How the Russians saved a dead space station

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The blockbuster "Salyut-7" will be released on the screens of the country this fall. The story of one heroic deed”. Director Klim SHIPENKO made a movie about cosmonauts who flew into the unknown in June 1985 to save the space station that had become uncontrollable.

The names of the heroes are Vladimir DZHANIBEKOV and Viktor SAVINYH (in the film they were played by Vladimir VDOVICHENKOV and Pavel DEREVYANKO). What these people did, experts still call the most complex technical operation carried out in outer space.

The Soyuz T-13 spacecraft with two cosmonauts on board took off from Baikonur on June 6, 1985. He was on his way to the Salyut-7 orbital station, which had shown no signs of life for several months. There was no crew on it, it worked in automatic mode, but due to problems with the electronics, the connection was lost. The multi-ton colossus threatened to fall to the Earth.

Information about the state of emergency was kept in strict confidence. The MCC was racking their brains: should they try to restore the operation of the device in space or carefully lower it from orbit? To solve this, it was necessary to try to dock to the station. This was to be done by the crew commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov and the flight engineer Viktor Savinykh. There were only three months to prepare for the flight. The cosmonauts simulated emergency situations, learned to touch with complex devices, spent hours practicing the transition from the ship to the station in the pool and on simulators. But what awaited them in orbit was unknown.

Handmade

Finding Salyut-7 was the first task of the crew. On the second day after the launch, not far from the Moon, the astronauts saw a red dot through the window. She was brighter than all the stars and grew as they approached.

The cosmonauts did everything that they practiced on Earth. We switched to manual docking mode.

“Seemingly calmer than during training, Volodya acted with the ship's control sticks. Our task is to follow the traffic schedule, which will allow us to catch up with the station and not crash into it … "- Viktor Savinykh described the operation in the book" Notes from a Dead Station ".

Caught up, did not crash, carried out a "hover", reducing the approach speed to zero. They moored, opened the hatch of the station. This was the first victory.

Once on board, the cosmonauts found out that the internal compartments are sealed, which means that you can stay here. It was pitch darkness, the walls and appliances were covered with a layer of ice. It was about minus seven at the station.

In the photos that appeared later, the Dzhanibekov and the Savinykh work in knitted downy hats: the Pamirs - that was their call sign - were supplied by Viktor's wife before the flight. They came in handy.

In a few days, the cosmonauts repaired the equipment, and the station began to thaw. Soon everything - appliances, wires - was in the water.

- Dzhan and I (as friends call Dzhanibekov), like cleaning ladies, rushed about all the nooks with rags. And there weren't any rags! No one thought that such a problem would arise, they had to take off their underwear, tore their overalls into shreds, - Savinykh recalled.

Vladimir Dzhanibekov also told me about this: we met at the Museum of Cosmonautics shortly before June 6 - the date of the start of the 1985 rescue expedition.

- The costume of Svetlana Savitskaya was credited - it was stored on the "Salute", - Vladimir Aleksandrovich smiles. - Handsome, white. Svetlana Evgenievna, when she found out, was not angry with us - she just laughed.

- But you at the station were probably not laughing?

- It was fine. We worked for a plumber, locksmith, installer. After all, I have a huge garage experience - at the age of 14 I already had the rights of a motorcyclist. I studied in Suvorov - there, at the age of 16, we were handed a driver's license for our birthday. I completely went over the Volga car. "Tinkering, soldering, pots, repairing buckets" - this is about me.

The volume of work was great, of course. There are about a thousand electronic blocks and three and a half tons of cables. Due to the fact that the fans did not work for a long time, carbon dioxide accumulated. I often had to interrupt and wave something to disperse the air. But they did it. And when it got hard, they joked and swore amicably.

There was not enough gasoline

- Was it scary?

- Curious. I wanted to know what was the matter. I had experience in manual control. Docking would not work - everyone would shake their heads sadly and disperse. Along the calculated trajectory, in two or three days "Salute" would have fallen into the Indian or Pacific Ocean. And Victor and I would go down to Earth.

But when we realized that it was possible to inhabit the station, we decided to pull it with all our might. I didn't want to be ashamed. They write that we had a supply of food for five days. This is not the case, there was a small reserve. We carried out an inventory of products at the frozen station - it would have been enough for a couple of months. And although the MCC ordered to throw everything away, we did not do this, we decided that the food was well preserved in the cold. When nothing was working yet, they warmed food in their pockets, in their bosom. Then they fitted a photo lamp. They stuck it into a wardrobe trunk, which was stuffed with cans, bags of tea or coffee.

- Was your work well rewarded?

- In Soviet times, quite. They gave me the Volga and gave me 10 thousand rubles. Now the pension is also decent. And during the years of perestroika, it happened that there was not enough for gasoline. The veteran cosmonauts complained - and a commission was sent to Star City: the Accounts Chamber helped to resolve the issue. The pension was adjusted and the debts for the previous years were paid off.

- You get 60 thousand now?

- Much more.

- That's right! Vladimir Alexandrovich, do you think we will fly to other planets?

- In my opinion, the probability is small. We need a nuclear engine. It is being developed in many countries, but so far no one can put such a device into orbit. In manned space exploration we are the leader, and in the field of automatic devices the United States has more advantages, their Martian program is especially good. But do not ask about the Martians and other UFOs - I have not seen them.

