Extraterrestrial Form of Death

39


Looking at the shooting star, do not rush to make a wish. Human whims are not always good. Yes, and shooting stars also do not always bring joy: many of them do not know how to fulfill desires, but they can at once let go of all sins.

At midnight, a new Star of Bethlehem flashed in the sky from 6 on 7 on January 1978. The whole world froze in agonizing anticipation. Is the end of the world near? But what exactly is this bright spot rushing fast across the sky?

Despite the super secrecy, information about the true origin of the Bethlehem Star and the threat it poses to the whole world has leaked to the Western media. On that Christmas night of 1978, the Cosmos-954 spacecraft was depressurized. A satellite in low Earth orbit has finally gone out of the control of terrestrial services. Now nothing could prevent him from falling to Earth.

Cases of malfunctioning and uncontrolled descent of spacecraft from orbit are not uncommon, but most of the debris burns in the upper atmosphere, and those of the structural elements that still reach the surface do not pose a great danger to the inhabitants of the Earth. The chance of falling under the falling fragments of a spacecraft is small, while the fragments themselves are of modest size and are not capable of causing significant damage. But at that time everything turned out differently: unlike some innocuous Phobos-Grunt station, Cosmos-954, an infernal unit filled with 30 in kilograms of highly enriched uranium, got out of control.
Behind the inconspicuous government index "Cosmos-954" was a massive 4-ton station with a nuclear power plant on board - a space reconnaissance complex, passing according to NATO documents as the RORSAT (Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite).



Uncontrollable device quickly lost speed and height. The fall of "Cosmos-954" to the Earth was becoming inevitable ... Everything should happen in the near future. But who will get the main prize?

The prospect of playing “Russian roulette” with a nuclear accent has alarmed the whole world. With bated breath, everyone peered into the night mist ... Somewhere, among a placer of twinkling stars, a real “Death Star” rushed, threatening to incinerate any city that its fragments would collapse on.

Maritime Space Intelligence and Targeting System

But for what purposes did the Soviet Union need such a dangerous apparatus?
Nuclear reactor in space? What didn’t suit domestic specialists the standard solar panels or, in extreme cases, compact radioisotope generators? All answers lie in the field of destination of the satellite.

The Cosmos-954 spacecraft belonged to the US-A satellite series (Managed Satellite Active), a key element of the global system of maritime space intelligence and target designation (MKRTS) Legend.

The meaning of the work of the MKRTS was to deploy in a near-earth orbit a group of satellites intended for tracking the sea surface and determining the situation in any region of the World Ocean. Having received such a system, Soviet naval sailors could, with one click of their fingers, request and receive information about the current position of the ships in a given square, determine their number and direction of movement, and thereby reveal all the plans and plans of the “likely enemy”.

Extraterrestrial Form of Death


Global "Legend" threatened to become the "all-seeing eye" of the Navy Fleet - extremely sharp-sighted, reliable and practically invulnerable system of naval intelligence. However, a beautiful theory in practice resulted in a complex of intractable problems of a technical nature: a complex system of heterogeneous technical complexes, united by a single functioning algorithm.

A lot of branch research centers and design teams were involved in the creation of the MKRTS, in particular, the Physics and Energy Institute, the Institute of Atomic Energy. I.V. Kurchatov, the Leningrad plant "Arsenal" them. Mv Frunze. The working group headed by Academician M.V. Keldysh. The same team calculated the parameters of the orbits and the optimal mutual arrangement of the spacecraft during the operation of the system. The head organization responsible for the creation of the Legend was NPO Mashinostroenie, under the direction of V.N. Chalomeya.

The basic principle of the MKRTS was the active method of conducting reconnaissance using radar. The orbital constellation of satellites should have been led by the US-A series vehicles - unique satellites equipped with a two-sided side-looking radar of the Chaika system. The equipment of these stations provided round-the-clock all-weather detection of objects on the sea surface and the issuance of intelligence and target designation on board warships of the Soviet Navy in real time.

It is easy to imagine how inconceivable cosmic power the Soviet Union possessed!

However, when implementing the idea of ​​a “radar satellite”, the creators of the MKRTS came across a number of mutually exclusive paragraphs.

So, for the radar to work effectively, it should be placed as close as possible to the Earth's surface: the US-A orbits should be at altitudes of 250-280 km (for comparison, the altitude of the ISS orbit is over 400 km). On the other hand, the radar was extremely demanding in terms of power consumption. But where to get in space sufficiently powerful and compact source of electrical energy?

Solar panels large area?

But a low orbit with short-term stability (several months) makes it difficult to use solar batteries: due to the decelerating effect of the atmosphere, the device will quickly lose speed and descend from orbit prematurely. In addition, the spacecraft spends part of the time in the shadow of the Earth: solar batteries will not be able to continuously provide electricity to a powerful radar installation.



Remote methods of transmitting energy from the Earth to a satellite using high-power lasers or microwave radiation? Sci-fi, unreachable for the technology of the end of 1960's.

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs)?

Red-hot plutonium tablet + thermocouple. What could be easier? Such power plants have found the widest application on spacecraft - a reliable and compact anaerobic source of electricity that can operate continuously for a couple of decades. Alas, their electrical power was completely inadequate - even for the best samples of RTGs it does not exceed 300 ... 400 W. This is enough to power the scientific equipment and communication systems of ordinary satellites, but the power consumption of the US-A systems was about 3000 W!

