Space station world year of creation. Mir (space station)

02.07.2021 -

Forerunner: Salyut-7 long-term orbital station with Soyuz T-14 docked (from below)

Rocket "Proton-K" - the main carrier that delivered into orbit all the modules of the station, except for the docking

1993: Progress M truck approaching the station. Shooting from the neighboring manned spacecraft "Soyuz TM"

"Mir" at the top of its development: the basic module and 6 additional

Visitors: American shuttle docked at Mir station

Bright finale: the wreckage of the station falls into the Pacific Ocean

In general, “Mir” is a civil name. This station became the eighth in the Salyut series of Soviet long-term orbital stations (DOS), which performed both research and defense tasks. The first Salyut was launched in 1971 and worked in orbit for half a year; quite successful were the launches of the Salyut-4 stations (about 2 years of operation) and Salyut-7 (1982-1991). Salyut-9 is currently operating as part of the ISS. But the most famous and, without exaggeration, legendary was the Salyut-8 station of the third generation, which became famous under the name Mir.

The development of the station took about 10 years and was carried out by two legendary enterprises of the Soviet and now Russian cosmonautics at once: RSC Energia and the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center. The main project for Mir was the Salyut-7 DOS project, which was modernized, equipped with new docking units, a control system ... In addition to the head designers, the creation of this wonder of the world required the participation of more than a hundred enterprises and institutions. The digital equipment here was Soviet and consisted of two Argon-16 computers that could be reprogrammed from Earth. The energy system was updated and became more powerful, a new Electron water electrolysis system was used to produce oxygen, and communication was to be carried out through a repeater satellite.

The main carrier was also chosen, which should ensure the delivery of the station modules into orbit - the Proton rocket. These heavy 700-ton rockets are so successful that, having first launched in 1973, they made their last flight only in 2000, and today the upgraded Proton-Ms are in service. Those old rockets were capable of lifting over 20 tons of payload into low orbit. For the modules of the Mir station, this turned out to be completely enough.

The basic module of DOS "Mir" was sent into orbit on February 20, 1986. Years later, when the station was equipped with additional modules, together with a pair of docked ships, its weight exceeded 136 tons, and its length in the longest dimension was almost 40 m.

The design of the Mir is organized precisely around this base unit with six docking nodes - this gives the principle of modularity, implemented on the modern ISS as well, and allows assembling stations of quite impressive size in orbit. Following the launch of the Mir base unit into space, 5 additional modules and one additional improved docking compartment were connected to it.

The base unit was launched into orbit by the Proton launch vehicle on February 20, 1986. Both in size and design, it largely repeats the previous Salyut stations. Its main part is a completely sealed working compartment, where the station controls and a communication point are located. There were also 2 single cabins for the crew, a common wardroom (it is also a kitchen and a dining room) with a treadmill and an exercise bike. A highly directional antenna outside the module was connected to a repeater satellite, which already provided the reception and transmission of information from the Earth. The second part of the module is the modular one, where the propulsion system, fuel tanks are located and there is a docking station for one additional module. The base module also had its own power supply system, including 3 solar panels (2 of them rotated and 1 fixed) - naturally, they were already mounted during the flight. Finally, the third part is the transition compartment, which served as a gateway for spacewalks and included a set of the very docking nodes to which additional modules were attached.

The Kvant astrophysical module appeared on Mir on April 9, 1987. Module weight: 11.05 tons, maximum dimensions - 5.8 x 4.15 m. It was he who occupied the only docking unit of the aggregate block on the base module. "Quantum" consists of two compartments: a sealed, air-filled laboratory and a block of equipment located in an airless space. Cargo ships could dock to it, and there is a couple of its own solar panels. And most importantly, a set of instruments for various studies, including biotechnological ones, was installed here. However, the main specialization of Kvant is the study of distant X-ray sources of radiation.

Unfortunately, the X-ray complex located here, like the entire Kvant module, was rigidly attached to the station and could not change its position relative to the Mir. This means that in order to change the direction of X-ray sensors and explore new areas of the celestial sphere, it was necessary to change the position of the entire station - and this is fraught with unfavorable placement of solar panels, and other difficulties. In addition, the station’s orbit itself is located at such an altitude that twice during its orbit around the Earth it passes through radiation belts that are quite capable of “blinding” sensitive X-ray sensors, which is why they had to be turned off periodically. As a result, "X-ray" rather quickly studied everything that was available to him, and then for several years turned on only brief sessions. However, despite all these difficulties, many important observations were made thanks to the X-ray.

The 19-ton Kvant-2 retrofit module was docked on December 6, 1989. A lot of additional equipment for the station and its inhabitants was located here, and a new storage of spacesuits was also located here. In particular, gyroscopes, motion control and power supply systems, installations for oxygen production and water regeneration, household appliances, and new scientific equipment were placed on Kvant-2. To do this, the module is divided into three sealed compartments: instrument-cargo, instrument-scientific and airlock.

The large docking and technological module "Kristall" (weight - almost 19 tons) was attached to the station in 1990. Due to the failure of one of the orienting engines, the docking took place only on the second attempt. It was planned that the main task of the module would be the docking of the Soviet Buran reusable spacecraft, but for obvious reasons this did not happen. (You can read more about the sad fate of this wonderful project in the article “Soviet shuttle”.) However, Kristall successfully completed other tasks. It worked out technologies for obtaining new materials, semiconductors and biologically active substances in microgravity. The American shuttle Atlantis docked to it.

In January 1994, Kristall became a participant in a “transport accident”: leaving the Mir station, the Soyuz TM-17 spacecraft turned out to be so overloaded with “souvenirs” from orbit that, due to reduced controllability, it collided a couple of times with this module. The worst thing is that there was a crew on the Soyuz, which was under the control of automation. The astronauts urgently had to switch to manual control, but the impact occurred, and fell on the descent vehicle. If it had been even a little stronger, thermal insulation could have been damaged, and the astronauts would hardly have returned alive from orbit. Fortunately, everything worked out, and the event was the first ever collision in space.

