High-speed transport vehicles differ from vehicles moving at low speed in lightness of construction. Huge ocean liners weigh hundreds of thousands of kilonewtons. The speed of their movement is relatively low (= 50 km/h). The weight of speedboats does not exceed 500 - 700 kN, but they can reach speeds up to 100 km/h. With increasing speed of movement, reducing the weight of the structure of transport vehicles becomes an increasingly important indicator of their perfection. The weight of the structure is especially important for aircraft (airplanes, helicopters).

A spaceship is also an aircraft, but it is only designed to move in a vacuum. You can fly through the air much faster than you can swim on water or move on the ground, and in airless space you can reach even higher speeds, but the greater the speed, the more important the weight of the structure. The increase in the weight of the spacecraft leads to a very large increase in the weight of the rocket system, which takes the ship into the planned region of outer space.

Therefore, everything that is on board the spacecraft should weigh as little as possible, and nothing should be superfluous. This requirement creates one of the biggest challenges for spacecraft designers.

What are the main parts of a spacecraft? Spacecraft are divided into two classes: habitable (a crew of several people is on board) and uninhabited (scientific equipment is installed on board, which automatically transmits all measurement data to Earth). We will consider only manned spacecraft. The first manned spacecraft, on which Yu. A. Gagarin made his flight, was Vostok. It is followed by ships from the Sunrise series. These are no longer single-seat, like Vostok, but multi-seat devices. For the first time in the world, a group flight of three cosmonauts - Komarov, Feoktistov, Egorov - was made on the Voskhod spacecraft.

The next series of spacecraft created in the Soviet Union was called Soyuz. The ships of this series are much more complex than their predecessors, and the tasks they can perform are also more difficult. In the United States, spacecraft of various types have also been created.

Let us consider the general scheme of the structure of a manned spacecraft on the example of the American spacecraft "Apollo".


Rice. 10. Scheme of a three-stage rocket with a spacecraft and a rescue system.


Figure 10 shows a general view of the Saturn rocket system and the Apollo spacecraft docked to it. The spacecraft sits between the rocket's third stage and a device that attaches to the spacecraft at the truss, called the bailout system. What is this device for? The operation of the rocket engine or its control system during the launch of the rocket does not exclude the occurrence of malfunctions. Sometimes these malfunctions can lead to an accident - the rocket will fall to Earth. What can happen in this case? The propellant components will mix, and a sea of ​​fire is formed, in which both the rocket and the spacecraft will be. Moreover, when mixing fuel components, explosive mixtures can also be formed. Therefore, if for any reason an accident occurs, it is necessary to take the ship away from the rocket for a certain distance and only after that land. Under these conditions, neither explosions nor fire will be dangerous for astronauts. This is the purpose of the emergency rescue system (abbreviated SAS).

The SAS system includes the main and control engines running on solid fuel. If the SAS system receives a signal about the emergency state of the rocket, it works. The spacecraft separates from the rocket, and the gunpowder engines of the emergency escape system pull the spacecraft up and to the side. When the powder engine finishes its work, a parachute is ejected from the spacecraft and the ship smoothly descends to Earth. The SAS system is designed to rescue cosmonauts in the event of an emergency, during the launch of the launch vehicle and its flight on the active site.

If the launch of the launch vehicle went well and the flight on the active site is successfully completed, there is no need for an emergency rescue system. After the launch of the spacecraft into low Earth orbit, this system becomes useless. Therefore, before the spacecraft enters orbit, the emergency rescue system is discarded from the spacecraft as unnecessary ballast.

The emergency rescue system is directly attached to the so-called descent or return vehicle of the spacecraft. Why does it have such a name? We have already said that a spacecraft going on a space flight consists of several parts. But only one of its components returns to Earth from a space flight, which is why it is called a return vehicle. The returnable or descent vehicle, unlike other parts of the spacecraft, has thick walls and a special shape that is most advantageous in terms of flight in the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds. The reentry vehicle, or command compartment, is the place where the astronauts are during the launch of the spacecraft into orbit and, of course, during the descent to Earth. It installs most of the equipment with which the ship is controlled. Since the command compartment is intended for the descent of cosmonauts to Earth, it also contains parachutes, with the help of which the spacecraft is braked in the atmosphere, and then a smooth descent is carried out.

Behind the descent vehicle is a compartment called the orbital. This compartment contains scientific equipment necessary for conducting special research in space, as well as systems that provide the ship with everything necessary: ​​air, electricity, etc. The orbital compartment does not return to Earth after the spacecraft has completed its mission. Its very thin walls are not able to withstand the heat that the reentry vehicle undergoes during its descent to Earth, passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere. Therefore, upon entering the atmosphere, the orbital compartment burns out like a meteor.

It is necessary to have one more compartment in spaceships intended for flight into deep space with landing of people on other celestial bodies. In this compartment, astronauts can descend to the surface of the planet, and when necessary, take off from it.

We have listed the main parts of a modern spacecraft. Now let's see how the life of the crew and the operability of the equipment installed on board the ship are ensured.

It takes a lot to ensure human life. Let's start with the fact that a person cannot exist either at very low or at very high temperatures. The temperature regulator on the globe is the atmosphere, i.e. air. And what about the temperature on the spacecraft? It is known that there are three types of heat transfer from one body to another - thermal conductivity, convection and radiation. To transfer heat by conduction and convection, a heat transmitter is needed. Therefore, in space, these types of heat transfer are impossible. The spacecraft, being in interplanetary space, receives heat from the Sun, the Earth and other planets exclusively by radiation. It is enough to create a shadow from a thin sheet of some material that will block the path of the rays of the Sun (or light from other planets) to the surface of the spacecraft - and it will stop heating up. Therefore, it is not difficult to insulate a spacecraft in an airless space.

