A now a little speech about Soviet conquest of space through the MKBS
Moscow
February 14, 1978
Boris Chertok adressed the assembly of engineers and polititicians gathered that day near Moscow.
“Three years ago in 1975 we stopped production of the N-1 at vehicle 14L. So far vehicle 8L has been expended into an automated lunar flight. Vehicle 9L has launched the 4NM Mars rover in 1976. The year after vehicle 10L had been readied for the 5NM Mars sample return mission, but the mission collapsed after the 4NM rover failure.
Currently there is five N-1 lunar booster in storage. What can we do with all these massive rockets ? Over the last few years we feverishly hunted for payloads for them. And actually, very interesting prospective projects materialized, which in the future could led to new achievements in the field of fundamental astrophysics research, global communication systems, information systems development, and also monitoring in the interests of the national economy and national security.
We could create “Globis” - a global communication system using a heavy universal space platform (UKP) with a mass of 18 tons, which only the N-1 rocket could insert into geostationary orbit. And we attained consideration and approval of proposals for the UKP in the Defense Council. A draft decision of the USSR Council of Ministers appeared. The ministry and Military-Industrial Commission declared that the work on the UKP ranked second in terms of importance after the MKBS orbital station.
The new super-comsat should solve the problems of space in the geostationary orbit; four of these satellites - three on duty and one reserve - could be used to direct most of the data traffic worldwide. The system should take shape in two stages: the first two units would be launched, which would meet a demand of 100 000 telephone lines, enough for several million subscribers, and dozens of television channels. The second stage would see the launch of two additional heavier and more powerful units that could provide commercial services worldwide. The satellites of the first stage would have a mass of 13.8 tonnes and solar panels 10 kW. His life would be only five years, and they would use traditional Soviet technology that required pressurized systems and corresponding temperature control devices with moving parts. The units of the second stage would have an estimated ten years, almost the same as their Western counterparts of the time, a mass of 17.8 tons and a 15 kW solar panel life.
Beside Globis we have an ambitious scientific proposal to launch an international large space telescope. One wonders what is the advantage of placing a radio telescope in space, since, unlike other wavelengths, radio waves easily penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. The answer in this case has to do with the obstacle the Earth's atmosphere for other observatories, but with the resolution. If we place a telescope in space and we do work with antennas located on land we can get a resolution equivalent to a telescope equipped with an antenna the size of the orbit of the space telescope. It is what is called very-long-baseline interferometry, or VLBI for its acronym in English.
The
Kosmícheski RadioTeleskop main antenna would have a drop of about 25 meters, hence the project was known as KRT-25. Would use a secondary reflector of two meters and the whole study the sky in the frequency range of 5-2000 GHz, but would focus on the frequencies around 60 GHz, a region of the spectrum blocked by molecular oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. The mission would last about five years and the satellite would be placed in an initial orbit of 5000 x 20,000 km and an inclination of 63,45º. Subsequently, IVS reach its working orbit is highly elliptical, 5,000 x 150,000 kilometers. The space telescope would have a huge mass for a satellite in an orbit that is this: nothing more and nothing less than 27.8 tons (15.8 tonnes of fuel). Just like Globis the satellite should use the Universal Space Platform or UKP. The UKP had dimensions of 5.5 x 3.3 x 2.5 meters and solar panels can generate a power of 15 kW, but for this mission only require five to six kilowatts.
Next year the cosmonauts Vladimir Lyajov and Valeri Ryumin will install in the Salyut 6 (DOS-7K No. 5) the KRT-10 radio telescope. This should be the first instrument of a series of increasingly ambitious telescopes that were to culminate in the ROS-7K (Radiotejnícheskaia Orbitalnaia Stantsia, 'orbital station radio engineering') space stations. ROS-7K are space stations incorporating a KRT-30 radio telescope with an antenna thirty meters in diameter. They would be placed in an orbit of 600 km height and tilt 64,8º. ROS-7K would be replaced by other stations - DOS-Gals. I shall remember you that two Almaz hulls have been in storage for months; we could use these hulls for the KRT.
Beside Globis and KRT-25 we propose a space factory to produce ultra-pure semiconductor alloys and crystals. That would be the TMP, Technological Production Module. With a mass of 90 tons, it would be 35 m long and a diameter of 4 m. The Instrument Cargo Compartment would be derived from the TKS-FGB. Power would be 60 kW and mission duration five years.
The on-board production complex derived from the MKBS Kristall module would weigh 25 tons. The finished products would return to Earth in ballistic of gliding capsules – subscale EPOS lifting body, or TKS or Soyuz shape vehicles that could hold up to 140 kg of materials. Robotic manipulator arms would be used to remove a capsule from storage, load it, and then transfer it to a small airlock for ejection. The TMP would have two docking port to receive resupply and crewed ships, with crews being able to spend up to 10 days aboard the facility to unload supply ships and perform maintenance work. TMP would be the ultimate step in a phased program for space-based materials processing, which also included the launch of TKS-VA capsules and Almaz-derived 20 tons vehicles.
