The first orbital station salute 1. What are the orbital space stations? What is an orbital station

The Salyut-1 station was the first orbital station in the world to be successfully launched into the Earth's orbit. It is also the first manned space station in the world.

The rapid development of the space industry in the USSR eventually led to the idea of ​​creating the world's first space station. Such a station, according to the projects of Soviet scientists, was supposed to be a research platform that opens up the possibility of constantly and better at that time studying space. In addition, such a spacecraft was also supposed to perform the functions of a transport ship and a military facility.

To launch and launch such a spacecraft, a powerful and high-tech carrier was needed. Such a carrier, according to Soviet scientists and designers, could be the heavy Proton rocket, created in the 60s of the last century.

It should be noted that the creation of the first international space station was actively announced by scientists and government representatives in the United States. These were the years of the so-called Space Race, when the two superpowers competed scientifically with each other. According to many experts, the "space race" was part of the "arms race" that broke out between the US and the USSR against the backdrop of the Cold War.

The development and creation of the Salyut 1 space station was carried out by the design bureaus of Chelomey and Korolev, two prominent people in the history of world cosmonautics. The creation of the station was completed in the winter of 1971.

Launch and device of the first space station of the USSR

The world's first space station, Salyut 1, was launched into Earth orbit on April 19, 1971. Launching and bringing the device to the required height was provided with the help of a heavy Proton K launch vehicle.

It was a station used by a crew of three. On board the station, conditions were recreated as close as possible to those on earth. Salyut 1 station was equipped with the most modern way at that time. It consisted of several parts, namely the working compartment, which is a metal, hermetically sealed cylinder.

There were various areas where the crew of the manned space station could rest, store and eat. A larger edema was equipped with special showers for astronauts, a space toilet, as well as special simulators that allow astronauts to engage in sports exercises to maintain normal physical fitness, provided they are constantly in weightlessness.

In addition, there was a special research complex on board the Soviet orbital station, which allowed cosmonaut scientists to conduct all kinds of research and experiments, as well as to obtain important information about the processes that take place in outer space.

Expeditions to the Salyut 1 space station

In total, two expeditions to the Salyut 1 station were carried out. The first of them, having received Soyuz 10, was able to safely reach the spacecraft, but due to technical problems that arose, the astronauts were unable to complete the docking process and enter the station. The team later successfully returned to Earth.

The crew of the spaceshipUnion - 10 "

The second expedition, called Soyuz 11, was a team of three cosmonauts: Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev. They successfully docked with the station and stayed on board for twenty-two days. But when returning to earth, a tragedy occurred, due to depressurization of the trigger module, the entire crew died.

After 175 days spent in Earth orbit, the Salyut 1 station was successfully deorbited. Part of the space orbital station burned up in various layers of the atmosphere, and the other part fell into the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Soviet orbital space station "Salyut-1" became the world's first so-called. "long-term orbital station"(DOS), unlike the early manned orbital stations (POS), which had a gateway for docking a cargo spacecraft, and thus gained autonomy and virtually unlimited specifications time in orbit.

The device of the long-term orbital station "Salyut-1"

Technically, the Salyut-1 orbital station consisted of three compartments: two pressurized (transitional and working) and an unpressurized aggregate.

Transitional compartment of the Salyut-1 station

In the transition compartment there was an airlock for docking the spacecraft and a hatch for going to the working compartment of the station. Here, in the transitional compartment, the station control panel, elements of life support and thermal control systems, internal blocks of the Orion star telescope, the Anna-III gamma-ray telescope, a Cherenkov-scintillation telescope for studying charged particle flows, cameras, blocks for biological experiments were located.

On the outside of the transition compartment were solar panels, the outer blocks of the Orion telescope, antennas, sensors of the attitude control system.

The working compartment of the Salyut-1 station

The working compartment of Salyut-1 consisted of two cylinders connected by a conical part. The working compartment contained control panels for onboard systems, cosmonauts' chairs, 15 windows, scientific equipment, television and film cameras, radio equipment, systems for controlling the onboard complex, power supply, orientation and motion control, and telemetry.

The working compartment also housed a number of specialized work posts intended for scientific research, food and water supplies, and a "treadmill" for training astronauts.

