How the idea of docking spaceships from two countries was born
In the "Results Report"
And already on May 24, 1972in Moscow, the "Agreement between the USSR and the United States on Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes" was signed and an agreement was reached to conduct the first joint experimental flight of the Soyuz and Apollo-type spacecraft (ASTP) in 1975.
Plan the timeline of the ASTP project. 1972 RGANTD. F. 1. Op. 1H. D. 3.
- Solution of technical problems
For joint development of technical solutionsmixed Soviet-American working groups were created. Soviet and American scientists and designers faced the need to solve a set of problems related to ensuring the compatibility of means of mutual search and rendezvous of spaceships, their docking assemblies, LSS and equipment for mutual transition from one ship to another, communication and flight control, organizational and methodological compatibility [8] [9].
For the project, the first international digital data transmission network in the USSR was created, which connected the project sites in the USSR and the USA and was used to calculate the trajectory of spacecraft.
- Atmosphere on ships and transition compartment
Life support systems (LSS) of the Soyuz spacecraft andThe Apollo missions were incompatible primarily because of the difference in atmosphere. At Apollo, people breathed pure oxygen under reduced pressure (≈0.35 atmospheric pressure), and at Soyuz, an atmosphere similar to the earth’s in composition and pressure was maintained.
Air circulation and air conditioning systems wereare built on different principles. Communication between the atmospheres of the ships would lead to a breakdown in the automatic control of these systems. For these reasons, the direct transition from ship to ship was impossible. Simple airlock could not be used due to decompression sickness during the transfer from Soyuz to Apollo.
The usual costumes of Soviet cosmonauts becamefire hazardous in the Apollo atmosphere due to the increased oxygen content in it. To solve the problem in the Soviet Union, in the shortest possible time, a heat-resistant polymer was developed that surpassed the foreign analogues described in the literature: the oxygen index was 79, and for DuPont fibers - 41.
This polymer was used to create a heat-resistant fabric."Lola" for the costumes of Soviet cosmonauts. The starting monomers for obtaining a heat-resistant polymer were synthesized with the active participation and guidance of the well-known Soviet chemist E.P. Fokin.
Action plan for the implementation of the Resolution of the Central CommitteeThe CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 25-8 dated 5.01. 1973 to create a two-seater manned spacecraft 7K-TM (Soyuz-M) for a joint experimental flight in 1975 with the American Apollo-class spacecraft. 1973. RGANTD. F. 1. Op. 14-1. D. 60.
Preparing for docking
To implement the ASTP program, it was required to solvea lot of technical problems, since the ships were completely incompatible. First of all, NPO Energia developed and manufactured a special androgynous peripheral docking unit APAS-75. It was installed on both ships.
Second, in Apollo, the astronauts breathed cleanoxygen, and the "Soyuz" maintained an atmosphere close to that of the Earth. To solve this problem, the American side created a special docking-airlock transfer compartment, which was launched into orbit together with Apollo.
Six were made in the Soviet Unionships, which received the designation 7K-TM and were intended for full-scale testing of this new modification. In April and August 1974, two unmanned vehicles were launched. In December 1974, Soyuz-16 was launched (AV Filipchenko and NN Rukavishnikov), so to speak, for a dress rehearsal. On July 15, 1975, the fourth ship flew, which became Soyuz-19.
A remarkable fact, on this day on the neighboringthe launch pad stood in full readiness with a carrier rocket with a fifth, spare ship. If for some reason the launch of Soyuz-19 failed, then literally in a few hours this reserve ship with a crew of A.V. Filipchenko and N.N. Rukavishnikov. Fortunately, this was not required.
Chronology of the joint flight
On July 15, 1975, Soyuz-19 took off and on the same day Apollo flew towards it. On July 17, the American ship docked with the Soyuz in active mode.
Over the next two days, the crewscompleted four transitions between ships and conducted five joint scientific experiments. During the first meeting A.A. Leonov and T. Stafford exchanged the flags of their countries, and the crew members participating in the meeting signed joint certificates for the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) on the first international connection.
In addition, the crews conducted TV reports, withshowing the interiors of the living quarters of both ships and various flight events. After the first undocking of the ships, the joint experiment "Artificial Solar Eclipse" was carried out, and then a second docking was carried out, but now the Soyuz was playing an active role.
Final undocking was performed on 19 Julyships and conducted a joint experiment "Ultraviolet absorption". After that, the crews flew according to autonomous programs. On July 21, after six days of flight, Soyuz-19 landed, and on July 24, nine days after the launch, the Apollo flight ended.
Onboard instructions for joint operations are stored in the RGANTD.
Experiments during docking
During the joint flight, several scientific and technical experiments were carried out:
- Artificial solar eclipse - study from the "Union" of the solar corona during the eclipse of the Sun by "Apollo";
- Ultraviolet absorption - measurement of the concentration of atomic nitrogen and oxygen in space;
- Zone-forming fungi - study of the influence of weightlessness, overloads and cosmic radiation on the main biological rhythms;
- Microbial exchange - the study of the exchange of microorganisms in space flight between crew members;
- Universal stove - studying the effects of weightlessnessна некоторые кристаллохимические и металлургические процессы в полупроводниковых и металлических материалах. Одним из участников исследования влияния невесомости на процессы твёрдо-жидкофазного взаимодействия металлов был К. П. Гуров.
Soyuz - Apollo. From the on-board instructions for joint operations. 1975. RGANTD. F. 1. Op. 1 ND. D. 101.
Read more:
Explained how the universe is reflected near black holes
Mass poisoning and new versions of the death of civilization: how our knowledge about the Maya changed
Changes in the Earth's orbit contributed to the emergence of complex life on the planet