So that's the main three projects we want to use the remaining N-1 for – big geostationary communication platforms, large radiotelescopes to peer at the deep Universe, and material processing in space.
Beside these three there is no lack of huge projects planned to take advantage of N-1 capabilities to realize Soviet military and international space goals.
We identified varied far-reaching missions
- Restoration of the earth's ozone layer
- Disposal of nuclear waste outside of the solar system
- Illumination of polar cities by reflection of the sun's light – the Znamya project
- Large-area space energy reflectors (Znamya again)
- Solar sails for interplanetary flights (Znamya final goal)
- Exploitation of lunar resources for fusion reactors on the earth
- Space control system to assure ecological compliance and guarantee strategic stability
- International global information communications system
- Removal of space debris in geostationary orbit
- Large space radio telescope to study galaxies
I will briefly detail some of these grand schemes.
The eroding ozone layer of the earth could be replenished using a constellation of space-based lasers that would bombard the stratosphere at 30 km altitude for 30 years. The N-1 launch vehicle would launch 30 to 40 satellites, each with a mass of 60 to 80 metric tons, into a sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 450 km. They would use on-board ion engines to move to operational orbits at 1600 km altitude. Each spacecraft would consist of a 600 m diameter solar collector, a 35 MWt oxygen-iodine laser of continuous function and an equipment module with ion orbit correction engine
The entire inventory of high-level nuclear waste (100 metric tons) would be permanently disposed of in a solar orbit at 1. 2 AU between Earth and Mars using 10 to 15 launches of the N-1 launch vehicle. The waste would be encapsulated; in case of a launch vehicle failure it would be recovered from the equatorial ocean of the earth and sent back into space. The waste disposal vehicle consisted of two rocket stages. The first, conventional stage, puts the 50 metric ton payload into an 800 km parking orbit around the earth. The second 150-200 kWt nuclear electric stage uses an ion engine to transfer the waste to its permanent solar orbit. The net payload of waste per launch would be 9 metric tons.
Or the N-1 could place observation platforms of 18 to 21 metric tons in geostationary orbit. These platforms would provide continuous multispectral monitoring of the surface in the visual, ultraviolet, and infrared bands. Any environmental changes could be noted and radio and laser links used to command low orbit satellites to take a detailed look at the problem.
We also thought about the growing issue of space debris. A 15 metric ton maneuverable satellite, consisting of an engine unit and a satellite collection mechanism, would maneuver at geosynchronous altitude in orbits with inclinations of between 0 and 14 degrees. The spacecraft would collect dead communications satellites and move them from the geosynchronous orbit zone. An operating life of six months was expected.
Now how about a Polar City Illuminator ? The N-1 launch vehicle could be used to launch 100 orbital reflectors to provide light to cities located in the polar regions. These reflectors would be placed in sun synchronous orbits at 1700 km altitude / 103 deg inclination. Each satellite would be 240 m in diameter and have a mass of 5 to 6 metric tons. Each satellite would have a ten year life and be usable 8 hours daily, and illuminate a 17 km diameter circular area on the earth's surface. That's the Znamya concept. The satellite's equipment module would include solar panels, a KAR gyroscopic pointing system, and a laser unit to scan and control the form of the reflector. Pressure from the solar wind would be used to make orbital corrections. The illuminators would be orbited 10 to 12 at a time. A single N-1 launch would put a 69 metric ton payload into a 450 km / 103 deg orbit. A solar electric engine interorbital tug would take the satellites to the higher operational orbit and then deploy them.
Arm control has become a very important aspect of international relations. A satellite consisting of a 33 metric ton equipment bus and a 17 metric ton rocket stage would be placed in a 600 km / 97 degree orbit for arms control and environment monitoring. It would be equipped with a videospectrometer, optical electronic camera, and phased array radar. Solar panels would provide 13 kW of power.
In conclusion, as of today we have four N-1 in storage, and we have to define at least three missions around them. Since we have two Almaz hulls in storage, I suggest we use them as point of departure. Of all the projects detailed here, I personally favor the KRT-25 radiotelescope. We could build a pair of them from Almaz OPS-3 and OPS-4. My second prefered alternative is to turn the Almaz into prototypes of the Globis heavy geostationary communication platform. I really think we should expand the MKBS upward, to gestionary orbit. A N-11 could easily send a Soyuz up there. As an alternative, a Proton could loft a much-lightened TKS to geosynchronous orbit.
We can do it !