Almaz
Encyclopedia
The Almaz program was a series of military space station
s (or "Orbital Piloted Station" - OPS) launched by the Soviet Union
under cover of the civilian Salyut
DOS-17K (Durable Orbital Station) program after 1971.
Three Almaz stations were launched: Salyut 2
, Salyut 3
and Salyut 5
.
Salyut 2 failed shortly after achieving orbit, but Salyut 3 and Salyut 5 both conducted successful manned testing. Following Salyut 5, the Soviet Ministry of Defence judged in 1978 that the time consumed by station maintenance outweighed the benefits relative to automatic reconnaissance satellites.
as a response to the USAF's MOL
project. Like its counterpart, the Almaz OPS would be launched with its initial crew atop Chelomei's UR-500 Proton rocket
. After an extended stay of 30 to 60 days of military observation and photography the crew would return to Earth by way of a reusable Return Vehicle (VA
).
Unlike the American MOL design the Almaz was equipped with a docking port for subsequent crews. These crews would arrive in manned TKS, also launched by the UR-500. And just like Almaz OPS, the TKS was equipped with its own return vehicle.
Also unique to the Almaz complex were small capsules which could be loaded with developed film for immediate return to Earth.
, it was launched on April 3, 1973. For purposes of military secrecy, it was publicly designated Salyut 2
upon reaching orbit. A crew was prepared to fly to the station but an accident days after the launch left OPS-1 disabled and depressurized.
, was launched on June 25, 1974. The crew of the Soyuz 14
spacecraft spent 15 days aboard the station in July 1974. A second expedition was launched toward OPS-2 in August 1974, but failed to reach the station. The station successfully remotely test-fired an onboard aircraft
cannon
at a target satellite while the station was unmanned. Salyut-3 was deorbited in January 1975.
, entered orbit on June 22, 1976. It was visited by two crews in the summer of 1976 and winter of 1977.
and a manned reusable Return Vehicle VA
, however the VA was replaced by a second TKS docking port. This station's Shchit-1 23 mm defense cannon
was also to be replaced with an advanced Shchit-2 space-to-space cannon. The Shchit-2 was reported to be a two projectile system, although no photographs of it have ever been published and it does not appear that this system was ever installed on the station. OPS-4 was grounded when the Almaz manned program was cancelled.
rapid-fire cannon mounted on the forward belly of the station. This self-lubricating cannon was modified from the tail-gun of the Tu-22 bomber and was capable of firing 950 rounds per minute. Each 200 gram projectile flew at a speed of 690 m/s relative to the station. To aim the cannon, which was in a fixed mounting, the entire station would be turned to face the threat.
Salyut 3
/OPS-2 conducted a successful test firing on a target satellite remotely with the station unmanned due to concerns over excessive vibration and noise.
OPS-4 was to have featured two unguided missiles instead of the aircraft cannon, but this system has not been shown publicly and may have never been fully manufactured.
, Mir
and ISS
space station base modules.
Currently, the private spaceflight
company Excalibur Almaz
has four space capsules derived from the TKS Return capsule, one will be used in support of space tourism
while the other three capsules will be reserved for scientific and commercial payloads.
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
s (or "Orbital Piloted Station" - OPS) launched by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
under cover of the civilian Salyut
Salyut
The Salyut program was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union, which consisted of a series of nine space stations launched over a period of eleven years from 1971 to 1982...
DOS-17K (Durable Orbital Station) program after 1971.
Three Almaz stations were launched: Salyut 2
Salyut 2
Salyut 2 was a Soviet space station which was launched in 1973 as part of the Salyut programme. It was the first Almaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of launch the station had lost attitude control and depressurised, leaving it unusable...
, Salyut 3
Salyut 3
Salyut 3 was a Soviet space station launched on June 25, 1974. It was the second Almaz military space station, and the first such station to be launched successfully. It was included in the Salyut program to disguise its true military nature...
and Salyut 5
Salyut 5
Salyut 5 , also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited the station, each manned by two cosmonauts...