However, when flying in outer space, one has to fear not overheating of the ship by the sun's rays or its hypothermia as a result of heat radiation from the walls into the surrounding space, but overheating from the heat that is released inside the spacecraft itself. What causes the temperature in the ship to rise? Firstly, man himself is a source that continuously radiates heat, and secondly, a spacecraft is a very complex machine equipped with many devices and systems, the operation of which is associated with the release of a large amount of heat. The system that ensures the life of the crew members of the ship has a very important task - to remove all the heat generated by both the person and the devices in a timely manner outside the ship's compartments and ensure that the temperature in them is maintained at a level that is required for the normal existence of a person and the operation of devices.

How is it possible in space, where heat is transferred only by radiation, to ensure the necessary temperature regime in the spacecraft? You know that in the summer, when the sultry Sun shines, everyone wears light-colored clothes, in which the heat is less felt. What's the matter here? It turns out that a light surface, unlike a dark one, does not absorb radiant energy well. It reflects it and therefore heats up much weaker.

This property of bodies, depending on the color of the color, to a greater or lesser extent to absorb or reflect radiant energy, can be used to control the temperature inside the spacecraft. There are substances (they are called thermophototropes) that change their color depending on the heating temperature. As the temperature rises, they begin to discolor and the stronger, the higher the temperature of their heating. On the contrary, when cooled, they darken. This property of thermophototropes can be very useful if they are used in the thermal control system of spacecraft. After all, thermophototropes allow you to maintain the temperature of an object at a certain level automatically, without the use of any mechanisms, heaters or coolers. As a result, the thermal control system with the use of thermophototropes will have a small mass (and this is very important for spacecraft), and no energy will be required to put it into action. (Thermal control systems that operate without consuming energy are called passive.)

There are other passive thermal control systems. All of them have one important property - low weight. However, they are unreliable in operation, especially during long-term operation. Therefore, spacecraft are usually equipped with so-called active temperature control systems. A distinctive feature of such systems is the ability to change the mode of operation. An active temperature control system is like a radiator in a central heating system - if you want the room to be colder, you shut off the hot water supply to the radiator. On the contrary, if you need to raise the temperature in the room, the shut-off valve opens completely.

The task of the thermal control system is to maintain the air temperature in the ship's cabin within the normal, room temperature, i.e. 15 - 20 ° C. If the room is heated with central heating batteries, then the temperature in any place of the room is practically the same. Why is there a very small difference in air temperature near a hot battery and far from it? This is due to the fact that in the room there is a continuous mixing of warm and cold layers of air. Warm (light) air rises, cold (heavy) air sinks. This movement (convection) of air is due to the presence of gravity. Everything in a spaceship is weightless. Consequently, there can be no convection, i.e., air mixing and temperature equalization throughout the entire volume of the cabin. There is no natural convection, but it is created artificially.

For this purpose, the thermal control system provides for the installation of several fans. The fans, driven by an electric motor, force air to circulate continuously through the ship's cabin. Due to this, the heat generated by the human body or any device does not accumulate in one place, but is evenly distributed throughout the volume.


Rice. 11. Scheme of spacecraft cabin air cooling.


Practice has shown that more heat is always generated in a spacecraft than is radiated into the surrounding space through the walls. Therefore, it is advisable to install batteries in it, through which cold liquid must be pumped. This liquid will be given heat by the cabin air driven by the fan (see Fig. 11), while being cooled. Depending on the temperature of the liquid in the radiator, as well as its size, more or less heat can be removed and thus maintain the temperature inside the ship's cabin at the required level. The air-cooling radiator also serves another purpose. You know that when breathing, a person exhales a gas into the surrounding atmosphere, which contains much less oxygen than air, but more carbon dioxide and water vapor. If water vapor is not removed from the atmosphere, it will accumulate in it until a state of saturation occurs. Saturated steam will condense on all instruments, the walls of the ship, everything will become damp. Of course, in such conditions it is harmful for a person to live and work for a long time, and not all devices with such humidity can function normally.

The radiators we talked about help to remove excess water vapor from the atmosphere of the spacecraft cabin. Have you noticed what happens to a cold object brought from the street into a warm room in winter? It is immediately covered with tiny droplets of water. Where did they come from? Out of the air. Air always contains some amount of water vapor. At room temperature (+20°C), 1 m³ of air can contain up to 17 g of moisture in the form of vapor. With an increase in air temperature, the possible moisture content also increases, and vice versa: with a decrease in temperature, less water vapor can be present in the air. That is why on cold objects brought into a warm room, moisture falls out in the form of dew.

In a spacecraft, the cold object is a radiator through which a cold liquid is pumped. As soon as too much water vapor accumulates in the cabin air, it from the air washing the radiator tubes condenses on them in the form of dew. Thus, the radiator serves not only as a means of cooling the air, but at the same time is its dehumidifier. Since the radiator performs two tasks at once - it cools and dries the air, it is called a refrigeration dryer.

So, in order to maintain normal temperature and air humidity in the spacecraft cabin, it is necessary to have a liquid in the thermal control system that must be continuously cooled, otherwise it will not be able to fulfill its role - to remove excess heat from the spacecraft cabin. How to cool the liquid? Cooling the liquid, of course, is not a problem if there is a conventional electric refrigerator. But electric refrigerators are not installed on spacecraft, and they are not needed there. Outer space differs from terrestrial conditions in that there is both heat and cold at the same time. It turns out that in order to cool the liquid, with the help of which the temperature and humidity of the air inside the cabin are maintained at a given level, it is enough to place it in outer space for a while, but so that it is in the shade.