There was only one way out - a full-fledged nuclear reactor with control rods and cooling circuits.

At the same time, in view of the severe restrictions imposed by rocket and space technology when launching cargo into orbit, the installation should have a maximum compactness and relatively small mass. Every extra kilogram cost tens of thousands of full-fledged Soviet rubles. The specialists were faced with the nontrivial task of creating a nuclear mini-reactor — a lightweight, powerful, but reliable enough to survive the overloads when placed into orbit and two months of continuous work in open space. What is the problem of spacecraft cooling and the discharge of excess heat in airless space?


Nuclear reactor for TES-5 "Topaz" spacecraft

And yet such a reactor was created! Soviet engineers have created a small man-made miracle - BES-5 "Buk". Fast neutron reactor with a liquid metal coolant, specially created as a means for the energy supply of spacecraft.

The core was a combination of 37 fuel assemblies with a total heat output of 100 kW. As fuel was used weapons uranium with a degree of enrichment of up to 90%! Outside, the reactor vessel was surrounded by a 100 mm thick beryllium reflector. The core was controlled by six movable beryllium rods parallel to each other. The temperature of the primary circuit of the reactor is 700 ° C. The temperature of the secondary circuit is 350 ° C. The electric power of the BES-5 thermocouple was 3 kilowatts. The weight of the entire installation is about 900 kg. The resource of the reactor is 120 ... 130 days.

In view of the complete uninhabitability of the apparatus and its location outside the human habitat, no specialized biological protection was provided. The US-A design provided for only local radiation protection of the reactor by the radar.

However, a serious problem arises ... After a few months, the device will inevitably come out of orbit and collapse in the atmosphere of the Earth. How to avoid radiation contamination of the planet? How to safely "get rid" of the terrible fingering "Buk"?

The only right decision is to separate the stage with the reactor and “preserve” it in high orbit (750 ... 1000 km), where, according to calculations, it will be stored for 250 and more than years. Well, and then our advanced descendants will definitely come up with something ...

In addition to the unique US-A radar satellite, which received the nickname “Long” for its appearance, the Legend information center included several US-P radio intelligence satellites (“Managed Passive Satellite”, naval nickname - “Flat”). Compared with the “long” satellites, the “flat” satellites were much more primitive satellites - conventional reconnaissance satellites, which were guided to the position of enemy shipborne radars, radio stations and any other sources of radio emission. Weight US-P - 3,3 tons. The height of the working orbit - 400 + km. The source of energy is solar panels.

In the period from 1970 to 1988 of the year, the Soviet Union launched a satellite BUC-32 Buk into the 5 orbit. In addition, two more launched vehicles (Cosmos-1818 and Cosmos-1867) carried on board a new advanced installation of the TPP-5 Topaz. New technologies allowed to increase the energy release to 6,6 kW: it was possible to raise the height of the orbit, as a result of which the service life of the new satellite was increased to six months.



Ten of the 32 US-A launches with the BES-5 “Buk” nuclear installation had some serious malfunctions: some satellites were taken early to the “burial orbit” due to the melting of the core or the failure of other reactor systems. For the three vehicles, the matter ended even more seriously: they lost control and collapsed in the upper atmosphere without separating and “preserving” their reactor facilities:

- 1973 year, due to a crash of a launch vehicle, the US-A satellite was not placed in low near-earth orbit and collapsed in the North Pacific;

- 1982 year - another uncontrolled descent from orbit. The wreckage of the satellite "Cosmos-1402" disappeared into the raging waves of the Atlantic.

And, of course, the main incident in stories MKRTS - the fall of the satellite "Cosmos-954".

The Cosmos-954 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur 18 on September 1977, together with its twin colleague, Cosmos-952. Spacecraft orbit parameters: perigee - 259 km, apogee - 277 km. The orbit inclination is 65 °.



A month later, on October 28, MCC specialists unexpectedly lost control of the satellite. According to calculations, at that moment, Cosmos-954 was located above the Woomera test site (Australia), which suggested that the Soviet satellite fell under the influence of an unknown weapon (a powerful American laser or a radar installation). Whether this was so in reality, or the reason was the usual equipment failure, but the spacecraft stopped responding to the MCC requests and refused to transfer its nuclear installation to a higher "burial orbit". On January 6 of 1978, the instrument compartment was depressurized - the emergency Cosmos-954 finally turned into a pile of dead metal with a high radiation background, and every day it was getting closer to Earth.

Operation "Morning Light"

... The spacecraft flew rapidly downward, tumbling in a raging cloud of plasma. Closer, closer to the surface ...

Finally, Cosmos-954 went beyond the review of Soviet tracking stations and disappeared on the other side of the globe. The curve on the computer screen jerked and straightened, indicating the location of the likely fall of the satellite. Computers accurately calculated the place of the fall of 954-th - somewhere in the middle of the snow-covered expanses of northern Canada.

