The space exploration program in the Soviet Union officially existed from 1955 to 1991, but in fact, developments were carried out before that. During this period, Soviet designers, engineers and scientists achieved such successes as the launch of the first satellite, the first manned flight into space for the first time in the world, the first spacewalk by an astronaut - and these are just the most famous facts. The USSR clearly won the space race, but it was the political situation that prevented the implementation of the space program - the collapse of the Union.
Dreams of Russian explorers about space
The first manned ship could not appear in a country where no one was interested in deep space. Flights to distant planets and stars occupied Russian people even before the revolution. Nikolai Kibalchich, a brilliant revolutionary inventor and organizer of the assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II, sentenced to death, did not write letters to his relatives or petitions for pardon in his cell, but drew sketches of a jet apparatus, knowing that these papersmay be preserved in the prison archives.
Advanced people in Russia have always dreamed of space. Even a special direction in philosophy was formed - Russian cosmism. The founder of Russian cosmonautics Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who not only determined the theoretical foundations of space flights, but also gave a philosophical justification for the exploration of outer space by mankind, also belongs to the cosmist philosophers. Tsiolkovsky was ahead of his time, so in the West at that time they simply did not understand him and forgot him. In the sixties, major Western scientists began to put forward projects that coincided with the thoughts of Konstantin Eduardovich, but completely appropriated the authorship. Today, the name of the scientist is practically erased from history in the West.
In 1917, the ideas of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky spread among the intelligentsia. The closest associate of Vladimir Lenin, Alexander Bogdanov, became a fan of his ideas. He wrote two science fiction novels popular at the time about an expedition to Mars - "Engineer Manny" and "Red Star". The author, wishing to acquaint readers with the idea of building socialism, moved the scene to Mars. He described what socialism should be. The impact of the novels of Alexander Bogdanov on his contemporaries was very strong. Even A. Tolstoy's "Aelita" (the story of two enthusiasts flying to Mars on a makeshift rocket) was inspired by books about Mars.
Tsarist Russia did not need space, but a chance for the appearance of the Molniya launch vehicle, the flight of the first man into space and launchthe revolution provided a companion. Alexander Bogdanov not only showed what socialism should be and set a goal for a revolutionary-minded society, but also indicated a completely new direction for development - to rise to the stars. The enthusiasm for building a new type of society for the young Soviet state turned out to be inextricably linked with an interest in space. There is even a legend that the red star on the coat of arms is Mars.
The first steps and goals of Soviet engineers
Soviet engineers for the first time after the revolution lived with the idea of creating real technical means to overcome interplanetary spaces. By the twenties, it became obvious that only jet-powered rocketry was suitable for space exploration. The figure who played an exceptional role in the Soviet space program was Friedrich Arturovich Zander, a lecturer at the Moscow Aviation Institute. The engineer was ill with a severe form of tuberculosis, but managed to found a group of researchers, lay the foundations of rocket astrodynamics, theoretical calculations of jet engines, space duration, put forward the concept of a spaceplane, prove several ideas that are used in almost all modern spacecraft.
On the works of Zander based almost all the development of technology in the future. The Moscow group of researchers included Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. The main idea at the beginning of the work was the construction of a spacecraft for a flight to Mars (as Friedrich Zander dreamed), which was supposed to be inhabited, and asintermediate, but no less important stage (as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky believed) - to the moon. But reality has shown that before the completion of the industrialization program, this cannot be realized in any way. Therefore, work was carried out in other directions. Soviet scientists intended to use rockets to study the upper atmosphere and in military affairs.
The birth of the space program
The development of technology after the war led to the development of the Soviet space program. The space exploration program emerged as a logical and natural continuation of defense projects. A plan for manned space flight was proposed to Joseph Stalin in 1946, but the project was put on hold because the country needed to be rebuilt. The head of state did not forget the plans for space exploration, and the plan for the creation of R-7, the basis of Soviet cosmonautics, was signed and accepted for execution a few weeks before Stalin's death. It was planned to create an intercontinental ballistic missile and send a man to near-Earth space for the first time.
At that time in the USSR they were already able to create a nuclear bomb, but it could not become a real weapon without technical means of delivery to the target. The Americans then began to produce B-52 heavy bombers and surrounded the Soviet Union with military bases from which it was possible to freely hit any city. Major American cities were out of reach of Soviet bombers. The territory of the States remained inaccessible to strike if necessary. At the same time, plans for delivering nuclear strikes on the USSR were well known, so it was necessary to develop and implementtechnically a bomb delivery vehicle that could reach the other hemisphere. Therefore, the development of the rocket industry received the maximum possible funding.
First real steps for the atmosphere
In the process of creating rockets, test launches were carried out, which were used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere. For this, even a special geophysical rocket was designed. Almost all the technology before the rocket, which was the first to enter Earth orbit, was geophysical. The more powerful rockets became, the higher they could rise into the upper atmosphere, which differed little from near-Earth space. The R-5 (R- "rocket", hereinafter referred to as the model number) could enter near-Earth space along a ballistic trajectory, but was not yet suitable for launching a satellite, and the R-7 put the first man in space into orbit. All work was carried out within the walls of OKB-1 (today it is the Energia Rocket and Comic Corporation named after S. Korolev).
