The Soviet space program 1959-1981

The Russians were very active in space when in the unmanned space programs they launched spacecraft to other planets, and in the manned program they focused on space stations

Note: This article is the concluding chapter of a book I wrote in 1982 and which is called - "The Russian Space Program 1981 - 1959". The book is based on what the Russians had published until then and the conclusions accordingly, but it has historical value. Haim Mazar
Systematic monitoring of the Russian space program shows that the Russians have been quite active. There was no year in which no launch was made. If we refer to the total of all launches, these things can be seen:

1. The most frequent launches are the manned launches, except for the years 1966, 1972 (and this is for unforeseen reasons), every year astronauts were launched into space.
2. The activity around the moon and on its surface continued until 1976 and then stopped.
3. The launches to Venus are more or less regular considering astronomical constraints.
4. The least frequency of launches is towards Mars, which indicates that Mars was a low research priority.

Despite the high frequency of the launches, the planetary activity is basically experimental. The evidence for this is the activity that took place on the moon. In every type of activity developed, including static landers, sample return landers and mobile landers, a small number of spacecraft are launched. The trend was to send more landers to the stars than orbiters and even less probes for transit flights. The Russians preferred direct contact with the star.

As for the structural concepts of the spacecraft, the Russians showed great conservatism. The structure of the spacecraft was based on the longitudinal structure, such as Luna 9. And the landings were spherical. There was a lot of talk about long-term plans to send people to Mars, after all, in relation to the moon, they worked practically towards this possibility.

Even in their manned programs, Russians operated according to one structural concept. With the exception of the Vostok and Voskhud spacecraft, all manned spacecraft have the same basic structure. In all the Soyuz spacecraft and the space stations Soliot 1 to Soliot 5 the propulsion system was complex. The main engine ran on one type of fuel and the navigation engines on another type of fuel. Only in Soliot 6 and Soyuz T spacecraft was the propulsion system changed and it is simpler. All engines run on the same fuel. Microelectronics, light materials and a numerical control system were used for the first time in Soyuz T. Most likely, these improvements were also introduced in Soliot 7, which made it possible to send a larger load of equipment to the station.
All space stations are longitudinal and each of them is built from units with different diameters. The weight of the station is limited and reaches no more than 20 tons due to the limited capacity of the Russian launchers. On the other hand, various items in the space stations have been improved such as:

1.  The solar racks have been increased from time to time and so has their power. Soliot 1 has four solar racks with an area of ​​7 square meters each, Soliot 3 has three solar racks with an area of ​​14 square meters each and Soliot 6 has three solar racks with an area of ​​20 square meters each and their capacity is 4 kilowatts. The sun shelves of Soliot 1 are fixed, the shelves of Soliot 3 can be rotated by 180 degrees and those of Soliot 6 by 360 degrees.
2.  The circulatory system of Soliot 6 is different from that of Soliot 4 and Soliot and Soliot 5.
3. The Soliot 6 temperature probe system and the reference probe system are different from those on previous space stations.
4. All space stations, except for Soliot 1, had an exit opening for extra-vehicular activity.

The space stations had a large number of instruments and it was a significant percentage of the stations weight. In Soliot 3, part of the equipment was in a cabinet installed in the center of the work compartment. Soliot has 1300 devices with a total weight of 2.5 tons, which is 14.3% of the station's weight. Soliot 6 has 1000 devices with a total weight of more than 2 tons, which is 10% of the station's weight. Since the spaceships that were launched to it brought with them additional equipment, the percentage of the weight of the equipment in relation to the weight of the station increased. Soliot 6 was so loaded that some of the equipment had to be attached to the ceiling. The astronauts' walking space was reduced. It should be noted that the equipment was used far beyond the purposes for which it was designed. The Soliot 6 radio telescope was also used for meteorological observations, geophysical and oceanographic studies.

Each space station moves in higher orbits than its predecessors. Soliot 1 was launched into an orbit of 200-222 and its flight range was 235-295 km. Soliot 6 was launched into an orbit of 219-275 km and its flight range was 284-411 km. The inclination angle of all space stations was 51.6 degrees.

The Russians' manned research program was more systematic than their planetary research programs. The face of this program is well defined and is an examination of man's ability to stay in space. This is out of an ambition to establish space stations in orbit around the Earth, an ambition they have stated many times and in the longer term of sending astronauts to the planets. Ever since the Russians started launching space stations, astronauts have been sent to them for longer and longer periods. The record was with the launch of Popov and Ryumin to Soliot 6 and they stayed in it for 185 days. The Russians have accumulated 5.8 years of human activity in space. Soliot 6 period was 72% of this period. This is thanks to its two attachment openings, which made it possible to launch regular supplies to the astronauts manning it.

As can be understood from the hints given by the Russians, it can be seen that they intend to establish larger space stations that will operate for many years, with large teams of up to 100 people. A space station will be based on a central unit with several attachment docks to which various modular units will be connected. It is very possible that these units will be based on Soliot stations where each unit is a specialized unit - a unit for astronomical studies, a unit for medical studies and more. The units will be less crowded. The astronauts' walking area is larger and they will have personal cubicles. Manned spacecraft and supply spacecraft will connect to the rear docking platform of the Soliot stations.

When the Russians have larger launchers and can launch larger payloads, space stations will be built on other structural bases. The space station will not be built in its entirety, but individual units and it will be assembled in space. It will be possible to divide each unit into floors (the American space laboratory Skylab indicates such a possibility) and the equipment will be spread over the space of the entire station and not just on the sides as it exists today. The durability of various materials essential for the establishment of the stations was tested in Soliot 6 and various work tools were tested. On the other hand, the Russians have gained little experience in non-railroad activities. They accumulated a total of 8.6 hours of activity outside the train. Too little compared to the period of 5.8 years of human activity in space. It is possible that a lot of extra-railway activity will be carried out in Soliot 7 and possibly also in Soliot 8.

The activity around the moon was stopped as mentioned in 1976. The Russians had the intention of landing a man on the moon but they did not have suitable launchers at their disposal. This plan was temporarily abandoned and the entire manned activity was directed to the Soliot activity. They will return to the moon when suitable launchers are available. The plan to send a man to the moon will get a new impetus. It is very possible that in addition at least one space station will be placed around it. The landing sites are those that were tested and tested probably during the time the Luna and Probe spacecraft were launched to the moon or they will choose new landing sites in the meantime even on the hidden side.

The many flight hours accumulated so far by the Russians give them at least a theoretical possibility of sending people to Mars, Mercury or orbit around Venus. The new launch vehicles will open up possibilities for them to launch unmanned spacecraft towards the outer planets.

All spacecraft based on the Soyuz will be replaced by multipurpose spacecraft - space shuttles. Since the future space stations will have several docking stations, the manned spacecraft will have greater maneuverability than the Soyuz spacecraft. Each will have a large number of navigation engines. The people who will be launched will be experts. Each astronaut will be an expert in his field, unlike today. Where each astronaut must fulfill functions of pilot, engineer, doctor and researcher.

As for international research programs, I wrote then that if the Russians persisted with it, it is possible that they would involve other countries in their programs and they would participate in the space programs of the United States and the European Space Agency. Indeed, in the XNUMXs, the Russians began sharing more and more cosmonauts from the countries of the Soviet bloc, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union - from the XNUMXs onwards, also to Western astronauts and even to private space tourists.

The Russian space shuttle Buran - a sad end
Probe spacecraft for lunar exploration in the XNUMXs
Luna spacecraft series to the moon
Review of the history of Soliot Laboratories for generations