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Manned astronautics and its international aspects. You don't need an astronaut. The future of manned flight. Key concepts and terms

The main milestones of manned cosmonautics

The beginning of the era of manned astronautics

The day of April 12, 1961 became the starting point of the era of manned space flights. For 50 space years, manned cosmonautics has come a long way from the first flight of Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, lasting only 108 minutes, to crew flights on the International Space Station (ISS), which has been in almost continuous manned mode for more than 10 years.

During 1957-1961, space launches of automatic vehicles were carried out to study the Earth and near-Earth space, the Moon and deep space. In the early 60s, Russian specialists under the leadership of the Chief Designer of OKB-1 Sergey Pavlovich Korolev completed the most difficult task - the creation of the world's first manned spacecraft "Vostok".

Implementation of the Vostok program

During Vostok flights, the effect of overload and weightlessness on the body of astronauts, the effect of a long stay in a cabin of limited volume was studied. The first "Vostok", piloted by Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, made only 1 revolution around the Earth. In the same year, German Stepanovich Titov spent a whole day in space and proved that a person in zero gravity can live and work. Titov was the first cosmonaut to take photographs of the Earth, he became the first space photographer.

The flight of the Vostok-5 spacecraft with cosmonaut Valery Fedorovich Bykovsky lasted for about 5 days.

On June 16, 1963, the world's first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova performed a flight into space on the Vostok-6 spacecraft.

The first "exit" of man into outer space

Voskhod is the world's first multi-seat manned spacecraft. From the Voskhod-2 spacecraft on March 18, 1965, Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov made the world's first spacewalk lasting 12 minutes 9 seconds. Now the extravehicular activity of astronauts has become an integral part of almost all space flights.

First docking in space of two manned spacecraft

January 16, 1969 - the first docking in orbit (in manual mode) of two manned spacecraft. The transition of two cosmonauts - Alexei Stanislavovich Eliseev and Evgeny Vasilyevich Khrunov through open space from Soyuz-5 to Soyuz-4 was completed.

First people on the moon

July 1969 - Apollo 11 flight. During the flight on July 16-24, 1969, for the first time in history, people landed on the surface of another celestial body - the Moon. On July 20, 1969, at 20:17:39 UTC, crew commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Edwin Aldrin landed the ship's lunar module in the southwestern area of the Sea of Tranquility. They remained on the surface of the moon for 21 hours 36 minutes and 21 seconds. All this time, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins was waiting for them in lunar orbit. The astronauts made one exit to the lunar surface, which lasted 2 hours 31 minutes 40 seconds. The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong. This happened on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC. Aldrin joined him 15 minutes later.

The first expedition to a long-term orbital station

A new stage of orbital flights began in June 1971 with the flight of Soyuz-11 (Georgy Timofeevich Dobrovolsky, Viktor Ivanovich Patsaev, Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov—in the photo from left to right) and the expedition to the first long-term orbital station Salyut. In orbit, the cosmonauts for the first time worked out a cycle of flight operations for 22 days, which later became typical for long-term expeditions at space stations.

The first international experimental program "Apollo-Soyuz"

A special place in manned cosmonautics is occupied by the flight that took place from July 15 to 25, 1975 within the framework of the Apollo-Soyuz Experimental Program. On July 17, at 19:12, the Soyuz and Apollo docked; On July 19, the ships were undocked, after which, after two turns of the Soyuz, the ships were re-docked, after another two turns the ships finally undocked. This was the first experience of joint space activities of representatives of different countries - the USSR and the USA, which marked the beginning of international cooperation in space - the Interkosmos, Mir-NASA, Mir-Shuttle, ISS projects.

Reusable transport space systems of the Space Shuttle and Buran programs

In the early 1970s, both "space powers" - the USSR and the USA - launched work on the creation of reusable space transport systems under the Space Shuttle and Energia-Buran programs.

Reusable TCSs had features that were not available for disposable PCA:

delivery of large objects (in the cargo compartment) to orbital stations;
launching into orbit, de-orbiting artificial satellites of the Earth;
maintenance and repair of satellites in space;
inspection of space objects in orbit;
reuse of reusable elements of the transport space system.

Buran made its first and only space flight on November 15, 1988. The spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using the Energia launch vehicle. The flight duration was 205 minutes, the ship made two orbits around the Earth, after which it landed at the Yubileiny airfield in Baikonur. The flight took place without a crew in automatic mode using an onboard computer and onboard software, in contrast to the shuttle, which traditionally makes the last stage of landing on manual control (reentry into the atmosphere and deceleration to the speed of sound in both cases are fully computerized). This fact - the flight of a spacecraft into space and its descent to Earth in automatic mode under the control of an onboard computer - was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

For 30 years, five Space Shuttle vehicles have completed 133 flights. By March 2011, the most flights - 39 - were made by the Discovery shuttle. In total, six shuttles were built from 1975 to 1991: Enterprise (did not fly into space), Columbia (burned out during landing in 2003), Challenger (exploded during launch in 1986), Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor.

Orbital stations

In the period from 1971 to 1997, our country launched eight manned space stations into orbit. The operation of the first space stations under the Salyut program made it possible to gain experience in the development of complex orbital manned complexes that ensure long-term human life in space. A total of 34 crews worked on board the Salyuts.

The American Aerospace Agency has carried out an interesting program of flights to Skylab, (English Skylab, short for sky laboratory - celestial laboratory), the American space manned orbital station. Introduced into near-Earth orbit on May 14, 1973. Three expeditions of cosmonauts, delivered by Apollo spacecraft, worked on Skylab .

C. Conrad, J. Kerwin, P. Weitz from May 25 to June 22, 1973; A. Wien, O. Garriott, J. Lusma from July 28 to September 26, 1973; J. Carr, W. Pogue, E. Gibson from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974. The main tasks of all three expeditions are biomedical research aimed at studying the process of human adaptation to the conditions of long-term space flight and subsequent readaptation to Earth's gravity; observations of the Sun; study of natural resources of the Earth, technical experiments.

Orbital complex (OC) "Mir" has become an international multi-purpose complex, on which practical testing of the targeted use of future manned space systems was carried out, an extensive program of scientific research was carried out. 28 main expeditions, 9 visiting expeditions, 79 spacewalks and more than 23,000 sessions of scientific research and experiments were carried out on board Mir. Mir employed 71 people from 12 countries. 27 international scientific programs completed. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov in 1994-1995 carried out a flight equal in duration to a flight to Mars and back. It lasted 438 days. During the 15-year flight of the complex, experience was gained in eliminating emergency situations of various significance and deviations from the norm that arose for various reasons.

international space station

The International Space Station is a project involving sixteen countries. It has absorbed the experience and technologies of all the programs for the development of manned astronautics that preceded it. Russia's contribution to the creation and operation of the ISS is very significant. By the start of work on the ISS in 1993, Russia already had 25 years of experience in operating orbital stations and, accordingly, a developed ground infrastructure. At the moment, the 59th main expedition is working on board the ISS. 18 visiting crews to the ISS were prepared and completed their flight.

Orbital station name	Flight period, years	Number of expeditions		Flight, days
Orbital station name	Flight period, years	Main	visits	Flight, days
Salyut-1
Salyut-2
	1973 - 1979
Salyut-3	1974 - 1975
Salyut-4	1974 - 1977
Salyut-5	1976 - 1977
Salyut-6	1977 - 1982
Salyut-7	1982 - 1991
	1986 - 2001

In accordance with the Long-Term Program of Scientific and Applied Research and Experiments Planned on the Russian Segment of the ISS, space experiments are being carried out onboard the station. They are grouped into thematic sections in ten areas of scientific and technical research. The program gives an idea of the goals, objectives and expected results of research and is the basis for the development of plans for its implementation, depending on the available resources and the readiness of the equipment and documentation. Space research expands and deepens knowledge about our planet, the world around us, lays the foundations for solving fundamental scientific and socio-economic problems. The volume of research carried out on the ISS RS is steadily growing.

It is planned to equip the station with a Russian multi-purpose laboratory module (MLM), which will significantly increase the Russian scientific research program by delivering a whole range of new scientific equipment to the ISS. In addition, together with the MLM, it is planned to deliver the European manipulator ERA to provide extravehicular activities for the ISS crews. In the future, it is planned to deliver a node module and two scientific and power modules to the ISS RS.

space tourism

In a number of countries, an entire industry is already being developed to ensure flights into space for ordinary citizens who do not have the professional qualifications of an astronaut. Private space can not only bring profit to the owners of the relevant funds, but, like traditional space, the state space leads to the creation of new technologies, and, therefore, to the expansion of society's capabilities.

20 space tourists were trained for the flight to the ISS RS, 10 of them made a space flight:

		Area of professional activity, profession	Flights performed, period, duration
Tito Denis			1 flight 7 days 22 hours 4 minutes 8 seconds.
Shuttleworth Mark			1 flight 9 days 21 hours 25 minutes 05 seconds.
Olsen Gregory			1 flight 9 days 21 hours 14 minutes 07 seconds.
Kostenko Sergey
Pontes Marcos	Brazil	test pilot	1 flight 9 days 21 hours 17 minutes 04 seconds.
Ansari Anyusha			1 flight 10 days 21 hours 04 minutes 37 seconds.
Enomoto Daisuke
Simony Charles			2 flights 13 days 18 hours 59 minutes 50 seconds; 12 days 19 hours 25 minutes 52 seconds.
Sheikh Muzafar	Malaysia	orthopedic doctor	1 flight 10 days 21 hours 13 minutes 21 seconds.
Faiz bin Khalid	Malaysia	Military doctor, dentist
Polonsky Sergey
Lance Bass		Musician
Garver Laurie
Yi So-yeon (Lee So-yeon)	The Republic of Korea	Science, biotechnology	1 flight 10 days 21 hours 13 minutes 05 seconds.
	The Republic of Korea
Richard Garriott			1 flight 11 days 20 hours 35 minutes 37 seconds.
Nick Hulick	Australia
Guy Laliberte		Business, artist	1 flight 10 days 21 hours 16 minutes 55 seconds
Esther Dyson
Barbara Barrett

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astronautics history, astronautics
Astronautics(from the Greek κόσμος - the Universe and ναυτική - the art of navigation, ship navigation) - the theory and practice of navigation outside the Earth's atmosphere to explore outer space using automatic and manned spacecraft. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight.