In the thermal control system, in addition to the fans that move the air, pumps are provided. Their task is to pump liquid from a radiator inside the cabin to a radiator installed on the outer side of the spacecraft shell, i.e. in outer space. These two radiators are connected to each other by pipelines, which have valves and sensors that measure the temperature of the liquid at the inlet and outlet of the radiators. Depending on the readings of these sensors, the rate of fluid transfer from one radiator to another, i.e., the amount of heat removed from the ship's cabin, is regulated.

What properties should a fluid used in a temperature control system have? Since one of the radiators is located in outer space, where very low temperatures are possible, one of the main requirements for the liquid is a low solidification temperature. Indeed, if the liquid in the external radiator freezes, the temperature control system will fail.

Maintaining the temperature inside the spacecraft at a level at which human performance is maintained is a very important task. A person cannot live and work either in the cold or in the heat. Can a person exist without air? Of course not. Yes, and such a question never arises before us, since air on Earth is everywhere. The air fills the cabin of the spacecraft. Is there a difference in providing a person with air on Earth and in the cabin of a spacecraft? The airspace on Earth has a large volume. No matter how much we breathe, no matter how much oxygen we consume for other needs, its content in the air practically does not change.

The position in the cockpit of the spacecraft is different. Firstly, the volume of air in it is very small and, in addition, there is no natural regulator of the composition of the atmosphere, since there are no plants that would absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Therefore, very soon people in the cabin of the spacecraft will begin to feel the lack of oxygen for breathing. A person feels normal if the atmosphere contains at least 19% oxygen. With less oxygen, it becomes difficult to breathe. In a spacecraft, one crew member has a free volume = 1.5 - 2.0 m³. Calculations show that already after 1.5 - 1.6 hours the air in the cabin becomes unsuitable for normal breathing.

Therefore, the spacecraft must be equipped with a system that would feed its atmosphere with oxygen. Where do you get oxygen from? Of course, it is possible to store oxygen on board the ship in the form of compressed gas in special cylinders. As needed, the gas from the cylinder can be released into the cabin. But this kind of oxygen storage is not very suitable for spacecraft. The fact is that metal cylinders, in which gas is under high pressure, weigh a lot. Therefore, this simple method of storing oxygen on spacecraft is not used. But gaseous oxygen can be turned into a liquid. The density of liquid oxygen is almost 1000 times greater than the density of gaseous oxygen, as a result of which much less capacity is required to store it (the same mass). In addition, liquid oxygen can be stored under slight pressure. Therefore, the walls of the vessel can be thin.

However, the use of liquid oxygen on board the ship is associated with some difficulties. It is very easy to supply oxygen to the atmosphere of the spacecraft cabin if it is in a gaseous state, it is more difficult if it is liquid. The liquid must first be turned into a gas, and for this it must be heated. Heating of oxygen is also necessary because its vapors can have a temperature close to the boiling point of oxygen, i.e. - 183°C. Such cold oxygen cannot be let into the cockpit, it is, of course, impossible to breathe it. It should be heated to at least 15 - 18°C.

Gasification of liquid oxygen and heating of vapors will require special devices, which will complicate the oxygen supply system. It must also be remembered that a person in the process of breathing not only consumes oxygen in the air, but simultaneously releases carbon dioxide. A person emits about 20 liters of carbon dioxide per hour. Carbon dioxide, as you know, is not a toxic substance, but it is difficult for a person to breathe air in which carbon dioxide contains more than 1 - 2%.

In order for the cabin air of a spacecraft to be breathable, it is necessary not only to add oxygen to it, but also to remove carbon dioxide from it at the same time. To do this, it would be convenient to have on board the spacecraft a substance that releases oxygen and at the same time absorbs carbon dioxide from the air. Such substances exist. You know that metal oxide is a combination of oxygen with a metal. Rust, for example, is iron oxide. Other metals are also oxidized, including alkali metals (sodium, potassium).

Alkali metals, combining with oxygen, form not only oxides, but also the so-called peroxides and superoxides. Peroxides and superoxides of alkali metals contain much more oxygen than oxides. The formula of sodium oxide is Na₂O, and the superoxide is NaO₂. Under the action of moisture, sodium superoxide decomposes with the release of pure oxygen and the formation of alkali: 4NaO₂ + 2Н₂О → 4NaOH + 3O₂.

Alkali metal superoxides proved to be very convenient substances for obtaining oxygen from them under spacecraft conditions and for cleaning cabin air from excess carbon dioxide. After all, alkali (NaOH), which is released during the decomposition of alkali metal superoxide, very readily combines with carbon dioxide. The calculation shows that for every 20 - 25 liters of oxygen released during the decomposition of sodium superoxide, soda alkali is formed in an amount sufficient to bind 20 liters of carbon dioxide.

The binding of carbon dioxide with alkali is that a chemical reaction occurs between them: CO₂ + 2NaOH → Na₂CO + H₂O. As a result of the reaction, sodium carbonate (soda) and water are formed. The ratio between oxygen and alkali, formed during the decomposition of alkali metal superoxides, turned out to be very favorable, since a person consumes an average of 25 A of oxygen per hour and emits 20 liters of carbon dioxide in the same time.

Alkali metal superoxide decomposes on contact with water. Where do you get water for this? It turns out you don't need to worry about it. We have already said that when a person breathes, he emits not only carbon dioxide, but also water vapor. The moisture contained in the exhaled air is sufficient in excess to decompose the required amount of superoxide. Of course, we know that oxygen consumption depends on the depth and frequency of breathing. You sit at the table and breathe calmly - you consume one amount of oxygen. And if you run or work physically, you breathe deeply and often, so you consume more oxygen than with calm breathing. Spacecraft crew members will also consume different amounts of oxygen at different times of the day. During sleep and rest, oxygen consumption is minimal, but when work related to movement is performed, oxygen consumption increases dramatically.