.
Salyut 2 failed shortly after achieving orbit, but Salyut 3 and Salyut 5 both conducted successful manned testing. Following Salyut 5, the Soviet Ministry of Defence judged in 1978 that the time consumed by station maintenance outweighed the benefits relative to automatic reconnaissance satellites.
Development
Almaz was promoted by Vladimir ChelomeiVladimir Chelomei
Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey was a Soviet mechanics scientist and rocket engineer from Ukraine.-Early life:Chelomey was born in Siedlce, Russian Empire into a Ukrainian family...
as a response to the USAF's MOL
Manned Orbiting Laboratory
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory , originally referred to as the Manned Orbital Laboratory, was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane project...
project. Like its counterpart, the Almaz OPS would be launched with its initial crew atop Chelomei's UR-500 Proton rocket
Proton rocket
Proton is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965 and the launch system is still in use as of 2011, which makes it one of the most successful heavy boosters in the history of spaceflight...
. After an extended stay of 30 to 60 days of military observation and photography the crew would return to Earth by way of a reusable Return Vehicle (VA
Merkur (spacecraft)
The Vozvraschaemyi Apparat , or Merkur, GRAU index 11F74, was a Soviet manned spacecraft designed as the reentry capsule for the TKS spacecraft...
).
Unlike the American MOL design the Almaz was equipped with a docking port for subsequent crews. These crews would arrive in manned TKS, also launched by the UR-500. And just like Almaz OPS, the TKS was equipped with its own return vehicle.
Also unique to the Almaz complex were small capsules which could be loaded with developed film for immediate return to Earth.
Orbital Piloted Stations (OPS)
The OPS basic design features are 4.15 meters in diameter and a weight of 20 tonnes. From 1965 to 1970, eight test models and two flight ready spaceframes were built. Five missions were executed with two considered a success. Total time spent in space in the program was 81 days.OPS-1 (Salyut 2)
The first Almaz station (OPS-1 or Almaz 101.1), announced as Salyut 2Salyut 2
Salyut 2 was a Soviet space station which was launched in 1973 as part of the Salyut programme. It was the first Almaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of launch the station had lost attitude control and depressurised, leaving it unusable...
, it was launched on April 3, 1973. For purposes of military secrecy, it was publicly designated Salyut 2
Salyut 2
Salyut 2 was a Soviet space station which was launched in 1973 as part of the Salyut programme. It was the first Almaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of launch the station had lost attitude control and depressurised, leaving it unusable...
upon reaching orbit. A crew was prepared to fly to the station but an accident days after the launch left OPS-1 disabled and depressurized.
OPS-2 (Salyut 3)
OPS-2 (or Almaz 101.2), announced as Salyut 3Salyut 3
Salyut 3 was a Soviet space station launched on June 25, 1974. It was the second Almaz military space station, and the first such station to be launched successfully. It was included in the Salyut program to disguise its true military nature...
, was launched on June 25, 1974. The crew of the Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14 was a 1974 manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of human...
spacecraft spent 15 days aboard the station in July 1974. A second expedition was launched toward OPS-2 in August 1974, but failed to reach the station. The station successfully remotely test-fired an onboard aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
cannon
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
at a target satellite while the station was unmanned. Salyut-3 was deorbited in January 1975.
OPS-3 (Salyut 5)
OPS-3 (or Almaz 103), announced after launch as Salyut 5Salyut 5
Salyut 5 , also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited the station, each manned by two cosmonauts...
, entered orbit on June 22, 1976. It was visited by two crews in the summer of 1976 and winter of 1977.
OPS-4
The next Almaz station, OPS-4, was to be the first station launched with a three panel Mech-A Synthetic Aperture RadarSynthetic aperture radar
Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...
and a manned reusable Return Vehicle VA
TKS spacecraft
TKS spacecraft was a Soviet spacecraft design in the late 1960s intended to supply the military Almaz space station. The spacecraft was designed for manned or autonomous cargo resupply use...