The Spektr geophysical module was docked in 1995 and carried out environmental monitoring of the Earth, its atmosphere, land surface and ocean. This one-piece capsule is quite impressive in size and weighs 17 tons. The development of Spektr was completed back in 1987, but the project was “frozen” for several years due to well-known economic difficulties. To complete it, I had to turn to the help of American colleagues - and the module also took over NASA medical equipment. With the help of Spektr, the Earth's natural resources and processes in the upper layers of the atmosphere were studied. Here, together with the Americans, some biomedical research was also carried out, and in order to be able to work with samples, taking them into outer space, it was planned to install the Pelican manipulator on the outer surface.

However, an accident interrupted the work ahead of schedule: in June 1997, the Progress M-34 unmanned spacecraft that arrived at Mir went off course and damaged the module. There was a depressurization, the solar panels were partially destroyed, and the Spektr was decommissioned. It is also good that the station crew managed to quickly close the hatch leading from the base module to the Spektr and thereby save both their lives and the operation of the station as a whole.

A small additional docking module was installed in the same 1995 specifically so that American shuttles could visit the Mir, and adapted to the appropriate standards.

The last in the order of launch is the 18.6-ton scientific module "Nature". It, like Spektr, was intended for joint geophysical and medical research, materials science, the study of cosmic radiation, and processes occurring in the Earth's atmosphere with other countries. This module was a one-piece hermetic compartment where instruments and cargo were located. Unlike other large additional modules, Priroda did not have its own solar panels: it was powered by 168 lithium batteries. And here it was not without problems: right before docking, there was a failure in the power supply system, and the module lost half of the power supply. This meant that there was only one attempt at docking: without solar panels, it was impossible to make up for the losses. Fortunately, everything went well, and Priroda became part of the station on April 26, 1996.

The first people at the station were Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov, who arrived at Mir on the Soyuz T-15 spacecraft. By the way, on the same expedition, the cosmonauts managed to "look" at the Salyut-7 station that was then in orbit, becoming not only the first on the Mir, but also the last on the Salyut.

From the spring of 1986 to the summer of 1999, about 100 cosmonauts visited the station not only from the USSR and Russia, but also from many countries of the then socialist camp, and from all the leading "countries of capitalism" (USA, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France , Austria). Continuously "Mir" was inhabited for a little over 10 years. Many found themselves here more than once, and Anatoly Solovyov visited the station as many as 5 times.

For 15 years of work, 27 manned Soyuz, 18 Progress automatic trucks and 39 Progress-M flew to Mir. More than 70 spacewalks were made from the station with a total duration of 352 hours. In fact, the "Mir" has become a storehouse of records for the national cosmonautics. An absolute record for the duration of stay in space is set here - continuous (Valery Polyakov, 438 days) and total (aka, 679 days). About 23 thousand scientific experiments were delivered.

Despite various difficulties, the station worked three times longer than the expected service life. In the end, the burden of accumulated problems became too high - and the end of the 1990s was not the time when Russia had the financial means to support such an expensive project. March 23, 2001 "Mir" was sunk in the non-navigable part of the Pacific Ocean. The wreckage of the station fell in the area of the Fiji Islands. The station remained not only in memories, but also in astronomical atlases: one of the objects of the Main asteroid belt, Mirstation, was named after it.

Finally, let's remember how the creators of Hollywood science fiction films like to portray the "World" as a rusty tin can with an eternally drunk and feral astronaut on board ... Apparently, it happens so simply out of envy: until now, no other country in the world is not only incapable, but even did not dare to take on a space project of this magnitude and complexity. Both China and the United States have similar developments, but so far no one is capable of creating their own station, and even - alas! - Russia.

Although humanity has abandoned flights to the moon, nevertheless, it has learned to build real "space houses", as evidenced by the well-known Mir station project. Today I want to tell you some interesting facts about this space station, which has been operating for 15 years instead of the planned three years.

96 people visited the station. There were 70 spacewalks with a total duration of 330 hours. The station was called the great achievement of the Russians. We won...if we hadn't lost.

The first 20-ton base module of the Mir station was launched into orbit in February 1986. Mir was supposed to become the embodiment of the eternal dream of science fiction writers about a space village. Initially, the station was built in such a way that it was possible to constantly add new and new modules to it. The launch of Mir was timed to coincide with the XXVII Congress of the CPSU.

In June, the Kristall module was delivered into orbit. An additional docking station was installed on it, which, according to the designers, should serve as a gateway for receiving the Buran spacecraft.

This year the station was visited by the first journalist - Japanese Toyohiro Akiyama. His live reports were broadcast on Japanese TV. In the first minutes of Toyohiro's stay in orbit, it turned out that he was suffering from "space sickness" - a kind of sea sickness. So his flight was not particularly productive. In March of the same year, Mir experienced another shock. Only miraculously managed to avoid a collision with the "space truck" "Progress". The distance between the devices at some point was only a few meters - and this is at a cosmic speed of eight kilometers per second.

In December, a huge "star sail" was deployed on the Progress automatic ship. Thus began the experiment "Znamya-2". Russian scientists hoped that the rays of the sun reflected from this sail would be able to illuminate large areas of the earth. However, the eight panels that made up the "sail" did not fully open. Because of this, the area was illuminated much weaker than scientists expected.

In January, the Soyuz TM-17 spacecraft leaving the station collided with the Kristall module. Later it turned out that the cause of the accident was an overload: the cosmonauts returning to earth took too many souvenirs from the station with them, and the Soyuz lost control

Year 1995. In February, the American reusable spacecraft Discovery flew to the Mir station. On board the "shuttle" was a new docking port to receive NASA spacecraft. In May, the Mir docked with the Spektr module with equipment for Earth exploration from space. During its short history, Spectrum has experienced several emergency situations and one fatal catastrophe.

Year 1996. With the inclusion of the "Nature" module into the complex, the installation of the station was completed. It took ten years - three times longer than the estimated time of Mir's operation in orbit.

It became the most difficult year for the entire Mir complex. In 1997, the station almost suffered a catastrophe several times. In January, a fire broke out on board - the cosmonauts were forced to wear breathing masks. The smoke even spread on board the Soyuz spacecraft. The fire was extinguished a few seconds before the decision to evacuate was made. And in June, the Progress unmanned cargo ship veered off course and crashed into the Spektr module. The station has lost its tightness. The team managed to block the Spektr (close the hatch leading into it) before the pressure on the station dropped to critically low. In July, the Mir was almost left without power - one of the crew members accidentally disconnected the on-board computer cable, and the station went into an uncontrolled drift. In August, the oxygen generators failed - the crew had to use emergency air supplies. On Earth, they began to say that the aging station should be transferred to unmanned mode.

