Soviet Union space program
The Soviet Space Program (Russian: Космическая программа СССР; romanized: Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR) labels include initiatives astronautics developed by the Soviet Union from 1957 until the time of its dissolution in 1991.
Russian space ambitions began in the 19th century and had their first theoretical studies in the early XX. Its main development took place mainly during the so-called Cold War, in strong competition with the United States, in the so-called space race. The main engineer responsible for the program was the academic Sergei Korolev, until his death in 1966, when a wide team among which Boris Yevséyevich Chertok stood out, who was in charge of the development of guidance and control systems, continued the developments. On July 12, 2007, Russia celebrated the 100th anniversary of Korolev's birth, and President Vladimir Putin presented recognition and flowers to the daughter of the father of the space program.
The USSR achieved a long series of milestones during its space program by being the first to launch an artificial satellite into Earth orbit (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957 using an R-7 rocket. This motivated the creation by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958 of the NASA Agency to develop the American space program. On November 3, 1957, the Soviets sent a living being into space on board Sputnik 2 for the first time, the dog Laika, to study the effects of space travel on a living being. A turning point took place on April 12, 1961 with the departure into outer space and his subsequent return to earth of the first man (Yuri Gagarin) and on 16 June 1963 by the first woman (Valentina Tereshkova). The first interplanetary probes were successfully launched in 1961 to Venus (Venera 1) and to Mars in 1962 (Mars 1). a space walk (in 1965 Alekséi Leónov and in 1984 Svetlana Savítskaya). One of the most relevant lines of work was the construction, launch and maintenance in orbit of space stations, the first being the Saliut program (1971-1982). without However, the most emblematic was the MIR space station (1986-2001) famous for housing human beings inside for very significant seasons, breaking successive records, carrying out more than 23,000 scientific studies, carrying out joint projects with the United States and serving as a bridge to current space activity such as the construction, in cooperation with other countries, of the International Space Station (ISS).
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 Russia and Ukraine inherited the space program. Russia created the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, now called the Russian Federal Space Agency, while Ukraine created the Ukrainian State Space Agency (NSAU).
Origins
Ideas of space exploration already existed in the Russian Empire even before World War I. In his pioneering work, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky had written and spoken about this explaining the concept of multi-stage rockets.
The first Soviet rocket, called the GIRD, was launched on August 18, 1933. Then, on November 25, 1933, a special fuel hybrid rocket called the GIRD-X was launched. Already by the time of 1940-41 another advance in rocket propulsion was reached to mass-produce the rockets for the Katyusha multiple system.
Another contribution to the advancement of the Soviet program was the obtaining of the German V-2 missiles after World War II. Project manager Dmitry Ustinov and designer and chief engineer Sergei Korolev also enlisted the help of captured blueprints and German scientist Helmut Gröttrup. Thanks to that they managed to build a replica of the V-2 that they called Rocket R-1
But the weight of the early Soviet nuclear warheads required a more powerful propellant. After several tests with other models, Korolev built the R-7, which managed to carry a load over a distance of 7,000 km, becoming at that time the most advanced rocket of the time.
Years later, the Soviet space program entered into a five-year plan and also obtained support from the Soviet army. In January 1956, the plan was approved to develop satellites that would orbit the planet and obtain more knowledge of the space environment (Sputnik) and also to gain space military experience (Zenit).
Sputnik and Vostok
The Soviet space program was tied to the USSR's five-year plans and initially depended on support from the Soviet military. Sergei Korolev pursued the launching of artificial satellites and manned spacecraft into orbit. In July 1951, the first Soviet rocket was launched with animals on board, two dogs that returned safely after reaching an altitude of 101 km. This milestone and the subsequent flights gave the Soviets valuable experience in the field of space medicine.
The capabilities of the R-7 rocket, such as its global range and carrying payload of approximately five tons, made it not only an effective means of transporting nuclear warheads but also the perfect base for a space vehicle. The announcement by the United States to launch a satellite during the International Geophysical Year in July 1957 greatly benefited Korolyov in persuading Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to support his plans in anticipation of the Americans. Therefore, plans were approved for the use of terrestrial orbital satellites (Sputnik) to obtain knowledge about space, and four unmanned military reconnaissance satellites (Zenit). In addition, future plans were developed for manned Earth orbit flights scheduled for 1964 and an unmanned lunar mission at an earlier date.
After the success of the first Sputnik, Korolev - whose identity was not publicly known - was tasked with accelerating the manned program, design which was combined with the Zenit program to give rise to the Vostok spacecraft. Influenced by Tsiolkovsky - who had chosen Mars as the most important achievement in space travel - in the early 1960s the Soviet program under Korolev's command created substantial plans for manned trips to Mars between 1968 and 1970.
"Today something has happened that the best children of Humanity and our wonderful scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovski had dreamed. A genius, he predicted that Humanity will not be eternally confined to Earth. Sputnik is the first confirmation of that prophecy. The conquest of space has begun"Serguéi Koroliov, October 4, 1957 (Diario El Mundo, 2016-01-21) [1]
After Korolyov's death in 1966, Kerim Kerimov was left in charge of the construction of Vostok 1. Kerimov was appointed head of the Manned Flight Commission and served in that position for more than 25 years (1966-1991). He oversaw every stage of development and operation of the Soviet Union's manned flight and space probe missions. One of his greatest achievements was the launch of the Mir space station in 1986.
