The Soliot 6 space laboratory was the first to be visited by the Progress cargo spacecraft
Soyuz 25
On October 9, 1977, Soyuz 25 was launched with the astronauts Vladimir Kovalnok, the flight commander Valery Ryumin, the flight engineer (he was previously engaged in the design and testing of space instruments). The spacecraft team had to connect to Soliot 6 and stay with it for an extended period of time and perform joint experiments with it. In the interview before the flight, Kovalnuk stated that this flight ushers in the third decade of space exploration. According to him it will be a decade of work and indeed a lot of work is expected in it.
This flight was designed to test the endurance of the human body in space and the balance problems in flight. The spacecraft has no solar racks. Soviet commentators defined this flight as historically important. And it is true that the news about the launch of Soyuz 25 received a great response and was highlighted to a large extent in the media in the Soviet Union. The astronauts carried with them into space a copy of the new constitution of the Soviet Union, the drafting of which was completed a few days before the flight. Much of the astronauts' time after launch was spent sleeping.
October 10 - about 24 hours after the launch, the astronauts began maneuvers for docking with Soliot 6. 120 meters from the space laboratory there were "deviations from the docking plan" and the astronauts received instructions to cancel docking and prepare themselves for landing. Soyuz 25 tried to attach to the front attachment hatch.
October 11 - After spending 48 hours and 46 minutes in space, Soyuz 25 landed safely 185 km northwest of Tselinograd. Russian rescue ships were ready in case of an emergency sea landing.
Soyuz 26 - Soyuz 28
On December 10, 1977, Soyuz 26 was launched with the astronauts Yury Romanenko the flight commander and Giorgi Grechko the flight engineer. The flight route was 267-329 km and the duration of the trip was 90.2 minutes. The astronauts were supposed to stick to Soliot 6 and perform a series of joint experiments with it:
1. To study physical processes and phenomena in outer space.
2. Make observations towards the earth and the atmosphere. These observations are important for the economic development of the country.
3. Conduct biological and medical studies to test the astronauts' adaptation to space conditions.
4. To do technical experiments.
5. Examine the space lab's systems including the rear attachment hatch.
6. Agricultural experiments - growing Algae that will serve as possible food for space pilots in the future.
Astronauts have state-of-the-art pressure suits. These are semi-hard suits made of one piece with an entrance opening at the back of the suit. This opening extends from the shoulders to the waist. This opening simplifies putting on and taking off the suit. The suit is built in a standard size and can be put on without assistance in five minutes.
For the New Year, the astronauts grew a small fir tree in the laboratory. As part of their training for the flight, Romanenko and Grechko were tested to see if they had the mental stability needed to withstand the negative effects of prolonged isolation conditions in space. This is the first time that the schedule of a space laboratory team corresponds to Moscow time and is not dictated by communication limitations as it was in previous times. A team of scientists from Israel worked with the astronauts and guided them in their work.
First week, from December 10 to 16
December 10 - launch of Soyuz 26 and resting most of the day.
December 11 - 27 hours after Soyuz 26 was launched, it docked with Soliot 6. Romanenko and Grechko stayed in their spacecraft for three hours, they checked the laboratory and activated its systems. Only at the end of the tests were they given permission to open the entrance of the laboratory and enter it. Upon entering the laboratory they sealed the doors of Soyuz and began their research program. Soyuz 26 was attached to Soliot's rear attachment opening due to fear of the malfunction of the front attachment opening. Medical tests showed that they feel well.
December 12 - Routine work was done and the spacecraft and space laboratory systems were checked. The medical tests showed that the astronauts are feeling well.
December 13 - After two days of strenuous work, the astronauts were given a day of rest, a procedure that also allows them to adapt to zero gravity.
December 14 - the devices were activated and experiments were conducted.
Second week, from December 17 to 23
December 17 - the medical tests show that the astronauts feel well. A significant part of the first week in the laboratory was devoted to medical tests, mainly electrocardiological tests and muscle groups. The activities that took place this week were "packaged" well.
December 20 - the first operation done on this day was the inspection of the front attachment opening of the laboratory. The task was assigned to Grechko. For this purpose, the two astronauts wore the new pressure suits that included oxygen tanks, sealed the laboratory itself and emptied the air from the laboratory vestibule. Grechko equipped himself with work tools, flashlights and a color television camera and went outside. Grechko stayed outside the lab for 20 minutes and found that the attachment opening was fine. At the same time, Romanenko was in the laboratory corridor and was monitoring Grechko's actions while broadcasting these actions on television. Images of the laboratory and the Earth were also broadcast from this camera.
