Cosmonauts of the Salyut 6 orbital station.

Since the resource of any DOS, which is very limited, is determined mainly by the fuel reserves and consumable means of the life support system placed on it during launch, the question arose about creating a system of constant material and technical supply of orbital stations to ensure the independence of their operational resource from the initial stock of on-board resources. To do this, it was necessary to have at least two docking units at the station.

This project was already implemented at NPO Energia, formed on the basis of TsKBEM in May 1974, headed by V.P. Glushko. Yu.P. was appointed chief designer of the line. Semenov. A new component compartment was created with a propulsion system with bellows membranes in the tanks, allowing it to be refueled in flight. The second docking unit made it possible not only to refuel the station, but also to carry out crew changes with the crew constantly on board the station. This was truly a new word in space technology, and not everyone believed in the possibility of implementing such a solution, but the desire to make the station truly long-term, with the possibility of constantly renewing its resources, overcame doubts. The new stations included an additional transition chamber with a second docking unit, which allowed the Soyuz spacecraft and the Progress cargo spacecraft to be at the station simultaneously when refueling and delivering cargo, or two Soyuz spaceships at the same time when changing the crew. There is an opportunity to enter open space, while the transition compartment became an airlock chamber where spacesuits and all the equipment necessary to ensure exit from the station to its outer surface were located using special handrails for moving and securing cosmonauts during extravehicular activities (EVA). A number of on-board systems were improved, color television was introduced, and a folding shower cabin was installed in the working compartment to meet the needs of the crew. The station's lifespan was increased to three years.

It should be emphasized that the developers of this PKK needed great courage to trust the highly reliable, but still automatic, Progress ships, which were supposed to repeatedly dock at the station with the crew on board. And only today it is clear how correct this decision turned out to be. The Progress ships made it possible not only to deliver consumable equipment, but also to increase the station’s capabilities for conducting scientific research by delivering the corresponding scientific equipment. During the operation of the station during the autonomous flight of the Progress spacecraft at the end of the joint flight phase, a number of important technical and applied experiments were carried out as part of the PAC.

On September 29, 1977, the first long-term orbital station of the third generation DOS No. 5, Salyut-6, was launched into orbit, on which five main expeditions and 11 visiting expeditions operated until July 29, 1982. We only note that the first expedition to the station did not take place. The Soyuz-25 spacecraft, launched on October 9, 1977 with cosmonauts V.V. Kovalenko and V.V. Ryumin, did not dock with the station due to deviations in the mooring and docking area, as well as excessive fuel consumption, and was forced to return to Earth. The first cosmonauts to visit the Salyut-6 station on the Soyuz-26 spacecraft were cosmonauts Yu.V. Romanenko and G.M. Grechko, who worked in orbit for more than 96 days, from December 10, 1977 to March 16, 1978.

During the first expedition there was significant event. On January 20, 1978, for the first time in the world, the Progress-1 automatic cargo refueling ship launched to the Salyut-6 station, which delivered the necessary cargo to the station and refueled its propulsion system.

Second expedition - cosmonauts V.V. Kovalenok and A.S. Ivanchenkov - worked in orbit from June 15 to November 2, 1978, i.e. 139 days. This duration again became a record. The word “record” was often used in the operation of orbital stations, but it was not the desire for records that motivated the developers of space technology. A systematic study of the human body was carried out under space flight conditions. Man has found a new habitat, and the process of its development has become irreversible. It was very important to study all the features of a long orbital flight and identify the dangers that await a person along this path. Third expedition - cosmonauts V.V. Lyakhov and V.V. Ryumin - worked from February 25 to August 19, 1979, i.e. 175 days. The fourth expedition - cosmonauts L.I. Popov and V.V. Ryumin - worked from April 9 to October 11, 1980. The crew has already spent 185 days in orbit. Fifth expedition - cosmonauts V.V. Kovalenok and V.P. Savinykh - worked from March 12 to May 26, 1981, i.e. 74 days.

For a long time, NPO/RSC Energia has been working on a manned expedition to Mars. The results of studies of long-term flights are very important for such work, and these studies could only be carried out at orbital stations.

During the operation of the Salyut-6 OS, more than 1,550 diverse experiments were carried out during the implementation of the scientific program, more than 150 types of scientific instruments and instruments with a total mass of more than 2,200 kg were used. Using the opportunity to deliver cargo to the station, over 750 kg of scientific instruments were brought on board. The work was carried out in the field of astrophysics (on-board submillimeter telescope BST-1M, radio telescope KRT-10, etc.), production of materials (technological installations "Splav" and "Crystal"), geophysics (photographic equipment KATE-140, "Pentacon", multispectral camera MKF ), biology, medicine, etc.