Due to the inhaled oxygen, certain oxidative processes occur in the body. As a result of these processes, water vapor and carbon dioxide are formed. If the body consumes more oxygen, it means that it emits more carbon dioxide and water vapor. Consequently, the body, as it were, automatically maintains the moisture content in the air in such an amount that is necessary for the decomposition of the corresponding amount of alkali metal superoxide.


Rice. 12. Scheme of replenishing the atmosphere of the spacecraft cabin with oxygen and cleaning it from carbon dioxide.


The scheme of air purification from carbon dioxide and its replenishment with oxygen is shown in Figure 12. Cabin air is driven by a fan through cartridges with sodium or potassium superoxide. From the cartridges, the air comes out already enriched with oxygen and purified from carbon dioxide.

A sensor is installed in the cabin that monitors the oxygen content in the air. If the sensor indicates that the oxygen content in the air is becoming too low, the fan motors are signaled to increase the number of revolutions, as a result of which the speed of air passing through the superoxide cartridges increases, and therefore the amount of moisture (which is in the air) that enters the cartridge at the same time. More moisture equals more oxygen. If the cabin air contains oxygen above the norm, then a signal is sent from the sensors to the fan motors to reduce the number of revolutions.

SPACESHIPS(KK) - spacecraft designed for human flight -.

The first flight into space on the Vostok spacecraft was made on April 12, 1961 by the Soviet pilot-cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin. The mass of the spacecraft "Vostok" together with the cosmonaut is 4725 kg, the maximum flight altitude above the Earth is 327 km. The flight of Yuri Gagarin lasted only 108 minutes, but it was of historical significance: it was proved that a person can live and work in space. “He called us all into space,” said American astronaut Neil Armstrong.

Spacecraft are launched either for an independent purpose (conducting scientific and technical research and experiments, observing the Earth and natural phenomena in the surrounding space from space, testing and testing new systems and equipment), or for the purpose of delivering crews to orbital stations. CC is created and launched by the USSR and the USA.

In total, up to January 1, 1986, 112 flights of spacecraft of various types with crews were carried out: 58 flights of Soviet spacecraft and 54 American. In these flights, 93 spacecraft were used (58 Soviet and 35 American). 195 people flew into space on them - 60 Soviet and 116 American cosmonauts, as well as one cosmonaut each from Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, Romania, France and India, who made flights as part of international crews on the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft and Salyut orbital stations, three cosmonauts from Germany and one cosmonaut each from Canada, France, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Mexico, who flew on the American reusable Space Shuttle.

Unlike automatic spacecraft, each spacecraft has three main mandatory elements: a pressurized compartment with a life support system in which the crew lives and works in space; descent vehicle for crew return to Earth; orientation, control and propulsion systems for changing the orbit and leaving it before landing (the latter element is typical for many automatic satellites and AMS).

The life support system creates and maintains in the hermetic compartment the conditions necessary for human life and activity: an artificial gaseous environment (air) of a certain chemical composition, with certain pressure, temperature, humidity; satisfies the crew's needs for oxygen, food, water; removes human waste (for example, absorbs carbon dioxide exhaled by a person). During short-term flights, oxygen reserves can be stored on board the spacecraft; during long-term flights, oxygen can be obtained, for example, by electrolysis of water or decomposition of carbon dioxide.

Reentry vehicles to return the crew to Earth use parachute systems to slow down their rate of descent before landing. The descent vehicles of the American spacecraft land on the water surface, the Soviet spacecraft - on the solid surface of the earth. Therefore, the Soyuz descent vehicles additionally have soft-landing engines that operate directly at the surface and sharply reduce the landing speed. The descent vehicles also have powerful outer heat shields, since when entering the dense layers of the atmosphere at high speeds, their outer surfaces heat up to very high temperatures due to air friction.

Spaceships of the USSR: Vostok, Voskhod and Soyuz. Academician S.P. Korolev played an outstanding role in their creation. Remarkable flights were made on these spaceships, which became milestones in the development of astronautics. On the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft, cosmonauts A. G. Nikolaev and P. R. Popovich performed the first group flight. Spacecraft "Vostok-6" lifted into space the first female cosmonaut V. V. Tereshkova. From the Voskhod-2 spacecraft piloted by P. I. Belyaev, cosmonaut A. A. Leonov for the first time in the world made a spacewalk in a special space suit. The first experimental orbital station in Earth satellite orbit was created by docking the Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 spacecraft piloted by cosmonauts V. A. Shatalov and B. V. Volynov, A. S. Eliseev, E. V. Khru -new. A. S. Eliseev and E. V. Khrunov went into outer space and transferred to the Soyuz-4 spacecraft. Many Soyuz spacecraft were used to deliver crews to the Salyut orbital stations.

Spaceship "Vostok"

Soyuz is the most advanced manned spacecraft created in the USSR. They are designed to perform a wide range of tasks in near-Earth space: servicing orbital stations, studying the effects of long-term space flight on the human body, conducting experiments in the interests of science and the national economy, and testing new space technology. The mass of the Soyuz spacecraft is 6800 kg, the maximum length is 7.5 m, the maximum diameter is 2.72 m, the span of solar panels is 8.37 m, the total volume of living quarters is 10 m3. The spacecraft consists of three compartments: the descent module, the orbital compartment and the instrument-aggregate compartment.

Spacecraft "Soyuz-19".