"A Soviet satellite with a small nuclear device on board has fallen into Canada"

- urgent TASS message from 24 January 1978 of the year

Well, everything will start now ... Diplomats, military, environmentalists, UN, public organizations and annoying reporters. Statements and notes of protest, expert opinions, accusatory articles, reports from the crash site, evening TV shows with the participation of invited experts and venerable scientists, holding various rallies and protests. And laughter, and sin. The Soviets dropped an atomic satellite to North America.



However, everything is not so bad: an exceptionally low population density in those parts should help to avoid serious consequences and civilian casualties. In the end, the satellite collapsed not over densely populated Europe and certainly not over Washington.

Experts linked the last hope with the design of the device itself. The creators of US-A thought about a similar scenario: in case of loss of control over the spacecraft and the impossibility of separating the reactor facility for its subsequent transfer to the “conservation orbit”, the passive protection of the satellite was to take effect. The side beryllium reflector of the reactor consisted of several segments strapped with a steel tape — when the spacecraft entered the Earth’s atmosphere, the heat had to destroy the tape. Next, the plasma streams "gut" the reactor, scattering the uranium assembly and moderator. This will make it possible to burn most of the materials in the upper layers of the atmosphere and exclude large radioactive fragments of the apparatus on the Earth’s surface.

In reality, the epic with the fall of a nuclear satellite ended as follows.

The passive protection system was unable to prevent radiation contamination: satellite fragments were dispersed in a strip of length 800 km. However, due to the almost complete lack of human life in those areas of Canada, it was possible to avoid any serious consequences for the life and health of the civilian population.

In total, during the search operation "Morning Light" ("Cosmos-954" collapsed at dawn, tracing a bright fiery strip in the sky over North America), the Canadian military and their US counterparts managed to assemble more than 100 satellite fragments - disks, rods, reactor fittings, whose radioactive background ranged from a few micro X-rays to 200 X-rays / hour. Part of the beryllium reflector was the most valuable find for American intelligence.

Soviet intelligence seriously planned to conduct a secret operation in Canada to eliminate the wreckage of an emergency satellite, but the idea did not find support among the party leadership: if the Soviet group were found in the enemy’s rear, the unpleasant situation with a nuclear accident would have become a grandiose scandal.

Quite a few mysteries are connected with the payment of compensation: according to the 1981 report of the year, Canada estimated its costs to eliminate the satellite’s fall in 6041174,70 dollars. The USSR agreed to pay only 3 million. It is still not known for certain what compensation the Soviet side paid. In any case, the amount was purely symbolic.

A flurry of accusations of using dangerous technologies and mass protests against the launch of satellites with nuclear reactors failed to force the USSR to abandon the development of its fantastic MKRTS. However, the launches were suspended for three years. All this time, Soviet specialists have been working to improve the safety of the BES-5 “Buk” nuclear installation. Now, a gas-dynamic method for the destruction of a nuclear reactor with the forced ejection of fuel elements was introduced into the design of the satellite.

The system continued to improve continuously. The Legends high potential was demonstrated by the Falklands conflict (1982 year). The awareness of Soviet sailors about the situation in the combat zone was better than that of the direct participants in the conflict. MKRTS allowed to "open" the composition and plans of the squadron of Her Majesty, and accurately predict the time of the landing of the British landing force.

The latest launch of a naval reconnaissance satellite with a nuclear reactor took place on 14 in March 1988.

Finale

The real MKRTS "Legend" had little to do with the mythical image created on the pages of popular technical literature. The system that existed at that time was a nightmare: the principles embodied in the work of the ICRT turned out to be excessively complex for the 1960-x-1970-level technique.

As a result, the MKRTS had an exorbitant cost, extremely low reliability and severe accidents - a third of the launched devices for one reason or another could not fulfill their mission. In addition, most US-A launches were performed in test mode - as a result, the operational readiness of the system was low. However, all the accusations against the creators of the ICRC are unfair: they created a real masterpiece that was ahead of its time for many years.

The Soviet “Legend” was largely an experiment that proved the fundamental possibility of creating such systems: a small nuclear reactor, side-looking radar, a data transmission line in real time, automatic detection and selection of targets, work in the “detected-reported” mode ...

At the same time, it would be too frivolous to consider the old MKRTS only as a "demonstrator" of new technologies. Despite its many problems, the system really could work in a regular mode, which caused discomfort to the fleets of NATO countries. In addition, in the event of the start of real hostilities (Tom Clancy and Co.), the USSR had a real opportunity to launch into orbit the necessary number of such "toys" without regard for their cost and security measures - and to gain absolute control over the sea lanes.

Today, the implementation of such an idea would require much less effort and resources. The colossal progress in the field of radio electronics makes it possible today to build a global tracking system based on other principles: radio reconnaissance and specific reconnaissance using optical-electronic means that operate only in the passive mode.

PS 31 reactor still plowing the space, threatening to fall on your head one day




Search for the wreckage of "Cosmos-954"




Based on:
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http://www.wikipedia.org
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39 comments
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  1. +12
    1 November 2013 09: 36
    Great article Oleg! thank!
    Interestingly, and current domestic satellites in orbit are now capable of this?
    1. +2
      1 November 2013 21: 19
      Quote: ben gun
      Interestingly, and current domestic satellites in orbit are now capable of this?