- Then I will ask about something else: do you believe in God?

- I believe in God. Without God's help, nothing would have happened.

reference

DZHANIBEKOV Vladimir Alexandrovich was born on May 13, 1942 in the Kazakh SSR. He made five space flights, all of them as commander of a ship, setting a world record. Professor-Consultant of the Department of Space Physics and Ecology, Faculty of Radiophysics, Tomsk State University. Major General of Aviation. Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.

Victor Petrovich SAVINYH was born on March 7, 1940 in the Kirov region. Visited space three times. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. President of the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography. Editor-in-chief of the Russian Space magazine.

They shot a blockbuster, but not about us

About the film "Salyut-7. The story of one feat "the participants of the legendary flight responded skeptically:

- Made a Hollywood blockbuster with elements of irrepressible fantasy. A lot of technical blunders. This movie is not about us, - Dzhanibekov complains.

Actors Pavel DEREVYANKO and Vladimir VDOVICHENKO

The Savins, whom I called to congratulate on the anniversary of memorable events, also have complaints about the film:

- Six months ago, the head of the Mission Control Center and I made a lot of comments about this film. We wanted the authors to treat astronautics more coastal. The script was written according to my book. But much was presented rude and implausible.

Shot with a laser

After the inclinations of the Americans to Salyut-7, when the likelihood of a personal confrontation in space seemed real, a truly fantastic weapon was developed at the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces of the USSR - a fiber laser pistol. It used pyrotechnic ammunition that turned off optical sensors on enemy ships and satellites. The beams released burned through the visor of a helmet or blinded a person at a distance of 20 meters.

Life after death

The rescued Salyut-7 station operated in orbit for another six years. Eleven manned spacecraft Soyuz T, 12 cargo ships Progress and three cargo ships of the Kosmos series flew to it. 13 spacewalks were carried out from the station.

On February 7, 1991, Salyut-7 was sunk. The station, which was planned to be launched into orbit under the name Salyut-8, was renamed Mir. Viktor Savinykh worked on it in 1988. And Vladimir Dzhanibekov did not fly into space after the expedition on "Salyut-7".

Salaries are not space

* Today the salary of an astronaut who has returned from orbit is about 80 thousand rubles. Those who are just preparing for the flight are paid 74 thousand, cosmonauts-instructors receive about 100 thousand, candidates for the cosmonaut corps - 70 thousand. There are allowances, bonuses, pay for each flight and stay at the station. For six months in space, you can earn up to 8 million rubles.

* The maximum possible length of service pension is 85 percent of the salary.

* For comparison: American astronauts receive from $ 65 thousand to $ 142 thousand a year, Canadians - $ 80 - 150 thousand, European astronauts - from 85 thousand euros.

Boarding in orbit

When the United States learned about the Salyut-7 incident, they set out to seize the station in order to master Soviet military technology.

This was in the midst of the Cold War, when the confrontation between the USSR and the United States reached its limit. The United States was in a hurry to develop SDI, a Strategic Defense Initiative capable of destroying any satellite or missile in orbit. If the Americans managed to steal our Salute, it would inevitably lead to a global war. And therefore, getting to the station first was paramount. This is how this story looks in events and dates.

April 19, 1982 The Salyut-7 station was launched into low-earth orbit.

On October 2, 1984, the cosmonauts left Salyut-7, after which the station was in automatic flight mode. However, in February 1985, the unexpected happened.

11 February. Due to a failure of one of the sensors, the Salyut-7 batteries were disconnected from the solar panels and discharged. The station lost control. Information about this immediately came to the NASA space center in Houston (USA). The Challenger shuttle, which is at the launch site at Cape Canaveral, was tasked with delivering Salyut-7 to Earth.

24 February. It became known that the Frenchman Patrick Baudry was included in the crew of the shuttle. His understudy Jean-Loup Chretien flew Salyut-7 three years ago. Baudry was then his stunt double. Both knew the station thoroughly.

10th of March. The Challenger was ready for launch. But in the USSR, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Konstantin Chernenko died. Having decided that the Russians now have no time for space, the Americans postponed the launch to the end of April.

March, April. The training center began training rescuers "Salyut-7". It was impossible to hesitate: the Americans could fly into space at any moment.

April 29. The Challenger entered orbit. The Spacelab laboratory installed on board recorded everything that happened to the Salyut-7. The Americans were convinced that it is realistic to board the Russian station in space.

June 6. Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh set off on an expedition to Salyut-7.

June 8. Docking has occurred.

On June 16, the cosmonauts adjusted the work of solar batteries, connected the batteries, and restored the station to work.

June 23. The Progress-24 cargo ship with equipment, water and fuel supplies docked to Salyut-7.

August 2. Dzhanibekov and Savinykh went into outer space and installed additional solar cells.

September 13. The United States has tested anti-satellite weapons.

September 19th. The Soyuz T-14 spacecraft with a crew of Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgy Grechko and Alexander Volkov docked to Salyut-7.

September 26. Dzhanibekov returned to Earth together with Grechko. The Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was not given to him for that flight, since he already had two.