In Russia, many did not even want to think about abandoning the operation of Mir. The search for foreign investors began. However, foreign countries were in no hurry to help Mir. In August, the cosmonauts of the 27th expedition transferred the Mir station to an unmanned mode. The reason is the lack of government funding.

All eyes were turned this year on the American entrepreneur Walt Andersson. He announced his readiness to invest $20 million in the creation of MirCorp, a company that intended to engage in the commercial operation of the station. famous Mir. The sponsor was found really quickly. A certain wealthy Welshman, Peter Llewellyn, said that he was ready not only to pay for his trip to the Mir and back, but also to allocate an amount sufficient to ensure the operation of the complex in manned mode for a year. That is at least $200 million. The euphoria from the rapid success was so great that the leaders of the Russian space industry did not pay attention to skeptical remarks in the Western press, where Llewellyn was called an adventurer. The press was right. The "tourist" arrived at the Cosmonaut Training Center and began training, although not a penny was credited to the agency's account. When Llewellyn was reminded of his obligations, he took offense and left. The adventure ended ingloriously. What happened next is well known. Mir was transferred to unmanned mode, the Mir Rescue Fund was created, which collected a small amount of donations. Although the proposals for its use were very different. There was such a thing - to establish a space sex industry. Some sources indicate that in zero gravity, males function fantastically smoothly. But it did not work out to make the Mir station commercial - the MirCorp project failed miserably due to the lack of customers. It was also not possible to collect money from ordinary Russians - mostly meager transfers from pensioners were transferred to a specially opened account. The Government of the Russian Federation has made an official decision to complete the project. The authorities announced that Mir would be scuttled in the Pacific Ocean in March 2001.

Year 2001. On March 23, the station was deorbited. At 05:23 Moscow time, Mir's engines were ordered to slow down. At around 6 am GMT, Mir entered the atmosphere several thousand kilometers east of Australia. Most of the 140-ton structure burned up on re-entry. Only fragments of the station reached the ground. Some were comparable in size to a subcompact car. The wreckage of Mir fell into the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile. About 1,500 pieces of debris splashed down in an area of several thousand square kilometers - in a kind of cemetery of Russian spacecraft. Since 1978, 85 orbital structures have ended their existence in this region, including several space stations. Witnesses of the fall of red-hot debris into the ocean waters were the passengers of two aircraft. Tickets for these unique flights cost up to 10 thousand dollars. Among the spectators were several Russian and American cosmonauts who had previously been on Mir

Nowadays, many agree that automata controlled from the Earth are much better than a “live” person in coping with the functions of a space laboratory assistant, signalman, and even a spy. In this sense, the end of the work of the Mir station was a landmark event, designed to mark the end of the next stage of manned orbital cosmonautics.

15 expeditions worked on Mir. 14 - with international crews from the USA, Syria, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, France, Japan, Great Britain, Austria and Germany. During the operation of Mir, an absolute world record was set for the duration of a person's stay in space flight conditions (Valery Polyakov - 438 days). Among women, the world record for the duration of a space flight was set by American Shannon Lucid (188 days).

On February 20, 1986, the first module of the Mir station was launched into orbit, which for many years became a symbol of Soviet and then Russian space exploration. For more than ten years it has not existed, but the memory of it will remain in history. And today we will tell you about the most significant facts and events related to the Mir orbital station.

base unit

The BB base unit is the first component of the Mir space station. It was assembled in April 1985, since May 12, 1985 it has been subjected to numerous tests on the assembly stand. As a result, the unit has been significantly improved, especially its on-board cable system.
On February 20, 1986, this “foundation” of the station was similar in size and appearance to the orbital stations of the series " Salyut", as it is based on the Salyut-6 and Salyut-7 projects. At the same time, there were many cardinal differences, which included more powerful solar panels and advanced, at that time, computers.
The basis was a sealed working compartment with a central control post and communications facilities. Comfort for the crew was provided by two individual cabins and a common wardroom with a work table, devices for heating water and food. Nearby was a treadmill and a bicycle ergometer. A portable lock chamber was mounted in the wall of the case. On the outer surface of the working compartment there were 2 rotary panels of solar batteries and a fixed third one, mounted by the cosmonauts during the flight. In front of the working compartment there is a sealed transitional compartment capable of serving as a gateway for spacewalks. It had five docking ports to connect with transport ships and science modules. Behind the working compartment is an unpressurized aggregate compartment. It contains a propulsion system with fuel tanks. In the middle of the compartment there is a hermetic transition chamber ending in a docking station, to which the Kvant module was connected during the flight.
The base module had two aft thrusters that were designed specifically for orbital maneuvers. Each engine was capable of pushing 300 kg. However, after the Kvant-1 module arrived at the station, both engines could not fully function, since the aft port was busy. Outside the aggregate compartment, on a rotary rod, there was a highly directional antenna that provides communication through a relay satellite in geostationary orbit.
The main purpose of the Basic Module was to provide conditions for the life of astronauts on board the station. The astronauts could watch films that were delivered to the station, read books - the station had an extensive library

"Quantum-1"

In the spring of 1987, the Kvant-1 module was launched into orbit. It has become a kind of space station for Mir. Docking with Kvant was one of the first emergency situations for Mir. In order to securely attach Kvant to the complex, the cosmonauts had to make an unplanned spacewalk. Structurally, the module was a single pressurized compartment with two hatches, one of which is a working port for receiving transport ships. Around it was located a complex of astrophysical instruments, mainly for the study of X-ray sources inaccessible to observations from the Earth. On the outer surface, the cosmonauts mounted two attachment points for rotary reusable solar panels, as well as a working platform where large-sized trusses were mounted. At the end of one of them was located a remote propulsion system (VDU).