Funding and support
The Soviet space program was secondary to military funding of the Russian Federation's Strategically Designated Missile Troops. While in the West it was believed that it was Khrushchev who personally called for each new space mission for the purpose of propaganda, he rather emphasized the creation of missiles than space missions and had no interest in competing with the Apollo mission.[ citation required]
The government and the Communist Party used the successes of the space program as propaganda, although missions planned for political reasons were not very common. One exception was Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to reach space in 1963, aboard Vostok 6. Missions were planned based on rocket availability and other specific reasons, rather than for scientific purposes. For example, in February 1962 a mission involving the simultaneous launch of two Vostok spacecraft "within ten days" was suddenly requested to dwarf John Glenn's Mercury-Atlas 6 of that same month. However, the mission cannot be launched until August, with Vostok 3 and Vostok 4.
Internal competition
Unlike the American space program, which had NASA as the sole coordinating structure led by its manager, James Webb, for most of the 1960s, the USSR program was divided among several competing design groups.. Despite the successes of the Sputniks between 1957 and 1961 and the Vostoks between 1961 and 1964, after 1958 Korolev's team faced competition from rival chief designers Mikhail Yanguel, Valentin Glushkó and Vladimir Chelomél. Korolev planned to continue with the Soyuz spacecraft and the N-1 rocket that would be the permanent base for the manned space station and manned exploration to the Moon. However, Ustinov directed him to focus on near-Earth missions using the viable Voskhod spacecraft, a modification of the Vostok, as well as interplanetary unmanned missions to nearby planets such as Venus or Mars.
Yanguel had been Korolev's assistant but with the support of the military he was gifted from his own design bureau in 1954 to work primarily on the military space program.
Glushko was the chief rocket designer but his personal friction with Korolev caused him to refuse to develop the single cryogenic chamber motors that Korolev needed to build more powerful rockets.
Chelomei benefited from Khrushchev's patronage and in 1960 was awarded the job of developing a rocket to send a manned ship to the Moon and a manned military space station. Due to his limited spatial experience, his development was slow.
The progress of the Apollo program alarmed the lead designers, each defending their project in response. Multiple projects, stepping on each other, received the go-ahead, and new proposals threatened projects that had already been approved. Given the "singular persistence" of Korolev, in August 1984 - more than three years after the declaration of intent of the United States - the Soviet Union finally decided to compete for the Moon. The milestone of the lunar landing was marked in 1967. - the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution - or 1968. In a first stage in the early 1960s the Soviet space program developed 30 spacecraft and shuttle projects. With the fall of Nikita Khrushchev in 1964, Korolev was given complete control of the manned space program.
Post-Koroliov stage
Koroliov died in January 1966 after an operation that revealed his colon cancer and after complications with heart disease and severe bleeding. Kerim Kerimov, who had been the architect of Vostok 1, was appointed chairman of the state commission for manned flights and held the position for 25 years (1966-1991). He oversaw every stage of development and operation of the Soviet Union's manned spaceflight and unmanned intraplanetary stations. One of Kerimov's great achievements was the launch of the Mir in 1986.
Leadership of the OKB-1 design team was given to Vasili Mishin, who was tasked with sending man to the moon in 1967 and landing one in 1968. Under pressure Mishin approved the launch of Soyuz 1 on 1967, despite the fact that the ship had never been successfully tested in an unmanned flight. The mission was launched with the knowledge of design flaws and ended with the vehicle crashing into the ground, killing Vladimir Komarov. This was the first in-flight fatality in any space program.
Given the disaster and under new pressures, Mishin developed an alcohol problem. They had a successful joint flight of Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 in January 1969 which tested the rendezvous, docking and crew transfer techniques that would be used in the landing, and the LK lander was successfully tested in Earth orbit. But after four unmanned N1 launches failed, the rocket was abandoned and with it the Soviets' chances of landing men on the Moon in a single launch.
Apart from the manned landings, the abandoned Soviet Moon program included a Zvezda multipurpose lunar base. The later proposed manned lunar program, "Vulkan-LEK", was not adopted for economic reasons.
After setbacks, Chelomei convinced Ustinov to approve the program in 1970 to advance his military space station, Almaz, at a rate of beating the advertised American Skylab. Mishín continued in control of the project that later became Saliut but the Mishín-backed decision to fly a three-man crew without pressure suits rather than a crew in suits similar to Saliut 1 in 1971 led to one fatality when reentry into the depressurized capsule killed the crew on return to Earth. Mishín was removed from many projects, leaving Chelomei in control of Saliut.
Despite problems in its first manned lunar programs, the USSR was successful in its remote operations to the Moon, achieving two historic milestones with the Lunokhod program and obtaining samples from the Moon. In addition, the Mars Program was continued with little success, while the exploration of Venus and Halley's Comet by the Venera program and the Vega star program were more effective.