      ... KVM, the key here is
      Today, the implementation of such an idea would require much less effort and resources. The colossal progress in the field of radio electronics makes it possible today to build a global tracking system based on other principles: radio reconnaissance and specific reconnaissance using optical-electronic means that operate only in the passive mode.

      This means that powerful food is not required, i.e. may well manage with solar panels, with better characteristics than they were in the 70-80s and "plutonium pellets" -RITEG ...
  2. +15
    1 November 2013 10: 13
    So what! We were just the first, now the USA and China are taking this path. China is particularly worried, with its imperfect technology.
    1. +6
      1 November 2013 11: 48
      That's it, as if Chinese modern space technologies had not begun to pour in our heads !!!
  3. +14
    1 November 2013 10: 30
    Interestingly, if in the early 70s of the last century, scientists were able to create such a source of energy, then what are they capable of now ?. We use alkaline batteries, and probably there are more energy-intensive and environmentally friendly. and what the human brain will be able to think of after another couple of decades and scary to think. The article is interesting and informative. and most importantly, it causes a sense of pride in domestic science.
    1. +3
      1 November 2013 12: 33
      Quote: tolyasik0577
      It’s interesting if in the early 70s of the last century, scientists were able to create such a source of energy, what are they capable of now?.

      Now the cooperation has not yet taken shape.
      Thanks to Oleg for the article, the article is wonderful and the topic is interesting.
      1. +8
        1 November 2013 14: 43
        Guys, thanks for the good reviews.
        1. +3
          1 November 2013 18: 08
          "Cosmos-954" got out of control - an infernal unit filled with 30 kilograms of highly enriched uranium "A little less tragic heat, if possible smile . And then it seems that at the very first shot of an American gun in Iraq, where (as in Yugoslavia) lunch uranium was widely used in tons, the author embraced Kondraty.
          By the way, I never understood this dumb manipulator arm of the American shuttles. Surprisingly clumsy contraption ... and it won cho! Aiming at our beryllium laughing ! It would be necessary to remove expensive toys from orbit, of course. We, of course, "gaze with bated breath into the darkness of the night", not understanding nifiga, but the parameters of the orbit can be calculated to centimeters, so you just need to fly up and pick up, because you don’t ...
          1. +1
            1 November 2013 18: 20
            Quote: Mikhail3
            highly enriched uranium "A little less tragic heat, if possible. Otherwise, it seems that at the first shot of an American cannon in Iraq, where (as in Yugoslavia) lunch uranium tons

            Depleted uranium is safer than natural - almost the entire radioactive isotope U235 has been pulled out of it.

            Exceptionally heavy, durable metal - it is punctured in the form of blocks along the keel of ships (ballast is heavier than lead), it is used in the armoring scheme of Abrams tanks, aviation and armor-piercing ammunition

            A-10 uranium core of the A-XNUMX attack aircraft
      2. +5
        1 November 2013 17: 26
        Quote: saturn.mmm
        Thanks to Oleg for the article, the article is wonderful and the topic is interesting.

        Yes, yes, thank you so much.
        A month later, on October 28, MCC specialists unexpectedly lost control of the satellite. According to calculations, at that moment, Cosmos-954 was located above the Woomera test site (Australia), which gave reason to believe that the Soviet satellite fell under the influence of an unknown weapon
        Considering that now Roskosmostelya different devices (Phobos-ground and the last dances of Proton) are not associated with international cooperation or are not very critical in case of failure. That conclusion suggests itself: We are diligently "helped". To shoot down, even kinetically, it was quite realistic "Cosmos-954" with its powerful radio illumination.
        The non-combat test of the “fully loaded” system took place on October 27, 1967, when the Cosmos-185 satellite was launched. The first real space target was hit a year later: Cosmos-248 launched into orbit on October 19, 1968, and the Cosmos-249 launched the next day, passing “not far” from Cosmos-248 at the second orbit, exploded. TASS solemnly announced: "The planned research has been completed." Cosmos-248 turned out to be tenacious - a month later, another Cosmos-252 suicide satellite exploded near it. There was no doubt among American experts that the Soviet Union was testing a satellite interception system. Until 1971, the system was actively tested. Assassin satellites enthusiastically destroyed victim satellites at altitudes of 250 to 1000 km, confirming the possibility of destroying all US military satellites, except geostationary. In 1973, the complex was put into trial operation, and after a little refinement in 1978, entered service with the Soviet Army.
        This was done with us.
        The Yankees did not stand aside and also tried to rivet in 3 shifts.
        1. 0
          1 November 2013 18: 09
          By the way, they themselves also do not really develop astronautics. It seems to me stubbornly (though unprovenly) that they are afraid of answers for some actions.
          1. 0
            1 November 2013 18: 23
            Quote: Mikhail3
            By the way, they themselves also do not really develop astronautics.

            Are you probably joking?
            1. +1
              1 November 2013 19: 01
              Clean the LAN folder.