In Russian, this term was used by one of the pioneers of Soviet rocketry, G. E. Langemak, when he translated into Russian A. A. Sternfeld’s monograph “Introduction to Cosmonautics” (“Initiation à la Cosmonautique”).

The basis of rocket science was laid in their writings at the beginning of the 20th century by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Oberth, Robert Goddard and Reinhold Teeling. An important step was the launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome of the first artificial Earth satellite in 1957 of the USSR - Sputnik-1.

The flight of the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 was a grandiose achievement and the starting point for the development of manned cosmonautics. Another outstanding event in the field of astronautics - the landing of a man on the moon took place on July 21, 1969. American astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first step on the surface of a natural satellite of the Earth with the words: "This is a small step for one person, but a huge leap for all mankind."

1 Etymology
2 History
- 2.1 Early history (before 1945)
- 2.2 Early Soviet rocket and space program
- 2.3 Early American rocket and space program
- 2.4 Milestones in space exploration since 1957
- 2.5 Modernity
3 Commercial space exploration
4 Military space activities
5 Space agencies
6 Important space programs and spacecraft flights from different countries
- 6.1 Artificial Earth satellites (AES)
  - 6.1.1 Space telescopes
- 6.2 Automatic interplanetary stations
  - 6.2.1 Lunar stations
- 6.3 Manned flights
- 6.4 Orbital stations
- 6.5 Private spacecraft
7 Launch vehicles
8 See also
9 Notes
10 Literature
11 Links

Etymology

For the first time, the term "cosmonautics" appeared in the title of the scientific work of Ari Abramovich Sternfeld "Introduction to astronautics" (fr. "Initiation à la Cosmonautique"), which was devoted to the issues of interplanetary travel. In 1933, the work was presented to the Polish scientific community, but did not arouse interest and was published only in 1937 in the USSR, where the author moved in 1935. Thanks to him, the words "cosmonaut" and "cosmodrome" entered the Russian language. For a long time, these terms were considered exotic, and even Yakov Perelman reproached Sternfeld for confusing the issue by inventing neologisms instead of established names: “astronautics”, “astronaut”, “rocket launcher”. The main ideas outlined in the monograph, Sternfeld reported at the University of Warsaw on December 6, 1933.

The word "cosmonautics" has been noted in dictionaries since 1958. In fiction, the word "cosmonaut" first appeared in 1950 in Viktor Saparin's science fiction novel "The New Planet".

In general, in the Russian language -navt, -navtik (a) have lost their meaning (what these words had in Greek) and turned into a kind of service parts of the word that evoke the idea of \u200b\u200b"swimming" - such as "stratonaut", "aquanaut" etc.

Story

Early history (before 1945)

Model of the first artificial satellite of the Earth.

The idea of space travel arose after the appearance of the heliocentric system of the world, when it became clear that the planets are objects like the Earth, and thus, in principle, a person could visit them. The first published description of a man's stay on the moon was Kepler's fantasy story Somnium (written 1609, published 1634). Fantastic journeys to other celestial bodies were also described by Francis Godwin, Cyrano de Bergerac and others.

The theoretical foundations of astronautics were laid down in the work of Isaac Newton "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", published in 1687. Euler and Lagrange also made a significant contribution to the theory of calculating the motion of bodies in outer space.

Jules Verne's novels From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and Around the Moon (1869) already correctly describe the Earth-Moon flight from the point of view of celestial mechanics, although the technical implementation there is clearly lame.

On March 23, 1881, N.I. Kibalchich, while in prison, put forward the idea of a rocket aircraft with an oscillating combustion chamber for thrust vector control. A few days before the execution, Kibalchich developed an original design for an aircraft capable of making space flights. His request to transfer the manuscript to the Academy of Sciences was not granted by the commission of inquiry, the project was first published only in 1918 in the journal "Byloye", No. 4-5.

The Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was one of the first to put forward the idea of using rockets for space flight. He designed a rocket for interplanetary communications in 1903. The Tsiolkovsky formula, which determines the speed that an aircraft develops under the influence of a rocket engine thrust, still forms an important part of the mathematical apparatus used in the design of rockets, in particular, in determining their main mass characteristics.

The German scientist Hermann Oberth also laid out the principles of interplanetary flight in the 1920s.

American scientist Robert Goddard in 1923 began to develop a liquid rocket engine and a working prototype was created by the end of 1925. On March 16, 1926, he launched the first liquid-propellant rocket, fueled by gasoline and liquid oxygen.

The work of Tsiolkovsky, Oberth and Goddard was continued by groups of rocketry enthusiasts in the USA, the USSR and Germany. In the USSR, research work was carried out by the Jet Propulsion Study Group (Moscow) and the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (Leningrad). In 1933, the Jet Institute (RNII) was created on their basis.

In Germany, similar work was carried out by the German Society for Interplanetary Communications (VfR). On March 14, 1931, VfR member Johannes Winkler carried out the first successful launch of a liquid-propellant rocket in Europe. VfR also worked for Wernher von Braun, who from December 1932 began the development of rocket engines at the artillery range of the German army in Kummersdorf. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, funds were allocated for the development of rocket weapons, and in the spring of 1936 a program was approved for the construction of a rocket center in Peenemünde, of which von Braun was appointed technical director. It developed the A-4 ballistic missile with a range of 320 km. During World War II, on October 3, 1942, the first successful launch of this rocket took place, and in 1944 its combat use under the name V-2 began. In June 1944, the V-2 rocket became the first man-made object in space, reaching an altitude of 176 km in suborbital flight.

The military use of the V-2 demonstrated the enormous capabilities of rocket technology, and the most powerful post-war powers - the United States and the USSR - began developing ballistic missiles based on captured German technologies and with the involvement of captured German engineers.

See also: Second (Space) Directorate and Council of Chief Designers

On May 13, 1946, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution on the deployment of large-scale work to develop rocket science to create nuclear weapons delivery vehicles. In accordance with this decree, the Second (Space) Directorate and the Scientific Research Artillery Institute of Reactive Weapons No. 4 were created.

General A.I. Nesterenko was appointed head of the institute, and Colonel M.K. Mikhail Klavdievich Tikhonravov was known as the creator of the first liquid-propellant rocket, which launched in Nakhabino on August 17, 1933. In 1945, he also headed the project of lifting two cosmonauts to a height of 200 kilometers using a V-2 rocket and a guided rocket cabin. The project was supported by the Academy of Sciences and approved by Stalin. However, in the difficult post-war years, the leadership of the military industry was not up to space projects, which were perceived as science fiction, interfering with the fulfillment of the main task of creating "long-range missiles."

Exploring the prospects for the development of rockets created according to the classical sequential scheme, M. K. Tikhonravov came to the conclusion that they are unsuitable for intercontinental distances. Research led by Tikhonravov has shown that a burst scheme of rockets created at the Korolev Design Bureau will provide a speed four times greater than that possible with a conventional layout. By introducing a "packet scheme" Tikhonravov's group brought man closer to outer space. On an initiative basis, research continued on the problems associated with the launch of satellites and their return to Earth.

On September 16, 1953, by order of the Korolev Design Bureau, the first research work on space topics “Research on the creation of the first artificial Earth satellite” was opened at NII-4. Tikhonravov's group, which had a solid groundwork on this topic, completed it promptly.

In 1956, M. K. Tikhonravov, with some of his employees, was transferred from NII-4 to the Korolev Design Bureau as the head of the satellite design department. With his direct participation, the first satellites, manned spacecraft, projects of the first automatic interplanetary and lunar vehicles are created.

Early American rocket and space program

The "satellite crisis", that is, the fact that the first artificial Earth satellite was launched in the USSR, and not in the USA, led to many initiatives of the US government aimed at the development of space research:

the adoption of a law on the training of personnel for national defense in September 1958;
the creation in February 1958 of the Advanced Defense Research Projects Agency - DARPA;
the creation by decree of US President Eisenhower of July 29, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA;
a huge increase in investment in space research. 1959 The US Congress appropriated $134 million for this purpose, four times the previous year's figure. By 1968 this figure had reached 500 million.

The space race between the USA and the USSR began. The first satellite launched by the United States was Explorer 1, launched on February 1, 1958 by the team of Wernher von Braun (he was recruited to work in the United States under the Operation Overcast program, later known as Operation "Clip"). For launch, a boosted version of the Redstone ballistic missile, called the Jupiter-C, was created, originally intended for testing smaller mock-up warheads.

This launch was preceded by an unsuccessful attempt by the US Navy to launch the Avangard-1 satellite, which was widely publicized in connection with the program of the International Geophysical Year. Von Braun, for political reasons, was not given permission to launch the first American satellite for a long time (the US leadership wanted the satellite to be launched by the military), so preparations for the launch of the Explorer began in earnest only after the Avangard accident.

The first US astronaut in space was Alan Shepard, who made a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961 on the Mercury-Redstone-3 spacecraft. John Glenn was the first US astronaut to orbit on February 20, 1962 aboard Mercury-Atlas 6.