Outside the working compartment, panels of radiators of the thermal control system, antennas for communication systems and radio telemetry were installed.

Aggregate compartment and power plant station "Salyut-1"

In the “tail” part of the Salyut-1 station, a modified aggregate compartment of the Soyuz spacecraft was installed, designed to accommodate fuel tanks and onboard engines.

The main source of energy for Salyut-1 was solar panels with a total area of ​​42 square meters. On the first Salyut, four solar batteries were mounted: 2 on the outer surface of the transitional and two on the outer surface of the aggregate compartment.

In addition, once the transport vehicle docks with the station, their power systems are combined and the spacecraft's solar arrays also supply power to the station's grid.

Crews and research work of the Salyut-1 space station

The first crew ("Soyuz-10": V.A.Shatalov, A.S. Eliseev, N.N. Rukavishnikov) launched to the Salyut-1 space station April 23, 1971 The launch was scheduled a day earlier, but had to be postponed due to an emergency situation: after the announcement of a five-minute readiness, one of the masts did not move away from the rocket, although the command to withdraw was issued. At the moment of launch, the mast could fall by itself, there were such cases, but it could not move away and tear through the rocket skin. They decided not to risk the life of the crew, and the astronauts were evacuated from the ship.

The next day, the launch took place safely, the ship went into orbit and approached the station a day later. It would seem that the docking took place normally: the clutch locks worked, there was a contraction, and then a rigid coupling of the Soyuz with the Salyut.
But telemetry showed that the docking port was leaking, and the hatch could not be opened. The Earth made the decision to undock and return. There were also problems with undocking: it was successful only on the third attempt.

Work on the Salyut was to be started by the next crew ( Alexey Leonov, Valery Kubasov, Petr Kolodin). But three days before the start, during the passage of the pre-flight medical examination, Kubasov was found to have a blackout in his lungs. The State Commission removed Kubasov from the flight, and with him the entire crew. The third crew went to the station, consisting of Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsaev(crew of Soyuz-11).

June 6, 1971 Soyuz-11 went into orbit, successfully docked with the station, the crew and began work on board. For about three days, the cosmonauts were engaged in reactivating the station, adjusting and preparing the scientific equipment for operation.

The cosmonauts carefully checked all systems and units of the station, conducted experiments on manual control of the complex, autonomous navigation, orbit correction, and manual orientation of solar panels. On board the Salyut, a wide-angle sight was tested for the first time, designed for precise orientation to the Sun and planets.

Using a gamma-ray telescope, the astronauts measured the intensity, angular distribution, spectrum, and other characteristics of the primary cosmic radiation, and using the Orion, they studied the spectral composition of the radiation of some stars.

Studies were also carried out on geological and geographical objects of the earth's surface, atmospheric formations, snow and ice cover. The cosmonauts made a large number of small-scale (to record short-term and seasonal phenomena) and medium-scale (to obtain detailed characteristics of the relief structure and natural landscapes) photographs of the Earth. A complex of important medical and biological studies was also carried out, in particular, the effect of prolonged weightlessness on the human body was studied, special load suits were tested, and the radiation background around the station was measured.

Completion of the Salyut-1 space station

Having completed the flight program in full, the crew of the first long-term orbital station died as a result of depressurization of the descent vehicle during the return to Earth.

After finding out the cause of the death of the cosmonauts, a meeting of the State Commission was held, at which it was decided to temporarily stop flights and modify the Soyuz spacecraft. The cosmonauts had to make further flights only in space suits, and therefore the Soyuz crew was reduced to two people. With this in mind, cosmonaut-researchers P. Kolodin and A. Voronov were withdrawn from the second and fourth crews preparing for flights to the OS.

The Salyut station no longer accepted astronauts on its board. While the spacecraft were being modified, the Salyut flew in automatic mode.

In the early 20th century, space pioneers such as Hermann Oberth, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Noordung, and Wernher von Braun dreamed of huge space stations in Earth's orbit. These scientists believed that space stations would be excellent preparatory points for space exploration. Do you remember the KETs Star?

