Orbital station "Salyut-7"
By the 60 anniversary of the launch of the first Soviet satellite, Russian filmmakers timed the screening of the film "Salute-7". Yesterday he was watched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Today the picture was shown in the press center "Russia Today".
You will be able to find out about artistic merits and demerits of the film, whose roles were played by the wonderful Russian actors Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Maria Mironova, Pavel Derevyanko, Alexander Samoylenko and Oksana Fandera, tomorrow.
And today, we will talk about real stories orbital station "Salyut-7". How it was? And what was the drama of the situation that became the basis for the film?
The orbital station "Salyut-7" was a delicate refined by domestic designers "Salyut-6". An atomic navigation system was installed, which, after passing a preliminary check, pleased with unprecedented accuracy.
The Upgrade brought an excellent Signal-B fire detection system. On board was an ultra-modern X-ray telescope, which greatly facilitated the task of observing space objects. There was here and a unique French-made photographic equipment, which made it possible to study in detail the space and terrestrial spaces.
New equipment significantly increased the reliability of the station and provided automation for many processes. The modifications made it possible to maximize the program of scientific experiments conducted over several years.
But 11 February 1985 of the year in 9 hours 23 minutes, the control over the station which was empty for several months was lost!
What time was it? 1985-86 is a bit like 2017. The cold war is in full swing. The USSR and the United States exchange "courtesies", "symmetrically" sending workers of embassies back home. Diplomatic scandals follow one after the other. And February, 1985, went down in history as the time when the legendary Ronald Reagan Doctrine was proclaimed.
What is its essence? It's simple. States openly began to support any anti-Soviet and anti-communist manifestations throughout the Earth. Nicaragua and Mozambique, Cambodia and Laos, Afghan Mujahideen and Angolan UNITA received practically unlimited support from “the most democratic country in the world” in their struggle with the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev will come to power only in March 1985 of the year. The course for ingratiating with the West has not yet been taken. Flywheel weakening the country from the inside, which will be pleased with the West, is not included.
The station, which had been empty for six months now, at which a number of invaluable scientific and medical experiments had been carried out, stopped responding to signals sent from the Flight Control Center, and began its slow movement toward Earth.
Where will fall multi-ton colossus? Which city and country will it cover itself? Not only the lives of people were threatened, but also the reputation of the USSR in the world! But to destroy the station with a missile strike meant dropping the Soviet Cosmos at least 10 years ago.
Those people in whose hands was the future of Soviet space exploration, the situation, let's face it, "invigorated". The Central Committee was nervous and for good reason. Potential conflict - who knows! - could easily smoothly grow into the Third World War and put a fat point in the history of mankind.
The situation demanded an immediate settlement and was entrusted to the crew of the most experienced cosmonauts of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh started pre-flight training.
It was these pilots who insisted on the candidacies of not just anyone, but Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov himself - the first man in outer space.
On the “personal balance” of Vladimir Dzhanibekov, who performed 1985 of the year in 43, there were 4 space missions, during which he flawlessly performed the work of the spacecraft commander, for which he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice.
It was this cosmonaut who had the experience of manual docking, invaluable in the given circumstances, the art of which he was to demonstrate when he came into contact with the “dead station”. His colleague Viktor Savinykh was a God’s flight engineer, who knew the “Salute-7” “in and out”.
As Valery Ryumin recalled: “The crew had a unique task: to dock with the 20-ton“ brick ”, which became, in fact,“ Salyut-7 ”after a breakdown”.
Adrenaline into the blood of the flight organizers and the astronauts who were flying straight into the unknown, was added by the fact that no one, in fact, could imagine what had actually happened at the orbital station?
Is it recoverable?
Will you be able to enter it?
Will it be possible to do anything to move the multi-ton structure from orbit?
One way or another, it was necessary to act. It’s right not to wait for the Soviet “miracle of technology” to cover Tokyo, Berlin or Washington? After all, the entire 6 years ago in Australia collapsed American orbital station. But who remembers the miscalculation of Americans, if such a precedent happens with the USSR? There will be no excuses.
The preparation took only 3 of the month. By cosmic standards - an extremely short time! Training was conducted in the enhanced mode. It seemed that the organizers of the upcoming flight did everything possible to eliminate any surprises for the already experienced pilots.
All sorts of abnormal situations were worked out, artificial difficulties were created that could occur during the flight, the equipment and systems of the simulator were put out of operation, during which the conditions of the “rescue operation” were simulated.
“We made mistakes, but later they became less and less,” recalled cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh in his bestseller “Notes from the Dead Station”.
The Soyuz-T spacecraft, on which the flight was to take place, was spared from "ballast." Equipment that was not needed for a specific task was removed. Added containers in which were stored supplies of food and water.