The most important stages of space exploration since 1957

In 1957, under the leadership of Korolev, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile R-7 was created, which in the same year was used to launch the world's first artificial Earth satellite.

October 4, 1957 - the first artificial Earth satellite Sputnik-1 was launched.
November 3, 1957 - the second artificial Earth satellite Sputnik-2 was launched, which for the first time launched a living creature into space - the dog Laika.
January 4, 1959 - the station "Luna-1" passed at a distance of 6000 kilometers from the surface of the moon and entered the heliocentric orbit. It became the world's first artificial satellite of the Sun.
September 14, 1959 - the station "Luna-2" for the first time in the world reached the surface of the Moon in the area of the Sea of Clarity near the craters Aristillus, Archimedes and Autolycus, delivering a pennant with the coat of arms of the USSR.
October 4, 1959 - the Luna-3 automatic interplanetary station was launched, which for the first time in the world photographed the side of the Moon invisible from Earth. Also during the flight, for the first time in the world, a gravitational maneuver was carried out in practice.
August 19, 1960 - the first ever orbital flight into space of living beings was made with a successful return to Earth. On the ship "Sputnik-5" this flight was made by the dogs Belka and Strelka.
December 1, 1960 - the first human cells were launched into space - the cells of Henrietta Lacks. The origin of space cell biology.
April 12, 1961 - the first manned flight into space (Yuri Gagarin) on the Vostok-1 spacecraft.
August 12, 1962 - the world's first group space flight was made on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft. The maximum approach of the ships was about 6.5 km.
June 16, 1963 - the world's first space flight of a female cosmonaut (Valentina Tereshkova) on the Vostok-6 spacecraft was completed.
October 12, 1964 - the world's first multi-seat spacecraft Voskhod-1 flew.
March 18, 1965 - the first ever manned spacewalk. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made a spacewalk from Voskhod-2 spacecraft.
February 3, 1966 - AMS Luna-9 made the world's first soft landing on the surface of the Moon, panoramic images of the Moon were transmitted.
March 1, 1966 - the station "Venera-3" for the first time reached the surface of Venus, delivering a pennant to the USSR. It was the world's first flight of a spacecraft from Earth to another planet.
April 3, 1966 - Luna-10 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon.
October 30, 1967 - the first docking of two unmanned spacecraft "Cosmos-186" and "Cosmos-188" was made. (USSR).
September 15, 1968 - the first return of the spacecraft (Zond-5) to Earth after a flyby of the moon. On board were living creatures: turtles, fruit flies, worms, plants, seeds, bacteria.
January 16, 1969 - the first docking of two manned spacecraft Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 was made.
July 21, 1969 - the first landing of a man on the moon (N. Armstrong) as part of the lunar expedition of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, which delivered to Earth, including the first samples of lunar soil.
September 24, 1970 - the Luna-16 station collected and then delivered to Earth (by the Luna-16 station) samples of lunar soil. It is also the first unmanned spacecraft that delivered rock samples to Earth from another cosmic body (that is, in this case, from the Moon).
November 17, 1970 - soft landing and start of operation of the world's first semi-automatic remotely controlled self-propelled vehicle, controlled from the Earth: Lunokhod-1.
December 15, 1970 - the world's first soft landing on the surface of Venus: "Venus-7".
April 19, 1971 - the first orbital station Salyut-1 was launched.
November 13, 1971 - Mariner 9 became the first artificial satellite of Mars.
November 27, 1971 - Mars 2 reaches the surface of Mars for the first time.
December 2, 1971 - the first AMS soft landing on Mars: "Mars-3".
March 3, 1972 - the launch of the first apparatus, which subsequently left the limits of the solar system: Pioneer-10.
October 20, 1975 - Venera-9 became the first artificial satellite of Venus.
October 1975 - soft landing of two spacecraft "Venera-9" and "Venera-10" and the world's first photographs of the surface of Venus.
April 12, 1981 - the first flight of the first reusable transport spacecraft "Columbia".
February 20, 1986 - launch of the base module of the orbital station Mir
November 15, 1988 - the first and only space flight of the ISS "Buran" in automatic mode.
April 24, 1990 - Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope into Earth orbit.
December 7, 1995 - Station "Galileo" became the first artificial satellite of Jupiter.
November 20, 1998 - launch of the first Zarya block of the International Space Station.
June 24, 2000 - NEAR Shoemaker became the first artificial satellite of an asteroid (433 Eros).
June 30, 2004 - Cassini becomes the first artificial satellite of Saturn.
January 15, 2006 - Stardust returns samples of Comet Wild 2 to Earth.
March 17, 2011 - MESSENGER became the first artificial satellite of Mercury.

Modernity

Today is characterized by new projects and plans for space exploration. Space tourism is actively developing. Manned astronautics is again going to return to the Moon and turned its eyes to other planets of the solar system (primarily to Mars).

In 2009, the world spent $68 billion on space programs, including $48.8 billion in the US, $7.9 billion in the EU, $3 billion in Japan, $2.8 billion in Russia, and $2 billion in China.

Manned astronautics programs tend to be reduced. Since 1972, manned flights to other space bodies have been discontinued, in 2011, reusable spacecraft programs have been terminated, only one orbital station remains against two simultaneously supported by the USSR in the mid-1980s.

Commercial space exploration

There are three main areas of applied astronautics:

Space information complexes - modern communication systems, meteorology, navigation, control systems for the use of natural resources, environmental protection.
Space science systems - scientific research and field experiments.
Space industrialization - the production of pharmacological preparations, new materials for the electronic, electrical, radio engineering and other industries. in the future - the development of the resources of the Moon, other planets of the solar system and asteroids, the removal into space of waste from hazardous industrial production.

Military space activities

Main article: Military space activities

Spacecraft are used for satellite reconnaissance, early detection of ballistic missiles, communications, and navigation. Anti-satellite weapon systems were also created.

space agencies

Main article: List of space agencies

Brazilian Space Agency - Founded in 1994.
European Space Agency (ESA) - 1964.
Indian Space Research Organization - 1969.
Canadian Space Agency - 1989.
Chinese National Space Administration - 1993.
National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) - 1996.
US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - 1958.
Federal Space Agency of Russia (FKA RF) - (1990).
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - 2003.

Important space programs and spacecraft flights from different countries

Artificial Earth Satellites (AES)

Sputnik is a series of the world's first satellites.
- Sputnik-1 is the first spacecraft launched by man into space.
Vanguard - a series of the first American satellites. (USA)

Satellites of the USSR and Russia list:Electron // Flight// Meteor // Screen // Rainbow // Horizon // Lightning // Geyser // Altair // Coupon // GLONASS // Sail // Photon // Eye // Arrow // Resource // Virgin soil // Bion // Vector /Rhombus // Cicada.

space telescopes

Astron - space ultraviolet telescope (USSR).
Hubble is a space reflecting telescope. (USA).
Swift - space observatory for observation of gamma-ray flashes (USA, Italy, Great Britain).

Automatic interplanetary stations

Pioneer is a program to explore the Moon, interplanetary space, Jupiter and Saturn. (USA)
Voyager is a giant planet exploration program. (USA)
Mariner - exploration of Venus, Mars and Mercury. (USA)
Mars - exploration of Mars, the first soft landing on its surface. (USSR)
Venus - a program to study the atmosphere of Venus and its surface. (USSR)
Viking is a program to explore the surface of Mars. (USA)
Vega - meeting with Halley's comet, landing of an aerosonde on Venus. (USSR)
Phobos is a program for exploring the satellites of Mars. (USSR)
Mars Express - an artificial satellite of Mars, landing of the Beagle-2 rover. (ESA)
Galileo - exploration of Jupiter and its moons. (NASA)
Huygens is a probe to study the atmosphere of Titan. (ESA)
Rosetta - landing of a spacecraft on the nucleus of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (ESA).
Hayabusa - soil sampling from the asteroid Itokawa (JAXA).
MESSENGER - Mercury exploration (NASA).
Magellan (KA) - exploration of Venus (NASA).
New Horizons - Exploration of Pluto and its moons (NASA).
Venus Express - Venus Exploration (ESA).
Phoenix is the Mars Surface Exploration Program (NASA).

Lunar stations

Luna - exploration of the Moon, delivery of lunar soil, Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2. (USSR)
Ranger - receiving television images of the moon as it falls on its surface. (USA)
Explorer 35 (Lunar Explorer 2) - study of the Moon and near-lunar space from a selenocentric orbit. (USA)
Lunar Orbiter - launching into orbit around the Moon, mapping the lunar surface. (USA).
Surveyor - working out a soft landing on the moon, research of lunar soil (USA).
Lunar Prospector - lunar exploration (USA).
Smart-1 - lunar exploration, the device is equipped with an ion engine. (ECA).
Kaguya - exploration of the Moon and circumlunar space (Japan).
Chang'e-1 - exploration of the moon, mapping of the lunar surface (China).

Manned flights

Vostok - development of the first manned space flights. (USSR, 1961-1963)
Mercury - development of manned flights into space. (USA, 1961-1963)
Voskhod - manned orbital flights; the first spacewalk, the first multi-seat ships. (USSR, 1964-1965)
Gemini - two-seat spacecraft, the first dockings in Earth orbit. (USA, 1965-1966)
Apollo - manned flights to the moon. (USA, 1968-1972/1975)
Soyuz - manned orbital flights. (USSR/Russia, since 1968)
- Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP, 1975).
The Space Shuttle is a reusable spacecraft. (USA, 1981-2011)
Shenzhou - orbital manned flights. (China, since 2003)

Orbital stations

Salyut is the first series of orbital stations. (USSR)
Skylab - orbital station. (USA)
Mir is the first modular orbital station. (USSR)
International Space Station (ISS).
Tiangong-1 (PRC)

private spaceships

SpaceShipOne is the first private spacecraft (suborbital).
SpaceShipTwo is a tourist suborbital spacecraft. Further development of SpaceShipOne.
The Dragon (Dragon SpaceX) is a transport spacecraft developed by SpaceX, commissioned by NASA as part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation (COTS) program.

