Nukes in space and other news

Andrei Kislyakov opinion pieces:

• “Russian Space Program Needs To Change”, 12/8
• “Outside View: Space industry confusions”, 13/8
• “What’s the outlook for the ISS?”, 14/8.

Two-part article on “Nuclear Power in Space” by Yurii Zaitsev: Part 1 (RIAN/SpaceDaily, 13/8) and Part 2 (RIAN/SpaceDaily, 15/8). For an interplanetary mission (e.g. to Mars) a small nuclear reactor would provide a more efficient power source than solar panels (which are increasingly ineffective the further away from the Sun a spaceship gets). Russia developed a unit called “Topaz” during the Soviet era, which has been flown in space on satellites. (I first saw mention of the Topaz in the Stephen Baxter novel Titan).

Unfortunately, with current technology only nuclear fission (splitting an atom) is used with its unpleasant side-effects of radiation; fusion (combining atoms) would be ideal. There is also the environmental problem of how to bring a reactor back to Earth!

• “Obsolete space industry”, Space Daily, 15/8: Andrei Kislyakov opinion piece.

  For Russia, the ISS is all that is left of its once stupendous manned program. Its loss would shake the industry to its foundations. But the question arises: If Russia is to stay on, which is beyond discussion, then what is to be done and, most importantly, how?

• FP Space posting: “Soyuz/Progress upgrades”, 20/8. Summary of a Novosti Kosmonavtiki article about planned upgrades to the spacecraft.
• “Bold New Projects Critical To Future Of Russian Space Exploration”, Space Daily, 20/8. Interview with former Energiya president Nikolai Sevast’yanov.
• “Russian, European Space Agencies To Develop Manned Spaceship”, RIAN/Space Daily, 22/8. Announcement at the MAKS-2007 Airshow.
• “Russian space agency to form three space holdings by 2015”, RIAN/Space Daily, 22/8.
• “50th Aniversary Of The Russian ICBM Rocket”, Space Daily, 23/8.
• “Mars-500 Experiment Could Be Extended To 700 Days”, RIAN/Space Daily, 23/8. Pity this can’t be a real mission, even just one going around Mars (not landing on it).
• “Russia’s space guru opts for evolution”, RIAN/Space Daily, 23/8. Andrei Kislyakov on the dismayingly limited plans for Russia’s space program – just upgrade some old designs.

And why can’t the Russian space program do something similar to this: “NASA and Internet Archive Team to Digitize Space Imagery”, SpaceRef, 23/8. There must be a lot of things in the Russian archives that the public hasn’t seen; it would be a great way of getting their attention.

Where’s Sergei?

After the restructuring of Energiya’s top management on 6 August, Sergei Krikalyov seems to have vanished from the Top Management page (he was elected Vice-President of Manned Flights on 5 February). (First noticed by Olaf.) Has he been removed from his position there after 6 months, or did they just neglect to mention him?

The interviews with Nikolai Sevast’yanov that were at the top of the Energiya website for some time were removed; here are links to all 4 of them at the site:

• “The mission to Mars is to be international”, 24/11/2005
• “Manned spaceflight to be cost-efficient”, 1/2/2006
• “Concept of Russian manned space navigation development”, 1/7/2006
• “MoonGasTransport Inc.”, 12/2/2007

Progress M-61 launches

Progress M-61 launched on 2/8 at 17:33:48 and docked with the Pirs module on 5/8 at 18:40:25 UTC.

The Progress M-59 cargo ship undocked on 1/8 at 14:07 UTC, deorbited at 18:42 and the remains entered the ocean near Christmas Island at 19:27.

“Russia’s space effort: one step forward, two steps backward”, RIA Novosti opinion piece, 2/8. (Same article at SpaceDaily)

“By 2014, Russia may drop behind the United States, China and the European Union in manned flights unless it continues developing a new spacecraft. By 2014, the U.S. is planning to complete a new ship, the Orion, which will put up stiff competition against our Soyuz craft on the international market. We may seriously fall behind in technologies by that time,” a worried Sevastyanov said.