Wernher von Braun, American architect space program, has integrated space stations into its long-term vision for US space exploration. Accompanying von Braun's numerous space-themed articles in popular magazines, the artists decorated them with drawings of space station concepts. These articles and drawings at one time contributed to the development of the public imagination and fueled interest in space exploration.

In these space station concepts, people lived and worked in outer space. Most of the stations were like huge wheels that rotated and generated artificial gravity. Ships came and went like in a normal port. They brought cargo, passengers and materials from Earth. Outgoing flights were directed to the Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond. At that time, humanity did not fully understand that von Braun's vision would become a reality very soon.

The US and Russia have been developing orbital space stations since 1971. The first stations in space were the Russian Salyut, the American Skylab and the Russian Mir. And since 1998, the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, Canada, Japan and other countries have built and began to develop the International Space Station (ISS) in Earth orbit. On the ISS, people have been living and working in space for more than a decade.

In this article, we will review the first space station programs, their use in the present and future. But first, let's take a closer look at why these space stations are needed at all.

There are many reasons for building and operating space stations, including research, industry, exploration, and even tourism. The first space stations were built to study the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body. After all, if astronauts ever fly to Mars or other planets, we first need to know how prolonged exposure to weightlessness affects humans over the months of a long flight.

Space stations are also at the forefront of research that cannot be done on Earth. For example, gravity changes the way atoms are organized into crystals. In zero gravity, an almost perfect crystal can form. Such crystals can become excellent semiconductors and form the basis of powerful computers. In 2016, NASA to the ISS laboratory to study ultra-low temperatures in zero gravity. Another effect of gravity is that in the process of burning directed flows, it generates an unstable flame, as a result of which their study becomes quite difficult. In weightlessness, one can easily explore stable slow-moving flame streams. This can be useful for studying the combustion process and designing stoves that are less polluting.

High above the Earth, space station participants have a unique view of the Earth's weather, topography, vegetation, oceans and atmosphere. Also, since space stations are above the Earth's atmosphere, they can be used as manned observatories for space telescopes. Earth's atmosphere won't interfere. The Hubble Space Telescope has made a lot of incredible discoveries precisely because of its location.

Space stations can be adapted as space hotels. It is Virgin Galactic, which is currently actively developing space tourism, that plans to establish hotels in space. With the growth of commercial space exploration, space stations could become ports for expeditions to other planets, as well as entire cities and colonies that could offload an overpopulated planet.

Now that we have learned what space stations are for, let's visit some of them. Let's start with the Salyut station - the first of the space ones.

Salyut: the first space station

Russia (then the Soviet Union) was the first to launch a space station into orbit. The Salyut-1 station entered orbit in 1971, becoming a combination of the Almaz and Soyuz space systems. The Almaz system was originally created for military purposes. The Soyuz spacecraft transported astronauts from Earth to the space station and back.

Salyut-1 was 15 meters long and consisted of three main compartments, which housed restaurants and recreation areas, food and water storage, a toilet, a control station, simulators and scientific equipment. The Soyuz 10 crew were originally supposed to live aboard the Salyut 1, but their mission ran into docking problems that prevented entry into the space station. The Soyuz-11 crew became the first to successfully settle on Salyut-1, where they lived for 24 days. However, this crew died tragically on their return to Earth when the capsule depressurized on re-entry. Further missions to Salyut 1 were canceled and the Soyuz spacecraft was redesigned.

After Soyuz 11, the Soviets launched another space station, Salyut 2, but it failed to reach orbit. Then there were Salyuts-3-5. These launches tested the new Soyuz spacecraft and crew for long missions. One of the disadvantages of these space stations was that they had only one docking port for the Soyuz spacecraft and it could not be reused.

On September 29, 1977, the Soviet Union launched Salyut-6. This station was equipped with a second docking port, so the station could be re-sent using the Progress unmanned vessel. "Salyut-6" worked from 1977 to 1982. In 1982, the last Salyut-7 was launched. He sheltered 11 crews and worked for 800 days. The Salyut program eventually led to the development of the Mir space station, which we will discuss later. First, let's take a look at America's first space station, Skylab.

Skylab: America's first space station

The United States launched its first and only space station, Skylab-1, into orbit in 1973. During launch, the space station was damaged. The meteor shield and one of the station's two main solar panels were torn off, and the other solar panel did not fully deploy. For these reasons, Skylab had little electricity, and the internal temperature rose to 52 degrees Celsius.