Launch vehicles

Main article: launch vehicle See also: List of launch vehicles

Notes

Cosmonautics - Astronomical Dictionary. EdwART (2010). Retrieved November 29, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012.
Article by Eduard Ville Georgy Langemak - the father of "Katyusha"
1 2 Pervushin A. I. “Red space. Starships of the Soviet Empire. Moscow: "Yauza", "Eksmo", 2007. ISBN 5-699-19622-6
1 2 P. Ya. Chernykh. "Historical and etymological dictionary of the modern Russian language", volume 1. M .: "Russian language", 1994. ISBN 5-200-02283-5
N. I. Kibalchich. Biographical article in TSB.
Walter Dornberger: Peenemude, c. 297 (Peenemuende, Walter Dornberger, Moewig, Berlin 1985. ISBN 3-8118-4341-9) (German)
Rocket. History reference
Which was approximately 0.14% (1958) and 0.3% (1960) of US federal spending
Immortal HeLa cells
Research: The US spent $48.8 billion on space programs // ITAR-TASS

Literature

K. A. Gilzin. Journey to distant worlds. State Publishing House of Children's Literature of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR. Moscow, 1956
Tsiolkovsky K. E. Works on astronautics. M.: Mashinostroenie, 1967.
Sternfeld A. A. Introduction to astronautics. M.; L.:ONTI, 1937. 318 s; Ed. 2nd. M.: Nauka, 1974. 240 p.
Zhakov A.M. Fundamentals of astronautics. St. Petersburg: Polytechnic, 2000. 173 p. ISBN 5-7325-0490-7
Tarasov E.V. Cosmonautics. M.: Mashinostroenie, 1977. 216 p.

Encyclopedias on astronautics

Cosmonautics. Small encyclopedia. Ch. editor V.P. Glushko. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1970. 527 p.
Encyclopedia Cosmonautics. Ch. ed. V. P. Glushko. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1985. 526 p.
World Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics. 2 volumes. M.: Military parade, 2002.
Internet encyclopedia "Cosmonautics"

Links

FKA RF
RSC Energia named after S. P. Korolev
NPO them. S. A. Lavochkina
GKNPTs im. M. V. Khrunicheva
M.V. Keldysh Research Center
manned space
Photo archive "History of national cosmonautics"
The first in space (a huge photo, audio, video archive of Soviet and Russian cosmonautics)
All-Russian Children's and Youth Center for Aerospace Education. S. P. Koroleva of the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (VMC AKO)
From the history of the development of domestic cosmonautics: the study of outer space with the help of automatic space stations - a popular science lecture delivered by N. Morozov at FIAN in 2007

astronautics, astronautics in Ukraine, astronautics and its connection with other sciences, astronautics history, astronautics picture, astronautics pictures, astronautics suits and ships, Russian astronautics, cosmonautics-wikipedia

Space Information About

BULLETIN OF THE ACADEMY OF MILITARY SCIENCES

Colonel E.I. Zhuk,

Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation,

doctor of political sciences, candidate of technical sciences,

Senior Researcher , active member of AVN

Military-political aspects of manned cosmonautics

From the very beginning, space activity has become an arena of military-political rivalry between the two superpowers, which continues in one form or another and with varying success to the present. This rivalry intensified with the beginning of manned flights and deep space exploration.

Key words: space activity, cosmonautics, military rocket, space exploration, artificial satellite, manned flight, lunar cabin, long-term space stations, civilian space, military space.

With the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite (AES), on October 4, 1957, the practical exploration of the vast expanses of the Universe began. It was in Russia that the theoretical and philosophical foundations of space activity were laid, important engineering and technical developments were carried out, which opened the way to the use of unmanned and manned spacecraft. The first satellite and the flight of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 made our country a great space power. The words of the great Russian scientist, the founder of cosmonautics K.E. Tsiolkovsky that humanity will not remain forever on Earth, but in the pursuit of light and space, it will first timidly penetrate beyond the atmosphere, and then conquer all the circumsolar space.

Penetration into space has become one of the greatest accomplishments of the human mind in the centuries-old history of earthly civilization. The opening of the space age, the first and most significant achievements in near-Earth space, in the exploration of the Moon and the nearest planets of the solar system, were carried out by the most advanced countries in economic, scientific and technical terms - the USSR and the USA. However space activity from the very beginning became the arena of rivalry between the two superpowers, striving to secure military superiority on earth and in space, to achieve victory in the military-political and ideological confrontation. Having emerged as allies from the Second World War, they immediately became involved in a grueling nuclear-missile arms race. The dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not so much the last act of the war against fascism as the first major operation of the Cold War.

Washington's turn from a policy of cooperation to confrontation with the Soviet Union was predetermined by the arrival of H. Truman to the White House (after the death of President F. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945). Many historians consider the first known document of the Cold War to be the “long telegram” sent to Washington on February 22, 1946 by J. Kennan, US Chargé d'Affaires in Moscow. The Soviet Union was presented in it as "an inexorable hostile force." But the well-known speech of W. Churchill on March 5, 1946 in the American city of Fulton, where the former British Prime Minister called for uniting and arming against the "Soviet threat", is considered to be the beginning of the Cold War. The idea of confrontation with the USSR was warmly welcomed by President G. Truman, who a year later outlined in Congress the foundations of the American-style peace policy, which went down in history as the Truman Doctrine. The head of the White House declared practically the entire globe to be the sphere of US national interests, and the goal of US policy was to support free peoples who resist attempts to submit to armed minorities or external pressure, and to resist "Soviet expansionism" throughout the world. The most important and priority task was declared to be the fight against "Soviet communism"2.

With the beginning of the Cold War, the first stage of the space race began. The political leaders of the two states, the leaders of the first space projects in the USSR and the USA, differently assessed the importance of space exploration for their countries and all mankind, represented the scale, organizational forms and priority systems of national space programs. But at the same time, the fact remains indisputable that the uncompromising rivalry for the right to become the first "space power" in history had a pronounced military-political and ideological background. A fierce struggle for new leadership in science, technology and economics was unfolding and gaining momentum, which made it possible to transfer the military potential of the state to a qualitatively new level associated with the possession of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery to targets located in any region of the planet, as well as to distribute its control over outer space.

The space theme was naturally historically closely connected with intensive work on the creation of military missiles. In 1935, the future chief designer of spaceships, and at that time a pilot engineer, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, wrote: “The intensive development of rocket science over the past decade, of course, is under the sign of preparation for war”3. However, he sincerely believed that the creation of rocket engines would open up the prospect of manned space flight. In 1945, he noted: “The idea of using rocket vehicles to lift a person to great heights and even to fly him into outer space has been known for a long time, since the idea of the rocket engine itself, due to its nature and principle of operation, is best applicable to such flights. "four. Academician Korolev attached special importance to the program of manned space flights, invariably emphasizing its complexity, the great responsibility that the developers of manned spacecraft bear. He always said that with all the positive aspects of the use of automatic devices, the final conquest of outer space and planets is possible only with the participation of man, while providing normal conditions for creative work in space. The world community learned about the plans of our country to launch its first artificial satellite in 1956, when in Barcelona at the assembly of the special committee for holding the International Geophysical Year5 Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences I.P. Bardin said that the USSR intended to launch an artificial Earth satellite, through which measurements of atmospheric pressure and temperature would be carried out, observations of cosmic rays, micrometeorites, the geomagnetic field and solar radiation would be carried out.

In the late 1950s, a prominent specialist in cosmonautics K. Erike wrote: “It is quite obvious that, in addition to obvious political and military interests, a lot of genuine enthusiasm was shown in the USSR in penetrating world space with the help of space rockets, in accordance with the prophetic K.E. Tsiolkovsky... In a broad sense, the history of guided missiles is a bridge between the early ideas of space flight and its practical implementation, which becomes a reality in the second half of the 20th century. The relationship between space flight and a guided missile can be somewhat simplified by the following formula: "if a guided missile had not been created as a weapon, it would have to be created as the basis of space flight." However, in the latter case, the question of who should pay the bills for many billions of dollars would probably remain open.

In 1952, a report was prepared for President G. Truman on the problem of an artificial satellite of the Earth, which later became the basis for the development of the Vanguard project. The report contained the most general information about space flight and at the same time pointed out the advantages that the development and operation of artificial satellites give the state (scientific, military and psychological). Attention was also drawn to the need for US leadership in these areas.

To coordinate work in a new field of activity in the United States, the National Advisory Council for Aeronautics (NACA) was created during the First World War, which, in accordance with the Aviation and Space Act of 1958, was transformed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In the USSR, there was no law regulating space activities. Therefore, the goals of research and practical use of outer space stemmed mainly from the relevant documents of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Soviet government. The law "On space activities" appeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union - on August 20, 1993.