On July 29, 1982, the Salyut-6 orbital station with the transport supply ship (TCS) Kosmos-1267, which operated as part of the spacecraft, was deorbited and ceased to exist over the Pacific Ocean.

Orbital station "Salyut-6"

New long-term orbital station of the second generation DOS-5 No. 125 “Salyut-6”(weight - 19830 kg, length - 13.5 m, maximum diameter - 4.15 m) resembled its predecessor DOS-4 (Salyut-4), but also had significant design features. First of all, it included two docking stations, a hatch for spacewalks for two cosmonauts, and a joint propulsion system (UPS) with a fuel tank system common to all types of engines and with the possibility of refueling during the flight.

DOS-5 consisted of three sealed cylindrical compartments: transition (PhO), working (RO) and intermediate chamber (IP) with a total volume of about 86.5 m 3, as well as two leaky ones: the scientific equipment compartment and the aggregate one.

The smallest - transition compartment(length about 3 m, diameter -2 m) was like a “vestibule” between the station and the transport ship. At its front end there was a passive docking unit (DS) with a hatch with a diameter of 60 cm. On the side surface of the compartment there was a special hatch for two cosmonauts to go into outer space. The Orlan-D spacesuits and equipment for working outside the station were also stored here, and there was also a control panel for the airlock process during spacewalks. The antennas of the Igla radiotechnical rendezvous and docking system, antennas of telemetric systems, beacons and a docking target, ion sensors of the orientation and stabilization system, solar and micrometeorite sensors, thermal control units, compressed air cylinders were installed outside the PHO. air and elements for fixing astronauts and equipment, as well as a television camera for monitoring the docking process. Through a sealed hatch, the PHO communicated with the working compartment; the PO consisted of two cylindrical zones (small - 2.9 m and large - 4.15 m in diameter), connected by a conical adapter. The total length of the RO was 9.1 m.

Outside on the small cylinder there were three panels of folding solar panels (SB) with a span of 16.5 m (an area of ​​20 m 2 and a total power of 4 kW), automatically tracking the Sun, solar sensors, as well as panels of the thermal control system.

Inside working compartment in small diameter The main control panel of the station was located (post No. 1) with two chairs. From here negotiations were conducted with Earth, television reports were carried out. Here it was possible to find out about the status of all on-board systems and issue control commands. In automatic mode, the station was controlled by the on-board electronic computer "Salyut-5", located in this compartment.

Inside large diameter working compartment A significant space was occupied by the cone of the scientific equipment compartment, which seemed to “wedge” into the working area. It contained a large submillimeter telescope BST-1M weighing 650 kg with a one and a half meter mirror. The control panel (post No. 3) was located on the surface of the cone. For filming the Earth in six spectral zones, a multispectral camera MKF-6M manufactured in the GDR (weight 170 kg, resolution 20 m) with control station No. 4 was intended. For technological experiments, melting furnaces "Splav" were used (delivered on board " Progress-1") and "Crystal". (Scientific equipment was also located in other places of the station - its total mass was about 1.5 tons.)

Life support systems were also installed in the RO. There was a space kitchen here: a folding table with food warmers, a buffet with daily food rations, taps with hot and cold water. Water to the kitchen came from a water regeneration system from atmospheric moisture condensate. On the left side, in a cabinet, equipment for medical research, which includes multifunctional equipment “Polynom-2M”, “Rheograph” and “Beta”. Below, on the floor, is a treadmill, and on the ceiling is a bicycle ergometer. On the starboard side, not far from the toilet, there was a space “bathhouse”. To organize a bathing day, the cosmonauts had to lower a kind of “glass” made of plastic film with a zipper in the middle from the “ceiling” to the “floor.” Hot water was supplied to this “glass” from above through a sprayer, and from below this water was sucked out like a vacuum cleaner. For recreation there was a video recorder with a set of cassettes. Closer to the stern, sleeping bags were attached to the walls, where the astronauts rested. There is also a toilet and two small airlock chambers for dumping “buckets” of garbage overboard, as well as an air ionizer.

The outside of the station was covered with white screen-vacuum thermal insulation.

The creation of orbital stations of the Salyut series has an important place in the Soviet space program. The first Salyut station began operating in orbit on April 19, 1971. The design of subsequent stations was carried out taking into account the experience and knowledge gained during the development and operation of previous stations. The duration of active existence of stations in orbit and the duration of manned flights gradually increased. Long-term operation of stations in space was ensured by increasing the technical life of instruments and assemblies, redundant systems, and creating conditions for the crew to carry out preventive and repair work. Increasing the service life of life support systems, as well as further improving the complex of preventive means and methods of training cosmonauts, made it possible to significantly increase the time of their work in orbit and significantly reduce the impact of adverse factors of space flight on the human body.