[…]

Of course, one can take it easy and continue taking pride in the number of annual launches and link research plans with the number of tourists wishing to have a ride on the ISS. But then it is not clear whether the Russian space effort has any future prospects worth pursuing.

“Soviet Space Art,” Metafilter, 2/8. Links to an article at GlobalSecurity.org, “Pop Culture Materials Highlight Soviet Commitment to Manned Lunar Flight, Provide Hints of Actual Plans” with lots of illustrations of propaganda cards, postage stamps, and so on.

There was a post about a miniseries called Race to Mars at the Uplink forum. Synopsis:

In the year 2030, the race to be the first to reach the Red Planet is on – and China is leading the way. China has stunned the world by leapfrogging over America’s long-term plans and has landed a series of advanced rovers and robotic landers in their quest to make the most important discovery in history – extraterrestrial life on Mars. Once again, America and its partners, including Canada, are thrust into a winner-take-all space race – but the stakes are higher than the race to the Moon nearly seven decades earlier.

The international team accelerates its plans – when China prepares to send its final wave of rovers, this consortium will surge ahead and at last launch a human crew. Six extraordinary individuals from Canada, the United States, Russia, France and Japan are selected for this gruelling two-year mission. These four men and two women must work together as a team, rise above their secret fears and struggle with the sacrifice of leaving friends and family behind. Training and determination will get them only so far, and when this crew sets out on humanity’s first expedition to another world, nothing can prepare them for the unexpected danger and staggering wonder of what they will experience.

Note how Russia has been reduced to a “bit player” (though at least they don’t seem to be the bad guys), but China is now where Russia used to be in the public consciousness. (I would like to see Russia “stun the world” by putting the first humans on Mars, but realistically that doesn’t seem likely to happen. Would like to be proven wrong, though!)

New Energiya president

A new president of Energiya was elected, Vitali Aleksandrovich Lopota. The company also seems to be in financial trouble. [According to this post at FP Space, the “bankruptcy” statement was a slight mistranslation.] The Klipper spaceship won’t be displayed at the upcoming MAKS 2007 airshow. The deputy head of Roskosmos, Vitali Davidov, informed journalists on Tuesday that in the Federal space program of Russia, no flights of Russian cosmonauts to the Moon are planned until at least 2012.

Other news tidbits:

• “Oxygen Generating System activated onboard ISS”, NASASpaceflight.com, 12/7. The OGS in the Destiny module has been turned on, so it will be interesting to see how this performs over time! The cantankerous Elektron seems to have been behaving itself the last few months (at least, there have been no reports of any trouble).
• “The 1st Russian Space Tourist?”: NASASpaceflight.com forum thread about a rumor that a Russian tourist will be going up in spring 2008 (autumn in the Northern Hemisphere). Hope they are not an obnoxious oligarch or the equally obnoxious Sergei Polonskii.
• Clayton Anderson (EV1, EMU No.3008) and Fyodor Yurchikhin (EV2, EMU No. 3006) successfully completed their spacewalk on 23 July, taking 7h 41m (10:24-18:05 UTC). Some photos start from this page at the ISS-15 Gallery.
• An article by Asif Siddiqi: “Russia’s Long Love Affair with Space”, August 2007.

From Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №640:

20/07/2007/10:42 – Scientists will contact the ISS from the bottom of the ocean at the North Pole

The participants of the expedition of the Russian “Mir” deep-water manned devices – who, for the first time in history, will make a dive at a point of the North Pole – plan to communicate from the bottom of the Arctic ocean via TsUP (Moscow Mission Control) with the crew of the International Space Station. The special representative of the president of the Russian Federation – State Duma Vice-President Artur Tchilingarov – announced this in connection with the third International Polar Year.

According to Tchilingarov – who will head this expedition – the beginning of the immersing of the devices Mir-1 and Mir-2 in an area of the North Pole is planned for 29 July of this year.

The “Mir” submersibles appeared in the 1997 Titanic movie. A test dive was made on the 29th.

Progress M-61 is to launch on 2 August.

