management is now available to two crew members. The remote control keeps pace with the times - these are three touch displays where you can control information and be more autonomous in orbit.
“Here, in order to choose a landing site where we can sit down. We directly see the map, the flight route. They can also control weather conditions if this information is transmitted from Earth, - said Oleg Kukin, Deputy Head of the Flight Test Department of RSC Energia.
"Federation" is designed for flights to the moon, it's about four days of travel one way. All this time, the astronauts must be in the fetal position. In rescue chairs, or cradles, it is surprisingly comfortable. Each one is a piece of jewelry.
"The measurement of all anthropometric data begins with the measurement of mass," said Victor Sinigin, head of the medical department of NPP Zvezda.
Here it is - the space studio, the Zvezda enterprise. Here, individual spacesuits and lodgements are made for astronauts. For people lighter than 50 kilograms, the way on board is ordered, as well as for those who are heavier than 95. Height must also be average in order to fit in the cabin of the ship. Therefore, measurements are taken in the fetal position.
This is how the chair for the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata was cast. Got an imprint of the pelvis, back and head. In conditions of weightlessness, the growth of any astronaut can increase by a couple of centimeters, so the lodgement is made with a margin. It should be not only comfortable, but also safe in case of a hard landing.
“The very idea of modeling is to save internal organs. Kidneys, liver, they are encapsulated. If you give them the opportunity to expand, they can tear, like a plastic bag with water that has fallen to the floor,” Sinigin explained.
In total, 700 lodgements were made in this way not only for the Russians, but also for the Japanese, Italians and even colleagues from the States who worked at the Mir and ISS stations.
“The Americans on their Shuttle carried our lodgements and spacesuits that we made for them, and other rescue equipment. They left it all at the station, in case of an emergency leaving the station, but already on our ship, ”said Vladimir Maslennikov, lead engineer of the testing department at NPP Zvezda.
In a small town, lost in the desert region of California, an unknown lone amateur is trying to compete with world-famous billionaires and corporations for the right to build spaceships to send cargo to low Earth orbit. He does not have enough assistants and not enough resources. But, despite all the difficulties, he is going to bring his work to the end.
Joe Pappalardo
Dave Masten is staring at his computer screen. His finger hovered over the mouse button for a moment. Dave knows that he is about to open a letter from the DARPA agency, and this letter will change his life no matter what it says. He will either receive funding or be forced to give up his dream forever.
Two news
This is a real turning point, because at stake is participation in the DARPA-funded XS-1 program, which aims to build a reusable unmanned spaceplane that can withstand ten launches in ten days, accelerate to speeds in excess of 10 M and, with the help of an additional stage, deliver to low a payload weighing more than 1.5 tons. At the same time, the cost of each launch should not exceed $ 5 million. Dave Masten - the eternal outsider, a refugee from Silicon Valley, a hermit entrepreneur in the space industry - has never been so close to creating a full space system, like this time. If his company becomes one of the three participants in the XS-1 project, Dave will immediately receive a grant of $ 3 million and additional financial injections next year. And the cost of the future contract may exceed $140 million!
In case of refusal, Dave's company will remain an unknown small firm, eking out a miserable existence and cherishing the fragile dream of building orbital spacecraft. But, even worse, a rare opportunity to realize Masten's idea will be missed. State spaceflight programs have historically favored (essentially, this has been a requirement) spacecraft who need an airfield or a huge parachute to land. Masten proposed a vertical takeoff and vertical landing rocket, one that would require neither a landing strip nor a parachute to return to Earth. The XS-1 program presented a good chance to implement this idea, but if luck suddenly turns its back and the chance to participate in it falls to another, then who knows if the government will open up new sources of funding in the future.
So, one email, two completely different paths, one of which leads straight into space. Masten clicks the mouse and begins to read - slowly, delving into every word. When he's done, he turns to the engineers gathered behind him and with a straight face announces: “I have two news, good and bad. Good news that we were selected to participate in XS-1! The bad news is that we were selected for XS-1.”
Spaceport Cluster
The terrain in the north of the Mojave Desert is more reminiscent of scenes from a disaster movie: abandoned gas stations, painted with graffiti, and broken roads, on which carcasses of downed animals are found in some places, only reinforce this impression. Mountains flaunting on the horizon in the distance, unforgiving heat of the sun and seemingly endless cloudless blue sky.
However, this confusing emptiness is deceptive: in the western United States, Edwards Air Force Base (R-2508) is the main testing ground in the country. 50,000 square kilometers of closed airspace are now and then cut through by combat aircraft. It was here 68 years ago that Chuck Yeager became the first aviator to exceed the speed of sound in controlled level flight.
The ban on passenger and private jet flights, however, does not apply to residents of the nearby Mojave Aerospace Port, which was designated the country's first commercial spaceport in 2004. Masten moved here the same year, right after the startup he worked for as a software engineer was bought by the communications giant. Cisco Systems. Of the several empty buildings offered to Dave when moving, he opted for an abandoned barracks marines built in the 1940s. The building was in serious need of repair: the roof was leaking and the walls and corners were thickly adorned with cobwebs. For Dave, this was the ideal place: thanks to the high six-meter ceilings, all the aircraft that he and his three employees were constructing at that time could fit here. Another plus was the ability to stake out several launch sites and carry out test launches from them.