But in addition to all these measures, in order to significantly increase the flight duration, it was necessary to ensure regular replenishment of fuel reserves at the station; water, air, food and other consumable elements of the life support system. Long-term work also requires the delivery of new scientific equipment, various spare parts for carrying out preventive and repair work on board the station, and much more. Therefore, there was a need for a logistics supply system for the station. Such a system was created on the basis of Progress automatic cargo ships.

The Salyut-6 and Salyut-7 stations are second-generation stations and differ in many ways from previous stations. They have two docking ports, allowing two ships to be received at the station at the same time, either both manned, or one manned and the other cargo; in-flight refueling system. A special hatch makes it possible to enter space. Outside the station, cosmonauts work in semi-rigid spacesuits of a fundamentally new design. Unlike the first Salyut station, these stations have a third solar panel and additional batteries installed. Thanks to this, the energy capabilities of the stations have been increased. In addition to a black-and-white television camera, they are equipped with a television camera for transmitting color images to Earth. In the living quarters, sanitary and hygienic conditions have been significantly improved (showers, air ionizers, etc. have been installed).

The total mass of the space complex, consisting of a station and two transport ships, is 32,500 kg (18,900 kg is the mass of the station after insertion into orbit, 6,800 kg is the mass of one transport ship). The total length of the entire complex is 29 m; station length - 15 m, maximum station diameter - 4.15 m, maximum transverse size, measured by open solar panels, - 17 m.

Due to the fact that the Salyut-6 and Salyut-7 orbital stations are similar in design and composition of on-board systems, a description of their structure will be given using the example of the first of them.

The improvement of a number of systems and units of the Salyut-7 station was carried out based on the results of the long-term operation of Salyut-6. Some new scientific instruments were also installed at the Salyut-7 station.

Device

The Salyut-6 station has five compartments: a transition chamber, a working compartment, a scientific equipment compartment, an aggregate chamber, and an intermediate chamber. On a launch vehicle, the station is installed in such a way that the transition compartment is located at the top. At the launch site, it (as well as part of the working compartment) is protected from the effects of the aerodynamic flow by the head fairing, which is discarded after the launch vehicle passes through the dense layers of the atmosphere.

Transition compartment It received this name because astronauts pass through it from the transport ship to the station. The side walls of the compartment are conical and cylindrical shells. A docking unit is installed at the end of the conical shell, and on its side surface there is a hatch for access to space.

When astronauts go into outer space, the transition compartment is used as an airlock. Inside it are spacesuits, consoles, equipment and means of fixation that provide exit. The transition compartment is separated from the worker by a hermetically sealed hatch. There are seven portholes on the walls of the compartment, some of them are equipped with instruments for performing celestial orientation of the complex. These devices, together with the corresponding consoles and control knobs for the station’s orientation, form two control posts - the fifth and sixth. In total, the station is equipped with seven control posts.

Work compartment- main station premises. It is formed by two cylindrical shells connected by a conical insert. The compartment has a structurally separated floor, ceiling and side walls.

The instruments and equipment available here are located mainly along the walls, some of the equipment is installed on the floor and ceiling, which provides access to on-board systems if necessary.

The working compartment houses the main means of control and monitoring of systems and scientific equipment. There are five control posts here. In the small-diameter zone of the working compartment, where it adjoins the transition compartment, there is a central one - the first control post for the station and scientific equipment. This is the main thing workplace commander and flight engineer. Communication means, control panels for service equipment, an orientation control knob, and optical sights for orientation are located here. Information about the operation of most on-board systems and units of the station flows here, from here the cosmonauts coordinate the work of other posts, control the movement of the station, negotiate with the Earth, receive information about the position of the station in orbit, the number of orbits made around the Earth, the time of entry and exit from shadows.

This post has two adjustable chairs with locking devices. In the area of ​​the commander's workplace, a teletypewriter "String" is installed for receiving on board text messages (alphanumeric) with registration on the printing device. This equipment largely frees astronauts from the need to themselves receive and record information and commands transmitted from the Mission Control Center.

To the left and right of the first post there are refrigeration and drying units of the thermal control system and regeneration units of the system for ensuring the gas composition of the station’s atmosphere. Behind the post consoles, closer to the transition compartment, there are gyroscopic devices for the station’s orientation and motion control system.

On the outer surface of this part of the compartment there are three solar panels, each of which has its own electric drive and, independently of the others, according to commands from solar sensors, is constantly oriented towards the Sun, which ensures the best illumination of the panels (this is necessary to obtain maximum current). Thanks to this, there was no longer a need to carry out operations to “spin” the station to the Sun, as was the case before, for example, on the first Salyut.