The launch in the USSR of the first satellite in the history of mankind, and then the flight of Yuri Gagarin, were perceived by American public opinion as acts of national humiliation. Immediately in 1957, three commissions were created in the United States, which, independently of each other, were to assess the causes of the backlog and make recommendations for response measures. Senator L. Johnson (later President) of the Subcommittee on Combat Readiness described the situation as follows: “We expected to be the first to launch a satellite. But in fact, we have not even become second yet ... The Soviet Union has won”7. Later, regarding the motives for competing with the USSR in the field of space research, he noted: “The Roman Empire controlled the world because it was able to build roads. Then, when the development of sea spaces began, the British Empire dominated the world, as it had ships. In the age of aviation, we were powerful because we had airplanes at our disposal. Now the communists have seized a foothold in space”8. Its formula "who owns space - he owns the whole world" was accepted by the political and military leadership, as well as by the entire American public, as a guide to practical action. This motto became the main one for American military strategists not only in the early 60s, but also retained its relevance at the present stage of historical development.

After the defeat at the first stage of space exploration, the United States concentrated its main efforts on finding ways and means to form and effectively implement the space program, the way Noah to quickly close the gap with the Soviet Union and provide them with undeniable leadership in the exploration and use of outer space. The military department and related research centers set about developing promising projects for turning outer space into a new theater of military operations. Particular attention was given to the lunar program. In a message from President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961, the United States was committed to achieving the following goal: by the end of this decade, to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth. His decision was taken by many military strategists as an incentive to develop projects to establish a military base on the moon. They proposed to carry out their plan in five stages: delivery of samples of lunar soil to Earth (November 1964); the first landing on the Moon and the return of the crew to Earth (August 1967); temporary base on the lunar surface (November 1967); completion of the construction of a lunar base for 21 people (December 1968) and its commissioning (June 1969). Due to historical circumstances, military projects for the exploration of the moon were not implemented.

President Kennedy's decision was embodied only in the Apollo project to carry out manned space flights to the moon. Test flights of the Apollo spacecraft began in an unmanned version on May 28, 1964. The first manned flight was carried out on the Apollo 7 spacecraft, launched into orbit by a satellite on October 11, 1968. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched to the moon. On July 20, the lunar cabin landed on the Moon, and on July 21, N. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface for the first time in the history of mankind.

Encouraged by the historic victory in the "moon race", NASA management in September 1969 sent a report to the special committee on space under the President of the United States, which summed up the first results of the American space program in the field of "peaceful" space and contained proposals for a program of work for the coming years: to continue By-Leta under the Apollo program (1970-1972); start building a habitable base-station on the Moon (1980-1983); by 1977 to create the first manned station in near-Earth orbit; in the future, to carry out space flights to the nearest planets - Mars and Venus, and then to Jupiter and other planets of the solar system. The proposed grandiose space program as a whole was never implemented, but the Americans managed to send six more lunar expeditions before December 1972.

Unfortunately, the foot of the Soviet man never set foot on the surface of the moon. Our lunar program, begun under S.P. Queen, due to accidents, it was never implemented. The fourth (and last) attempt to launch the N-1 rocket was made on November 23, 1972, and in February 1976, in accordance with the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers, all work on this project was stopped.

Having won the "lunar race", the Americans reoriented the space program to the creation and operation of long-term orbital stations. The first and only American space station, Skylab, was launched into orbit on May 14, 1973. During the year, three long-term expeditions worked successively on it. After the return of the latter in February 1974, work with the station was stopped, and the main attention was focused on the project of the Space Shuttle reusable space transport system.

The Space Shuttle project was announced by President R. Nixon in March 1970. Unlike previous space programs, work in this direction was carried out at a normal pace and was not accelerated for political or ideological reasons. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the first flight of the Shuttle took place ten years later - only on April 12, 1981. In the course of the development of the program, an important trend of alignment, intersection of efforts in the creation of space technology for civil and military purposes was revealed. At the same time, the activity of the Department of Defense has increased in search of means and methods for the wider use in their interests of space technology, which is at the disposal of NASA and other civilian departments. If in the past the Ministry of Defense tried to get the opportunity to create manned systems for exclusively military purposes, then in the Space Shuttle project it managed to achieve equity participation in financing and at the same time the highest proportion of its interests in long-term plans for the operation of reusable ships. In almost all flights, the astronauts performed a large amount of experiments in the interests of the military department, and starting from the 15th flight, carried out under the secret program of the Ministry of Defense, space flights began to be regularly planned exclusively for military purposes. By the Americans' own admission, the Space Shuttle reusable transport system does not economically justify the hopes placed on it. In terms of the cost of launching payloads into space, the system loses to disposable launch vehicles9.

The decision to create a reusable space system in the Soviet Union appeared much later: the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On the creation of a reusable space system consisting of an upper stage, an orbital aircraft, an interorbital tug-ship, a system control complex, a launch-landing and repair-recovery complex and other ground-based facilities that ensure the launch of payloads weighing up to 30 tons into northeastern orbits of 200 kilometers and the return of cargo weighing up to 20 tons from orbit” was adopted in February 1976 with the simultaneous closure of all work on the lunar program.

Work on the program "Energy" - "Buran" required a huge concentration of forces throughout the country, but the project actually turned out to be unfinished. The reusable orbital ship "Buran" took off for the first and last time on November 15, 1988. In unmanned mode, having circled the globe twice, he landed at the airfield with a strong side wind with very high accuracy. The Soviet Union proved that the Energia-Buran reusable rocket and space complex is technically not inferior, and in some respects even superior to the American Space Shuttle. Having closed its lunar program and got involved in another space race, the USSR invested huge funds in the unclaimed reusable space system Energia - Buran, which were so lacking for the development of orbital research complexes.

Adoption in the late 60s programs for the development of long-term orbital stations of the Salyut type, which later served as a scientific and technical base for the Mir orbital research complex, was determined primarily by the success of the Americans in the implementation of manned flights to the moon. The project of the orbital station, the work on which was carried out under the direction of V.N. Chelomey, received the name "Diamond". The project, developed according to the terms of reference of the Ministry of Defense, assumed that the Almaz manned space station would become more advanced for space reconnaissance than unmanned reconnaissance space vehicles. To do this, the station was equipped with an onboard reconnaissance complex and the best system of sensors associated with a computer at that time. Its layouts appeared already in 1968. However, later it was decided to develop "civilian" space laboratories - long-term orbital stations (DOS) based on the already created samples of the "military" station "Almaz". The first DOS was successfully launched on April 19, 1971 and was named Salyut. On February 7, 1991, the last Salyut-7 station entered the dense layers of the atmosphere and ceased to exist, and the unique orbital research manned space complex Mir remained in orbit, the base unit of which was launched on February 20, 1986. The history of the orbital complex "Mir" ended 15 years later, when on March 23, 2001 it was flooded in the South Pacific Ocean.

With the help of the orbital stations "Salyut" and "Mir" a unique program of stage-by-stage human settlement of near-Earth space was carried out. Starting with the Salyut-6 station, Soviet cosmonautics has firmly taken a leading position in the field of long-term space flights, as well as in the implementation of international space programs. The Mir Orbital Complex has become a real flight range for testing many technical solutions and technological processes currently used on the International Space Station. Largely due to the implementation of the space program of the Mir orbital complex, Russia's role in this project immediately became in many respects the leading one. Having passed the difficult stage of confrontation between the two superpowers in space, manned astronautics at the present stage has finally entered the path of mutually beneficial cooperation. At present, the project on the International Space Station is being successfully implemented. In accordance with the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States of October 26, 1998, it is possible for both Russia and the United States to use their own elements of the international space station in the interests of the national security of their states.

At the turn of the millennium, America revised its space policy, and in 1996, the presidential directive SDA-49 "National Space Policy" appeared, according to which in 1999 the directive of the US Secretary of Defense No. installations in accordance with the presidential directive; reflection of the main changes in the system of ensuring international security, new aspects of the national security strategy and military strategy, changes in the formation of the national defense budget, in the structure of the armed forces, experience in the use of space forces in combat conditions, the expanding use of space assets on a global scale, the spread of technology and information , the development of military and information technologies, the intensification of commercial activities in space, the expansion of cooperation between the civil and military sectors and international cooperation; development of a comprehensive policy framework for the implementation of space or space-related activities.

In modern US military policy, space is considered the same medium as land, sea or air, in which combat operations will be carried out in the interests of ensuring the national security of the United States. The priority tasks of space and space-related activities are to ensure the status of freedom of space and protect the interests of US national security in it. In the adopted space policy, an important role is assigned to manned astronautics: “The unique opportunities associated with the presence of man in space can be used to the maximum extent practically for conducting research, development, testing and assessing the parameters of systems in space, as well as more effectively solving current and future tasks in the interests of ensuring national security. This also includes the possibility of a person performing military tasks in space that are unique in essence or preferable in terms of cost-effectiveness for combat operations of troops”10.

The principles of national space policy, set out in SDA-49, were subsequently revised by the new White House administration. This is precisely the meaning of Presidential Directive No. 15 of June 28, 2002, according to which the National Security Council and the Department of Science and Technology were to review the current space policy and make recommendations for its correction. Currently, the US manned astronautics has set a course for further exploration of near-Earth space and the nearest planets of the solar system. Space activities in Russia are classified as the highest state priorities. The main regulatory legal act is the Law of the Russian Federation "On Space Activities" of August 20, 1993, as amended and supplemented on November 29, 1996. It regulates all the main aspects of space activities in Russia and is linked to the requirements of international law.

The fundamental documents for the implementation of space policy include the "Fundamentals of the policy of the Russian Federation in the field of space activities for the period up to 2010", approved by the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin on February 6, 2001, and the Concept of the National Space Policy of the Russian Federation, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 1, 1996. They emphasize that the main goals of the national space policy at the present stage are: Russia's preservation of the status of a great space power; effective use and strengthening of the space potential of the Russian Federation in the interests of developing science and technology, increasing the economic and defense power of the country; active participation in international cooperation in the field of space activities aimed at solving global problems of mankind.