Russian loos rule!

As evidence that Russian space toilets are superior :-), NASA will be paying Energiya $19 million to construct another toilet to be installed in the U.S. segment, to cater for the crew increase to 6 in 2009 (the loo will be installed in 2008). (This was even reported in Saturday’s The Age.) There is a thread on the topic at NASASpaceflight.com.

I found an official website, Angkasawan Programme Website, for the Malaysian cosmonauts to go up on the next Soyuz flight (TMA-11). Spacemen are called “Angkasawan” in Malaysian. They are also keeping a blog, which is interesting reading (though they need to close the earlier entry comments as the pesky spammers are posting). The site is, thankfully, not as cumbersome as Charles Simonyi’s Flash-animated site (though it still uses tables for layout, tsk, tsk).

The programme is part of an offset agreement between Malaysia and Russia in relation to Malaysia’s purchase of Russian-made Sukhoi-30MKM fighter jets. Through this package, the Russian government agreed to train two Malaysians, one of which will make the journey while the other one will act as his backup. The Russian Government will bear the costs.

If the Australian government would buy Su-30s perhaps we could get to send up an Australian in exchange! Wishful thought...

“Russia Declares Its Independence In Space”, Space Daily, 12/7. A short history of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia’s only independent launch center (i.e. not dependent upon other countries, such as the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is).

Energiya vs. Roskosmos

Energiya and Roskosmos are bickering again, with the Federal Space Agency moving to fire Energiya President Nikolai Sevast’yanov (temporarily replacing him with Vice-President Aleksandr Strekalov).

• “Government wants to sack Energia space corp. head – source”, RIA Novosti, 22/6. “During his tenure, Sevastyanov has not been on good terms with the Federal Space Agency, a government regulator in the space industry. The Energia head has been repeatedly criticized primarily for his daring projects on Moon exploration, which the agency called ‘lunacy’ and looked to restrict Sevastyanov’s powers.”
• “Strekalov to become acting Energia space corp. president”, RIA Novosti, 22/6
• Roskosmos has almost achieved Sevastyanov’s resignation, NASASpaceflight.com thread. “I am very disappointed. Mr. Sevast’yanov very much loves unrealizable projects, but such people move astronautics forward.”
• “What Is Happening At The Russian Rocket Corporation”, RIA Novosti, 28/6 (also at SpaceDaily)

Energiya’s management (including Sergei Krikalyov) signed a statement in support of Mr. Sevast’yanov (currently in Russian [Gone]; no English translation yet). This seems somewhat ironic, as his election was initially opposed in 2005, and the management of then signed a statement in support of the-then President, Yurii Semyonov! (The original collective letter. [Gone]) He must have made a good impression since then. At least he had a Vision for the future. Some interviews with him are on Energiya’s Publications page.

These sort of political machinations are wasteful and are hardly likely to inspire younger people to join the Russian space program (of whom it is in desperate need of).

Computer woes

Yurchikhin and Kotov successfully completed their second spacewalk on 6 June, taking 5h 37m (14:25-20:02 UTC). A micrometerorite or space debris impact hole was found on the Zarya module, as this photo shows. Photos taken during the spacewalk are on pages 12 and 13 of the Human Spaceflight Gallery.

The launch and docking of STS-117 Atlantis went well (launched on the first attempt on 8/6 at 23:38 UTC; docked at 19:36 UTC on 10/6).

Computer problems on the Russian segment of the ISS. This happened after the new solar array (S3/S4 truss) was unfurled, so a possibility is electromagnetic interference from the array. I think the computers in question are the Data Management System. It seems to be one of those unforeseen issues that are only revealed in live operation rather than testing on the ground.

“Space station glitch puzzles the experts”, James Oberg, MSNBC.com, 14/6, and “Atlantis ready to support ISS troubleshooting” at NASASpaceflight.com.

[Update, 18/6: the ISS computer problems appear to be fixed; details in “Teamwork, Expertise and Confidence – solving the ISS’ troubles” at NASASpaceflight.com and STS-117 MCC Status Report #17. The situation predictably brought out the Russia-bashers, such as this post at Habitable Zone.]

From Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №633:

15/06/2007/00:06: The new (2006) group of cosmonauts will prove their proficiency in free flight and under the canopy of a parachute

The new group of cosmonauts admitted to general spaceflight preparation in October of last year, today begin the first serious test. As Yurii Gidzenko – the head of the Special Preparation Department of the Cosmonaut Preparation/Training Center (TsPK, ЦПК) – informed an ITAR-TASS correspondent, “from 14 June to 14 July in Yeysk, the cosmonauts candidate for will undertake the first of two stages of special parachute preparation (SPPK, Специальной парашютной подготовки, СППК)”. Such preparation is intended to determine the speed of thinking, control and other qualities of the future cosmonauts, he specified.

Seven recruits – among whom there is one woman, an engineer from Rocket & Space Corporation Energiya, Elena Serova – will demonstrate the psychological stability and skill to operate in an extreme situation, which is so necessary in the cosmonaut profession. Before the candidates start tests from a great height, they will undertake more than 20 fact-finding jumps from heights of 1 km up to 1.5 km, Gidzenko specified. That completed, the future cosmonauts will demonstrate these qualities during 2-3 control jumps from a height of 2.5-3 km, to where they will be flown with a Mi-8 helicopter.

Before the “examination” test, each candidate will receive their task on a card at which he can glance only before jumping from the flying machine, explained the ITAR-TASS correspondent in TsPK’s search and rescue and paraborne service. In the set time before opening a parachute, in free fall mode, and then under a parachute canopy, the examined should solve the tasks put in “ticket” in a set time and, through a built-in helmet microphone, comment on the actions in an extreme situation.

Comments are stored on a small dictaphone fixed to the belt of the cosmonaut, then psychologists will analyse this, and physicians will decipher the data from special devices monitoring the condition of the basic bodies during a jump. The sensors of these devices are attached to the body of the examinee, enabling them to monitor his medical parameters in online mode, TsPK said. Besides this, an operator flying by a line records the pose and behaviour of the cosmonaut on a videocamera, and these records are analyzed also by experts on the ground.

The second stage of SPPK for the new group will take place in following year. “Now we shall teach the cosmonauts to jump with a parachute and to speak during a jump, which in itself is not easy, and at the second stage the card with tasks becomes more difficult,” Gidzenko explained.

Russian version, Русская версия

---

12/6/2007/18:06: The space industry should not be held hostage to commerce

Russia should work out effective ways to ensure national security in the space industry. This was the view of Grigorii Chernyavskii (Deputy CEO Russian Space Research Institute of Robotics and Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences), reports RIA Novosti. Chernyavskii believes that the Russian space industry should not stoop to the provision of space tourists. Unfortunately, Russia has opted for the commercialization of space and space-based services instead of creating and effective space means of ensuring national security, as is customary in the world, said the specialist. According to Chernyavskii, to make a difference, the government must declare the establishment of security at the state level, to measure the number of manned flights with real opportunities and increase public financing for space activities.

Russian version, Русская версия

Award and spacewalk

On 23 May, Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalyov, Vice-president of S.P. Korolev RSC Energia, pilot cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Russian Federation, was elected an honorary freeman/citizen of Saint-Petersburg. This decision was taken by the Deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Petersburg. Honorable citizens have the right to introduce laws for examination by the urban parliament, their pensions will be increased, and they do not have to pay public transport fares. The award was presented on the 27th, and photos (low-resolution only) of the presentation are available at the Official Portal of the Administration of St. Petersburg website. Photos showing Sergei (note the tie he is wearing!): 2, 8, 9, 10. Governor V.I. Matviyenko thanked cosmonaut Sergei Krikalyov for his help to St. Petersburg, his support of many undertakings and projects, and active participation in the public life of his native city. There is also a press release at the Energiya site (and a portrait photo).