In the conical part connecting the large and small cylinders of the working compartment, there is a second post. Operations for celestial orientation and celestial navigation of the station are carried out here. Astro instruments are installed on two windows.

Between the first and second posts there is an area for eating and resting astronauts, there is a table with food warmers and devices for fixing it, as well as a container with drinking water. Next to the table on the side wall there are blocks of a water regeneration system from the station’s atmospheric moisture condensate. Astronauts can receive hot and cold water if they wish.

The equipment of the on-board computer complex is located on the opposite wall. There is also a special stowage with on-board tools and a table for carrying out preventive and repair work.

In the large diameter area of ​​the working compartment, scientific equipment and a third control station are located. scientific works. To point scientific equipment at research objects, a sighting device, a control panel and a station orientation control knob are installed here, as well as means for fixing astronauts during research, radio telemetry system units, on-board radio control systems and power supply systems, and containers with food supplies.

At the top, along the walls, there are crew sleeping places and two airlock chambers for removing waste from the station (waste is pre-collected in special containers). In the area of ​​the rear bottom there is a vacuum cleaner, dust filters, supplies of water, laundry and other consumable elements of the life support system. A sanitary and hygienic unit is also equipped here. It is separated from the rest of the working compartment by a curtain and equipped with forced ventilation.

In addition, a folding shower cabin and a comprehensive exercise machine are installed in the large diameter area. physical exercise, bicycle ergometer, vacuum tank and medical monitoring devices.

The fourth post is located in the lower central part of the working compartment. Equipment for conducting medical experiments, equipment for filming and photography, and another control panel for scientific equipment are located here. An MKF-6M camera is installed on one of the two windows of this post for multi-spectral shooting. This device was jointly developed by specialists Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic and manufactured at the People's Enterprise of the GDR "Carl Zeiss Jena".

As already noted, two posts (fifth and sixth) are located in the transition compartment of the station.

The seventh post is located in the small-diameter zone of the working compartment and is designed to work with scientific equipment consoles and control the water regeneration system.

All control posts and cosmonaut workstations are radio-equipped and equipped with daylight lamps. To support filming and television coverage, additional lamps were installed on the walls.

In the unpressurized aggregate compartment, docked with the rear bottom of the working compartment, there are units of the integrated propulsion system: correction engines, a system of low-thrust engines to control the orientation of the station, fuel tanks and gas cylinders for pressurizing them, a refueling system, compressors and other equipment.

The intermediate chamber of the station is sealed, consists of cylindrical and conical shells and is located inside the aggregate compartment. On the end side of the cone there is a second docking unit. Cosmonauts who arrived at the station in a ship, which is docked on the side of the equipment compartment, enter the station through an intermediate chamber. It has two portholes for visual observations, filming and photography.

Vehicles

The main condition for the long-term active operation of orbital stations is the availability of means of delivering crews to the station and returning them to Earth, as well as means of logistics for supplying the stations. At all stations before Salyut-6, the tasks of delivering crews and supplies were solved simultaneously using Soyuz manned transport spacecraft. Due to a significant increase in the duration of active work and the expansion of the range of research at the Salyut-6 station, the demand for the amount of delivered cargo (scientific equipment, elements of the life support system, fuel, photographic and film film, etc.) has sharply increased. To solve this problem, the Progress automatic cargo ship was created, which now almost completely supplies the station. The transport manned spacecraft "Soyuz" and "Soyuz T" deliver cosmonauts and some cargo to the station.

Manned spacecraft "Soyuz"

The development of the Soyuz spacecraft began during the implementation of the Vostok program. Then the designers were faced with the problem of creating a multi-purpose spacecraft that could be operated for many years and support an ever-increasing volume of research. Its flight testing began in 1966.

The Soyuz spacecraft consists of three compartments: the descent module, the orbital compartment with a docking device, and the instrumentation compartment. Its launch weight is 6800 kg.

Descent vehicle(cosmonaut cabin) is designed to accommodate the crew during the launch of the spacecraft into orbit, docking with the station, return and soft landing on Earth. During ascent and descent, cosmonauts in spacesuits are located in special shock-absorbing chairs. The seats are comfortable and help withstand overload. The body of the descent vehicle is sealed. On the outside, it is covered with a special heat-protective layer that protects the structure and equipment located inside from aerodynamic heating during the descent section.

The shape of the descent vehicle provides it with the necessary aerodynamic lift when flying in the atmosphere. By changing it, you can control the flight when moving in the atmosphere. Descent of the vehicle using the aerodynamic quality makes it possible to reduce the effective overloads by 2-2.5 times compared to the overloads that occur during a ballistic descent. In addition, control of the magnitude and direction of the lift force, carried out using rocket engines, can significantly improve landing accuracy.