The main parameters of the Quant module are as follows:
Weight, kg 11050
Length, m 5.8
Maximum diameter, m 4.15
Volume under atmospheric pressure, cu. m 40
Solar panel area, sq. m 1
Output power, kW 6

The Kvant-1 module was divided into two sections: a laboratory filled with air, and equipment placed in an unpressurized airless space. The laboratory room, in turn, was divided into a compartment for instruments and a living compartment, which were separated by an internal partition. The laboratory compartment was connected to the premises of the station through an airlock. In the department, not filled with air, voltage stabilizers were located. The astronaut can control observations from a room inside the module filled with air at atmospheric pressure. This 11-ton module contained astrophysical instruments, a life support system, and altitude control equipment. The quantum also allowed for biotechnological experiments in the field of antiviral drugs and fractions.

The complex of scientific equipment of the X-ray observatory was controlled by commands from the Earth, however, the mode of operation of scientific instruments was determined by the peculiarities of the operation of the Mir station. The near-earth orbit of the station was low apogee (height above the earth's surface is about 400 km) and almost circular, with a period of revolution of 92 minutes. The plane of the orbit is inclined to the equator by approximately 52°; therefore, twice during the period the station passed through the radiation belts - high-latitude regions where the Earth's magnetic field retains charged particles with energies sufficient for registration by the sensitive detectors of the observatory's instruments. Due to the high background they created during the passage of the radiation belts, the complex of scientific instruments was always turned off.

Another feature was the rigid connection of the "Kvant" module with the other blocks of the "Mir" complex (astrophysical instruments of the module are directed towards the -Y axis). Therefore, the aiming of scientific instruments at sources of cosmic radiation was carried out by turning the entire station, as a rule, with the help of electromechanical gyrodines (gyroscopes). However, the station itself must be oriented in a certain way with respect to the Sun (usually the position is maintained with the -X axis towards the Sun, sometimes with the +X axis), otherwise the energy production by solar panels will decrease. In addition, station turns at large angles led to an inefficient consumption of the working fluid, especially in recent years, when modules docked to the station gave it significant moments of inertia due to its 10-meter length in a cruciform configuration.

In March 1988, the star sensor of the TTM telescope failed, as a result of which information about the pointing of astrophysical instruments during observations ceased to arrive. However, this breakdown did not significantly affect the operation of the observatory, since the guidance problem was solved without replacing the sensor. Since all four instruments are rigidly interconnected, the efficiency of the GEKSE, PULSAR X-1, and GPSS spectrometers began to be calculated from the location of the source in the field of view of the TTM telescope. Mathematical software for constructing the image and spectra of this device was prepared by young scientists, now Doctors of Physics and Mathematics. Sciences M.R. Gilfanrv and E.M. Churazov. After the launch of the Granat satellite in December 1989, K.N. Borozdin (now - Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences) and his group. The joint work of "Grenade" and "Kvant" made it possible to significantly increase the efficiency of astrophysical research, since the scientific tasks of both missions were determined by the Department of High Energy Astrophysics.
In November 1989, the operation of the Kvant module was temporarily interrupted for a period of changing the configuration of the Mir station, when two additional modules, Kvant-2 and Kristall, were successively docked to it at intervals of six months. Since the end of 1990, regular observations of the Roentgen observatory have been resumed, however, due to the increase in the volume of work at the station and more stringent restrictions on its orientation, the average annual number of sessions after 1990 has significantly decreased and more than 2 sessions in a row were not carried out, whereas in 1988 - In 1989, up to 8-10 sessions were sometimes organized per day.
The 3rd module (retrofitting, Kvant-2) was launched into orbit by the Proton launch vehicle on November 26, 1989, 13:01:41 (UTC) from the Baikonur cosmodrome, from launch complex No. 200L. This block is also called the retrofitting module; it contains a significant amount of equipment necessary for the life support systems of the station and creating additional comfort for its inhabitants. The airlock compartment is used as a storage for space suits and as a hangar for an autonomous means of moving an astronaut.

The spacecraft was launched into orbit with the following parameters:

circulation period - 89.3 minutes;
the minimum distance from the Earth's surface (at perigee) is 221 km;
the maximum distance from the Earth's surface (at apogee) is 339 km.

On December 6, it was docked to the axial docking unit of the transition compartment of the base unit, then, using the manipulator, the module was transferred to the side docking unit of the transition compartment.
It was intended to equip the Mir station with life support systems for cosmonauts and increase the power supply of the orbital complex. The module was equipped with motion control systems using power gyroscopes, power supply systems, new plants for oxygen production and water regeneration, household appliances, retrofitting the station with scientific equipment, equipment and providing crew spacewalks, as well as for conducting various scientific research and experiments. The module consisted of three hermetic compartments: instrument-cargo, instrument-scientific and airlock special with an outward-opening exit hatch with a diameter of 1000 mm.
The module had one active docking unit installed along its longitudinal axis on the instrument-cargo compartment. The Kvant-2 module and all subsequent modules docked to the axial docking assembly of the transfer compartment of the base unit (X-axis), then, using the manipulator, the module was transferred to the side docking assembly of the transition compartment. The standard position of the Kvant-2 module as part of the Mir station is the Y axis.

:
Registration number 1989-093A / 20335
Date and time of launch (UTC) 13h01m41s. 11/26/1989
Launch vehicle Proton-K Mass of the ship (kg) 19050
The module is also designed for biological research.

Source:

Module “Crystal”