In the descent vehicle, the crew is in the area of ​​launching the spacecraft into orbit, while controlling the spacecraft in flight in orbit, while returning to Earth. The orbital compartment is a laboratory in which astronauts conduct scientific research and observations, exercise, eat and rest. This compartment is equipped with places for work, rest and sleep of astronauts. The orbital compartment can be used as an airlock for astronauts to enter outer space. The main on-board equipment and propulsion systems of the ship are located in the instrument-assembly compartment. Part of the compartment is sealed. Inside it, the conditions necessary for the normal functioning of the thermal control system, power supply, radio communication and telemetry equipment, and orientation and motion control system devices are maintained. In the non-pressurized part of the compartment, a liquid propellant propulsion system is mounted, which is used to maneuver the spacecraft in orbit, as well as to deorbit the spacecraft. It consists of two engines with a thrust of 400 kg each. Depending on the flight program and refueling of the propulsion system, the Soyuz spacecraft can perform altitude maneuvers up to 1300 km.

Until January 1, 1986, 54 spacecraft of the Soyuz type and its improved version Soyuz T were launched (of which 3 were uncrewed).

Launch vehicle with the Soyuz-15 spacecraft before launch.

US spacecraft: single-seat "Mercury" (6 spacecraft were launched), two-seat "Gemini" (10 spacecraft), three-seat "Apollo" (15 spacecraft) and multi-seat reusable spacecraft created under the Space Shuttle program. The greatest success was achieved by American astronautics with the help of the Apollo spacecraft, designed to deliver expeditions to the moon. A total of 7 such expeditions were undertaken, of which 6 were successful. The first expedition to the Moon took place on July 16-24, 1969 on the Apollo 11 spacecraft, piloted by a crew of cosmonauts N. Armstrong, E. Aldrin and M. Collins. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon in the lunar compartment of the ship, while Collins in the Apollo main block flew in lunar orbit. The lunar compartment stayed on the Moon for 21 hours and 36 minutes, of which the cosmonauts spent more than 2 hours directly on the surface of the Moon. Then they launched from the Moon in the lunar compartment, docked with the main block of the Apollo and, dropping the used lunar compartment, headed for Earth. On July 24, the expedition safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

The third expedition to the moon was unsuccessful: on the way to the moon with Apollo 13, an accident occurred, the landing on the moon was canceled. Having circumnavigated our natural satellite and overcame colossal difficulties, astronauts J. Lovell, F. Hayes, and J. Swidgert returned to Earth.

On the Moon, American astronauts conducted scientific observations, placed instruments that worked after their departure from the Moon, and delivered samples of lunar soil to Earth.

In the early 80s. in the United States, a new type of spacecraft was created - the Space Shuttle (Space Shuttle) reusable spacecraft. Structurally, the space transport system "Space Shuttle" is an orbital stage - an aircraft with three liquid rocket engines (rocket plane), - attached to an external external fuel tank with two solid propellant boosters. Like conventional launch vehicles, the Space Shuttle launches vertically (the launch weight of the system is 2040 tons). The fuel tank separates after use and burns in the atmosphere, boosters after separation splash down in the Atlantic Ocean and can be reused.

The launch weight of the orbital stage is about 115 tons, including a payload of about 30 tons and a crew of 6-8 cosmonauts; fuselage length - 32.9 m, wingspan - 23.8 m.

After completing tasks in space, the orbital stage returns to Earth, landing like a conventional aircraft, and can be reused in the future.

The main purpose of the Space Shuttle is to perform shuttle flights along the Earth-orbit-Earth route to deliver various payloads (satellites, elements of orbital stations, etc.) to relatively low orbits, as well as conduct various studies in space and experiments. The US Department of Defense plans to widely use the Space Shuttle for the militarization of outer space, which the Soviet Union strongly opposes.

The first flight of the reusable Space Shuttle took place in April 1981.

Until January 1, 1986, 23 spacecraft flights of this type took place, while 4 orbital stages "Columbia", "Challenger", "Disk Veri" and "Atlantis" were used.

In July 1975, an important international space experiment was carried out in near-Earth orbit: the ships of the two countries, the Soviet Soyuz-19 and the American Apollo, took part in a joint flight. In orbit, the ships docked, and for two days there was a space system of the spacecraft of the two countries. The significance of this experiment lies in the fact that a major scientific and technical problem of the compatibility of spacecraft was solved for the implementation of a joint flight program with rendezvous and docking, mutual transfer of crews, and joint scientific research.

The joint flight of the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, piloted by cosmonauts A. A. Leonov and V. N. Kubasov, and the Apollo spacecraft, piloted by cosmonauts T. Stafford, V. Brand and D. Slayton, became a historic event in cosmonautics. This flight showed that the USSR and the USA can cooperate not only on Earth, but also in space.

In the period from March 1978 to May 1981, the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft and the Salyut-6 orbital station carried out flights of nine international crews under the Interkosmos program. In space, international crews performed a great deal of scientific work - they conducted about 150 scientific and technical experiments in the field of space biology and medicine, astrophysics, space materials science, geophysics, Earth observation in order to study its natural resources.

In 1982, a Soviet-French international crew flew on the Soviet Soyuz T-6 spacecraft and the Salyut-7 orbital station, and in April 1984, on the Soviet Soyuz T-11 spacecraft and the Salyut-7 orbital station 7" Soviet and Indian cosmonauts flew.

Flights of international crews on Soviet spacecraft and orbital stations are of great importance for the development of world cosmonautics and the development of friendly ties between the peoples of various countries.