The lower part of the descent vehicle is used to accommodate instruments and units of the control system for the ship in flight and the descent vehicle in the descent area, the life support system, the control system for the on-board complex, and equipment for the Zarya radiotelephone communication system. There are also special containers installed here designed for cargo delivered to the station and experimental materials returned to Earth.

Directly in front of the astronauts there is a spacecraft control panel, an optical sight, a television screen and key switches for controlling on-board systems. The optical sight is used for visual orientation when controlling the ship in berthing, docking areas and for manual orientation of the ship. There are two windows on the right and left sides of the descent vehicle. They are designed for visual observations, filming and photography.

Throughout the entire flight, normal conditions are maintained in the descent vehicle. atmospheric pressure, humidity and air temperature. The “earthly” microclimate allows the crew to work without spacesuits. There are supplies of food and water here.

The main and reserve parachute systems are located in special containers of the descent vehicle. The braking parachute of the main system opens at an altitude of 9.5 kilometers. After preliminary reduction of speed by a braking parachute, the main canopy opens parachute system, ensuring further descent and landing of the descent vehicle. Immediately before landing, at an altitude of about one meter, solid-propellant rocket motors for a soft landing fire, reducing the landing speed to three to four meters per second.

Orbital compartment the ship is designed as a small space laboratory in which astronauts can conduct scientific research and observation, eating and resting. The compartment is equipped with places for astronauts to work, rest and sleep. Scientific equipment is also located here. The composition of the scientific equipment varies depending on the flight program. The orbital compartment has four windows.

The internal volume of the orbital compartment (6.5 cubic meters) is also used to accommodate the rendezvous system equipment and life support system units.

The orbital compartment can be used as an airlock when astronauts go into outer space. For this purpose, there is an external hatch that can be opened both automatically and manually. After the astronauts return, the hatch is hermetically sealed, the orbital compartment is filled with air and normal conditions are again created in it.

The docking unit, mounted on the orbital compartment, is designed to dock the spacecraft with the station, as well as create a hermetically sealed connection between the spacecraft and the station. After docking, the crew enters the station through the hatch of the docking unit.

Instrumentation compartment serves to house the ship's propulsion systems, as well as all the main service systems of the ship, ensuring orbital flight.

Part of the compartment (instrument section) is sealed, and inside it the conditions necessary for the normal functioning of equipment that is not intended to operate in a vacuum are maintained. The equipment for the orientation and motion control system, radio equipment, elements of the power supply system, etc. are located here.

The orientation and motion control system ensures the orientation of the ship in space, its stabilization when the engines are running, control during approach and mooring, both in automatic mode and with manual control.

The radio equipment located in the instrument section includes radio command line and radio telemetry measurement systems.

In the non-pressurized part (aggregate and transition sections) of the instrument and aggregate compartment, propulsion systems for various purposes are located.

The transition section contains fuel tanks and part of the berthing and orientation engines, which ensure maneuvering and orientation of the ship, as well as its approach to the Salyut station.

The aggregate section houses the remaining mooring and orientation engines, as well as the ship’s rendezvous-correction propulsion system, which includes two engines with a thrust of each slightly more than 400 kilograms. This installation is used for maneuvers in orbit and for descent to Earth.

The Ship uses 27 volt direct current for power supply. The transition to on-board power supply begins at the launch pad of the cosmodrome. After the ship docks with the station, power is supplied from its power supply system. A chemical battery consisting of several blocks can be recharged from the station's power supply system. After the separation of the ship's compartments, upon returning to Earth, the descent vehicle switches to its autonomous power supply.

To perform an autonomous flight, without docking with the Salyut station, solar panels can be installed on the ship.

The Soyuz radio equipment provides reception of commands from the Earth, two-way radiotelephone communication, measurement of orbital parameters, transmission of television images to Earth, as well as telemetric information. When flying outside the radio visibility zone of ground-based and floating receiving points, telemetric information is recorded by on-board storage devices and transmitted to Earth during the next communication session.

Normal physiological and hygienic conditions for astronauts are created by life support and temperature control systems. The units and automation of the thermal control system support the necessary temperature regime in the living compartments of the ship during autonomous flight, as well as the specified temperature conditions of instruments, units and fuel tanks located inside sealed and unpressurized compartments. This is ensured by screen-vacuum thermal insulation available on the outside of the compartments, the application of special coatings, the operation of hydraulic cooling and heating circuits, heat exchangers and fans. The astronauts can regulate the temperature inside the living compartments themselves.

The Soyuz spacecraft has maximum length 7.94 meters and the maximum diameter of the living compartments is 2.2 meters.