The 4th module (docking-technological, Kristall) was launched on May 31, 1990 at 10:33:20 (UTC) from the Baikonur cosmodrome, launch complex No. 200L, by a Proton 8K82K launch vehicle with a DM2 upper stage . The module housed mainly scientific and technological equipment for studying the processes of obtaining new materials under weightlessness (microgravity). In addition, two nodes of androgynous-peripheral type are installed, one of which is connected to the docking compartment, and the other is free. On the outer surface there are two rotary reusable solar batteries (both will be transferred to the Kvant module).
Spacecraft type "CM-T 77KST", ser. No. 17201 was launched into orbit with the following parameters:
orbital inclination - 51.6 degrees;
circulation period - 92.4 minutes;
the minimum distance from the Earth's surface (at perigee) is 388 km;
maximum distance from the Earth's surface (at apogee) - 397 km
On June 10, 1990, on the second attempt, Kristall was docked with Mir (the first attempt failed due to the failure of one of the module's orientation engines). Docking, as before, was carried out to the axial node of the transition compartment, after which the module was transferred to one of the side nodes using its own manipulator.
In the course of work under the Mir-Shuttle program, this module, which has a peripheral docking unit of the APAS type, was again moved to the axial node with the help of a manipulator, and solar panels were removed from its body.
The Soviet space shuttles of the Buran family were supposed to dock to Kristall, but work on them had already been practically curtailed by that time.
The "Crystal" module was intended for testing new technologies, obtaining structural materials, semiconductors and biological products with improved properties under weightless conditions. The androgynous docking port on the Kristall module was intended for docking with Buran and Shuttle-type reusable spacecraft equipped with androgynous-peripheral docking units. In June 1995, it was used for docking with the USS Atlantis. The docking and technological module "Crystal" was a single hermetic compartment of a large volume with equipment. On its outer surface there were remote control units, fuel tanks, battery panels with autonomous orientation to the sun, as well as various antennas and sensors. The module was also used as a supply cargo ship to deliver fuel, consumables and equipment into orbit.
The module consisted of two pressurized compartments: instrument-cargo and transition-docking. The module had three docking units: an axial active one - on the instrument-cargo compartment and two androgynous-peripheral types - on the transition-docking compartment (axial and lateral). Until May 27, 1995, the Kristall module was located on the side docking assembly intended for the Spektr module (Y axis). Then it was transferred to the axial docking unit (-X axis) and on 05/30/1995 moved to its regular place (-Z axis). On 06/10/1995, it was again transferred to the axial unit (X-axis) to ensure docking with the American spacecraft Atlantis STS-71, on 07/17/1995 it was returned to its regular place (-Z axis).

Brief characteristics of the module
Registration number 1990-048A / 20635
Start date and time (UTC) 10h33m20s. 05/31/1990
Launch site Baikonur, platform 200L
Launch vehicle Proton-K
Ship mass (kg) 18720

Spectrum module

The 5th module (geophysical, Spektr) was launched on May 20, 1995. The module equipment made it possible to carry out environmental monitoring of the atmosphere, ocean, earth's surface, medical and biological research, etc. To bring the experimental samples to the outer surface, it was planned to install the Pelican copying manipulator, which works in conjunction with the lock chamber. On the surface of the module, 4 rotary solar batteries were installed.
"SPEKTR", the research module, was a single sealed compartment of a large volume with equipment. On its outer surface there were remote control units, fuel tanks, four battery panels with autonomous orientation to the sun, antennas and sensors.
The production of the module, which began in 1987, was practically completed (without the installation of equipment intended for programs of the Ministry of Defense) by the end of 1991. However, since March 1992, due to the beginning of the crisis in the economy, the module was "mothballed".
To complete work on Spectrum in mid-1993, the M.V. Khrunichev and RSC Energia named after S.P. The Queen came up with a proposal to re-equip the module and turned to their foreign partners for this. As a result of negotiations with NASA, a decision was quickly made to install American medical equipment used in the Mir-Shuttle program on the module, as well as to equip it with a second pair of solar panels. At the same time, according to the terms of the contract, the refinement, preparation and launch of the Spektr should have been completed before the first docking of the Mir and the Shuttle in the summer of 1995.
Tight deadlines required hard work from specialists of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center to correct design documentation, manufacture batteries and spacers for their placement, conduct the necessary strength tests, install US equipment and repeat complex checks of the module. At the same time, specialists from RSC Energia were preparing a new workplace at Baikonur in the MIK of the Buran orbital spacecraft at pad 254.
On May 26, on the first attempt, it was docked with the Mir, and then, similarly to the predecessors, it was transferred from the axial to the side node, freed for it by the Kristall.
The Spektr module was designed to conduct research on the Earth's natural resources, the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere, the orbital complex's own outer atmosphere, geophysical processes of natural and artificial origin in near-Earth outer space and in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere, to conduct biomedical research on joint Russian- American programs "Mir-Shuttle" and "Mir-NASA", to equip the station with additional sources of electricity.
In addition to the tasks listed above, the Spektr module was used as a cargo supply ship and delivered fuel supplies, consumables and additional equipment to the Mir orbital complex. The module consisted of two compartments: pressurized instrument-cargo and non-pressurized, on which two main and two additional solar arrays and scientific instruments were installed. The module had one active docking unit located along its longitudinal axis in the instrument-cargo compartment. The standard position of the "Spektr" module as part of the "Mir" station is the -Y axis. On June 25, 1997, as a result of a collision with the Progress M-34 cargo ship, the Spektr module was depressurized and practically "turned off" from the operation of the complex. The Progress unmanned spacecraft veered off course and crashed into the Spektr module. The station lost its tightness, the Spektra solar batteries were partially destroyed. The team managed to pressurize the Spektr by closing the hatch leading into it before the pressure on the station dropped to critically low. The internal volume of the module was isolated from the living compartment.

Brief characteristics of the module
Registration number 1995-024A / 23579
Start date and time (UTC) 03h.33m.22s. 05/20/1995
Launch vehicle Proton-K
Ship mass (kg) 17840

docking module

The 6th module (docking) was docked on November 15, 1995. This relatively small module was created specifically for the docking of the Atlantis spacecraft and was delivered to Mir by the American Space Shuttle.
Docking compartment (SO) (316GK) - was intended to ensure the docking of the MTKS of the Shuttle series with the Mir OK. The CO was a cylindrical structure with a diameter of about 2.9 m and a length of about 5 m and was equipped with systems that made it possible to ensure the work of the crew and monitor its condition, in particular: systems for providing temperature control, television, telemetry, automation, lighting. The space inside the SO allowed the crew to work and place the equipment during the delivery of the SO to the Mir OC. Additional solar arrays were fixed on the surface of the SO, which, after docking it with the Mir spacecraft, were transferred by the crew to the Kvant module, the means of capturing the SO by the MTKS manipulator of the Shuttle series, and the docking means. The CO was delivered to the Atlantis MTCS (STS-74) orbit and, using its own manipulator and the axial androgynous peripheral docking unit (APAS-2), was docked to the docking unit on the Atlantis MTCS lock chamber, and then, the latter, together with The CO was docked to the docking unit of the Kristall module (axis “-Z”) using an androgynous peripheral docking unit (APAS-1). SO 316GK, as it were, lengthened the Kristall module, which made it possible to dock the American MTKS series with the Mir spacecraft without re-docking the Kristall module to the axial docking unit of the base unit (axis "-X"). the power supply of all SO systems was provided from OK "Mir" through the connectors in the APAS-1 node.