The instrument panel of the ship "Vostok-1" Yu. A. Gagarin. Central Museum of the Armed Forces, Moscow

The total mass of the spacecraft reached 4.73 tons, the length (without antennas) was 4.4 m, and the maximum diameter was 2.43 m.

The ship consisted of a spherical descent vehicle (weight 2.46 tons and a diameter of 2.3 m) also performing the functions of an orbital compartment and a conical instrument compartment (weight 2.27 tons and a maximum diameter of 2.43 m). Mass of thermal protection from 1.3 tons to 1.5 tons. The compartments were mechanically connected to each other using metal bands and pyrotechnic locks. The ship was equipped with systems: automatic and manual control, automatic orientation to the Sun, manual orientation to the Earth, life support (designed to maintain an internal atmosphere close in its parameters to the Earth's atmosphere for 10 days), command-logical control, power supply, thermal control and landing . To ensure the tasks of human work in outer space, the ship was equipped with autonomous and radio telemetry equipment for monitoring and recording parameters characterizing the state of the astronaut, structures and systems, ultrashortwave and shortwave equipment for two-way radiotelephone communication of the astronaut with ground stations, a command radio link, a program-time device, a television system with two transmitting cameras for observing the astronaut from the Earth, a radio system for monitoring the parameters of the orbit and direction finding of the spacecraft, a TDU-1 braking propulsion system, and other systems.

The weight of the spacecraft together with the last stage of the launch vehicle was 6.17 tons, and their length in conjunction was 7.35 m.

When developing the descent vehicle, the designers chose an axisymmetric spherical shape, as the most well-studied and having stable aerodynamic characteristics for all ranges of angles of attack at different speeds. This solution made it possible to provide an acceptable mass of the apparatus's thermal protection and to implement the simplest ballistic scheme for deorbiting. At the same time, the choice of a ballistic descent scheme determined the high overloads that a person working on board the ship had to experience.

The descent vehicle had two windows, one of which was located on the entrance hatch, just above the cosmonaut's head, and the other, equipped with a special orientation system, in the floor at his feet. The astronaut, dressed in a spacesuit, was placed in a special ejection seat. At the last stage of landing, after braking the descent vehicle in the atmosphere, at an altitude of 7 km, the cosmonaut ejected from the cabin and made a parachute landing. In addition, the possibility of landing an astronaut inside the descent vehicle was provided. The descent vehicle had its own parachute, but was not equipped with the means to perform a soft landing, which threatened the person remaining in it with a serious bruise during a joint landing.



The equipment of the Vostok ships was made as simple as possible. The return maneuver was usually processed by an automatic command transmitted by radio from Earth. For the purpose of horizontal orientation of the ship, infrared sensors were used. Alignment along the orbit axis was performed using stellar and solar orientation sensors.

In the event of failure of automatic systems, the astronaut could switch to manual control. This was possible due to the use of the original optical orientator "Vzor" installed on the cabin floor. An annular mirror zone was placed on the porthole, and arrows indicating the direction of displacement of the earth's surface were applied on a special matte screen. When the spacecraft was correctly oriented relative to the horizon, all eight viewfinders of the mirror zone were illuminated by the sun. Observation of the earth's surface through the central part of the screen ("Earth run") made it possible to determine the direction of flight.

Another device helped the astronaut decide when to start the return maneuver - a small globe with a clockwork, which showed the current position of the spacecraft above the Earth. Knowing the starting point of the position, it was possible to determine the place of the upcoming landing with relative accuracy.

This manual system could only be used in the illuminated part of the orbit. At night, the Earth could not be observed through the Vzor. The automatic orientation system had to be able to work at any time.



The Vostok ships were not adapted for manned flights to the moon, and also did not allow the possibility of flights of people who did not undergo special training. This was largely due to the design of the ship's descent module, affectionately referred to as Ball. The spherical shape of the descent vehicle did not provide for the use of orientation thrusters. The device looked like a ball, the main weight of which was concentrated in one part, thus, when moving along a ballistic trajectory, it automatically turned its heavy part down. Ballistic descent meant eight times the G-force on return from Earth orbit and twenty times on return from the Moon. A similar ballistic apparatus was the Mercury capsule; the Gemini, Apollo and Soyuz ships, due to their shape and displaced center of gravity, made it possible to reduce the experienced overloads (3 G for returning from near-Earth orbit and 8 G for returning from the Moon), and had sufficient maneuverability to change the landing point.

The Soviet ships "Vostok" and "Voskhod" as well as the American "Mercury" were not able to perform orbital maneuvers, allowing only rotations relative to the main axes. The re-start of the propulsion system was not provided, it was used only for the purpose of performing a return braking maneuver. Nevertheless, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, before starting the development of the Soyuz, considered the possibility of creating a maneuverable Vostok. This project involved docking the ship with special booster modules, which in the future would allow it to be used in the task of flying around the moon. Later, the idea of ​​a maneuverable version of the Vostok ship was implemented in the Zenit reconnaissance satellites and the specialized Foton satellites.

Pilots of spaceships "Vostok"

A spacecraft used for flights in near-Earth orbit, including under human control.

All spacecraft can be divided into two classes: manned and launched in control mode from the Earth's surface.

In the early 20s. 20th century K. E. Tsiolkovsky once again predicts the future exploration of outer space by earthlings. In his work "Spaceship" there is a mention of the so-called celestial ships, the main purpose of which is the implementation of human spaceflight.
The first spaceships of the Vostok series were created under the strict guidance of the general designer of OKB-1 (now the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia) S.P. Korolev. The first manned spacecraft "Vostok" was able to deliver a man into outer space on April 12, 1961. This cosmonaut was Yu. A. Gagarin.