At the launch site, when flying in dense layers of the atmosphere, the ship is protected from the effects of aerodynamic and thermal loads by the head fairing. The antennas are folded at this time. After passing through the zone of maximum thermal and speed loads, the nose fairing is discarded in the operating area of ​​the second stage of the launch vehicle. After the ship separates from the rocket, the antennas open.

To rescue the crew in the event of a launch vehicle accident at the launch site or at the site of putting the ship into orbit, there is an emergency rescue system that ensures the separation and removal of the living compartments of the ship with astronauts from the launch vehicle. After retraction, the descent vehicle descends by parachute and lands on Earth.

Manned spacecraft "Soyuz T"

The Soyuz T spacecraft was created on the basis of the Soyuz spacecraft, preserving its general layout and also has two habitable compartments - the orbital and descent module. This arrangement has fully justified itself during many years of operation of the Soyuz spacecraft; it has shown high reliability and the possibility of rapid structural modernization. For short term the orbital compartment can be easily and inexpensively converted to perform new work. It has already been used as an airlock during spacewalks, as a compartment for installing new equipment being tested, as a transition and cargo compartment for a transport ship, and as a compartment for the crew during autonomous flight of the ship.

The Soyuz and Soyuz T spaceships are similar in appearance, but all the main systems of the Soyuz T are made in principle new basis taking into account higher possibilities modern science and technology. The ship's crew may consist of two or three astronauts. In the case where two cosmonauts make a flight, a cargo container is installed instead of one seat, which makes it possible to significantly increase the mass and size of the cargo delivered into orbit. This is important for the operation of the station, and also makes it possible to increase the mass of cargo returned to Earth from the flight.

Used on Soyuz T new system motion control, built on the principle of a strapdown (without the use of free gyroscopes or a gyroplatform) inertial system, using an on-board digital computing complex. All orientation modes, including to the Earth and the Sun, can be performed both with the participation of the crew and automatically. Approach modes are based on calculations of the relative motion trajectory, performed using the on-board computer complex, and optimal maneuvers that bring the ship to the station. The functionality of the control system has been significantly expanded, the solution of navigation problems has been ensured, and the reliability of operations has been increased. In addition to motion control and self-monitoring, the control system is responsible for automatically monitoring dynamic operations and fuel consumption, and making decisions about changing the operating mode when deviations occur. The operation of the system is controlled via a command radio link from the Earth or by the crew using onboard information input and display devices. In particular, a display is used, on the television screen of which data about the specified mode and real progress of a particular process in the form of texts, numbers and graphs.

The propulsion system of the ship is combined. It consists of a rendezvous-correcting (propulsion) engine and mooring and orientation micromotors operating on common fuel components. This ensures optimal use of on-board fuel reserves and flexibility in executing the flight program, especially in the event of emergency situations.

The aerodynamic shape previously used on the Soyuz spacecraft was adopted for the Soyuz T descent vehicle.

But significant changes have been made to the descent control system to improve landing accuracy.

Despite the strict weight restrictions during the development of the Soyuz T spacecraft, deep redundancy of systems and their operating modes was implemented. For example, such capabilities are provided as the use of a backup manual control circuit for deorbiting a spacecraft in the event of a failure of the main automatic circuit, and braking for descent using small mooring engines in the event of a failure of the propulsion engine.

The first launch of the Soyuz T unmanned spacecraft took place on December 16, 1979. The first flight with a crew of two was successfully completed in June 1980, and with a crew of three at the end of the same year.

Automatic ship "Progress"

The Progress automatic cargo ship was created on the basis of the Soyuz spacecraft. It has a launch weight of 7 tons and structurally consists of three main compartments - instrumentation and assembly, cargo with a docking unit and a refueling compartment.

In instrumentation and assembly The compartment houses all the main service systems of the ship, ensuring autonomous flight, rendezvous, docking, as well as flight as part of the orbital complex. Basically, the instrumentation compartment of the Progress is similar in its purpose, composition of equipment and equipment to the instrumentation compartment of the Soyuz spacecraft.

Cargo compartment The Progress ship is designed to be placed on special frames and in containers for cargo delivered to the station. This compartment is sealed, and it provides the specified temperature and atmospheric composition.

The docking unit of the cargo ship was developed on the basis of the docking unit of the Soyuz spacecraft and is intended mainly to perform the same functions. Due to the need for refueling, it has been modified and provides a hermetically sealed connection between the fuel lines of the ship and the station.

Refueling compartment designed to accommodate tanks with fuel components, gas cylinders and refueling system units.

Structurally, it is made in the form of two conical shells. The refueling system also includes means for monitoring the tightness of lines and their purging, sensors for monitoring the temperature and pressure of components and gas. Refueling is controlled from the orbital station side by the crew, and from the ship side via a command radio link from the Mission Control Center.

The total weight of cargo that can be delivered to the station is 2300 kilograms.