So, the military-political analysis of the development of manned cosmonautics convincingly proves that it was, is and will be one of the most important factors in world development and ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation. The rocket and space industry, closely and inextricably linked with science, has proved its viability even in the conditions of a deep economic crisis. Therefore, today, when the course is set for the exploration of the Moon and Mars, it is necessary to pay close attention to the domestic manned cosmonautics and do everything necessary for its development.

Notes:

Chertok B.E. Rockets and people. Hot days of the cold war. M.: Mashinostroenie. 2002. S. 16.

Starodubov V.P. Superpowers of the 20th century. Strategic confrontation. M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2001. S. 33-53; Chertok B.E. Rockets and people. Hot days of the cold war. 2002. S. 9-21.

The Creative Legacy of Academician Sergei Pavlovich Korolev: Selected Works and Documents. M.: Nauka, 1980. S. 70.

Khozin PS. Great confrontation in space (USSR - USA). Eyewitness testimony. M: Ve-che, 2001. S. 29.

The International Geophysical Year, with the participation of scientists from 67 countries, was organized by the International Council of Scientific Unions of UNESCO and lasted from July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958; the main points of his scientific program were global, planetary in scope.

Erike K.A. Space flight: In 2 vols. T. 1 / Per. from English: Ehricke Krafft A. Space Flight. Princeton, New Jersey - Toronto - New York - London. 1960. M.: Publishing house of fiz.-mat. liters, 1963. S. 71.

U.S. News and World Report. January 31, 1958, pp. 56-57.

Wolfe T. The Right Stuff. N.Y., 1980. P. 57.

Chertok B.E. Rockets and people. Lunar race. M.: Mashinostroenie, 1999. S. 506.

After reading this paragraph, we:

remember the scientists who have made a significant contribution to space exploration;
learn how to change the orbit of spaceships;
make sure that astronautics is widely used on Earth.

The origin of astronautics

Cosmonautics studies the movement of artificial Earth satellites (AES), spacecraft and interplanetary stations in outer space. There is a difference between natural bodies and artificial space vehicles: the latter, with the help of jet engines, can change the parameters of their orbit.

A significant contribution to the creation of the scientific foundations of astronautics, manned spacecraft and automatic interplanetary stations (AMS) was made by Soviet scientists.

Rice. 5.1. K. E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935)

K. E. Tsiolkovsky (Fig. 5.1) created the theory of jet propulsion. In 1902, he proved for the first time that only with the help of a jet engine can the first cosmic speed be achieved.

Rice. 5.2. Yu. V. Kondratyuk (1898-1942)

Yu. V. Kondratyuk (A. G. Shargei; Fig. 5.2) in 1918 calculated the trajectory of a flight to the Moon, which was subsequently used in the United States in preparation for the Apollo space expeditions. The outstanding designer of the world's first spacecraft and interplanetary stations S.P. Korolev (1906-1966) was born and studied in Ukraine. Under his leadership, on October 4, 1957, the world's first satellite was launched in the Soviet Union, AMS were created, which were the first in the history of astronautics to reach the Moon, Venus and Mars. The greatest achievement of cosmonautics at that time was the first manned flight of the Vostok spacecraft, on which, on April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin made a round-the-world space trip.

Circular speed

Let us consider the orbit of a satellite that is in a circular orbit at a height H above the Earth's surface (Fig. 5.3).

Rice. 5.3. Circular velocity determines the motion of a body around the Earth at a constant height H above its surface

In order for the orbit to be constant and not change its parameters, two conditions must be met.

The velocity vector must be directed tangentially to the orbit.
The value of the linear speed of the satellite must be equal to the circular speed, which is determined by the equation:

(5.1)

where - Mzem = 6 × 10 24 kg - the mass of the Earth; G \u003d 6.67 × 10 -11 (H m 2) / kg 2 - universal gravitation constant; H is the height of the satellite above the Earth's surface, Rzem = 6.37 10 9 m is the radius of the Earth. From formula (5.1) it follows that the circular velocity has the greatest value at a height of H = 0, that is, in the case when the satellite moves near the very surface of the Earth. Such a speed in astronautics is called the first space speed:

In real conditions, not a single satellite can revolve around the Earth in a circular orbit with the first cosmic velocity, because the dense atmosphere greatly slows down the movement of bodies that move at high speed. Even if the speed of a rocket in the atmosphere reached the value of the first cosmic one, then the high air resistance would heat its surface to a melting point. Therefore, rockets during launch from the Earth's surface first rise vertically upwards to a height of several hundred kilometers, where air resistance is negligible, and only then the corresponding speed in the horizontal direction is reported to the satellite.

For the curious

Weightlessness during a flight in a spaceship sets in at the moment when the rocket engines stop working. In order to feel the state of weightlessness, it is not necessary to fly into space. Any high jump, or long jump, when the support under our feet disappears, gives us a momentary feeling of a state of weightlessness.

The movement of spacecraft in elliptical orbits

If the satellite velocity is different from the circular one or the velocity vector is not parallel to the horizon plane, then the spacecraft (SC) will revolve around the Earth in an elliptical trajectory. According to the first law, the center of the Earth must be in one of the foci of the ellipse, so the plane of the satellite's orbit must intersect the plane of the equator or coincide with it (Fig. 5.4). In this case, the height of the satellite above the Earth's surface varies from perigee to apogee. existing points on the orbits of the planets - perihelion and aphelion (see § 4).

Rice. 5.4. The movement of the satellite along an elliptical trajectory is similar to the revolution of the planets in the gravitational zone of the Sun. The change in speed is determined by the law of conservation of energy: the sum of the kinetic and potential energy of the body while moving in orbit remains constant

If the satellite moves along an elliptical trajectory, then, according to Kepler's second law, its speed changes: the satellite has the highest speed at the perigee, and the lowest - at the apogee.

Spacecraft orbital period

If a spacecraft moves in an ellipse around the Earth at a variable speed, its period of revolution can be determined using Kepler's third law (see § 4):

where Tc is the period of revolution of the satellite around the Earth; T m = 27.3 days - the sidereal period of the Moon's revolution around the Earth; a c is the semi-major axis of the satellite's orbit; \u003d 380000 km the semi-major axis of the Moon's orbit. From equation (5.3) we determine:

(5.4)

Rice. 5.5. A geostationary satellite circulates at an altitude of 35,600 km only in a circular orbit in the plane of the equator with a period of 24 hours (N - North Pole)

In astronautics, a special role is played by satellites that “hang” over one point on the Earth - these are geostationary satellites used for space communications (Fig. 5.5).

For the curious

To ensure global communications, it is enough to put three satellites into geostationary orbit, which should “hang” at the vertices of a regular triangle. Now several dozens of commercial satellites from different countries are already in such orbits, providing rebroadcasting of television programs, mobile telephone communications, and the Internet computer network.

Second and third cosmic velocities

These speeds determine the conditions for interplanetary and interstellar flights, respectively. If we compare the second cosmic velocity V 2 with the first one V 1 (5.2), we get the relation:

A spacecraft starting from the surface of the Earth at the second cosmic velocity and moving along a parabolic trajectory could fly to the stars, because the parabola is an open curve and goes to infinity. But in real conditions, such a ship will not leave the solar system, because any body that has gone beyond the limits of Earth's gravity falls into the gravitational field of the Sun. That is, the spacecraft will become a satellite of the Sun and will circulate in the solar system like planets or asteroids.

To fly outside the solar system, the spacecraft must be informed of the third cosmic velocity V 3 =16.7 km/s. Unfortunately, the power of modern jet engines is still insufficient for flight to the stars when starting directly from the Earth's surface. But if a spacecraft flies through the gravitational field of another planet, it can receive additional energy, which allows us to make interstellar flights in our time. The United States has already launched several such AMSs (Pioneer 10.11 and Voyager 1.2), which in the gravitational field of the giant planets have increased their speed so much that in the future they will fly out of the solar system.

For the curious

The flight to the Moon takes place in the gravitational field of the Earth, so the spacecraft flies along an ellipse, the focus of which is the center of the Earth. The most favorable flight path with minimum fuel consumption is an ellipse that is tangent to the Moon's orbit.

During interplanetary flights, for example to Mars, the spacecraft flies along an ellipse with the Sun at its focus. The most profitable trajectory with the least expenditure of energy passes along an ellipse that is tangent to the orbit of the Earth and Mars. The points of start and arrival lie on the same straight line on opposite sides of the Sun. Such a one-way flight lasts more than 8 months. Astronauts who will visit Mars in the near future should take into account that they will not be able to return to Earth immediately: the Earth moves faster in orbit than Mars, and in 8 months it will outstrip it. Before returning, the astronauts need to stay on Mars for another 8 months, while the Earth takes a favorable position. That is, the total duration of the expedition to Mars will be at least two years.

Practical application of astronautics

Nowadays, astronautics serves not only to study the Universe, but also brings great practical benefits to people on Earth. Artificial spacecraft study the weather, explore space, help solve environmental problems, search for minerals, and provide radio navigation (Fig. 5.6, 5.7). But the greatest merits of astronautics are in the development of space communications, space mobile phones, television and the Internet.

Rice. 5.6. international space station

Scientists are designing the construction of space solar power plants that will transmit energy to Earth. In the near future, one of the current students will fly to Mars, explore the Moon and asteroids. We are waiting for mysterious alien worlds and a meeting with other life forms, and possibly with extraterrestrial civilizations.