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov of Expedition 15 successfully completed their spacewalk this morning (the first time for both of them). There was a 45-minute delay in starting because of communications difficulties, but the rest of the spacewalk proceeded well for 5h 25m (19:05-00:30 UTC). Fyodor Yurchikhin was EV1, Orlan-M №26 (blue stripes), BRTA-13 telemetry system; Oleg Kotov was EV2, Orlan №0520025 (25) (red stripes), BRTA-18). (Relevant thread at NASASpaceflight.com.) The second spacewalk is on 6 June.

Progress M-60 launches

Progress M-60, the 25th Progress flight to the ISS, launched on 12 May 2007 at 03:25:38 UTC and docked to Zvezda at 15 May 2007 at 05:10 with no problems.

Alexei Krasnov, the head of the Russian Space Agency’s department for manned flights, said that ISS crews will be increased to six people by 2009 on 11 May.

“A tale of two rockets...with a happy ending”, James Oberg, MSNBC.com, 14/5. 15 May is the 50th anniversary of the R7 rocket, and the 20th anniversary of the first launch of the Energiya booster rocket. Both were originally intended for military purposes, but the R7 became a successful launch rocket for civilian missions, and the Energiya was intended to covertly launch weapons but was cancelled after the USSR collapsed.

From Novosti Kosmonavtiki news №627. Nikolai Sevast’yanov told journalists at Baikonur Cosmodrome on 15 May that Energiya would present the Kliper project to Roskosmos at year’s end. Energiya’s primary goal is the development of a new space transport system of a new qualitative level.

Energiya has begun the construction of the 6 piloted Soyuz and 3 Progress cargo spaceships ordered by NASA under contract for nearly U.S.$1 billion. The ships will be completed between 2009-2011. As the construction takes 2-3 years, Energiya has begun “bookmarking” the ships, though the method of financing is not certain yet; the company is beginning the work with its own resources.

Cosmonaut Group update

An updated list of the Cosmonaut Group was posted by Anik at NASASpaceflight.com, reproduced below:

Cosmonauts of GCTC Detachment
Baturin, Yurii Mikhailovich	Deputy Commander of GCTC Detachment, Instructor-Cosmonaut-Tester of 2nd Class, 2 spaceflights
Ivanishin, Anatolii Alekseievich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Kondrat’ev, Dmitrii Yur’evich	Commander of Group of GCTC Detachment, Cosmonaut-Tester
Kotov, Oleg Valeriovich	Commander of Group of GCTC Detachment, Cosmonaut-Tester, 1 spaceflight
Lonchakov, Yurii Valentinovich	Commander of GCTC Detachment, Cosmonaut-Tester of 2nd Class, 2 spaceflights
Malenchenko, Yurii Ivanovich	Instructor-Cosmonaut-Tester of 2nd Class, 3 spaceflights
Padalka, Gennadii Ivanovich	Instructor-Cosmonaut-Tester of 2nd Class, 2 spaceflights
Romanenko, Roman Yur’evich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Samokutyaev, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Sharipov, Salizhan Shakirovich	Deputy Commander of GCTC Detachment, Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 2 spaceflights
Shkaplerov, Anton Nikolaevich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Skvortsov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Sura’ev, Maksim Viktorovich	Commander of Group of GCTC Detachment, Cosmonaut-Tester
Tarelkin, Evgenii Igorevich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Tokarev, Valerii Ivanovich	Commander of Group of GCTC Detachment, Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 2 spaceflights
Val’kov, Konstantin Anatolievich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Volkov, Sergei Aleksandrovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Cosmonauts of RSC Energiya Detachment
Artem’ev, Oleg Germanovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Borisenko, Andrei Ivanovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Kaleri, Aleksandr Yur’evich	Instructor-Cosmonaut-Tester of 1st Class, 4 spaceflights
Kononenko, Oleg Dmitrievich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Kornienko, Mikhail Borisovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Kozeev, Konstantin Mirovich	Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 1 spaceflight
Krikalyov, Sergei Konstantinovich	Instructor-Cosmonaut-Tester of 1st Class, 6 spaceflights
Lazutkin, Aleksandr Ivanovich	Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 1 spaceflight
Revin, Sergei Nikolaevich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Serov, Mark Vyacheslavovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Skripochka, Oleg Ivanovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Tyurin, Mikhail Vladislavovich	Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 2 spaceflights
Vinogradov, Pavel Vladimirovich	Commander of RSC Energiya Detachment, Instructor-Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 2 spaceflights
Yurchikhin, Fyodor Nikolaevich	Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 2 spaceflights
Cosmonauts of IMBP Detachment
Morukov, Boris Vladimirovich	Commander of IMBP Detachment, Cosmonaut-Researcher of 3rd Class, 1 spaceflight
Ryazanskii, Sergei Nikolaevich	Cosmonaut-Researcher
Cosmonauts not included in Detachments
Moshchenko, Sergei Ivanovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Zhukov, Sergei Aleksandrovich	Cosmonaut-Tester
Shargin, Yurii Georg’evich	Cosmonaut-Tester of 3rd Class, 1 spaceflight
Russian cosmonaut candidates
Misurkin, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for GCTC Detachment
Novitskii, Oleg Viktorovich	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for GCTC Detachment
Ovchinin, Aleksei Nikolaevich	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for GCTC Detachment
Ponomarev, Maksim Vladimirovich	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for GCTC Detachment
Ryzhikov, Sergei Nikolaevich	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for GCTC Detachment
Serova, Elena Olegovna	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for RSC Energiya Detachment
Tikhonov, Nikolai Vladimirovich	Candidate for cosmonaut-tester for RSC Energiya Detachment