The first Skylab-2 crew was launched 10 days later to repair the slightly damaged station. The Skylab-2 crew deployed the remaining solar panel and set up an umbrella awning to cool the station. After the repair of the station, the astronauts spent 28 days in space, conducting scientific and biomedical research.

Being a modified third stage of the Saturn V rocket, Skylab consisted of the following parts:

• Orbital workshop (a quarter of the crew lived and worked in it).
• Gateway module (allowing access to the outside of the station).
• Multiple docking lock (allowed several Apollo spacecraft to dock with the station at the same time).
• Mount for the telescope "Apollo" (there were telescopes for observing the Sun, stars and the Earth). Keep in mind that the Hubble Space Telescope had not yet been built.
• The Apollo spacecraft (command and service module for transporting the crew to and from Earth).

Skylab was equipped with two additional crews. Both of these crews spent 59 and 84 days in orbit, respectively.

Skylab was not meant to be a permanent space dacha, but rather a workshop where the US would test the effects of prolonged space travel on the human body. When the third crew left the station, it was abandoned. Very soon, an intense solar flare knocked it out of orbit. The station fell into the atmosphere and burned down over Australia in 1979.

Station "Mir": the first permanent space station

In 1986, the Russians launched the Mir space station, which was supposed to be permanent home in space. The first crew, consisting of cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov, spent 75 days on board. Over the next 10 years, Mir was constantly improved and consisted of the following parts:

• Living quarters (where there were separate crew cabins, a toilet, a shower, a kitchen and a garbage compartment).
• Transition compartment for additional modules of the station.
• An intermediate compartment that connected the working module to the rear docking ports.
• The fuel compartment in which the fuel tanks and rocket engines.
• Astrophysical module "Kvant-1", which had telescopes for studying galaxies, quasars and neutron stars.
• The scientific module "Kvant-2", which provided equipment for biological research, Earth observation and space walks.
• Technological module "Crystal", in which biological experiments were carried out; it was equipped with a dock to which American shuttles could dock.
• The Spektr module was used to observe the Earth's natural resources and the Earth's atmosphere, as well as to support biological and natural science experiments.
• The Nature module contained a radar and spectrometers to study the Earth's atmosphere.
• Docking module with ports for future dockings.
• The Progress supply ship is an unmanned retrofit ship that brought new food and equipment from Earth, and also removed waste.
• The Soyuz spacecraft provided the main transport from the Earth and back.

In 1994, in preparation for the International Space Station, NASA astronauts spent time aboard Mir. During the stay of one of the four cosmonauts, Jerry Linenger, an onboard fire broke out at the Mir station. During the stay of Michael Foal, another of the four astronauts, the Progress supply ship crashed into the Mir.

The Russian space agency could no longer contain Mir, so they agreed with NASA to abandon Mir and focus on the ISS. On November 16, 2000, it was decided to send Mir to Earth. In February 2001, Mir's rocket engines slowed the station down. It entered the Earth's atmosphere on March 23, 2001, burned up and fell apart. Debris landed in the South Pacific near Australia. This marked the end of the first permanent space station.

International Space Station (ISS)

In 1984, US President Ronald Reagan invited countries to unite and build a permanently manned space station. Reagan saw that industry and governments would support the station. To keep the huge costs down, the US partnered with 14 other countries (Canada, Japan, Brazil and the European Space Agency, represented by the rest of the countries). During the planning process and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US invited Russia to cooperate in 1993. The number of participating countries has grown to 16. NASA has taken the lead in coordinating the construction of the ISS.

The assembly of the ISS in orbit began in 1998. On October 31, 2000, the first crew from Russia was launched. Three people spent almost five months aboard the ISS, activating systems and conducting experiments.

In October 2003, China became the third space power, and since then has been developing a full-fledged space program, and in 2011 launched the Tiangong-1 laboratory into orbit. Tiangong was the first module for China's future space station, which was scheduled to be completed by 2020. The space station can serve both civilian and military purposes.