Grechko's extra-rail activity was done when Soliot 6 passed over the land of the Soviet Union. This is in order to allow the astronauts direct contact with the control center. And it is true that the television broadcasts immediately made it possible to test the attachment mechanism from the ground as well. The laboratory vestibule remained emptied of air for 88 minutes even though Grechko was in the space for only 20 minutes. Grechko was connected to the laboratory with a safety cable.
At the end of the tests Grechko returned to the laboratory corridor and while he was in this part of the laboratory, a telemetry report showed that one of the air vents was stuck in the exit opening. If this was indeed the fault, Grechko could not have joined Romanenko who was in a compressed air chamber. From the control center Romanenko was ordered to blow air into the laboratory corridor to check the telemetry report. It turned out that the electrical line leading to the air valve is broken and that the valve itself is normal. After the test, the astronauts closed the exit hatch and returned to their routine activities. The malfunction was probably caused by a short circuit and the astronauts searched in vain for water in the system. The laboratory route was 340-356 km, the angle of inclination 51.6 degrees and the duration of the lap 91.35 minutes.
Third week, from December 24 to 30
29.12 - With the help of the Soyuz 26 engines, the trajectory of the Soliot and Soyuz 26 combination was changed.
Fourth week, from December 31 to January 6
January 2 - medical tests and complex blood circulation tests. The astronauts felt good.
January 6 - today ended a month's stay in space. The astronauts felt good. Performed what was defined as a "shower in space" inside a plastic container. Technical and scientific experiments continued this week. In the first weeks of the flight, one of the radio receivers in the laboratory broke down and a manual spare receiver was activated in its place.
Thursday week, from January 7 to 13
January 10 - Soyuz 27 was launched with the astronauts Vladimir Javnikov, the flight commander, and Oleg Makarov, the flight engineer. Soyuz 27 must dock with Soliot 6's frontal docking bay and join Romanenko and Grechko. The TAS agency stated that this dual attachment will make the space laboratories more economical since it allows for the exchange of crews, food and scientific equipment, actions that extend the laboratory's useful life.
The pilots of Soyuz 27 must stay in the laboratory for five days and return in Soyuz 26. They brought their colleagues food, books, newspapers and letters from their relatives and brought back to Israel scientific material and results from the joint experiments with their colleagues and those they had carried out so far. Soyuz 27 was launched into an orbit of 202-223 km and an inclination angle of 51.7 degrees, while Soliot's orbit was 343-338 and an inclination angle of 51.6 degrees. In the fifth lap, the orbit of Soyuz 27 was 247-296 km.
January 11 - Prior to docking, Grechko performed a resonance test on the combination of Soliot 6 and Soyuz 26 to ensure that the mechanical shock caused by Soyuz 27 during docking would not cause any damage. Close to docking, Romanenko and Grechko entered their Soyuz 26 spacecraft, they sealed its doors and disconnected the spacecraft's air system from that of the laboratory in order to allow themselves and the spacecraft safe protection against an accident and pressure drop during docking and in case it was necessary to immediately disconnect the spacecraft from the laboratory and return to Earth. 24 hours and 30 minutes after launch, Soyuz 27 latched onto Soliot 6. This was on Soyuz's 17th lap. Following the attachment, various safety exercises were performed before the astronauts entered the laboratory.
During the operation of the safety measures, which lasted for three hours, actions were taken in the following order:
1. Adjusting the electrical and hydraulic systems of the Soyuz 26, Soliot 6 and Soyuz 27 combination.
2. Comparison of pressures on both sides of the adhesion opening.
3. Gradual transition of the astronauts to the laboratory as they open each door individually and return and close it behind them.
At the end of three hours, the astronauts in the two spaceships received permission to enter the laboratory from both sides and hold an excited meeting inside the "workshop" of Soliot 6. Indeed, upon entering the laboratory, the four astronauts celebrated the event by hugging, smiling and exchanging toasts filled with cherries. The attachment was made at an altitude of 320 km.
January 12 - The four astronauts began an intensive series of technical, medical, biological and scientific experiments.
January 13 - Medical experiments were conducted with the emphasis on weight loss in space. They also engaged in the exchange of equipment between Soyuz 26 and Soyuz 27. The orbit of the laboratory was 337-370 km and the duration of the lap was 91.31 minutes.
Friday week, from January 14 to 20
January 15 - today the experiments of the two teams ended. The main and last trial done was the Cytos trial. A joint experiment with French scientists to measure the effect of space conditions on cell division in micro-organisms. The navigation and stabilization of the Soyuz 26, Soliot 6 and Soyuz 27 combination was also completed today. The purpose of the experiment was to improve control methods.