              And it’s so cool. I’ve been often copied to samizdat and made a book (or rather not me, but I illustrated with pictures to become)
              1. 0
                1 November 2013 20: 22
                Quote: Kars
                Clean the LAN folder.

                not up to me
                Quote: Kars
                which I illustrated with pictures)

                cooking?))
                1. +1
                  1 November 2013 20: 25
                  Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
                  not up to me

                  So you just deleted a dozen messages? And I can’t send everything exactly?
                  Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
                  cooking?))

                  orthographic dictionary.
                  1. 0
                    1 November 2013 20: 40
                    Quote: Kars
                    So you just deleted a dozen messages? And I can’t send everything exactly?

                    request

                    Today my status has suddenly changed, an interesting functionality has opened, it may be somehow connected
                    Quote: Kars
                    orthographic dictionary.

                    primer

                    Was the article so large that it was enough for a whole book / monograph?
                    1. +1
                      1 November 2013 20: 52
                      Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
                      my status has suddenly changed today

                      Congratulations. Write in HP what's new.
                      Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
                      Was the article so large that it was enough for a whole book / monograph?

                      16 pages - and I still downloaded it from the deposit)) there was such a cool anatomy.
                      1. 0
                        1 November 2013 21: 14
                        Quote: Kars
                        Such a cool anatomy was.

                        Well, your article was designed as an annotation
                        Tank: man, environment, car. Steel fist of Israel. Ukraine: tanks in exchange for fat ...
                      2. +1
                        1 November 2013 22: 09
                        What can I say I can not answer.
                        Thermic is one of my favorites. It's a pity there is no season 3.
                        I made out a steel fist in the form of a book, pdf threw it onto the Mirage of War and I downloaded))) And I made the article for Denis.
                        It’s a pity that Koshkin’s stories with my illustrations do not go through here.
            2. +1
              1 November 2013 19: 30
              Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
              Are you probably joking?

              Komrad forgot about the number of specialists left, resources (HEU-KNOW), equipment (some of which NK-33 are worth) for the okiyan. We will forgive him, we will understand.
              Quote: Mikhail3
              By the way, I never understood this dumb manipulator arm of the American shuttles. Surprisingly clumsy contraption ... and it won cho! Aiming at our beryllium

              As one of the possible applications.
              1. 0
                1 November 2013 20: 15
                Quote: Papakiko
                Komrad forgot about the number of specialists left, resources (HEU-KNOW), equipment

                The sharp backlog of the USSR in space began in the mid-1960s
                1. 0
                  1 November 2013 21: 16
                  Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
                  The sharp backlog of the USSR in space began in the mid-1960s

                  After the Caribbean crisis, "Kuzkina's mother" and when the USSR began to provide loans and buy "Canadian" wheat. The latter was loaded, then rolled by the Black Sea and the straits across the Mediterranean Sea and brought back under the guise of "Canadian" wheat.
                  1. 0
                    1 November 2013 21: 30
                    Quote: Papakiko
                    After the Caribbean crisis, "Kuz'kina's mother" and when the USSR began to provide loans and buy "Canadian" wheat.

                    Wheat

                    In 1965, Mariner 4 transmitted the first close-up images of Mars
                    1965-68 biennium - launch of the galaxy of "Pioneers" (6,7,8,9)
                    By the way, in 1968 the Yankees appeared heavy Apollo spacecraft and Saturn-V
                    1. +2
                      2 November 2013 00: 10
                      Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
                      Saturn V

                      After those fabulous flights 17 pcs (or 6). no one else saw this rocket in action and there weren’t even any blueprints, and it was like one in the nasa museum. (a riddle)
                      In 1964 Brezhnev and Ko Nikitka were replaced; the latter was an ardent lover of missiles. So guess what the reasons are, but love the human factor in the form of Brezhnev and Co. 1963 Operation "shots in Dalas" took place in the "mattress". In general, everything is not just that and not accidental.
  4. +11
    1 November 2013 10: 35
    A nuclear reactor the size of a desk! And these are 70 years!
    1. MBA78
      0
      29 May 2014 11: 36
      70 thermonuclear fusion there
  5. +4
    1 November 2013 10: 47
    "The principles underlying the work of the ICRC turned out to be excessively complex for the technology of the level of the 1960s - 1970s."
    50 years have passed since then, and although physical principles have not changed, technology and technology have stepped far forward. Therefore, I hope that this system has been further developed and is functioning. Although, judging by the GLONASS scandals, it is unlikely that there is anything. An interesting photo is where the debris is being searched, apparently the radiation background was not so big if they work without special suits.
  6. patriot2
    +5
    1 November 2013 11: 16
    Great article! The creation of such a spacecraft group for the needs of the Russian Navy is an urgent task for the defense industry! But only taking into account the mistakes made.
    1. +4
      1 November 2013 14: 50
      Quote: patriot2
      The creation of such a spacecraft group for the needs of the Russian Navy is an urgent task for the defense industry!

      Certain projects in this direction are being done in our time. For example - "Condor-E"

      When designing the Condor-E small spacecraft (MCA), the Vega Concern OJSC solved the problem of creating universal multi-mode equipment that allows solving a wide range of user tasks, including monitoring of land cover, navigation, control of the operational situation in conflict zones. The mass of the equipment for placing it on the MCA should not exceed 250 kg with a total mass of the MCA of 850 kg.