The future of space stations

In fact, we are only at the very beginning of the development of space stations. The ISS was a huge step forward after Salyut, Skylab and Mir, but we are still far from the realization of the large space stations or colonies that science fiction writers wrote about. None of the space stations still have gravity. One of the reasons for this is that we need a place where we can conduct experiments in zero gravity. The other is that we simply don't have the technology to spin such a large structure to produce artificial gravity. In the future, artificial gravity will become mandatory for space colonies with large populations.

Another interesting idea is the location of the space station. The ISS requires periodic acceleration due to being at . However, there are two places between the Earth and the Moon, which are called the Lagrange points L-4 and L-5. At these points, the earth's and moon's gravity are balanced, so the object will not be pulled by the earth or moon. The orbit will be stable. The community, which calls itself the "L5 Society", was formed 25 years ago and is promoting the idea of ​​a space station located at one of these points. The more we learn about the operation of the ISS, the better the next space station will be, and the dreams of von Braun and Tsiolkovsky will finally become a reality.

(OS) - a spacecraft designed for long-term stay of people in near-Earth orbit for the purpose of conducting scientific research in outer space, reconnaissance, observations of the surface and atmosphere of the planet, astronomical observations ...

An orbital station differs from artificial earth satellites crew, which is periodically replaced with the help of transport manned spacecraft (including reusable), delivering crew changes, supplies of fuel and materials to the OS for the operation technical systems stations, life support equipment for the crew, personal correspondence, spare parts for the repair and modernization of the station itself, equipment blocks for expanding its functions, materials for conducting new research, etc. observations.

The creation of an orbital station is a very complex and expensive structure, so so far only the USSR / Russia, the USA, Europe / ESA, Japan and China have developed them. At the same time, Russia and the USA had full-fledged orbital stations (Salyut, Almaz, Mir in the USSR and Skylab in the USA), and Europe and Japan - modules of the international orbital station. At the beginning of the 21st century, all these, as well as other countries, created and operate the International Space Station (ISS). China launched the first Tiangong OS in 2011. Iran and private companies also have plans to create an OS.

The history of the first orbital station Salyut

The first Salyut orbital station, designed for long-term flights in orbit around the Earth, was launched on April 19, 1971. A powerful Proton rocket launched into orbit at a height of 200 to 222 kilometers above the Earth.

After the separation of the last stage of the rocket, the protective covers were dropped, the antennas pressed against the body were released, and the solar panels were spread out to the right and left. The orbital block became like a giant bird soaring proudly. His wings began to catch the sun's rays, turning them into electricity. He ran through countless wires and brought the station to life. Motors rustled, instruments woke up, radio communication with the Earth began to work.

The orbital block is a solid structure! It's bigger than a trolleybus! Length - about 16 meters, diameter - 4 meters, weight - about 19 tons. It flies automatically. On April 23, the Soyuz-10 transport spacecraft is launched into space, on board of which commander V. A. Shatalov, flight engineer A. S. Eliseev and test engineer N. N. Rukavishnikov are launched. A day later, they successfully dock with the orbital unit, check the reliability of the docking, try to control the orbital unit from the ship - everything is in order. They separate and return safely to Earth on April 25.

The orbital block is ready to receive its main crew. On June 5, 1971, the Soyuz-11 transport spacecraft was launched: commander G. T. Dobrovolsky, flight engineer V. N. Volkov and test engineer V. I. Patsaev. On June 7, the ship docks with the orbital unit - now the Salyut orbital station is finally assembled, because. the orbital block was only part of it. The second part is the Soyuz transport spacecraft. The entire structure as a whole is twenty-three meters long and already weighs more than twenty-five tons.

The astronauts go into the orbital block, but they do not close the hatch behind them - this is already their new big house.

At first, its narrowest part is the transition compartment, only two meters across. Through the hatch, the astronauts swim into the working compartment - it is more spacious, although there is a lot of different equipment around. Everything is thought out for the life of astronauts: a table for food, a "treadmill" for classes, expanders ...

The most sophisticated technology: a system of orientation and motion control (allows you to turn the station and keep it in the desired position; accelerating or slowing down - change the orbit); a set of life support means - these are various devices that create normal living conditions for astronauts; radio complex for radio communication with the Earth. Communication is very different: telephone, television. It is possible to automatically transmit results records to Earth scientific works. If necessary, it is possible to control the station from the Earth by radio; power supply system - all station equipment works with the help of electricity, which is provided mainly by solar panels. Along the way, they charge the batteries, due to which the station works at night, when there is no sun.