Program confidentiality
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The Soviet space program had withheld information about its projects prior to the success of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. In fact, when the Sputnik program was first approved, one of the first actions the Politburo took was what information to announce to the world regarding this event. ITAR-TASS set a precedent for all official announcements of the Soviet space program. The information that was finally revealed offered no details of who built and launched the satellite or why it was launched.
The secrecy of the Soviet program served as a tool both to prevent the leaking of classified information between countries and also created a barrier of mystery between the space program and the Soviet population. The nature of the program contained ambiguous messages about its goals, achievements, and values. The program itself was so secret that a normal Soviet citizen would never get a concrete picture of it, more than a superficial version of its history, its present activities and future attempts at it. The launches were not announced until they were produced. The names of the cosmonauts were not released until after they had flown. Mission details were sparse. We don't know the size or shape of the rockets, the cockpits, or most of your spacecraft, except for the early Sputniks, the lunar probes, and the Venus probes.
However, military influence on the Soviet space program is perhaps the most valid explanation for the program's secrecy. Military practices that would lead to weapons development, such as intercontinental ballistic missile projects, were kept clandestine. Soviet military industrial officers constructing a form of weapon labeling that was based on a random alphanumeric system. Even the workers in the factories that built and shipped parts for the construction of spaceships had little conception of the whole picture.
List of projects and achievements
Projects
The Soviet space program carried out a large number of projects, including:
- Almaz Programme
- Burán ferry
- Cosmos Program
- Cohete Energy
- Foton Scientific Satellite Programme
- Luna
- Mars Programme
- Meteorological satellites
- Mólniya communications satellites
- MIR Space Station
- Proton satellites
- Salyut Programme
- Soyuz Programme
- Sputnik Programme
- TKS
- Tsicada Navigation Satellites
- Venera Programme
- Vostok programme
- Voskhod Programme
- Zond Programme
- Lunar programme N1/L3
Notable achievements
Two days after the United States announced its intention to launch an artificial satellite, on July 31, 1956, the Soviet Union announced its intention to do the same. Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4, 1957, defeating the United States and impressing people around the world.
The Soviet space program pioneered many aspects of space exploration:
- 1957: First intercontinental ballistic missile and orbital shuttle, the R-7 Semiorka.
- 1957: First satellite, Sputnik 1.
- 1957: First animal in orbit, Laika bitch in Sputnik 2.
- 1959: First ignition rocket in the Earth orbit, first man-made object capable of escape the gravitation of the earth, Moon 1.
- 1959: First man-made object to pass near the Moon, first man-made object in the heliocentric orbit, Moon 1.
- 1959: First probe to impact on the Moon, Moon 2.
- 1959: First images of the hidden face of the Moon, Moon 3.
- 1960: First animals to return safely and safely from the orbit of the earth, the dogs Belka and Strelka in Sputnik 5.
- 1961: First probe sent to Venus, Venera 1.
- 1961: First person in space and Earth orbit, Yuri Gagarin in Vostok 1.
- 1961: First person to spend more than 24 hours in the space Guerman Titov, Vostok 2 (also first person to sleep in space).
- 1962: First double manned space flight, Vostok 3 and Vostok 4.
- 1962: First probe sent to Mars, Mars 1.
- 1963: First woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, Vostok 6.
- 1964: First crew of more than one person (3), Vosjod 1.
- 1965: First extravehicular activity (EVA), by Alekséi Leónov, Vosjod 2.
- 1965: First probe to impact another planet in the solar system (Venus), Venera 3.
- 1966: First probe to perform an alloy and transmission from the surface of the Moon, Moon 9.
- 1966: First probe in the lunar orbit, Moon 10.
- 1967: First unmanned encounter and dock, Cosmos 186/Cosmos 188.
- 1968: First living beings to reach the Moon and return without damage to the earth, Russian turtles and other life forms in the Zond 5.
- 1969: First trache between two manned ships in the orbit of the Earth and exchange of crews, Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5.
- 1970: First samples of land automatically extracted and returned to Earth from another celestial body, Moon 16.
- 1970: First space rover robot, Lunojod 1 on the Moon.
- 1970: First data received from the surface of another Solar System (Venus), Venera 7.
- 1971: First Space Station, Saliut 1.
- 1971: First probe to impact the surface of Mars, Mars 2.
- 1971: First probe to land on the surface of Mars, Mars 3.
- 1975: First probe in orbiting Venus, in making a successful landing on Venus, in taking the first images of the surface of Venus, Venera 9.
- 1980: First Hispanic and Person of Color in Space, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez in Soyuz 38.
- 1984: First woman to walk in space, Svetlana Savitskaya (Saliut 7 space station).
- 1986: First station to visit two separate space stations (Mir and Saliut 7).
- 1986: First probes in using robotic balloons in the atmosphere of Venus and recover photos of a comet flying near, Vega 1 and Vega 2.
- 1986: First permanent manned space station, Mir, 1986-2001, with permanent presence on board (1989-1999).
- 1987: First crew to spend more than a year in space, Vladimir Titov and Musá Manárov aboard Soyuz TM-4 - Mir.