One of the most important experiments of the four astronauts was testing resonance changes of the laboratory. The four of them jumped at timed intervals on the moving rail. The measured results are intended for application in the design of future space stations. At the end of the experiments, the astronauts began preparations for the return of Jabnikov and from Makrob to Israel. During the experiments, the two teams performed automatic adhesion experiments, experiments with rapid exit and entry into the laboratory in case of a change of crews, rescue operations and repairs in space of damaged spacecraft. It has been proven that the Soviet Union is capable of performing rescues in space.
January 16 - Final preparations for the landing of Jabnikov and Mebarov including the replacement of the seats between the two spacecraft to allow them to adapt to Earth's gravity in the seats tailored to their measurements. Upon liftoff, Soyuz 26 circled the Earth three times and then came the landing. Soyuz 26 landed 310 km west of Tselinograd, Kazakhstan. The astronauts brought with them photographic films, documents and biological experiments. In total they stayed in space for six days. A medical examination after the flight showed that they were feeling well. Russian space scientists regarded the flight of Soyuz 27 as an important breakthrough and began looking for a way to man Soliot 6 until it was disabled.
January 20 - today the Progress 1 supply spacecraft was launched. The spacecraft was to deliver fuel, oxygen (where it was lost when Grechko was working outside the laboratory), food, water, clothing, space suits, environmental control components - filters and air purifiers to Romanenko and Grechko. A new reference control system, a furnace named Splav - 01 and other scientific equipment. After unloading cargo, unnecessary equipment and equipment parts and waste that were in Soliot 6 were transferred to Progress. After that, Progress 1 was disconnected and burned in the atmosphere. The weight of the fuel she brought was 1,300 kg. The trajectory of the spaceship after launch was 194-262 kg and the duration of the lap was 88.8 minutes. In the fourth lap, the first change in its trajectory was made.
Seventh week, from the 21st to the 27th
January 22 - on the 31st lap, a third change in orbit, and on the 33rd lap, Progress 1 latched onto Soliot 6. This latching was another step in the Russian space program. Romanenko and Gretchen watched the maneuvers of Progress 1 until it latched onto Soliot 6. They were ready to divert the laboratory from orbit in case something went wrong. Immediately after docking, the astronauts began to transfer the equipment in space to the laboratory. The attachment was transmitted live to Earth. The TAS agency said that additional flights to Soliot 6 of manned Soyuz spacecraft and unmanned supply spacecraft - Progress are expected.
January 25 - The astronauts checked the equipment transferred from Progress 1.
Eighth week, from January 28 to February 3
February 2 - the laboratory will be lit. The astronauts pumped the fuel from Progress into Soliot's fuel tanks. Before refueling, Romanenko and Grechko thoroughly checked the fueling system. The test also included cleaning the fuel pipes to avoid contamination of the laboratory. There was an excess of nitrogen in the tanks at that time and it was pumped back into its supply bottles. The pressure, which at that time was 20 atmospheres in the fuel tanks and the oxidizer tanks, was reduced to 3 atmospheres.
Ninth week, from February 4 to 10
February 4 - Today another series of resonance experiments, parallel to the one performed by Javnikov and Karob, was completed. This is a series of five experiments conducted when Soyuz 27 and Progress 1 were adjacent to Soliot 6.
February 5 - Progress 1's engines were activated to perform two course corrections.
February 6 - The astronauts disconnected Progress 1 from the laboratory. After one lap around the Earth, Progress 1 was found at a distance of 12-15 km from the laboratory. Her auxiliary engine was activated and she was transferred to an atmospheric burnup course.
February 8 - Progress's engine was restarted, the spacecraft entered the atmosphere and burned up. This completed a "special experiment". The spacecraft burned up over the Pacific Ocean.
Tenth week, from February 11 to 17
February 12 - The TAS agency said that the astronauts regularly conduct observations towards natural disasters - storm tracks, forest fires and volcanic eruptions.
February 15 - metallurgical experiments. Capsules of indium - copper and indium - antimony were put into the furnace to facilitate the consolidation processes.
February 17 - continuation of the metallurgical experiments. This time with ampoules of the semiconductors aluminum - wolfram and molybdenum - gallium. After returning to Israel, the results of the experiments were analyzed.
Eleventh week, from February 18 to 24
February 20 - Observations were made towards the Earth and towards selected parts of the oceans. After the observations, the astronauts engaged in what was defined as "household work" and maintenance work of the laboratory.
Week twelfth, from February 25 to March 3
March 2 - Today, Soyuz 28 was launched with astronauts Vladimir Ramek, Czech astronaut and Russian astronaut Alexey Gubarev. The astronauts must stick to the space lab and perform joint experiments with Romanenko and Grechko. Remak was defined as a "research astronaut". This is the first time that a space pilot from another country participated in a Russian space flight. Remak is among a group of citizens of Eastern European countries who underwent a year's training in preparation for international space flights in a Russian framework. Later that year, astronauts were launched from Poland and East Germany. According to the TAS agency, astronauts from other communist countries will also participate in the flights in the future.