Work at the station

Work at the station began on June 7, 1971. The cosmonauts accelerate the Salyut a little faster and raise it to a higher orbit - from 239 to 265 kilometers and begin scientific work.

With the help of a special telescope "Orion" photograph the stars. Observe and photograph the Earth - clouds, oceans, continents. Carefully monitor their health. Diligently look after an experienced garden. The seeds of Khibiny cabbage and flax were planted and sprouted there. They keep diaries, recording in them both the details of their life and scientific observations.

The crew worked on the Salyut for 23 days. On June 29, they transfer all scientific materials to the Soyuz-11 spacecraft, on June 30 they themselves go there, close the hatch behind them, separate from the orbital block and go for landing. All three are in great spirits. But the unexpected happens: even before entry into the atmosphere, thirty minutes before landing, an accident occurs. The tightness of the cabin in which the astronauts are located is broken. Air begins to rapidly flow out through the gap that has formed... A soft automatic landing of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft was made, but the cosmonauts died...

The empty Salyut orbital unit after the tragedy flies in space for another three and a half months, gradually losing altitude. On November 11, 1971, it enters the dense layers of the earth's atmosphere and burns up over the Pacific Ocean.

The scientific materials of the expedition were of great importance for science, and the experience of the cosmonauts (24 days) proved that a person can live and work for a long time in weightlessness.

The Salyut station was the world's first long-term orbital scientific station.

On June 25, 1974, the Salyut-3 station was launched in the USSR. Then there will be "Salyut-4", "Salyut-5" ... It was a series of manned single-module orbital stations of the USSR, they functioned until 1999. Under the general name "Firework" orbital stations launched into orbit under the civil program"Long Term Orbital Station" (DOS), and according to the military program - "Diamond".

"Skylab"

"Skylab"(lit. celestial laboratory) - first and only national american a single-module orbital station designed for technological, astrophysical, medical and biological research, as well as for Earth observation. Launched May 14, 1973, took three missions on the Apollo spacecraft from May 1973 to February 1974, deorbited and collapsed on July 11, 1979.

In terms of their parameters, the Skylab stations exceeded the characteristics of the Soviet orbital stations of the Salyut and Almaz series. The American station was the first where the crews worked repeatedly, and the first where there were two docking nodes (although the second was not used).

"SkyLab" had a huge internal volume, providing almost unlimited freedom of movement, for example, it was easy to jump from wall to wall while doing gymnastics. The astronauts found the living conditions at the station very comfortable: in particular, a shower was installed there. Each astronaut had a small separate compartment-cabin - a niche with a closing curtain, where there was a berth and a box for personal belongings.

There is a lot of scientific equipment here. For example, a very large telescope, taken out to the side. It consists of eight different telescopes connected in one bundle and aimed in one direction. To power all the mechanisms of this very complex instrument, they have their own solar panels. They are located in a cross and therefore make Skylab look like a helicopter.

"Tiangun-1"

China's first space station-class spacecraft, referred to as target module and intended for testing technologies for rendezvous and docking of spacecraft. Tiangong-1 is to be the first non-Soviet and non-American free-flying manned orbital station, smaller in size but similar in function to the first-generation Soviet Salyut and Almaz orbital stations.

Station parameters:

• Weight - 8506 kg;
• Length - 10.4 meters;
• Width (for solar panels) - 17 meters;
• Residential volume of the station - 15 cubic meters.

The tasks of Tiangong-1 are to work out the docking process with the Shenzhou series spacecraft, to ensure the normal life, work and safety of astronauts during a short stay on board (from 12 to 20 days), experiments in the field of space medicine, in the field of space use , as well as testing the technical equipment of the space station.