For several years, Masten Space Systems was known to only a few space technology experts and a few resident neighbors of the spaceport, including established industry giants such as Scaled Composites, which initiated private investment in space, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Vulcan Stratolaunch Systems Paul Allen. Their spacious hangars are literally crammed with sophisticated equipment that costs more than the entire MSS put together. However, such competition did not prevent Masten's brainchild in 2009 from winning $ 1 million in a competition hosted by NASA to build a lunar lander. After that, they suddenly started talking about the company, and Dave began to receive orders - in addition to NASA, his rockets began to be popular with famous universities in the country and even in the Ministry of Defense - for high-altitude scientific experiments and research.
Computer mock-up of the XS-1 VTOL spacecraft designed by Masten Space Systems
After the official inclusion in the XS-1 program, the authority of MSS grew even stronger - in competition with the Boeing Corporation and the large military-industrial company Northrop Grumman, Masten looked very solid. In addition to these industry giants, Blue Origin, a private aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos, is involved in the project through a partnership with Boeing, as well as the already mentioned Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic, collaborating with Northrop Grumman. MSS itself decided to join forces with another small company from Mojave - XCOR Aerospace. So, in the race to create a reusable space truck, Dave had to clash with the most venerable and well-endowed corporations. Until the next stage - estimates intermediate results and making a decision on further funding - only thirteen months remained.
Better than Boeing
The MSS building is in the same condition as when it was occupied by Masten. The roof is still leaking, and you can accidentally stumble upon a poisonous spider. There are toolboxes around the perimeter. Apart from banners with the name of the company, a board covered with equations, and an American flag, there is nothing on the walls. The center of the hangar is occupied by the Xaero-B rocket, which rests on four metal legs, above which there are two volumetric spherical tanks. One of them is filled with isopropyl alcohol, the other is filled with liquid oxygen. Slightly higher in a circle are additional tanks with helium. They are necessary for the operation of the engines of the jet control system, designed to control the spatial position of the ship. The engine at the bottom of the rocket is mounted in a gimbal to keep this strange insect-like structure steerable.
Several employees are busy preparing Xaero-B for a joint experiment with the University of Colorado (Boulder, USA), in which it is planned to test whether the ship can communicate with ground-based telescopes and participate in the search for exoplanets.
Masten's company attracts a certain type of mechanical engineer who is a true fan of his craft. “I did an internship at Boeing in the engine department for the 777,” says 26-year-old engineer Kyle Nyberg. — Boeing — very good company. But to be honest, I don't like sitting in the office all day long. I imagined that the next 40 years of my life would go like this, and I got really scared. At a small private company like MSS, engineers can experience a whole gamut of emotions when implementing their ideas - from euphoria to complete disappointment. You rarely see this anywhere."
Refueling at the Lagrange point
Masten's main focus has always been the creation of a rocket designed to carry cargo, not astronauts, a kind of "workhorse". Such ships will definitely be needed, for example, to transport oxygen and hydrogen from lunar surface to a gas station that will one day be placed at one of the Lagrange points between the Earth and the Moon. That is why Masten lays in his development the principle of vertical takeoff and landing. “This is the only way I know of that will work on the surface of any solid body V solar system he explains. “You can’t land a plane or a shuttle on the moon!”
In addition, VTOL makes it easier to reuse the spacecraft. Some of Masten's rockets have already made several hundred flights, preparing for a re-launch takes no more than one day. Under the terms of the XS-1 program, you need to make ten launches within ten days - for MSS this has long been commonplace. Here Dave is far ahead of his competitors, who have not yet managed to do this even once.
Humility and diligence
So, DARPA announced that all three participants in the XS-1 program were admitted to Phase 1B, for which each company will receive an additional $6 million. The main tasks of Phase 1 were to conduct design work and prepare infrastructure - in other words, it was necessary to demonstrate that the company will be able to work in XS-1. In phase 1B, participants must move on to trial runs, collect relevant data, and continue to refine the design to show how they plan to achieve the final goal. Phase 1B results are due next summer, with the first flight of the XS-1 into orbit scheduled for 2018.
No matter what the outcome of this competition is, the very fact that Dave has managed to get this far could turn the industry of private space projects upside down. “This is a game-changer,” said Hannah Kerner, executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation and a former NASA engineer. "DARPA has not only given private companies the opportunity to participate in the government's space program, but has also recognized emerging small companies as potentially serious players." Even if you forget about participation in XS-1 for a moment, MSS is still difficult to call an outsider company. In August, it opened a new office at Cape Canaveral, a space center in Florida that has recently begun to function as a hub for commercial space launches. In the same business center, located near the Kennedy Space Center, the office of SpaceX is located.
Despite this, MSS is still short on people and resources, and is still a group of romantic engineers who drill, hammer and solder in their hangar next door to rich big companies. And involuntarily you start to root for them - you want them to succeed.
"I think we will definitely compete with our competitors," - that's all that Masten answered the question about the chances of success in the XS-1. He sees no reason to promise mountains of gold, although many of his colleagues in the shop have already become a habit. Many succeed because they can speak beautifully. Dave is not one of them - he is calm, hardworking, modest, but just like his rivals, he is passionately eager to realize his ideas.
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