Launch vehicle of the Soyuz, Soyuz T and Progress spacecraft

The launch vehicle of the Soyuz, Soyuz T and Progress spacecraft has three stages and consists of six blocks: a central one, four side ones and a third stage block. The first and second stages are made according to the “package” scheme with longitudinal division and includes a central and side blocks. The third stage is installed on the central block.

The four side blocks that make up the first stage are located symmetrically around the central block and are connected to it by two power connection belts - upper and lower, which have mechanisms for separating the side blocks after their engines have finished operating. The length of the block is 19.8 meters, the diameter of the lower part is 3 meters. Each block is equipped with an independent four-chamber engine (with two steering oscillating chambers), developing a total thrust of 102 tons in the void.

The central block, together with the side blocks, forms the first stage, and after the side blocks are separated, it performs the functions of the second stage. This block is approximately 28 meters long and has a maximum diameter of 2.95 meters. The unit is equipped with a four-chamber engine with four steering chambers, developing a total thrust of 94 tons in the void.

After the fuel of the central block is consumed, the third stage engine is started and separated from the central block. The third stage is a block 8 meters long and 2.6 meters in diameter, equipped with a four-chamber engine with a vacuum thrust of 30 tons. The third stage engine is turned off and a command to separate the spacecraft is issued by the control system when it reaches the design speed corresponding to the launch of the spacecraft into a given orbit.

All stages of the launch vehicle use oxygen-kerosene fuel. Its launch weight with the Soyuz spacecraft is more than 300 tons, the total length is 39.3 meters, the maximum diameter is 10.3 meters.

To replace the Soviet-Polish crew, which had worked at the station for a week, on August 26, 1978, the next international visiting expedition arrived on Soyuz-31, consisting of commander Valery Bykovsky and cosmonaut-researcher Sigmund Jen, a citizen of the GDR. The astronauts' weekly flight program included photography earth's surface and coastal areas using the MKF-6M camera, research sunlight reflected by the Earth and scattered by the atmosphere (a series of experiments "Polarization"), remote sensing of the Earth to detect minerals (the "Rainbow-M" experiment) meteorological observations, observations and photography of auroras, a series of "Berolina" experiments on melting and growing semiconductor single crystals using the "Splav" and "Crystal" melting furnaces, biological experiments "Tissue Culture", "Growth of Bacteria", "Metabolism of Bacteria" in which the quantities were compared energy consumed by bacteria on Earth and in space, medical experiments “Time” (study of the subjective sense of time of astronauts), “Speech” (definition emotional state person by voice), “Audio” (study of the influence of weightlessness on the threshold of sound sensitivity), etc. Having completed the assigned tasks on board the station, on September 3, the Soviet-German crew returned to Earth on Soyuz-29, leaving the main expedition more “fresh” ship.

Since the station’s aft docking port, designed to receive cargo ships, was occupied by Soyuz-31, V.V. Kovalenok and A.S. Ivanchenkov redocked the spacecraft to the bow hub, which made it possible to accept another Progress on board the station.

Having fully completed the research program and setting a new record for flight duration, V.V. Kovalenok and A.S. Ivanchenkov mothballed the OS systems and returned to Earth on November 2, 1978. Post-flight readaptation was much easier for the cosmonauts than could have been expected, in many ways thanks to intensive physical activity at the station and strict compliance by the crew with the recommendations of doctors.

By this time, many systems and units of Salyut-6 had already exhausted their service life, and problems were discovered in the fuel line. The analysis of the station's condition took about four months; it was decided that the flight of the next crew was possible, but the final work plan would be formed later, when it became clear what the crew could do to extend the life of the station.

On February 25, 1979, the Soyuz-32 spacecraft launched to Salyut-6 with cosmonauts V.A. Lyakhov and V.V. Ryumin on board. After arriving at the station, the cosmonauts had to conduct an examination of on-board systems, instruments and scientific equipment when operating in manned mode and, based on the results of this study, determine the scope of necessary preventive and repair work. This was the first time such a task had been posed to astronauts.

For the first two weeks, Vladimir Lyakhov and Valery Ryumin reactivated the station and checked the operation of the systems in various modes, determined the composition of the equipment that needed to be sent to the station to replace worn-out units. Before Progress arrived, the cosmonauts replaced the cable network of the communication system and repaired the onboard Stroka printing device.

When the Progress-5 truck delivered to the station necessary equipment, the crew began the most critical part of the task - repairing the ODU, in one of the tanks of which the seal of the separating bellows was broken. Liquid fuel (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) and nitrogen gas squeezing it out were mixed in this tank, i.e. more than 200 kg of fuel was spoiled, and the penetration of aggressive fuel vapors into the gas part of the fuel system, designed to operate in a neutral nitrogen environment, could lead to a complete exit ODU is out of order. The astronauts had to get rid of gas bubbles in the fuel of the faulty tank, pump purified fuel into the station's working tanks and disconnect the damaged tank from the propulsion system.