Multi-module stations

"World"

"World"- Soviet / Russian orbital station of the third generation, a complex multi-purpose research complex. Its full name is: Orbital near-Earth manned long-term multi-purpose international station "Mir". This huge structure, resembling a wheel on an axle, slowly turns, bathed in the rays of the sun. He has a very smart look! Not a single empty space. Everywhere there are hatches, windows, protruding observation cabins, devices built into the walls, antennas, locator bowls, handrails, searchlights, solar panels, docking stations, attitude control nozzles, tubes with wires, and hundreds and thousands of all sorts of tricky and very beautiful details. It was launched into orbit in February 1986, and on March 23, 2001 it was sunk in the Pacific Ocean. For 10 years, modules were docked one after another. Since 1995, foreign crews began to visit the station - 15 visiting expeditions visited the station, 14 of them were international, with the participation of cosmonauts from Syria, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, France (5 times), Japan, Great Britain, Austria, Germany (2 times), Slovakia, Canada.

As part of the Mir-Shuttle program, seven short-term visiting missions were carried out with the help of the Atlantis spacecraft, one with the help of the Endeavor spacecraft and one with the help of the Discovery spacecraft, during which 44 astronauts visited the station.

In the late 1990s, problems began at the station due to the constant failure of various instruments and systems. After some time, the government of the Russian Federation, referring to the high cost of further operation, despite numerous projects to save the station, decided to flood the Mir. On March 23, 2001, the station, which had worked three times longer than originally set, was flooded in a special area in the South Pacific Ocean, near the Fiji Islands.

In total, 104 cosmonauts from 12 countries worked at the station.

Design

The picture shows the blocks of the Mir station. The modular principle of constructing the orbital complex is implemented here, the experience of working with it is now used for the development of the International Space Station. All modules, except for the docking one, were delivered by the Proton launch vehicle.

base unit

Reminds the orbital station of the Salyut series. Inside the wardroom, two individual cabins, a pressurized working compartment with a central control post and communication facilities. In the wall of the body - a portable lock chamber. Outside 3 solar panels. Has six docking ports for connection to cargo ships and science modules. Docked in February 1986.

Module "Quantum"

The astrophysical module carried a set of instruments for observing cosmic X-ray sources. "Kvant" also allowed for biotechnological experiments in the field of antiviral drugs and fractions. Docked in April 1987.

Kvant-2 module

Retrofit module, for additional comfort of astronauts. Carried the equipment necessary for the life support of the station. Outside had two rotary solar panels. Docked in December 1989

Module "Crystal"

Docking and technological module with scientific equipment for various purposes. Docked in July 1990

Spectrum module

Docked in June 1995. Geophysical module. With its help, monitoring of the atmosphere, the ocean, the earth's surface was carried out, medical and biological research was carried out.

docking module

Docked in November 1995. This module was delivered by the Atlantis shuttle to enable the shuttles to dock with the Mir station.

Module "Nature"

Docked in April 1996. Carried observation equipment earth's surface in different wavelengths, as well as to study human behavior in conditions of long-term space flight.

International Space Station (ISS)

This is a manned orbital station used as a multi-purpose space research complex. ISS is a joint international project involving 15 countries (in alphabetical order): Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, USA, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan.

The ISS is controlled by: the Russian segment - from the Space Flight Control Center in Korolev, the American segment - from the Mission Control Center in Houston. There is a daily exchange of information between the Centers.

During the implementation of the Mir-Shuttle program, the idea of ​​combining national programs for the creation of orbital stations was born.

March 1993 CEO RSA Yuri Koptev and General Designer of NPO Energia Yuri Semyonov proposed to the head of NASA, Daniel Goldin, to create the International Space Station. Positive decision It did not come immediately, there was opposition from the American public, but in 1996 the configuration of the station was nevertheless approved. It consists of two segments - Russian (modernized version of Mir-2) and American (with the participation of Canada, Japan, Italy, member countries of the European Space Agency and Brazil).

In November 1998, Russia launched the first element of the ISS, the Zarya functional cargo block. In December 1998, the Endeavor shuttle docked the American Unity module to the Zarya module. In June 2000, the Zvezda service module was docked to the Zarya functional cargo block. In November 2000, the Soyuz TM-31 transport manned spacecraft delivered the crew of the first main expedition to the ISS. In February 2001, during the mission, the crew of the Atlantis shuttle attached the American science module Destiny to the Unity module. In November 2007, the construction of the main American segment of the ISS was completed. In May 2010, the construction of the Russian segment was completed.

