The seventies began in the Soviet Union, under the umbrella of the Apollo program, with a relatively complex operation - Soyuz 9
Soyuz 9
Soyuz 9 was launched on June 1, 1970. It was the first night launch of its kind in the Soviet Union. The flight path was 220-207 km, the angle of inclination 51.7 degrees, the duration of the lap 88.59 and the weight of the spacecraft 6.5 tons. The astronauts manning the spacecraft were Andrian Nikolaev and flight engineer Vitaly Sebastynov. The duration of the flight was 18 days and its goals were:
1. Biological medical research - to learn about the effect of space flights on the human organism. This study included difficult and strenuous exercise exercises. During the flight, technical exercises that could have taken too much time were canceled.
A. to check the difficulties that may arise from a prolonged stay in weightless conditions and to check the effectiveness of various protective measures.
b In previous flights they noticed a loss of water and calcium in conditions of weightlessness. The space doctors wanted to investigate this problem and find ways to prevent the phenomenon.
third. Experiments were planned to be carried out over the Soviet Union at special times. Ground stations participate in these experiments. This means waking up the astronauts from their sleep to carry out the experiments.
d. The test plan was prepared to test conclusions from studies conducted over a year prior to launch. One of the conclusions was that in order to get an appropriate percentage of CO2 in the spacecraft, the astronauts' agenda should be reversed, and indeed the ground crew was interested in determining the amount of gas in the cabin.
The astronauts maintained a four-day series of physical exercises, ate special meals, drank water purified by a new method, and were frequently tested after each exercise or activity. The exercises were performed twice a day using a special pressure suit. This suit can be attached to the spacecraft floor with rubber straps. This action made it possible to perform exercises in which the astronauts had to withstand a load of tens of kilograms. Another exercise device is a 10 kg stretching device that must be stretched 30 times a minute. The purpose of the exercises, among other things, was to maintain reasonable fitness of the astronauts throughout the entire flight, including work and sleep. In one case one of the astronauts slept so deeply that he was hit on the head by the ceiling of the spacecraft. The pressure of his breathing released him from the sleeping cradle and he began to float in the cell.
test improved systems in the spacecraft such as navigation and guidance control systems and develop systems that will later be used in spacecraft and space stations. When the spacecraft moves through the shadow of the Earth, it is guided by the star Vega. Manual control and an optical instrument installed in the front of the cell (this is a modern device) "put" Vega into the field of view of the homing device. The homing device "grabs" the star after the spacecraft is stabilized relative to a relevant point with the help of gyroscopes.
The astronauts must check if the spacecraft can be navigated independently without dependence on the control center. Other purposes are to measure the duration of the Earth's orbit, to measure the height of the orbit at different points. Using a sextant, the angle of inclination relative to various landmarks on the Earth. With the help of a new sextant, the height of the stars relative to the horizon should be measured day and night, the course determined and the necessary corrections calculated.
3. Performing maneuvers in space - the maneuvers are performed automatically and manually. After the flight, Nikolaev reported that the spacecraft can be steered accurately even manually and with a minimal amount of fuel.
4. Sebastianov must check the structure of the spacecraft, its shape, temperature differences resulting from exposing one side of the spacecraft to the sun, hermetic tightness, and more.
5. Scientific investigation of physical processes in space near the Earth.
6. Scientific observations, oceanographic photographs and photographing various geological phenomena on Earth "for the benefit of the national economy". The astronauts photographed areas of special geological interest to the researchers in the European part of the Soviet Union, in Western Siberia and Kazakhstan. These areas were also photographed at the same time by airplanes. The photographs were made in black and white, color, colored transparencies and spectroscopic photographs. These photographs are important for finding minerals and oil. The oceanographic studies were conducted while photographing coastal currents and recording surface temperatures as an aid to developing new fishing methods for the Russian fishing fleet.
7. Photographs and observations of snow and ice areas on Earth for short and long term weather forecasting. The astronauts photographed the sunrise and sunset, clumps of clouds, snow-covered areas and various atmospheric phenomena. Tropical storm observations were also made. The prolonged infrared radiation measurements have both civilian and military aspects.
A long flight like this requires some solutions. All arrangements were made for the astronauts to feel comfortable. An electric stove was installed in the cabin to heat the meat and heat coffee for breakfast. Each of them has two pairs of whites and two pairs of socks. Bathing is done with dry towels. A rest day was also planned during the flight. The researchers gave up on this flight one astronaut. The space that was saved made it possible to install a camera and an instrument that records the results of the experiments done in flight. Nikolaev and Sebastianov were under continuous radio and television surveillance. The astronauts devoted 4 and a half hours every day to scientific experiments, they received food in aluminum tubes that could be heated up to 60-70 degrees.