Rice. 5.7. Space station in the form of a giant ring, the idea of which was proposed by Tsiolkovsky. The rotation of the station around the axis will create an artificial attraction

Rice. 5.8. Launch of the Ukrainian rocket "Zenith" from the spaceport in the Pacific Ocean

conclusions

Cosmonautics as a science of flights into interplanetary space is developing rapidly and occupies a special place in the methods of studying celestial bodies and the outer space environment. In addition, in our time, astronautics is successfully used in communications (telephone, radio, television, Internet), in navigation, geology, meteorology and many other areas of human activity.

Tests

With the first space velocity, a spacecraft can fly, circling the Earth in a circular orbit at such a height above the surface:
The rocket starts from the surface of the Earth with the second cosmic velocity. Where will she fly?
The spacecraft revolves around the Earth in an elliptical orbit. What is the name of the point in the orbit where astronauts are closest to Earth?
The rocket with the spacecraft starts from the spaceport. When will astronauts feel weightless?
Which of these physical laws do not hold in weightlessness?
Why can't any satellite revolve around the Earth in a circular orbit with the first cosmic velocity?
What is the difference between perigee and perihelion?
Why do G-forces occur during spacecraft launch?
Does the law of Archimedes hold true in weightlessness?
The spacecraft revolves around the Earth in a circular orbit at an altitude of 200 km. Determine the linear speed of the ship.
Can a spacecraft make 24 revolutions around the Earth in a day?

Disputes on the proposed topics

What can you suggest for future space programs?

Observation tasks

In the evening, look for a satellite or an international space station in the sky, which are illuminated by the Sun and look like bright dots from the Earth's surface. Draw their path among the constellations for 10 minutes. What is the difference between the flight of a satellite and the motion of planets?

Key concepts and terms:

Apogee, geostationary satellite, second space velocity, circular velocity, interplanetary space station, perigee, first space velocity, artificial earth satellite.

The fact is that NASA is still completely unable to safely return the crew from deep space, and, therefore, due to this circumstance alone, the Apollo myth falls apart.

The mythology of the Apollo program is revealed from NASA sources in the following areas:

An attempt to develop a heavy lunar launch vehicle over five years culminated in the recognition of serious vibration problems in the first stage of the rocket, similar to those experienced on Saturn V. Subsequently, the Ares-series missiles had to be abandoned;
Not surprisingly, Saturn V's first-stage F-1 engines are not even discussed in current NASA analysis papers;
An upgraded version of the Saturn V second-stage J-2 engine was proposed ten years ago for a new heavy rocket, but NASA now says it really comes down to a new development and work has been put on hold. It is unclear when the upgraded J-2 engine will be ready for use on the Launch System;
NASA is still unable to develop a heavy rocket with a payload of 70 tons, let alone replicate the capabilities of Saturn V;
NASA classifies take-off from the surface of the moon as an ascent from a "deep gravity well," and plans to land on the moon have been delayed so much that they are practically abandoned. This is not surprising, since the Apollo Lunar Module was clearly unable to launch from the landing platform due to the lack of vents;
The Apollo command module (CM) had the property of bistability during landing, that is, there was an equally probable danger of its overturn and combustion upon entering the Earth's atmosphere;
NASA still does not have a reliable spacecraft heat shield to safely return crews from deep space;
The "direct" reentry profile claimed in the Apollo reports is practically inapplicable*, and, if implemented on landing, is likely to be disastrous for the lander;
*) Not applicable - when returning to Earth with the second cosmic velocity - Approx. ed.
If the descent vehicle had somehow managed to successfully re-enter the atmosphere, then the astronauts who survived the descent would have been in critical condition due to the serious danger of heavy gravitational overloads after a long period of weightlessness and, most likely, after splashdown would have been in serious condition and would not look so cheerful;
The lack of key knowledge regarding human exposure to solar and cosmic radiation outside of LEO makes real radiation protection very problematic.

After the Constellation (PS) program, which included landing on the lunar surface for 15 years, was canceled in 2010, no new plans for missions to the Moon have been proposed for the foreseeable future. “After the PS was stopped, it became clear that there were deep gaps in the technical protocol of the well-known moon landings in the past. As if for the first time, the following elements of the program should be developed and re-created: a heavy-lift rocket; LM for operations on the Moon; hardware for safe re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.” ()

The myth of Apollo is now in the final stage of its existence and will soon be discarded as a serious obstacle to human space exploration. However, “NASA operates within a catch-22 paradigm: The agency cannot move forward without recognizing the true state of affairs in the context of the experience gained in the field of manned space exploration, primarily the Apollo legacy, whatever it may be, but on the other hand, it cannot reveal the truth about the Apollos for various political reasons.” ()

Although the roots of the Apollo myth were fundamentally political, this article will only deal with the technical aspects and will show how the continued support of this myth hinders the development of manned space exploration. A lunar base is as ambitious a project today as the moon landing was about 50 years ago. However, NASA failed to develop a viable lunar return program, and the agency has now decided to move the idea of a lunar base out of the public eye and instead promote Mars as a real goal.

See also chapter "Flaws of the Apollo Program" in the application

What is the obstacle?

When it comes to deciding whether to get down to real work on the unresolved problems of manned spaceflight, NASA is forced to choose between admitting that the Apollo program is false or continuing to put up a smokescreen to preserve the Apollo mythology. And the choice for NASA, of course, is the second option. In this twisted value system, where stubborn adherence to the Apollo version is paramount, the advances in manned space technology will be systematically sacrificed year after year. The key technical milestones on the path to human missions to the Moon were well defined, but never completed.

The critically important missing element is the technique for the safe return of the crew from deep space. For a competent analyst, it is obvious that there is no point in planning long-term space flights beyond LEO until the technique for reliable and safe return of the crew to earth is fully debugged, and this, in addition to addressing issues related to radiation protection, will most likely require several tests in real conditions of entry into the earth's atmosphere.

The Apollo had fundamental shortcomings regarding effective thermal protection, the aerodynamics of the descent vehicle during atmospheric entry, as well as important biomedical aspects of life support and crew safety. The last factor imposes uncompromising demands on the first two. Years of self-righteousness behind a stone wall of constant lies about the capabilities of Apollo methodically stifled the work of administrators, scientists, and engineers who could have made significant progress much earlier in these critical areas.

Apollo's triumph was 20 years old by the time George W. Bush took up R. Reagan's call in his 1984 address to the nation. Following J.F. Kennedy, Reagan said: "Today, I am instructing NASA to build a permanent manned space station and do it within a decade." George W. Bush, standing on the steps of the National Air and Space Museum, announced in 1989 the Space Exploration Initiative. It outlined plans for not only a space station, but also a lunar base, and ultimately plans to send astronauts to Mars. The President noted that these studies are the destiny of mankind, and the destiny of America is to lead in them. The report, released after the presidential speech on July 20, stated that:

"The next strategic step will be the creation of a permanent lunar outpost, which will begin with two or three launches from Earth to the Freedom station of ships with lunar equipment, crew, vehicles and fuel. At the Freedom station, the crew, cargo and fuel are reloaded onto a transport a ship that will take them to lunar orbit."

Some of these impressive designs later materialized as the International Space Station (ISS), based on key Russian elements dating back to 1998, to which the American Destiny module was docked in 2001.

A passionate supporter of Mars missions, Robert Zubrin, well-versed in NASA affairs for many years, provided first-hand information about how this 1989 initiative was abandoned - once NASA received funding for the Space Shuttle and ISS programs. Zubrin describes how “NASA leadership has refused to champion a program that President Bush has called a national priority.” He mentions "many people" who perceived the approach of the NASA administration as "blatant sabotage" which was made possible thanks to "indifference of the president" .

This chain of events is a good example of a grand vision being first announced and then derailed by both NASA and the US government. As a result, in order to maintain the myth of Apollo, for more than thirty years, almost no development was completed in the field of manned astronautics outside of LEO. A similar R&D "roller coaster" scenario, once again throwing the idea of a moon base to nowhere, was repeated with the Constellation Program. However, at least the initial glimmer of enthusiasm in 2005-2009 triggered a number of interesting theoretical papers recognizing the problems with the claimed Apollo direct re-entry into the atmosphere, as well as the exceptional importance of solving the problem of re-entry along a bounce profile.

Further, during the development of the Ares rocket, the problems of creating a powerful rocket - an analogue of Saturn-5 - were again confirmed. However, no further progress was made as the Constellation Program was phased out and then reinstated in 2010. (as a new nameless - Approx. ed.), being half-simplified and reduced to the development of a powerful launcher and a return capsule, but without a lunar module and without any plans to actually land on the lunar surface.

It is clear that the tacit consensus between the NASA administration and government agencies - who know quite well that there was no moon landing - could continue for years. As the U.S. Accounts Office recognizes, "The agency's efforts over the past two decades to develop means to deliver humans beyond low Earth orbit have ultimately been unsuccessful."

It seems that NASA experts do not believe that they will be able to raise this serious issue in a form that would require a practical solution. Their inaction continues to demonstrate that the political establishment will thwart any move that could undermine the value of Apollo as America's trophy in the space race.

Sliding Graphs

It is well known that NASA is currently planning two upcoming Orion lunar exploration missions: Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) launched by Space Launch System (SLS). ). During the first, unmanned launch of the EM-1, it is planned to fly around the Moon, then test the high-speed entry of the device into the atmosphere and the operation of the thermal protection system before the manned flight. The second flight, a crewed EM-2, will have to “demonstrate the basic capabilities of the Orion ship” , i.e., hopes to repeat the claimed success of Apollo 8 back in 1968.

Yet the US government claims that NASA “is in the middle of developing the first manned capsule capable of taking people to the moon and beyond” ... and immediately admits that attempts “failed” .