Groups of preparation in GCTC

Designated ISS crews

Group	Prime	Backup
MKS-16 (ISS Expedition 16)	Whitson	Fincke
	Malenchenko	Sharipov
	Tani	Magnus
	Eyharts	De Winne
	Reisman	Kopra
MKS-17 (ISS Expedition 17)	Volkov	Padalka
	Kononenko	Sura’ev
	Magnus	Stott
MKS-18 (ISS Expedition 18)	Fincke	Lonchakov
	Sharipov	Barratt
	Wakata	Noguchi
	Chamitoff	Creamer

ISS preparations

MKS-gr1 (ISS Group 1)	Baturin, Kaleri, Tokarev
MKS-gr2 (ISS Group 2)	Kondrat’ev, Skvortsov, Valkov
MKS-gr3 (ISS Group 3)	Moshchenko, Revin, Skripochka, Shargin
MKS-gr4 (ISS Group 4)	Ivanishin, Samokutyaev, Tarelkin
MKS-gr5 (ISS Group 5)	Aimbetov, Artem’ev, Aymakhanov, Borisenko, Serov
EP-13 (Visiting Crew 13)	Prime/Backup: Shukor/Bin Khaleed
OKP (General Space Preparation)	Novitskii, Misurkin, Ovchinin, Ponomarev, Ryzhikov, Serova, Tikhonov
Yuzhnaya Koreya (South Korea)	Ko San, Yi So-yeon

Cosmonauts not included in Groups of preparation in GCTC

• Yurchikhin and Kotov are performing spaceflight aboard ISS as the Expedition 15 commander and flight engineer-1 accordingly
• Tyurin is on post-flight rehabilitation at GCTC
• Shkaplerov is GCTC representative at JSC (replacing Dmitrii Kondrat’ev, who was there twice more than previous representatives)
• Kozeev, Krikalyov, Lazutkin and Vinogradov are working in RSC Energia
• Morukov and Ryazanskii are working in IMBP
• Zhukov is working in Roskosmos

There was some confused reports that Anatolii Perminov said that NASA had rejected a proposal to co-operate in exploring the Moon, but as reported by New Scientist Space, NASA has denied this. In any case, the relevant thread at NASASpaceflight.com brought out the usual “Paranoid Patriots”.

I am debating whether to transfer this blog to an account at Wordpress.com; still can’t decide! The one thing I dislike about the free WP account is that the style sheet can’t be altered as it can with Blogger. The link to my blog isn’t showing up on my Blogger profile for some reason.