      The SAR concept was formulated based on the results of the analysis of the information content of various wave ranges to solve the problems of remote sensing of the Earth and the possibilities of hardware implementation. It was concluded that for combining the tasks of detailed observation of given areas and remote sensing of the Earth, the S-wave range is optimal with full use of the allocated frequency band and the implementation of a wide range of operating modes. Detailed route and search modes are provided with a resolution of 1 m, and overview modes of lower resolution (Skansar).
      To solve the whole range of user tasks, PCA implements a complete set of operating modes:
      • searchlight mode (PR) of maximum resolution;
      • route detailed (DR);
      • survey (PR);
      • Wide-resolution ScanSar (SS) low resolution.

      The launch of the first Condor was successfully completed on June 27, 2013

      What kind of umbrella is he -
  7. +9
    1 November 2013 11: 36
    Great article! Many thanks to Oleg, the author!
    Very informative and photo selection is good.
    Regarding the title ... Still, it seems that the form of death is very earthly, man-made, human.
    Colleagues, pay attention to the photo of TPP-5 Topaz - perfection, engineering and technical ... minimalism, beauty of lines and smooth shapes ... Tupolev, in my opinion, said: "A beautiful plane and flies beautifully ..." It is quite possible to correlate with the achievements of our physicists and engineers embodied in this unit!
  8. +3
    1 November 2013 11: 49
    Eh .... to renew past successes!
  9. poccinin
    +7
    1 November 2013 12: 11
    The space programs of the USSR were ahead of the rest of the planet. We would have mastered the Moon and stepped onto MARS. But they prevented us. The West is to blame for everything. on the principle "NOT YOURSELF, NOT LUDYAM" destroyed such a country. but this is a Pyrrhic victory. Now everyone has a crisis. And there was the USSR. There was a COMPETITION OF SYSTEMS. THERE WAS A DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE AND NOW THIS IS NOT.
    1. +8
      1 November 2013 12: 32
      Quote: poccinin
      NOW THIS IS NOT. STagnation.

      Let me fix it:
      Now it sucks .......
    2. 0
      1 November 2013 15: 12
      Quote: poccinin
      USSR space programs were ahead of the rest

      Only in the period 1957-1965.

      when serious expensive space exploration began - the USSR began to quickly turn in
      Quote: poccinin
      we would have mastered the moon and stepped on MARS. but we were interrupted. the West is to blame.

      The Mars-3 lander made the world's first soft landing on the surface of Mars on December 2, 1971. After 14 seconds, the station is completely out of order


      The only photo from the surface of the Red Planet, transmitted by the Mars-3 AMS. This concludes the Soviet study of Mars. The West is to blame


      It is noteworthy that after 3 years the "hopelessly lagging" Yankees reached Mars - the Viking-1 spacecraft worked on the surface of Mars 6 years and 116 days, transmitting during this time thousands of upscale panoramas and the results of studies of the atmosphere and soil.


      Viking digs trenches at its landing site

      All that we know about the Red Planet is the merit of NASA's Mars rovers (the Opportunity image, MER-B, has already worked on Mars for 9 years - 38 times more than planned, and 37 km crawled over that time, mission continues)
    3. -4
      1 November 2013 15: 31
      Quote: poccinin
      .we would have mastered the moon and stepped on MARS.

      The Indians of America would have gone much further if they had not been shot. and the rest would not smoke. and if they studied, then they would be at the front of the whole planet ..
  10. +5
    1 November 2013 13: 11
    Americans began to spoil radionuclides from outer space. In the 64th year, the US navigation satellite "Transit-5BN-3" did not enter the planned orbit, collapsed and burned in the atmosphere over the western Indian Ocean north of Madagascar. At the same time, he threw out 950 grams of plutonium-238 with a total activity of about 17 thousand Ci, 20 times more than during the Chernobyl accident.
    As a result, the content of the named radionuclide in the near-Earth space has tripled. By November 1970, about 5 percent of discarded plutonium remained in the atmosphere, and soil analysis showed its presence on all continents of the Earth.
  11. 0
    1 November 2013 13: 16
    And what was the opinion of users (sailors) about this system?

    The article states that
    The global "Legend" threatened to become [...] an almost invulnerable system of marine intelligence

    with the orbit height of US-A 250-280 km. And for example in 1985, the ASM-135 ASAT missile hit a target at an altitude of 555 km.
    1. +4
      1 November 2013 14: 40
      Quote: Dunno
      The article states that
      The global "Legend" threatened to become [...] an almost invulnerable system of marine intelligence
      with an orbit height of US-A 250-280 km. And, for example, in 1985 the ASM-135 ASAT missile hit a target at an altitude of 555 km.

      A government decree on the deployment of experimental design work to create a system of marine space reconnaissance and target designation (ICRC) was issued in March 1961

      By 1985, the ICRC was already ending its existence. The Yankees with their Malekho interceptor missiles are late
      1. 0
        1 November 2013 14: 56
        The question remains about the effectiveness of this system in the 1960-1970x years.

        How it worked in 1985 is known from http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Капитанец,_Иван_Матвеевич
        The pilot exercise showed a low probability of target designation from the Legend spacecraft
        1. 0
          1 November 2013 15: 19
          Quote: Dunno
          The pilot exercise showed a low probability of target designation from the Legend spacecraft

          In 1985, she didn’t work at all
          At "Kosmos-1670" and "Kosmos-1677", the core melted immediately after switching on, more that year the MKRTs satellites were not launched.
          1. -1
            1 November 2013 20: 48
            Well, it was January, maybe something squeaked.