It seems incredible that the report of the Accounts Chamber draws a line under the efforts of NASA for two decades, counting from the late 90s, summarizing these efforts as "unsuccessful", while at the same time recognizing that development is still in the middle of the road. How long, according to NASA experts, this development can continue?

What conclusions can be drawn from this statement? First, a further delay in development is inevitable, as it is now recognized that “NASA has not set specific launch dates for EM-1 and EM-2. The agency plans to set an EM-2 start date after the EM-1 mission is completed.”

The latest announcement about the EM-2 launch date is simply humiliating when compared to what was promised in 2013 to be implemented in 2021 (see), and then in 2015 was postponed to 2023 (see). Now it is assumed that such a significant slide of the graph will have “domino effect for a bunch of subroutines” .

Second, another revision of the strategic objectives is likely to follow, citing a lack of resources and problems with technology transfer from manufacturers. This will lead to the curtailment of current plans and the setting of another grandiose task for the next 10 to 20 years.

"The Orion program is currently reworking its heat shield based on the results of the December 2014 test flight. NASA has concluded that not all parts of the monolithic structure used in these tests will meet the more stringent requirements at EM-1 and EM-2 when the capsule is be exposed to an elevated temperature range for longer durations.It was decided to change from a monolithic structure to a honeycomb structure for the heat shield for the EM-1.”

Primarily a financial document, the GAO report nevertheless delves into specific technical details, revealing an intractable problem. The Accounts Chamber discusses possible solutions for the new heat shield: “This design will have about 300 cells attached to the frame, the gaps between the cells are filled with a special filler similar to the design used in the Space Shuttle.” It is clear that NASA is experimenting with critical design solutions based on ideas that have previously been implemented in less severe conditions on the Space Shuttle, but does not address previous experience with the Apollo heat shields. The Chamber's report continues: “However, the honeycomb design also carries some risks, as it is not clear how securely the cells will be attached to the scaffold, and there is also no certainty about the performance of the suture material.” And then: “The program continues to test monolithic construction as one of the possible approaches to minimize risks.”

Clearly, with virtually no previous experience with a deep space heat shield, NASA is unsure of the results of its current shield experiments and is making ad hoc decisions. And the 2014 test flight was carried out at speeds below those that will be achieved by spacecraft returning from both the Moon and other more distant routes.

NASA's difficulties with technologies for flights outside of LEO may be partly explained by the fact that over the course of ten years, three, if not four, groups of scientific and technical developers (including Boeing, SpaceX and the same Lockheed Martin with their Orion) participated in work on a capsule for transporting crews to the International Space Station, and despite their best efforts, their developments, even for flights to LEO, do not reach the level of the time-tested Soyuz technology:

“The United States has no domestic capability to transport crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS), and instead continues to rely on the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos). From 2006 to 2018 the amount of NASA payments to Roscosmos will be approximately $3.4 billion for the transport of 64 NASA astronauts and their partners to and from the ISS on Soyuz spacecraft.” At current prices, now as high as $80 million for a Soyuz round trip, it will be hard not to conclude that the Russians are fine with tacitly maintaining the myth of the Apollo flights.

The latest initiatives from NASA, especially from SpaceX, to send crews around the Moon as soon as possible, and even more so to take tourists directly to the Moon, is an irresponsible play on words. And while all of this is probably meant to bolster interest in human spaceflight, such promises are wholly unrealistic.

Return of the cargo capsule along a ballistic trajectory with braking overload up to 34 g, which lasted just over 2 minutes, does not at all serve as evidence that the increased thermal insulation screen will work in conditions certified for the return of a person. . As for NASA's plans to send a crew directly to the Moon without conducting preliminary tests without a person on board, they have already been either shelved, as expected, or remain in limbo - to be quietly canceled later after the noise of promises in the media will achieve the desired effect. Indeed, the Agency has already quietly postponed the unmanned flight itself until 2019.

“NASA continues to find new critical aspects for further R&D improvements on Orion, mainly not because of tightening requirements, for example, on safety, but simply because the Agency is finally starting to receive true information about the real requirements for flying outside LEO.” (highlighted by the author, see)

Logistics and aerodynamics of the return capsule

The logistics and aerodynamics of the return of the crewed capsule is another critical aspect that needs to be worked out in detail. Incredibly, these critical elements of the program are not mentioned in NASA's current plans or in the relevant Accounts Chamber reports.

Given the claimed success of the Apollo missions, sending an unmanned spacecraft to fly around the Moon under the EM-1 plan (planned in 2018, now postponed to 2019) at first glance seems like a modest task. In fact, the EM-1 is the unmanned flight that was missing during the preparation of the Apollo program. According to NASA, preliminary tests at LEO were unexpectedly followed by the flight of Apollo 8 with the crew, which allegedly went directly to the Moon, and, after flying around the Moon with access to lunar orbit, it was allegedly successfully returned to Earth. () After Orion was tested in December 2014, its heat shield - claimed to be an improved version of the Apollo shield - was found to be insufficiently reliable for flights and return from deep space.

So what do you need to do to be successful?

Even before attempting to fly to the Moon, it is necessary to conduct preliminary test flights to certify the manned-class return capsule in order to make sure that the technique of re-entry into the atmosphere from the depths of space at the second space velocity is reliably worked out. It could be a whole series of flights similar to the one that was performed in December 2014, but with a higher elliptical orbit and with a spacecraft speed of 11.2 km per second relative to the gravitational body of the Earth. For the assumed reentry profile, its parameters may be similar to those of the planned reentry from the Moon with an actual reentry velocity in the interface region of about 10.8 km per second, taking into account the rotation of the planet.

During the direct entry into the atmosphere, presumably carried out during the Apollo flights, the descent vehicle did not leave the atmosphere during the landing, so for a long time it had to experience constant, if not increasing, thermal and dynamic loads, and, as a result, this imposed significant additional heat shield requirements. Observing the ongoing attempts to whitewash the Apollo program, it should be noted that its modern advocates view the Apollo reentry as actually bouncing (see also Chris Kraft's comments in ) and discuss the criticality of the reentry angle: “It was necessary to give the descent vehicle a chance to enter and exit the atmosphere in order to slow down… If the angle was too sharp, the ship would bounce out of the atmosphere and into space with no hope of rescue.”

This statement turned out to be a key mistake of the Apollo designers, who decided not to use the bounce-and-re-entry option. In fact, after losing energy during the first phase of reentry into the atmosphere, the reentry capsule cannot escape the Earth's gravity, so it will not be able to fly far into space, but instead continue along the Earth's surface. As it turns out, the Russians did not make this mistake, but practiced a re-entry technique after a bounce in their successful unmanned flights starting in 1968. (cm. )

Now NASA is forced to adopt the concept of bouncing back and implement, for example, the method proposed in the 2005 Architectural Study (Figure 1). In Fig. 1b below, the proposed theoretical rebound reentry profile is compared with the direct descent profiles described in the Apollo reports - from the moment of entering the so-called. interface and until the opening of the parachutes at an altitude of 6 - 7 km. Further, in Architectural Research, the target range (the length of the landing trajectory - Ed.) for direct entry in Apollo flights supposed equal to approximately 2600 km (Fig. 1d) and, further: ”The 1969 version of the Apollo manual is used to simulate direct entry” , instead of using the actual profiles that are reported.

It is likely that at some point NASA will be forced to admit that even in the case of a reentry according to this bounce theory, the initial reentry stage is not optimal due to the selection of an entry angle (-6.0 deg) too close in magnitude to that normally reported for the descent of the Apollos (- 6.65 degrees). More realistic entry profiles were considered later in the theoretical work of academic and military research institutes, cited in .

In summary, it can be argued that there is no need for NASA to wait until a heavy rocket is built in order to develop a reliable reentry technique. The Agency should continue unmanned testing, similar to the December 2014 test, using medium power launch systems. Nothing of the sort is seen in NASA's current plans.

Rice. 1a. A bounce reentry option proposed in 2005 with a projected range of up to 13,590 km and a total time of about 37 minutes from interface entry at 122 km altitude to landing near Cape Canaveral. The reentry velocity in the interface zone will be 11.07 km/s.

Rice. 1b. Geodetic altitude versus time: comparison of the rebound reentry profile shown in Fig. 1a (equivalent to Fig. 5-74 c ) with the direct entry profiles presented in the Apollo 8 mission reports (Fig. 5-6(b) in the Mission Report ) and Apollo 10 (Figures 6-7(b) in the Mission Report); the Apollo 10 graph is shifted slightly to display all the data available from the report (author's reconstruction).

Rice. 1c. Rebound bounce versus direct entry: profiles from Fig. 1b at the initial stage of the entry. The Apollo 10 descent was declared completed in less than 8 minutes. Attention should be paid to the gentle entry profile of the rebound return scheme and the smoothness of the retreat back to the interface line.

Note

1. The author wrote a series of Moonbase articles in Nexus on 21/05, 22/03, and 23/04 which are also published on Aulis.com/moonbase2014 and are cited here as MB1, MB2, MB3.

These articles are also available in Russian translation at the following links (Ed. note):

MB1: Moon base. Is there any hope of finally building a lunar base?

Etymology

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Early American rocket and space program

The most important stages of space exploration since 1957

Modernity

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space agencies

Important space programs and spacecraft flights from different countries

Artificial Earth Satellites (AES)

space telescopes

Automatic interplanetary stations

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private spaceships

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see also

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Literature

Links

Space Information About

The origin of astronautics

Circular speed

The movement of spacecraft in elliptical orbits

Spacecraft orbital period

Second and third cosmic velocities

Practical application of astronautics

conclusions

Tests

What is the obstacle?

Sliding Graphs

Logistics and aerodynamics of the return capsule

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