Module “Nature”

The 7th module (scientific, “Priroda”) was launched into orbit on April 23, 1996 and docked on April 26, 1996. This block concentrates instruments for high-precision observation of the earth's surface in various spectral ranges. The module also included about a ton of American equipment for studying human behavior in long-term space flight.
The launch of the "Nature" module completed the assembly of OK "Mir".
The "Nature" module was intended for carrying out scientific research and experiments to study the natural resources of the Earth, the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, cosmic radiation, geophysical processes of natural and artificial origin in near-Earth outer space and the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere.
The module consisted of one sealed instrument-cargo compartment. The module had one active docking unit located along its longitudinal axis. The standard position of the "Priroda" module as part of the "Mir" station is the Z axis.
Equipment for Earth exploration from space and experiments in the field of materials science was installed on board the Priroda module. Its main difference from other "cubes" from which the "Mir" was built is that "Priroda" was not equipped with its own solar panels. The research module "Nature" was a single hermetic compartment of a large volume with equipment. On its outer surface were located remote control units, fuel tanks, antennas and sensors. It did not have solar panels and used 168 lithium current sources installed inside.
In the course of its creation, the "Nature" module has also undergone significant changes, especially in equipment. Instruments from a number of foreign countries were installed on it, which, under the terms of a number of concluded contracts, rather severely limited the time for its preparation and launch.
At the beginning of 1996, the "Priroda" module arrived at site 254 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. His intensive four-month pre-launch preparation was not easy. Particularly difficult was the work to find and eliminate the leakage of one of the lithium batteries of the module, which is capable of releasing very harmful gases (sulphurous anhydride and hydrogen chloride). There were also a number of other comments. All of them were eliminated and on April 23, 1996, with the help of Proton-K, the module was successfully launched into orbit.
Before docking with the Mir complex, a failure occurred in the module's power supply system, depriving it of half of its electricity supply. The impossibility of recharging the onboard batteries due to the lack of solar panels significantly complicated the docking, giving only one chance to complete it. Nevertheless, on April 26, 1996, on the first attempt, the module was successfully docked with the complex and, after re-docking, occupied the last free side node on the transition compartment of the base unit.
After the docking of the Priroda module, the Mir orbital complex acquired its full configuration. Its formation, of course, moved more slowly than desired (the launches of the base block and the fifth module are separated by almost 10 years). But all this time, intensive work was going on on board in a manned mode, and the Mir itself was systematically "re-equipped" with more "small" elements - trusses, additional batteries, remote controls and various scientific instruments, the delivery of which was successfully provided by cargo ships of the "Progress" type. .

Brief characteristics of the module
Registration number 1996-023A / 23848
Start date and time (UTC) 11h.48m.50s. 04/23/1996
Launch site Baikonur, site 81L
Launch vehicle Proton-K
Ship mass (kg) 18630

November 25th, 2016

On February 20, 1986, the famous Soviet and Russian space station "Mir" was launched and put into low Earth orbit. Many of us still remember the constant news reports from orbit, showing the life of Russian, American and other cosmonauts in the cramped conditions of our station.

In 2001, the Mir, having exceeded the service life three times, was flooded. Let's remember the brightest episodes from the life of this unique project.

"World" from launch to flooding

After the first launches of people into space and the flight of a man to the Moon, researchers faced the issue of long-term exploration of near outer space. For this, it was necessary to create habitable orbital space stations, where regularly changing crews of astronauts could live and work.

Most seriously, this task was undertaken in the USSR. In 1971, the first long-term orbital station, Salyut-1, was launched, followed by Salyut-2, Salyut-3, and so on until Salyut-7, which finished work in 1986 and fell on Argentina in 1991.

Soviet cosmonauts on the Salyuts were engaged in missions, mainly of a scientific and military nature. The United States did not have such extensive experience - their only long-term orbital station, Skylab, operated from May 1973 to February 1974.

Work on the Mir orbital station began in the minds of Soviet designers as early as 1976. The station was supposed to be the first spacecraft with a modular architecture - it was assembled right in orbit, where the launch vehicles brought its individual blocks. In theory, this technology made it possible to build an entire flying city in space with a large amount of scientific equipment and sufficient conditions for a long-term autonomous existence.

Work on the station was continuously carried out until 1984, until the country's leadership decided to throw all the forces of astronautics into the implementation of the Buran program. But very soon the alignment of forces changed in the opposite direction and, by decision of the highest party officials, Mir again became number one in the queue. The station was ordered to be launched exactly in time for the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, which was scheduled for late February - early March 1986.

XXVII Congress of the CPSU

About 280 enterprises worked on the project under the auspices of 20 ministries and departments. They managed to make it right on time - the launch vehicle with the first Mir module was launched into the target orbit on February 20, 1986. This date is considered to be the birthday of the space station.

The base block of the orbital complex, launched first, was the main part of the station - astronauts lived and worked in it, Mir was controlled from it and communication with the Earth was carried out. The remaining modules, launched and docked later, had a narrower purpose - scientific or technical.

The first module to join the complex was Kvant. The docking with Kvant was also the first emergency situation for the station crew. The astronauts had to urgently go into outer space to complete the operation.

This was followed by "Kvant-2" and "Kristall", after which the assembly of the station stopped for some time due to the collapse of the USSR and economic problems. The following modules, Spektr and Priroda, were launched in 1995 and 96 only thanks to a contract with the United States - the Americans agreed to finance the project in exchange for the participation of their astronauts in it. Although Mir was originally created with plans for the station to be visited by cosmonauts from other countries, not only socialist, but also capitalist.

So, in 1987, a foreigner flew to Mir for the first time - the Syrian cosmonaut Mohammed Faris. And in 1990, the first journalist, Toyohiro Akiyama, visited the station. He also became the first Japanese to travel into space. Moreover, several days spent at the station were not the most pleasant for Akiyama - he was subject to the so-called "space sickness", an analogue of "sea sickness", associated with a disorder of the vestibular apparatus. This fact revealed a shortcoming in the training of non-professional cosmonauts.