            In general, the situation resembles a joke:
            - What is it: does not knock, does not growl, and does not scratch the floor?
            - This is a Soviet machine for knocking, growling and scratching floors.

            Spend heaps of money and as a result get another useless sucker in our opinion.
            1. +2
              1 November 2013 20: 56
              Quote: Dunno
              Spend heaps of money and as a result get another useless crap

              I sincerely do not believe that the system was so useless
              The ICRC had a not too tricky task - to take a radar image and transmit the picture. All.
              Soviet successes in space indicate that they were able to do something. And very not bad.

              Right now the chinas are creating something like that - as a component of the DF-21 system
              Quote: Dunno
              another useless crap - this is our way.

              But what about my favorite aviks? Or B-2
      2. postman
        0
        5 November 2013 20: 22
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        Government Decree on the deployment of development work to create

        in 1977 their (!) Government announced a competition:
        Aircraft interception missile system (ARKP) designed to destroy artificial Earth satellites of the enemy in low orbits.
        Vought, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas fought. She defeated Vought with the ASM-135 ASAT and won a contract in 1979!
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        By 1985, the ICRC was already ending its existence.

        What are you doing?
        LAST START-UP: On March 14, 1988, the modified Cosmos-1932 satellite (18957/1988 019A) was installed with a 6-month operating period and an electric power at the end of the resource of 2400 W.

        At the beginning of 1988 work on the ASAT system was discontinued by decision of the US Congress, apparently as a result of an informal agreement with Russia.
        The last “space copy” of BES-5 nuclear power plant, which never flew into space, in 1993 city was delivered from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the Krasnaya Zvezda enterprise, where it was disposed of.
    2. postman
      0
      5 November 2013 20: 35
      Quote: Dunno
      in 1985, the ASM-135 ASAT missile hit a target at an altitude of 555 km.

      by the beginning of 1988 only 3 (or 4) modified F-15 ASAT aircraft were ready
      ASM-135A ASAT produced 15, 6 shot ..
      The problem is not resolved:
      -the right to use FAT-15 ASAT bases in foreign territories (to create a global US anti-satellite system), and especially on the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and in New Zealand.
      (Anti-satellite systems deployed on the continental United States could provide interception only 25% of satellitesin low orbits.)

      - the practical development of issues of refueling in the air of F-15 carrier aircraft has not been completed
      - the work on the possibility of converting F-14 carrier-based fighter aircraft to ASAT missile carriers was not completed.
  12. MG42
    +4
    1 November 2013 13: 54
    The only right decision is to separate the stage with the reactor and “preserve” it in high orbit (750 ... 1000 km), where, according to calculations, it will be stored for 250 and more than years. Well, and then our advanced descendants will definitely come up with something ...

    I wonder how many such "vigorous gifts" for posterity have been preserved in orbit now?
  13. +2
    1 November 2013 14: 41
    This problem needs to be addressed urgently on an international scale. Otherwise, we will leave the contaminated Earth to our descendants. I published an article in a scientific journal on the results of the research of my colleagues "Earth's asteroid cometary hazard", but this is the danger that we still do not know how to deal with. And what Oleg cited in his article, there are ways to eliminate the elimination of the danger. Now the goodwill of progressive humanity is needed. Sincerely.
  14. +2
    1 November 2013 15: 50
    Yes you give up. The United States, with its desire to democratize all who turn up by the arm, is much more dangerous than these satellites. They have already killed so many people in different parts of the world that they can’t be counted. During the nuclear bombing of Japan, less people died.
    1. 0
      5 November 2013 14: 55
      Which (bombing) was also carried out by the USA ...
  15. +2
    1 November 2013 16: 15
    The only right decision is to separate the stage with the reactor and “preserve” it in high orbit (750 ... 1000 km), where, according to calculations, it will be stored for 250 and more than years. Well, and then our advanced descendants will definitely come up with something ...

    the phrase smiled ... to date, the descendants could only put the news on Twitter and glue the fins from the radiation!
    I hope in the future, namely in 150-200 years there will be a significant shift in this direction!
  16. +2
    1 November 2013 16: 31
    Today, the implementation of such an idea would require much less effort and money.

    so why inactive?
    Everything is better than skolkovo clips breaking the budget for 54 million.
    It would be a huge plus and a leap forward. At the same time, scientific thought earned in this direction and jobs.
  17. +2
    1 November 2013 19: 31
    Thank you for the article. I've been reading materials about RORSATs for a long time already, but the problem is that they were not written in very Russian language. I, with my grades in mathematics and physics, were cleaner than Chinese recourse And then what? It’s quite informative, popular and in a narrative vein, very exciting fellow. For the literary merit of the text traditionally good.
    From SW. hi
  18. +9
    1 November 2013 20: 37
    He defended his diploma in liquid metal coolants. Very insidious thing! Acquainted with space reactors. In my opinion, the main reason for the failure of reactors is the insufficient development of the coolant circulation system in zero gravity. There are many more problems, but this will take up a lot of space in the comments.
    1. postman
      0
      4 November 2013 20: 19
      Quote: crambol
      insufficient development of the coolant circulation system in zero gravity.