June 2 - The astronauts rested for eight hours.
June 3 - On the 17th lap, a correction was made to the flight path and the astronauts rested.
June 4 - The astronauts tested equipment intended for space stations. In the first three to four days, the astronauts had difficulty adjusting to the weightlessness. After that they got used to it.
June 6 - rest day.
June 13 - The astronauts conducted biological tests on insects, plants and bacteria.
June 14 - The astronauts announced that they felt tired, lost their sense of orientation and when they tried to close their eyes they could not determine the position of their bodies relative to the spaceship. Despite the fatigue that afflicted them, they continued to fulfill the tasks assigned to them. On this day, meteorological observations were conducted in coordination with the meteorological satellite "Meteor" and the research ship "Academic Shiramov". In the 188th lap over the Indian Ocean, they photographed the Earth from an altitude of 230 km. At the same time, television footage was taken from an altitude of 600 km by the "meteor" and a research ship launched missiles for various atmospheric measurements. In addition to the detailed information obtained in this combined observation, it could also be used to decipher data obtained from meteorological satellites.
June 15 - on the 208th lap, the spacecraft made a change in the flight path to test the navigation systems. The height of the track is 215.1 - 231.4 km. The duration of the coffee is 88.8 minutes.
June 16 - the spacecraft's orientation maneuvers.
June 19 - After 18 days in space, Soyuz 9 landed 75 km west of Karaganda. Nikolaev and Sebastianov stayed in space for 424 hours and 59 minutes. During the landing they felt very heavy. Nikolaev could not raise his hand. Sebastianov tried to put on his helmet and it fell from his hand.
This flight did not solve all the problems associated with a prolonged stay in space, but it was proven that the two astronauts quickly adapted to the weightlessness and stood up well to the influence of the various cosmic factors in the conditions of a prolonged flight, and were careful about their work at a high level. For 18 days the astronauts were subjected to constant rotation. This rotation can be stopped by turning on the navigation engines. This procedure was impossible because they did not have enough fuel at their disposal. Save the fuel for landing. The result was that the astronauts landed in a difficult physical condition and could not get out of the spaceship. It was necessary to transfer them urgently to the hospital.
The space doctors feared that the body's defense system against infections would weaken somewhat during the long flight and they also feared that the astronauts would adapt to gravity upon their return to Earth. Even before the flight, it was decided to put Nikolaev and Sebastianov on their return to Israel into a severe quarantine of 10 days. Their protestations of their good health did not help them. They were severely restricted and forbidden to come into physical contact with people. The members of the state committee had to conduct a first balance sheet of the flight results, a glass partition was erected. Three doctors monitored the astronauts on duty. The spacesuits and all the instruments they used were carefully disinfected.
The condition of the astronauts after landing
The first five and six days of their stay on Earth were extremely difficult days for Nikolayev and Sebastianov. They encountered considerable difficulties in walking, almost failed in every action they performed. They could hardly climb the stairs. It was difficult for them to stand upright and they felt discomfort while sleeping in bed. They felt two and three times heavier than usual than before the flight. The normal feeling of weight returned to them only after a few days.
By June 23, the blood pressure was still not normal. Their vision was somewhat impaired during the flight. The ability to distinguish colors is also impaired, probably due to the lack of weight. The phenomenon was felt in the colors purple, light blue and green. To a lesser extent it was felt in red. This phenomenon started 24 hours after launch.
Nikolaev and Sebastianov lost a lot of weight. It was especially noticeable in their lower bodies. The circumference of the hips decreased by 4 cm and the calves by 2 cm. Doctors attributed this to losses in muscle tissue which is normally needed to support the body on the ground. Sebastianov, this was his first flight, lost 5 kg, Nikolaev lost less. In the previous flights, which were shorter, the astronauts lost a little of their weight and quickly returned to their normal weight. The doctors believed that the difficulties were due to the weightlessness in which the astronauts worked for 18 days and the unusual daily routine they managed. At first they went to bed at 7 in the morning. Over time, they gradually brought up their bedtime until they went to bed near midnight. It would be better to maintain a 24-hour cycle that corresponds to the natural rhythm of human activity.
The results of the geological observations of Soyuz 9
Geological observations on an area of 80,000 square kilometers have discovered in Central Asia new formations such as ring craters which were probably formed in very ancient times, very similar to lunar craters and their diameter reaches 100 km. They went through so many weathering processes that it was difficult to identify them with accepted cartographic methods.