The separation of the liquid and gaseous phases in the faulty tank was carried out using centrifugal force: the astronauts oriented the OS with solar panels towards the Sun and spun the complex around the transverse axis. The heavier fuel was pressed against the walls of the tank and the intake pipe, and light gas bubbles “floated” to the axis of rotation. The cosmonauts pumped the separated fuel into sealed tanks, and the remaining mixture was poured into the empty Progress tanks. Next, the crew opened the valves to free the nitrogen lines of the displacement system and the cavities of the damaged tank from fuel residues. The vapor-gas mixture escaped into outer space, and the fuel vapor instantly condensed and froze. The cosmonauts reported to Earth that the resulting ejection looked like a snowstorm, only the “snow” flakes were brown. For another week, Salyut-6 flew with the valves open so that the metal would finally “give up” the absorbed dimethylhydrazine vapors. On May 23, 1979, the cosmonauts repeated purging of the lines and the damaged tank with compressed nitrogen. The faulty tank was disconnected from the fuel system, and subsequently the ODU was provided with fuel from two working tanks.

In addition, the cosmonauts also carried out other repair and restoration work: they replaced the control panel for scientific equipment, the clock on the control panel of the central post, replaced regenerators, impurity absorbers, air purification units in the life support system, and installed the first installation for technological experiments. On March 24, for the first time in the practice of Soviet cosmonautics, a direct television broadcast from Earth. The station was ready to receive a visiting expedition - Soyuz-32 with a Soviet-Bulgarian crew.

V.A. Lyakhov and V.V. Ryumin

On April 11, the Soyuz-33 spacecraft with the spacecraft commander Nikolai Rukavishnikov and the Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgiy Ivanov entered the calculated orbit and began rendezvous with the OS. At the long-range rendezvous section, the MCC shift manager noticed that the rendezvous-correction engine had worked less than the allotted time. It was assumed that this was due to an accidental failure in the Igla system, but it turned out that the matter was much more serious - the main propulsion system of the ship had failed, which had never happened before. An explosion occurred in one of the engine chambers. The backup engine was not suitable for rendezvous, and the ship's docking with the station was canceled. It was decided to begin the descent from orbit using a backup engine. The engine, having worked for the required 188 seconds, did not turn off, which was also dangerous: the SA could enter the atmosphere very abruptly.

And if the engine was not working at full thrust, the ship could remain in orbit. And so it turned out - the damaged reserve engine, although it worked longer than expected, did not provide the necessary impulse, but the ship still left orbit. The descent was steep ballistic trajectory, overloads reached 15 g. Fortunately, the flight ended safely: the spacecraft landed and the astronauts were not injured.

V. A. Lyakhov and V. V. Ryumin continued to work at the station alone. Having completed repairs and maintenance, they moved on to research work. At the end of June, Progress 7 delivered the KRT-10 space radio telescope to the station. The astronauts installed and deployed the 10-meter radio telescope antenna. Using the submillimeter telescope BST-1M, the small-sized gamma-ray telescope "Elena" and KRT-10, which worked in tandem with the 70-meter reflecting antenna of the telescope installed in Crimea, the cosmonauts carried out radio mapping Milky Way, explored the Sun, observed some pulsars. After finishing the work, the antenna had to be shot off to free the aft docking station and close the hatch cover. But during shooting, the antenna caught on the crosspiece of the docking target on the station body. All attempts to reset the unnecessary antenna were unsuccessful, and the further operation of the OS depended on the outcome of the case. The crew could only go into outer space and separate the antenna manually. But it was the 172nd day of the flight, the cosmonauts were tired, and going into space was not planned for this expedition. And yet, the astronauts carried out this complex operation. Valery Ryumin, having walked outside along the entire station, reached the opposite docking station, cut through the four steel cables holding the antenna with side cutters, and used a lever to push it towards the Earth. Vladimir Lyakhov was protecting him at this time, standing on a special “anchor” platform. The exit operation took 1 hour 23 minutes.

Over the next two days, the cosmonauts mothballed the station, switched its systems to standby mode, and packed the return cargo. The crew had to return to the Soyuz-33 spacecraft, on which N. Rukavishnikov and G. Ivanov flew to the station. But due to an engine failure, an unmanned Soyuz-34 with an improved remote control was sent to the station so that the cosmonauts could return on it. However, it turned out that for some reason the control panel on the new ship did not turn on. The crew quickly found a way out - to replace the control unit with the same unit from Soyuz-32, which was done.