The Americans were in no hurry to develop powerful missiles. There was a B-52 carrier aircraft in the United States, and American scientists were noisily declaring that they were going to launch the first satellite in the near future. It was believed that the launch would be a demonstration of absolute superiority over Soviet science. This event was supposed to coincide with the International Year of Geophysics, but a series of failures pursued the researchers. They were in no hurry with developments for the reason that US intelligence did not know how successfully work was being done in the USSR. At the same time, Soviet scientists also planned to launchartificial satellite. The Soviet satellite was very interesting in terms of design. The shell of an atomic bomb with a remote filling served as the body, and inside the first satellite there was an ordinary radio transmitter.
The political significance of the launch of the first AES
AES, developed in the Soviet Union, weighed almost a centner, and the Americans presented models commensurate in size with an orange. The second satellite was the first biological satellite in the world, in which the dog Laika flew into space in 1957 in a pressurized cabin. The weight of the third satellite was one and a half tons. It was the world's first scientific laboratory in near-Earth space. The satellite was launched in 1958 for research. For the Soviet Union, the launch of three successive satellites was a success and a testament to the superiority of the Soviet economic system. For the United States, the urgent task was to rehabilitate itself in space.
Further detail
The Soviet space program for a long time really existed only in the minds of engineers and scientists employed in OKB-1. These plans were completely abstract. But when it became clear that the AES would be launched in the near future, Sergei Korolev wrote letters in which he invited academicians to express their opinion on the goals and tasks that could be solved in the course of research carried out on board an artificial satellite. The assumptions of those scientists who approached the issue without jokes became the main provisions of the Vostok space program. All assumptions were grouped into sections:
- extraatmospheric astronomy;
- study of the planet andspace for meteorology, cartography and geophysics;
- study of the atmosphere (upper layers) and near-Earth space;
- study of the Moon and space bodies of the solar system.
Subsequently, the program was supplemented and detailed.
Manned mission to Mars
Soviet engineers didn't give up ideas about flying to Mars. Sergei Korolev, for example, calculated specific steps that methodically and consistently led to the exploration of Mars. The study of outer space for the Soviet state became a continuous process and completely distracted from the pursuit of records, spending money on quick results to the detriment of the main thing. But to implement such a large-scale project, it was necessary to obtain preliminary scientific information about Mars. It was impossible to find out something by astronomical methods, so it was necessary to fly to Mars. Celestial navigation has posed a completely new question: can the first manned spacecraft be sent to Mars? Another option was the flight to the planet of an automatic interplanetary station.
Preliminary consideration of the issue showed that such a project is extremely expensive. It was necessary not only to launch the USSR spacecraft towards Mars, but also to ensure its return, the safety of the astronauts. With an automatic station, everything is easier and cheaper. Engineers understood that sooner or later a person would have to fly. Therefore, in parallel, the development of life support systems was carried out that could worka long time to provide people with air and water during the flight. It was necessary to find out the influence on a person of all the factors of space flight and, if possible, neutralize them. The task was to create efficient engines for the spacecraft of the USSR, but with such a launch mass of the ship turned out to be too large.
Practical tasks of the space program
The goals of the Soviet space program in the minds of leading engineers, designers and researchers were still lofty and distant. In practice, in the process of implementing the program, it was necessary to provide satellites with reliable radio communications with all points of the USSR (several satellites are cheaper than building a permanent network of stations), to study the meteorological situation on a global scale in order to prevent disasters, to monitor natural resources, to produce unique materials in space, create military satellites and space reconnaissance in order to know about the preparation of plans against the USSR and, if necessary, provide a counterattack.
To perform these tasks, it was necessary to create a set of devices that can ensure the launch of a satellite into orbit, communication and subsequent delivery back to Earth. So, Soviet designers were required to develop transport spacecraft, create a permanent station, where it would be possible to carry out under normal conditions the entire complex of research (medical-biological, military, technological, and others, up to the fundamental scientific study of space), the study of the behavior of materials in conditionsweightlessness. Then no one knew what would happen under the influence of vacuum and radiation. It became obvious that many complex tasks necessarily require the presence of a person, that is, it is necessary to create a permanent station. Mars turned out to be one of the distant targets of the Soviet space program.
First manned flight into space
After the launch of the first satellite by the USSR, only the first manned flight into space could rehabilitate the States. At that time, the Soviet Union already had a fairly powerful R-7 rocket, so immediately after the launch of the satellite, an orbital flight with a man on board the ship began to be planned. After the first satellite launch, others were biological. The first land animals flew into space. Laika's photo was printed on the front pages of all the newspapers in the world. The next "cosmonauts" were Belka and Strelka. During these launches, the scientific program was worked out, the problem of returning the spacecraft to Earth with a soft landing was solved. The Soviet space program could now begin to solve the problem of human spaceflight.