The main objectives of the experiment were:

1) study of the impact of orbital flight conditions on a person, including his performance;

2) verification of the principles of spacecraft design;

3) development of structures and systems in real conditions.

The total mass of the ship was 4.7 tons, diameter - 2.4 m, length - 4.4 m. Among the on-board systems with which the ship was equipped, the following can be distinguished: control systems (automatic and manual modes); system of automatic orientation to the Sun and manual - to the Earth; life supporting system; thermal control system; landing system.

In the future, the developments obtained during the implementation of the Vostok spacecraft program made it possible to create much more advanced ones. To date, the "armada" of spacecraft is very clearly represented by the American reusable transport spacecraft "Shuttle", or Space Shuttle.

It is impossible not to mention the Soviet development, which is currently not used, but could seriously compete with the American ship.

Buran was the name of the Soviet Union's program to create a reusable space system. Work on the Buran program began in connection with the need to create a reusable space system as a means of deterring a potential adversary in connection with the start of the American project in January 1971.

To implement the project, NPO Molniya was created. In the shortest possible time in 1984, with the support of more than a thousand enterprises from all over the Soviet Union, the first full-scale copy was created with the following technical characteristics: its length was more than 36 m with a wingspan of 24 m; starting weight - more than 100 tons with a payload weight of up to
30 tons

"Buran" had a pressurized cabin in the nose compartment, which could accommodate about ten people and most of the equipment for flight in orbit, descent and landing. The ship was equipped with two groups of engines at the end of the tail section and in front of the hull for maneuvering, for the first time a combined propulsion system was used, which included oxidizer and fuel fuel tanks, pressurization temperature control, fluid intake in zero gravity, control system equipment, etc.

The first and only flight of the Buran spacecraft was made on November 15, 1988 in an unmanned, fully automatic mode (for reference: the Shuttle still only lands on manual control). Unfortunately, the flight of the ship coincided with the difficult times that began in the country, and due to the end of the Cold War and the lack of sufficient funds, the Buran program was closed.

The start of a series of American spacecraft of the "Shuttle" type was laid in 1972, although it was preceded by a project of a reusable two-stage aircraft, each stage of which was similar to a jet.

The first stage served as an accelerator, which, after entering orbit, completed its part of the task and returned to Earth with the crew, and the second stage was an orbital ship and, after completing the program, also returned to the launch site. It was the time of an arms race, and the creation of a ship of this type was considered the main link in this race.

To launch the ship, the Americans use an accelerator and the ship's own engine, the fuel for which is placed in an external fuel tank. Spent boosters after landing are not reused, with a limited number of launches. Structurally, the ship of the Shuttle series consists of several main elements: the Orbiter aerospace plane, reusable rocket boosters and a fuel tank (disposable).

Due to a large number of shortcomings and design changes, the first flight of the spacecraft took place only in 1981. In the period from April 1981 to July 1982, a series of orbital flight tests of the Columbia spacecraft was carried out in all flight modes. Unfortunately, in a series of flights of the Shuttle series, there were tragedies.

In 1986, during the 25th launch of the Challenger, a fuel tank exploded due to an imperfect design of the apparatus, as a result of which all seven crew members died. Only in 1988, after a number of changes were made to the flight program, the Discovery spacecraft was launched. To replace the Challenger, a new ship, the Endeavor, was put into operation, which has been operating since 1992.

Today, space flights do not belong to fantastic stories, but, unfortunately, a modern spaceship is still very different from those shown in films.

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age.

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Russian spaceships and

Spaceships of the future

Spaceship: what is it

On

Spaceship, how does it work?

The mass of modern spacecraft is directly related to how high they fly. The main task of manned spacecraft is safety.

The SOYUZ descent vehicle became the first space series of the Soviet Union. During this period, an arms race was going on between the USSR and the USA. If we compare the size and approach to the issue of construction, then the leadership of the USSR did everything for the speedy conquest of space. It is clear why similar devices are not being built today. It is unlikely that someone will undertake to build according to a scheme in which there is no personal space for astronauts. Modern spacecraft are equipped with both crew rest rooms and a descent capsule, the main task of which is to make it as soft as possible during the landing.

The first spaceship: the history of creation

Tsiolkovsky is rightly considered the father of astronautics. Based on his teachings, Goddrad built a rocket engine.

Scientists who worked in the Soviet Union were the first to design and launch an artificial satellite. They were also the first to invent the possibility of launching a living creature into space. The States are aware that the Union was the first to create an aircraft capable of going into space with a person. The father of rocket science is rightly called Korolev, who went down in history as the one who figured out how to overcome gravity and was able to create the first manned spacecraft. Today, even kids know in what year the first ship with a person on board was launched, but few people remember the contribution of the Queen to this process.

The crew and their safety during the flight

The main task today is the safety of the crew, because they spend a lot of time at flight altitude. When building an aircraft, it is important what metal it is made of. The following types of metals are used in rocket science:

  1. Aluminum - allows you to significantly increase the size of the spacecraft, as it is lightweight.
  2. Iron - perfectly copes with all the loads on the ship's hull.
  3. Copper has a high thermal conductivity.
  4. Silver - reliably binds copper and steel.
  5. Tanks for liquid oxygen and hydrogen are made from titanium alloys.

A modern life support system allows you to create a familiar atmosphere for a person. Many boys see how they fly in space, forgetting about the very large overload of the astronaut at the start.

The largest space ship in the world

Among warships, fighters and interceptors are very popular. A modern cargo ship has the following classification:

  1. The probe is a research ship.
  2. Capsule - cargo compartment for delivery or rescue operations of the crew.
  3. The module is launched into orbit by an unmanned carrier. Modern modules are divided into 3 categories.
  4. Rocket. The prototype for the creation was military development.
  5. Shuttle - reusable structures for the delivery of the necessary cargo.
  6. Stations are the largest spaceships. Today, not only Russians, but also French, Chinese and others are in outer space.