After the completion in 2011 of the flights of reusable space shuttles (space shuttle), the United States was left without its own manned spacecraft and does not have independent access to the ISS.

But on May 22, 2012, a Falcon 9 launch vehicle was launched from the Cape Canaveral spaceport with a private space cargo ship Dragon - the first ever test flight to the International Space Station of a private spacecraft.

On May 25, 2012, the Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the ISS.

Design

The station is based on a modular principle. The ISS is assembled by sequentially adding another module or block to the complex, which is connected to the one already delivered into orbit. The location of the modules relative to each other often changes.

The only source of electrical energy for the ISS is the Sun, the light of which is converted into electricity by the station's solar panels.

ISS tasks

One of the main goals in the creation of the ISS was the possibility of conducting experiments at the station that require unique conditions of space flight: microgravity, vacuum, cosmic radiation not attenuated by the earth's atmosphere. The main areas of research include biology (including biomedical research and biotechnology), physics (including fluid physics, materials science and quantum physics), astronomy, cosmology and meteorology. Research is carried out with the help of scientific equipment, mainly located in specialized scientific modules-laboratories, part of the equipment for experiments requiring vacuum is fixed outside the station, outside its hermetic volume.

ISS perspective

A significant modernization of the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft is planned for 2012-2013.

In February 2013, the launch of the American commercial spacecraft Signus is scheduled to deliver cargo to the ISS.

In July 2013, it is planned to dock the Russian 25-ton multifunctional laboratory module Nauka to the ISS. It will take the place of the Pirs module, which will be undocked and flooded. Among other things, the new Russian module will fully take over the functions of Pirs.

"NEM-1" (scientific and energy module) - the first module, delivery is planned for 2014;

"NEM-2" (scientific and energy module) - the second module, delivery is planned for 2015.

UM (nodal module) for the Russian segment - with additional docking nodes. Delivery is planned for 2014.

The development and construction of the world's first spacecraft designed for a long stay of people in Earth's orbit is entirely the merit of Soviet designers.

Purpose of the orbital station

This device was equipped with a variety of instruments, with the help of which research could be carried out in extraterrestrial space, observations of the atmosphere and the Earth's surface, and astronomical observations. (OS) provided a huge opportunity, and it was a real breakthrough.

The orbital station and the Earth had much in common. However, there was a crew at the orbital station, which periodically changed with the help of manned transport ships (including reusable ones). The same ships delivered to the OS fuel and materials for the operation of systems, spare parts for the modernization and repair of the station, food supplies, hygiene items and letters for crew members, materials for new scientific research, etc. Back transport ships rushed with a change of crew and the results of observations and research.

The Salyut-1 station was created in the Soviet Union under a special program of civil manned orbital stations (DOS). In the documents you can see the code name of this station - No. 121 or "Product 17K". The Salyut-1 station was launched into orbit on April 19, 1971.

The history of the Salyut-1 station

In February 1971, the orbital station was transported to. On April 19, with the help of a launch vehicle, she took a place in earth orbit and, after 175 days, on October 11, 1971, completed her work.

Orbital station "Salyut-1"

The first expedition (V. Shatalov, A. Eliseev and N. Rukavishnikov), sent on the Soyuz-10, ended unsuccessfully. On April 24, 1971, the Soyuz-10 manned spacecraft docked with the station. However, the ship's docking unit turned out to be faulty, and, despite the efforts of the crew, in particular, V. Shatalov, who tried to eliminate the problem with the help of a sustainer engine, the ship flew 5 and a half hours “coupled” with the station, after which it undocked and landed.

The second expedition to spaceship"Soyuz-11" ended quite badly. The crew, consisting of G.Dobrovolsky, V.Volkov and V.Patsaev successfully docked Soyuz-11 with Salyut-1 on June 7 at 10 am and completed all the tasks under the flight program over the next 22 days. On June 30, undocking was completed and the ship began to leave orbit. Unfortunately, the descent vehicle, having entered the earth's atmosphere, depressurized. None of the crew survived.

On October 11, the orbital station was de-orbited. Most of it burned up in the atmosphere, the debris fell into the waves of the Pacific Ocean.