Subsequently, representatives of France, Great Britain, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Canada, Syria, Bulgaria and Afghanistan also visited the station. Surprisingly, but more recently, Syria and Afghanistan flew into space!

As part of the Shuttle-Mir program, American astronauts also repeatedly visited the station. To dock Mir with American shuttles, a special docking module was delivered to the station in 1995.

There are many records and remarkable events left in the history of Mir. Already in 1986, a crew of two Soviet cosmonauts for the first time in history made a flight from one station to another - they undocked from Mir and, having traveled 2,500 km in 29 hours, docked with Salyut-7. This was the last expedition in the history of the Salyut.

In 1995-95, cosmonaut Valery Polyakov set a still unbroken record on the Mir for the continuous stay of a person in space - 437 days and 18 hours.

And the overall record for the duration of space flights belongs to another Russian - Alexei Krikalev. He also flew to Mir more than once, and once, having flown away from the USSR, he returned to independent Russia.

In 1996, the last module, Priroda, joined the station and assembly was finally completed. It took 10 years - three times longer than the original estimated time of Mir in orbit.

According to the unofficial testimonies of the cosmonauts, work at the station from the very beginning was an ongoing struggle with the ever-failing Soviet electronics. But in 1997, staying at the station began to gradually turn into a real torment, especially for foreign crews. Perhaps that is why the Mir station was depicted in this way in the famous film Armageddon.

First, on a holiday for Russia on February 23, 1997, a fire broke out at the station - an oxygen bomb from an atmosphere regeneration apparatus caught fire. You can imagine the position of the cosmonauts - there are six people at the station, the size of a one-room apartment, and the oxygen generation apparatus was engulfed in fire, which quickly burns this same oxygen.

The habitable compartment quickly filled with smoke, but the crew managed to react in time and correctly, putting on respirators and extinguishing the fire with a fire extinguisher. The cause of the fire was subsequently named a defective oxygen bomb.

Fires happened on Mir even before that - in 1994, record-breaking cosmonaut Valery Polyakov even had to put out the fire with his own suit. But this time there were guests from other countries on board, for whom such emergencies were a novelty. If you want to laugh, compare the American and Russian reports of the same fire. Here are just two excerpts:

But the most dangerous incident in the history of Mir happened on June 25, 1997. While conducting a manual docking experiment, the Progress M-34 cargo ship collided with the Spektr module, resulting in a hole about two square centimeters in area in the latter. Three people were at the station at that time - the Russians Vasily Tsibalev and Alexander Lazutkin, as well as the American Michael Foup.

From the Earth, the astronauts were ordered to immediately seal the entrance to the damaged module, but numerous cables running through it prevented them from quickly closing the hatch. Only by cutting and undocking them did the astronauts manage to stop the air leak from the station. Due to the incident, Mir lost 40% of its electricity, which ruled out almost all scientific experiments. In addition, NASA lost almost all of its equipment, as it was stored in Spektr. After returning to Earth, Lazutkin received the title of Hero of Russia, and Tsibalev received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree.

The following crews tried more than once to repair the module, but no one succeeded in doing this - the air still came out. It was only possible to fully restore the station's power supply, despite the badly damaged solar batteries of the Spektr module.

On August 28 of the same year, another trouble happened at the station - the Electron hydrolysis plants, which supply the astronauts with oxygen, failed. This happened more than once before - it was after their refusal that the fire described above occurred, when the astronauts had to burn oxygen bombs. The crew also wanted to do this time, but now the checker did not work at all. In order not to tempt fate, they decided on Earth to try to fix the Electron. This time we were lucky - the problem turned out to be just a disconnected contact.

A few days later, in September, the station's on-board computer lost its orientation in space. For the task of orientation, telescopes are installed at the station, constantly monitoring the Sun, Moon and stars, checking their position. But this time, the Sun suddenly turned out to be lost by instruments for some reason. The solar panels also lost their orientation, as a result of which the station was left without the main source of energy.

Loss of orientation also meant loss of control for the station. For some time, the Mir turned into an uncontrollable pile of iron, rushing at a speed of 7.7 km / s in a state of free fall. Troubleshooting was possible only after 24 hours.

In early 1998, the station experienced problems with the air conditioning system, causing the temperature in the habitable zone to rise to 32 degrees. After a long struggle with technology, the astronauts managed to lower it, but only to 28 degrees. Crew members reported to Earth that they were making too many mistakes in their work due to lack of rest.

After these events, the United States began to seriously talk about the fact that the presence of astronauts at the Russian station could be unsafe. And before that, the Mir systems, which had not been working very well, were now failing one after another on a regular basis.

At the same time, the International Space Station program approached its implementation - in November 1998, Russia launched the first ISS module called Zarya. It was obvious that Mir was living its life. In 1999, the last cosmonauts who left the station turned it offline, and the government stopped funding the orbital complex.

Of course, attempts were made to save Mir. According to some reports, the Iranian government offered to buy the station, but Roskosmos was desperately looking for private investors.

Among the potential candidates was the name of a certain Welsh Peter Luelin, who later turned out to be a charlatan, as well as an American businessman Walt Andersson. The latter created a company called MirCorp, but the idea failed miserably due to the lack of customers to operate the station.

In Russia, a fund for saving Mir was created, for which donations were accepted. However, all that was collected was small amounts sent by pensioners. Despite the indignation of many Russian citizens, it was decided to flood the Mir.

The station was deorbited on March 23, 2001. The wreckage of the Mir fell into the Pacific Ocean, in a designated area between New Zealand and Chile. This place with an area of several thousand square kilometers is a kind of cemetery of Soviet and Russian spacecraft - since 1978, more than 85 orbital structures have been flooded there.

The fall of the Mir could be observed from the plane window - two special flights were organized by a private company, tickets for which cost up to 10 thousand dollars. Immediately after the fall, shards of the station began to be sold on eBay, which later, of course, turned out to be a fake. Today you can walk around the mock-up of the Mir station on display at the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow.

Station "Mir": the last megaproject of the USSR

How it all began

The predecessors of the ISS were Soviet technicians and engineers. Work on the Almaz project began at the end of 1964. Scientists were working on a manned orbital station, which could accommodate 2-3 astronauts. It was assumed that "Diamond" will serve for two years and all this time will be used for research. According to the project, the main part of the complex was the OPS - manned orbital station. It housed the working areas of the crew members, as well as the household compartment. The OPS was equipped with two hatches for spacewalks and dropping special capsules with information to Earth, as well as a passive docking station.