      ?
      Who cares (for those pressures) in zero gravity or at 1g ???
      Note the circulation system will not even notice: on Earth it, or in orbit
      Quote: crambol
      There are many more problems, but this will take up a lot of space in the comments.

      Little:
      - restriction weight and size
      - heat sink
      - the inability to dump (receive) excess (lack) of power
      - the impact of external factors on the body of ka and yau (low orbit)
      - automation (no operator), and external control goes along the route: ka-land (MCC) -ka.
      - the inability to take into account the impact factor on the jar when placing it in orbit (vibration, overload, temperature)
  19. postman
    0
    4 November 2013 21: 34
    Quote: Author
    Global Legend threatened become the "all-seeing eye" of the Navy - an extremely sharp-sighted, reliable and practically invulnerable system of naval intelligence.

    The key here is "GROZILA (o)":
    take a curvulator, a map (globe projection), number of spacecraft, orbit projection, frequency of circulation ......
    bzdyk, result = threatened
    About "Tom Clancy", like launching: a five-year plan, the possibilities (resources) of the USSR economy ... bzdyk, the result = threatened

    Quote: Author
    According to calculations, at that moment, Cosmos-954 was above the Woomera test site (Australia), which gave reason to believe that the Soviet satellite fell under the influence of an unknown weapon (a powerful American laser or a radar installation).

    And what was there (in the Vumeicher, then in the entom?) Was at that time? Yes and SHO is there now? Yes, there is NOTHING AND THERE WAS NOT.
    As you know, engineer Garin didn’t taxis with his hyperboloid,

    Quote: Author
    The only right decision is to separate the stage with the reactor and “preserve” it in high orbit (750 ... 1000 km), where

    Hee hee hee ....
    do not read the wiki before going to bed.
    The author look at the parameters of the Corrective control of the spacecraft, spacecraft reserves onboard the spacecraft .....
    And try to bring out the mass (well, there in the article) of the active zone at 750 ... 1000 km s? from 200-250 km
    ("why, why don't people fly like birds?"
    =================
    If CHE - I didn’t put any minuses, and even being in Ebipt, I read it with pleasure, behind the wheel
    sad
    1. +1
      4 November 2013 21: 46
      Again this weird type came
      Quote: Postman
      take a curvulator, a map (globe projection), number of spacecraft, orbit projection, frequency of circulation ......
      bzdyk, result = threatened

      frequency of minutes 80-90
      By the way, what is the "step" when positioning turns on the card? (well, "displacement" due to the natural rotation of the Earth)
      Quote: Postman
      But what is there (in the Vumeicher, then in entom?

      Do not know request
      But it brought down phobos soil!

      Eyewitnesses say it looks like this, in the form of a giant saw

      Quote: Postman
      And try to bring out the mass (well, there in the article) of the active zone at 750 ... 1000 km s? from 200-250 km
      ("why, why don't people fly like birds?"

      but how much?
      Quote: Postman
      Yes, being in Ebipt

      Ah, but I thought you joined the Syrian opposition
      1. postman
        +1
        5 November 2013 20: 05
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        Again this weird type came

        Moreover, for their hard-earned euros (10Euro = 200MB, there is no justice in this world)
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN

        frequency of minutes 80-90

        I actually mean the width of the scan.
        I 80-90 min was the best time
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        (well, "displacement" due to the natural rotation of the Earth)

        I’ll go hookah kurn, I didn’t understand the question ...
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        But it brought down phobos soil!

        damn, I forgot about this incident ..
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        in the form of a giant saw

        I’m relaxing with a friend: ONLY THAT I FINISHED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GIANT MONKEY IN SOCHI ... what do you think, what would it be?
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        but how much?

        C'mon, you’ll count it yourself (through a change in strength):

        or here:

        nuclear graveyard orbit
        The most interesting:
        1. Corrective control could not do this, but there were no others
        2. If it could (!), Then by the end of the life cycle and the emergence of this need (removal of nuclear power plants), it (at KU) SIMPLIES DO NOT REMAIN FUEL (otherwise why interrupt the legend?)
        3. Here is how the boltologists represent nuclear power plants brought somewhere in orita in 1000 km ...
        How then to find it? if the conclusion was chaotic without the control system (it was not there), without data from the MCC?
        Although the story goes:
        Cosmos-367 (reg. No. 04564/1970 079A), Serial number BES-5 (31) Departure of the satellite to the “burial orbit” on the 2nd turn due to reactor core melting
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        Ah, but I thought you joined the Syrian opposition

        The potato has risen in price in Egypt 7 (!) Times, I won’t adjoin, the people are already grumbling
  20. LAO
    LAO
    -1
    14 December 2013 23: 24
    The idea of ​​burying highly active nuclear waste in the orbit of the earth is a unique rudeness and a crime in relation to all the inhabitants of the earth - now living and descendants!
    No station uniqueness is no excuse for spraying highly radioactive waste in the atmosphere!
    1. 0
      31 December 2013 15: 35
      Lao! Be quiet! .. laughing
  21. sasska
    0
    15 December 2013 15: 33
    Quote: patriot2
    Great article! The creation of such a spacecraft group for the needs of the Russian Navy is an urgent task for the defense industry! But only taking into account the mistakes made.

    it would still be right to teach them to fall after the resource is developed - so that they fall into a given area, and not "where God sent"

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