, however the VA was replaced by a second TKS docking port. This station's Shchit-1 23 mm defense cannon
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
was also to be replaced with an advanced Shchit-2 space-to-space cannon. The Shchit-2 was reported to be a two projectile system, although no photographs of it have ever been published and it does not appear that this system was ever installed on the station. OPS-4 was grounded when the Almaz manned program was cancelled.
Defense measures
In addition to reconnaissance equipment, Almaz was equipped with a 23mm NudelmanNudelman-Rikhter NR-23
The Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 is a Soviet cannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A. E. Nudelman and A.A. Rikhter to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 and VYa cannon, entering service in 1949....
rapid-fire cannon mounted on the forward belly of the station. This self-lubricating cannon was modified from the tail-gun of the Tu-22 bomber and was capable of firing 950 rounds per minute. Each 200 gram projectile flew at a speed of 690 m/s relative to the station. To aim the cannon, which was in a fixed mounting, the entire station would be turned to face the threat.
Salyut 3
Salyut 3
Salyut 3 was a Soviet space station launched on June 25, 1974. It was the second Almaz military space station, and the first such station to be launched successfully. It was included in the Salyut program to disguise its true military nature...
/OPS-2 conducted a successful test firing on a target satellite remotely with the station unmanned due to concerns over excessive vibration and noise.
OPS-4 was to have featured two unguided missiles instead of the aircraft cannon, but this system has not been shown publicly and may have never been fully manufactured.
Almaz-T (unmanned)
Following cancellation of the program, the Almaz station was reconfigured as an unmanned heavy radar-carrying reconnaissance satellite. Three such satellites were launched, two of which functioned successfully in orbit.Almaz-T
- Almaz-T - The first Almaz-T blasted off from Baikonur on October 29, 1986. It did not reach orbit due to the failure of the first and second stages of the Proton launcher to separate. The safety system then destroyed the vehicle.
Kosmos 1870
- Kosmos 1870 - On July 25, 1987, the second Almaz-T spacecraft successfully reached orbit with an inclination 71.92 degrees toward the Equator and it was officially identified as Cosmos-1870. The spacecraft functioned for two years, providing radar imagery with a resolution down to 25 meters, until it was deorbited on July 30, 1989.
Almaz-1
- Almaz-1 - The third Almaz-T spacecraft was launched on March 31, 1991 under the name Almaz-1. After the launch a failure of the communications antenna designed to downlink the imagery via the Luch relay satellite was noted. Also one of the solar panels failed to deploy completely, leaving the main radar panel of the spacecraft partially blocked. After 18 months of successful work the Almaz-1 was deorbited on October 17, 1992 over the Pacific Ocean.
Almaz-2
- Almaz-2 (Almaz-1V) - Not flown. It had a new radar which would have provided a resolution of 5 to 7 meters. In addition, an optical-electronic payload on the station would have been capable of producing imagery with a resolution of 2.5 – 4 meters.
Other usage
The OPS spaceframes formed the basis of the SalyutSalyut
The Salyut program was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union, which consisted of a series of nine space stations launched over a period of eleven years from 1971 to 1982...
, Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
and ISS
ISS
The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV...
space station base modules.
Currently, the private spaceflight
Private spaceflight
Private spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...
company Excalibur Almaz
Excalibur Almaz
Excalibur Almaz is a private spaceflight company which plans to provide orbital space tourism, and provide test beds for experiments in a microgravity environment., Excalibur hoped to begin flights by 2012 with revenue flights starting as early as 2013....
has four space capsules derived from the TKS Return capsule, one will be used in support of space tourism
Space tourism
Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...
while the other three capsules will be reserved for scientific and commercial payloads.
External links
- http://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz_ops4.html
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/astrospies/about.html
- The Almaz Space Station Program
- Almaz
- Mir Hardware Heritage
- Almaz on Encyclopedia Astronautica
- Nova "Astrospies". Chapter 5 features Almaz Program