The efficiency of the station is largely determined by its energy reserves. The developers of Almaz found a way to increase them many times over. The delivery of astronauts and various cargo to the station was carried out by transport supply ships (TKS). They, among other things, were equipped with an active docking system, a powerful energy resource, and an excellent traffic control system. TKS was able to supply the station with energy for a long time, as well as manage the entire complex. All subsequent similar projects, including the international space station, were created using the same method of saving OPS resources.

First

Rivalry with the United States forced Soviet scientists and engineers to work as quickly as possible, so another orbital station, Salyut, was created in the shortest possible time. She was taken into space in April 1971. The basis of the station is the so-called working compartment, which includes two cylinders, small and large. Inside the smaller diameter there was a control center, sleeping places and recreation areas, storage and eating. The larger cylinder contained scientific equipment, simulators, which no such flight can do without, as well as a shower cabin and a toilet isolated from the rest of the room.

Each next Salyut was somewhat different from the previous one: it was equipped with the latest equipment, had design features that corresponded to the development of technology and knowledge of that time. These orbital stations marked the beginning of a new era in the study of space and terrestrial processes. "Salutes" were the base on which a large amount of research was carried out in the field of medicine, physics, industry and agriculture. It is also difficult to overestimate the experience of using the orbital station, which was successfully applied during the operation of the next manned complex.

"World"

The process of accumulating experience and knowledge was a long one, the result of which was the international space station. "Mir" - a modular manned complex - its next stage. The so-called block principle of creating a station was tested on it, when for some time the main part of it increases its technical and research power through the addition of new modules. It will subsequently be “borrowed” by the international space station. Mir became a model of our country's technical and engineering prowess and actually provided it with one of the leading roles in the creation of the ISS.

Work on the construction of the station began in 1979, and it was delivered into orbit on February 20, 1986. During the entire existence of the Mir, various studies were carried out on it. The necessary equipment was delivered as part of additional modules. The Mir station allowed scientists, engineers and researchers to gain invaluable experience in using this scale. In addition, it has become a place of peaceful international interaction: in 1992, an Agreement on Cooperation in Space was signed between Russia and the United States. It actually began to be implemented in 1995, when the American Shuttle went to the Mir station.

Completion of the flight

The Mir station has become the site of a variety of studies. Here they analyzed, refined and opened data in the field of biology and astrophysics, space technology and medicine, geophysics and biotechnology.

The station ended its existence in 2001. The reason for the decision to flood it was the development of an energy resource, as well as some accidents. Various versions of the object's rescue were put forward, but they were not accepted, and in March 2001 the Mir station was submerged in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Creation of the international space station: preparatory stage

The idea of creating the ISS arose at a time when no one had yet thought of flooding the Mir. The indirect reason for the emergence of the station was the political and financial crisis in our country and economic problems in the United States. Both powers realized their inability to cope alone with the task of creating an orbital station. In the early nineties, a cooperation agreement was signed, one of the points of which was the international space station. The ISS as a project united not only Russia and the United States, but also, as already noted, fourteen more countries. Simultaneously with the selection of participants, the approval of the ISS project took place: the station will consist of two integrated units, American and Russian, and will be completed in orbit in a modular way similar to Mir.

"Dawn"

The first international space station began its existence in orbit in 1998. On November 20, with the help of a Proton rocket, a Russian-made functional cargo block Zarya was launched. It became the first segment of the ISS. Structurally, it was similar to some of the modules of the Mir station. It is interesting that the American side proposed to build the ISS directly in orbit, and only the experience of Russian colleagues and the example of Mir persuaded them towards the modular method.

Inside, Zarya is equipped with various instruments and equipment, docking, power supply, and control. An impressive amount of equipment, including fuel tanks, radiators, cameras and solar panels, is located on the outside of the module. All external elements are protected from meteorites by special screens.

Module by module

On December 5, 1998, the Endeavor shuttle with the American Unity docking module headed for Zarya. Two days later, the Unity was docked to the Zarya. Further, the international space station “acquired” the Zvezda service module, which was also manufactured in Russia. Zvezda was a modernized base unit of the Mir station.

The docking of the new module took place on July 26, 2000. From that moment on, Zvezda took over control of the ISS, as well as all life support systems, and it became possible for the cosmonaut team to stay permanently on the station.

Transition to manned mode

The first crew of the International Space Station was delivered by Soyuz TM-31 on November 2, 2000. It included V. Shepherd - the expedition commander, Yu. Gidzenko - the pilot, - the flight engineer. From that moment, a new stage in the operation of the station began: it switched to a manned mode.

Composition of the second expedition: James Voss and Susan Helms. She changed her first crew in early March 2001.

and earthly phenomena

The International Space Station is a venue for various activities. The task of each crew is, among other things, to collect data on some space processes, study the properties of certain substances under weightless conditions, and so on. Scientific research carried out on the ISS can be presented in the form of a generalized list:

observation of various remote space objects;
study of cosmic rays;
observation of the Earth, including the study of atmospheric phenomena;
study of the features of physical and bioprocesses under weightlessness;
testing of new materials and technologies in outer space;
medical research, including the creation of new drugs, testing of diagnostic methods in weightlessness;
production of semiconductor materials.

Future

Like any other object subjected to such a heavy load and so intensively exploited, the ISS will sooner or later cease to function at the required level. Initially, it was assumed that its “shelf life” would end in 2016, that is, the station was given only 15 years. However, already from the first months of its operation, assumptions began to sound that this period was somewhat underestimated. Today, hopes are expressed that the international space station will operate until 2020. Then, probably, the same fate awaits her as the Mir station: the ISS will be flooded in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Today, the international space station, the photo of which is presented in the article, successfully continues to orbit around our planet. From time to time in the media you can find references to new research done on board the station. The ISS is also the only object of space tourism: only at the end of 2012 it was visited by eight amateur astronauts.

It can be assumed that this type of entertainment will only gain strength, since the Earth from space is a bewitching view. And no photograph can be compared with the opportunity to contemplate such beauty from the window of the international space station.