Installed additional night vision devices. Involved laser designators, which could contribute to a successful docking, because ... the second attempt could not be.
And so! In the first summer days of 1985, with a cheerful voice of Igor Kirillov, the Vremya program reported on the successful launch of T-13, whose task was to carry out the work provided for by the program. And then the person on duty "The spacecraft systems work normally, the astronauts feel good!".
And there were a lot of problems on board. The mistakes made in a hurry that could become fatal occurred on the earth! One of the blocks of the T-13 spacecraft, designed to clean the atmosphere of the ship, was mixed up with an oxygen generating unit.
This almost led to the tragedy, when the pressure began to grow rapidly, and there was a risk of fire. The trouble was prevented only by the experience and attentiveness of the Soviet cosmonauts.
Turning over the pages of the book “Notes from the Dead Station”, you are immersed in invaluable technical details, of which one of the unique events in the history of manned cosmonautics is woven. This episode is called the “manual docking of the T-13” and the “dead” orbital station Salyut-7.
At 11 in the morning, 8 Jun astronauts saw the "object". The orbital station was brighter than Jupiter!
Turning to manual mode, the astronauts began to perform the task, which no one else undertook but to overtake the station and dock without crashing into it. In the event of failure, the hopes for salvation of the Salyut-7 would have been irretrievably lost, as was the control over the situation, the development of which was now closely watched on Earth.
“At the moment of rapprochement, I could not stand it! - Victor Petrovich Savinykh admitted. - “Turn off speed!” I shouted to Volodya. And next to that I heard the calm voice of Janibekov, who transmitted to the earth: “Dawn, I quench the speed”.
Can we, today's, feel the despair of the moment when both astronauts realized that they had approached the station ... from the wrong side and “called in” to the “non-working” docking station?
Our song is good - start over! It was necessary to fly around "Salute-7" on the other hand and repeat the filigree work, which seemed to be almost completed ...
When the long-awaited touch and docking occurred, no one was happy for just one reason. It simply did not have the forces that were spent on work, which became the talk of the town and one of the most intense moments in the plot of the film.
The astronauts sat silently in their chairs, not looking at each other.
“Was it difficult? What's so complicated? This is my job, my craft! - recalled Vladimir Alexandrovich Dzhanibekov years later. - Genuine heroes work in the mines in the Luhansk region, where I happened to be. That's really scary there ... And what happened to me ... I went to this! And dreamed about it all my life. ”
At the next stage, it was necessary to determine whether the station is airtight? If not, this is the worst thing that could happen (after, of course, the death of the crew, which was possible at the time of the collision with the station, on the approach to it). In this case, the situation with the "Salute-7" would not be reparable. On the "T-13" trite would not have enough oxygen to perform the widest range of work!
... The station was tight. Chilling dry cold and silence, and in the silence the throbbing of your heart under the spacesuit is barely audible, but quickened. The solar cell orientation system is out of order! Repair or spit and fly away?
And Vladimir Dzhanibekov spat. True, he did this at the request of Valery Viktorovich Ryumin, who was in the MCC. Saliva instantly froze. There was work to be done, monstrously hard work in climatic conditions that were far from ideal as much as Soviet cosmonauts were far from the earth.
And somewhere down there, cheerfully told TASS about the successful and trouble-free docking, positive mood and well-being of Soviet cosmonauts. After 2 of the day, in the midst of the work, the astronauts needed to appear before the population of the Soviet Union, “waving a hand on the TV air”.
Good! The vapor from the mouth no longer went (which was verified in advance). And for the Soviet viewer an illusion of planned and safe work in space was created.
Exhausted to the limit by working without sleep and rest, the Pamir-1 and Pamir-2 looked, indeed, cheerfully after a two-day non-stop twisting of the electrical wires with their bare hands with their subsequent wrapping with insulating tape ...
The impossible has been done! By the power of astronauts - just 2-s people! - the station's batteries were connected to the solar panels directly and ... "Salyut-7" began to revive.
The ice melted! "Spring" came to the orbital station. But if there, below, melting ice and snow are absorbed by the earth, then where to get the earth here? There was a lot of water. All forces and all the available rags by the Janibekov and Savvins (including clothes and underwear, which were also used) were thrown into the fight against the “cosmic flood”.
Hooray! 23 June came from the ground "humanitarian aid." Cargo Progress-24 brought a “gift from MCC” - a “container” with an incredible amount of towels. "Mail from Earth" included the necessary equipment for repair, fuel and water supplies. So that the astronauts did not get bored, they were sent ... a couple of issues of the Pravda newspaper.
There were still 100 days of incredibly intense and dangerous work, about which director Klim Shypenko shot the film “Salute-7”. About how it was in the movie, you will learn tomorrow.
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