March 3 - Soyuz 28 attached to Soliot 6. The attachment was in the rear attachment opening.
In an interview published this week by the TAS agency, the astronaut training center, General Giorgi Bergboy said that psychologists were looking for methods to help space pilots overcome their sense of isolation. Romanenko and Grechko slept during the time allotted to them for this purpose. Beyond these hours they could not rest. One of the methods tried in previous flights to ease the tension was broadcasting news several times a day. And indeed, according to Bergboy's words: "These broadcasts alleviate the feeling of disconnection from home." In addition, once a week, the family members of the space pilots would come to the control center to call them. After hearing from their family members, "what is going on at home, and after lightly scolding the children for low grades they received at school or praising them for success in skiing, their mood improved."
Thirteenth week, from March 4 to 10
On March 4 - the four astronauts celebrated breaking the record for staying in space so far. The broken record is 84 days by the pilots of the American Skylab 4 crew. This team sent Romanenko and Grechko their best wishes today. Today the two teams began joint experiments. It was reported that all four astronauts are in high spirits.
March 5 - Joint experiments were conducted on the effect of weightlessness on the human body using Czech research equipment.
On March 6 - both teams worked under the pressure of 15 hours of work per day. The astronauts performed routine physical experiments and performed Czech-Russian experiments: a test of the change in the brightness of the stars when the laboratory is on the dark side of the Earth and a biological experiment. They also broadcast televised reports to viewers on Earth. Ramek and Gubarev are supposed to return to Earth on March 10.
On March 9 - Ramek and Gubarev checked the engines of Soyuz 28 before the return to Israel. Other experiments that the four astronauts did together during their joint flight included a series of experiments in processing materials with the help of the furnace in the laboratory, astronomical observations and a series of photographs covering the entire planet to cover resources. The metallurgical samples that Ramek and Gubarev brought to Israel were capsules of silver chloride, copper and lead chloride.
March 10 - Gubarev and Ramek packed equipment and transferred it to their spacecraft and a few hours later they landed. The landing was 340 km west of Tselinograd, Kazakhstan. It was reported that Romanenko and Grechko would stay two more weeks in the laboratory, but in practice they stayed in Soliot 6 for only one more week.
Fourteenth week, from March 11 to 17
This week, the astronauts performed an extended and strenuous series of exercises to adapt to the Earth's gravity during entry into the Earth, and exercises they performed while wearing special suits that add negative pressure to the legs and while pushing the blood from the upper part of the body to the lower part, thus putting a load on the cardiovascular system .
March 15 - Romanenko and Grechko started preparing to return to Israel on March 16.
March 16 - Romanenko and Grechko landed. They landed while in Soyuz 27. The landing was 265 km west of Tselinograd, Kazakhstan. Three hours and 19 minutes passed from the moment of separation from the laboratory until the spacecraft touched the ground. In total, they stayed in space for 96 days and 10 hours. From tests done immediately after landing, it appears that the health of the astronauts is normal.
Medical conclusions from the flight
Harpoorian researcher Oleg Guzenko and astronaut Giorgi Grechko said that the results of the structure of the life support systems and the routine gymnastics exercises that the astronauts did, were reflected in the way they performed their work during the flight. Tests done after the flight showed that there was no difference in the effect of weightlessness between Soliot 6 pilots and astronauts who had been in space for a short time. Each of the crew lost five kilograms of their weight during the flight. They felt heavier and standing upright required effort. Their movements were imprecise and they had to wear special walking suits for several days until they got used to Earth's gravity, although Grechko's adaptation was faster compared to his previous flight in Soyuz 17. On his return to Earth from his previous flight, Grechko felt pain in his chest. Now he didn't feel them at all.
The circumference of the astronauts' legs in this flight is 1.5-2 cm smaller due to the inactivity of the muscles in space. The volume of the heart also decreased. The findings regarding the legs and heart are the same as those of the American Skylab pilots. Mentally, the astronauts were in excellent working condition and showed desire and initiative in their work. One of the conclusions was that man can stay at least three months in space without being harmed. The astronauts worked 10-12 hours a day wearing a suit that creates low blood pressure (Lower Body Negative Pressure Suit), which forces the cardiovascular system to overwork and causes blood to flow to the lower part of the body. One to three hours a day were devoted to gymnastic exercises.
metallurgical findings
Grechko told after the landing that in some of the metallurgical experiments gravity was felt with a weak intensity.