Buran - a spaceship that went down in history

Vostok was the first spacecraft to go into space. After the Federation of Rocket Science of the USSR, the production of Soyuz ships began. Much later, Clippers and Rus began to be produced. The federation places great hopes on all these manned projects.

In 1960, the Vostok spacecraft by its flight proved the possibility of man entering space. On April 12, 1961, Vostok 1 orbited the Earth. But the question of who flew on the ship Vostok 1, for some reason, causes difficulty. Maybe the fact is that we simply do not know that Gagarin made his first flight on this ship? In the same year, the Vostok 2 spacecraft entered orbit for the first time, in which there were two cosmonauts at once, one of whom went beyond the ship in space. It was progress. And already in 1965 Voskhod 2 was able to go into outer space. The history of the Sunrise 2 ship was filmed.

Vostok 3 set a new world record for the longest time a ship spent in space. The last ship in the series was Vostok 6.

The American shuttle of the Apollo series opened new horizons. After all, in 1968, Apollo 11 was the first to land on the moon. Today there are several projects for the development of spaceplanes of the future, such as Hermes and Columbus.

Salyut is a series of interorbital space stations of the Soviet Union. Salyut 7 is known for having crashed.

The next spaceship, whose history is of interest, was Buran, by the way, I wonder where he is now. In 1988 he made his first and last flight. After repeated analysis and transportation, Buran's path of movement was lost. The last known location of the Buran spacecraft is in Sochi, work on it has been mothballed. However, the storm around this project has not yet subsided, and the further fate of the abandoned Buran project is of interest to many. And in Moscow, an interactive museum complex was created inside the model of the Buran spacecraft at VDNKh.

Gemini - a series of ships of American designers. They replaced the Mercury project and were able to make a spiral in orbit.

American ships with the name Space Shuttle have become a kind of shuttles, making more than 100 flights between objects. The second Space Shuttle was the Challenger.

One cannot but be interested in the history of the planet Nibiru, which is recognized as a warden ship. Nibiru has already twice approached a dangerous distance to Earth, but both times the collision was avoided.

Dragon is a spacecraft that was supposed to fly to the planet Mars in 2018. In 2014, the federation, citing the technical characteristics and condition of the Dragon ship, postponed the launch. Not so long ago, another event happened: the Boeing company made a statement that it had also begun development work on the creation of a rover.

The first reusable station wagon in history was to be an apparatus called Zarya. Zarya is the first development of a reusable transport ship, on which the federation had very high hopes.

A breakthrough is the possibility of using nuclear installations in space. For these purposes, work began on the transport and energy module. In parallel, developments are underway on the Prometheus project - a compact nuclear reactor for rockets and spacecraft.

China's Shenzhou 11 launched in 2016 with two astronauts to spend 33 days in space.

Spacecraft speed (km/h)

The minimum speed with which you can go into orbit around the Earth is 8 km / s. Today there is no need to develop the fastest ship in the world, since we are at the very beginning of outer space. After all, the maximum height that we could reach in space is only 500 km. The record for the fastest movement in space was set in 1969, and so far it has not been possible to break it. On the Apollo 10 spacecraft, three astronauts were returning home after orbiting the moon. The capsule that was supposed to deliver them from the flight managed to reach a speed of 39.897 km / h. For comparison, let's consider how fast a space station flies. As much as possible, it can develop up to 27,600 km / h.

Abandoned spaceships

Today, for spacecraft that have become unusable, a cemetery has been created in the Pacific Ocean, where dozens of abandoned spaceships can find their last refuge. spaceship disasters

Disasters happen in space, often taking lives. The most frequent, oddly enough, are accidents that occur due to collisions with space debris. On impact, the object's orbit is displaced and causes crash and damage, often resulting in an explosion. The most famous disaster is the death of the manned American spacecraft Challenger.

Nuclear engine for spaceships 2017

Today, scientists are working on projects to create an atomic electric motor. These developments involve the conquest of space with the help of photonic engines. Russian scientists are planning to start testing a thermonuclear engine in the near future.

Spaceships of Russia and the USA

The rapid interest in space arose during the Cold War between the USSR and the USA. American scientists recognized worthy rivals in their Russian colleagues. Soviet rocket science continued to develop, and after the collapse of the state, Russia became its successor. Of course, the spacecraft that Russian cosmonauts fly are significantly different from the first ships. Moreover, today, thanks to the successful developments of American scientists, spacecraft have become reusable.

Spaceships of the future

Today, there is increasing interest in projects that will enable humanity to make longer journeys. Modern developments are already preparing ships for interstellar expeditions.

Where are spaceships launched from?

To see with your own eyes the launch of a spacecraft at the start is the dream of many. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the first launch does not always lead to the desired result. But thanks to the Internet, we can see how the ship takes off. Given the fact that those watching the launch of a manned spacecraft must be far enough away, we can imagine that we are on the takeoff site.

Spaceship: what is it like inside?

Today, thanks to museum exhibits, we can personally see the structure of such ships as the Soyuz. Of course, from the inside, the first ships were very simple. The interior of more modern options is designed in soothing colors. The device of any spacecraft is sure to scare us with a lot of levers and buttons. And this adds pride for those who were able to remember how the ship works, and, moreover, learned how to manage it.

What spaceships are flying now?

New spaceships with their appearance confirm that fantasy has become reality. Today, no one will be surprised by the fact that the docking of spacecraft is a reality. And few people remember that the world's first such docking took place back in 1967...