When everything was worked out, on April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome with a man on board, made a full circle around the Earth and landed on the territory of the USSR. Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut. The second flight was made by German Titov on August 7, 1961. It was in orbit for over 25 hours and 11 minutes. The first female cosmonaut flew on the Vostok-62 spacecraft in 1963. After such a breakthrough, the United States actively joined the space race. ATIn the USSR, active work continued, because it was necessary to explore near space. This required the creation of ships that could accommodate not one, but several people, performing not only piloting, but also some experiments. The first three-seat ship launched in 1964.
New launch vehicles based on ICBMs
Space flights could only be afforded by a country with a powerful technological base, strong economy and advanced science. The successes of the Soviet space program were the result of effective management. To reduce the cost of flights, for example, it turned out due to organizational measures. Therefore, all Soviet technology was standardized and could be successfully used both in the civilian and military spheres, which ensured its highest efficiency. For the first time in history, such an approach was carried out by Joseph Stalin. He approved plans, during the implementation of which the USSR created simultaneously a nuclear missile shield against US aggression and a series of various missiles - intercontinental, operational-tactical, medium-range, geophysical, and so on. The first full-fledged rocket that could launch any cargo was the same R-7. R-7 put into orbit an artificial satellite and a spacecraft with a man on board. Experience with the "seven" will allow you to create several different missiles based on ICBMs. According to this scheme, the Proton, Zenit launch vehicles, the module for the Eergia-Volkan launch vehicle were created.
Soviet satellites for every taste
The very first Soviet satellite allowedstudy the environment in which spacecraft will operate in the future and the impact of various flight factors (from various radiation to the hypothetical danger of meteorites). The following special biosatellites with returnable capsules began to perform another task - to study the impact of space flight on living organisms, because it was necessary to know what to prepare astronauts for and what to protect them from during flights. It is expected that it will not be possible to perform different experiments on one satellite, and it is too expensive to make separate satellites for each task. That is, it was necessary to develop serial platforms designed to perform a specific type of experiment. Cosmos and Interkosmos became such platforms. For heavy Soyuz carriers, the space program assumed the use of Protons.
From the launches of the satellite "Cosmos" began the cooperation of the countries of the socialist camp in the study of space. The main task of the Kosmos-261 satellite, for example, was to conduct an experiment that included measurements on a satellite. The USSR, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, specialists from France and the USA took part in this work. The apparatus of a completely new type was Interkosmos-15, which was intended for large-scale research. Scientific data from the satellite were received by ground stations located on the territories of the socialist countries. The Czechoslovakian satellite Magion separated from Inetrkosmos-18 to study the structure of low-frequency electromagnetic fields in outer space.
Soviet experiment "A Year in a Starship"
When a country is activewas preparing for the exploration of near space, it was time to move on to a long stay of a person on a space station. Engineers did not leave plans to send a man to Mars, and later into deep space. Part of the experiments (mainly in a closed space) could be organized on Earth, which was done in the sixties and seventies. Soviet experiments have become a source of invaluable scientific material that has made it possible to develop a number of technologies for building life-supporting systems. Biomedical problems could only be explored in orbit. Therefore, Soviet developers created several biosatellites, which studied the processes occurring in the organisms of animals that fell into orbit.
Specialized space objects
Special objects were also actively developed. The first communication satellites were, for example, "Lightning". Molniya-1 was launched in 1965. The Zond station became a specialized apparatus, on which the units of spacecraft were tested, various flight modes were worked out. Several Zond stations circled the natural satellite of the Earth and photographed the far side of the Moon, returned and gently landed on the Earth. The fundamentally new "Probes-5-7" could study the radiation situation, photograph the Earth and the Moon, study the multiply charged component of cosmic rays, conduct some biological experiments, photometer some stars, and so on.
Station "Luna" and automatic interplanetary stations receivedthe world's first photographs of the nucleus of a comet. The Buran reusable spacecraft was created as a vehicle as part of the Mir and Mir-2 complexes. "Buran" was created taking into account the shortcomings of the American system "Shuttle". With the same Mir and Mir-2, the Zarya transport ship was to be used. The Soviet space program was actively involved in its development in 1985-1989, but the project was curtailed due to lack of funding. Developments were underway, but production was never started. But there were also moon rovers, vehicles that were the first in the world to reach the moon, interplanetary flights to Mars and Venus, orbital stations and spacecraft with reusable systems.
Some unrealized projects
Due to the collapse of the USSR, many programs remained unfinished. By the nineties, domestic science came close to industrial production in space, cheaper and more efficient than on Earth even at the present time. There were a lot of technologies on the way that were supposed to revolutionize science and technology, but the projects were not implemented. Today, Russia's space program is not as successful as the Soviet one. But it is good that at least some steps are being taken in this area. For example, everyone knows where the Vostochny cosmodrome is located, from which launches are made. The construction of the facility was completed in 2016. The launch complex is designed to carry out international and commercial programs. Where is the Vostochny Cosmodrome located? The object is located in the Amur region, near the town of Tsiolkovsky. Implementation of the space program of the Russian Federationoccupies, among other things, NPO Energia named after Academician S. P. Korolev - a former special design bureau under the leadership of Korolev.
