Outposts on the Frontier: A Fifty-Year History of Space Stations (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight)

by Jay Chladek

  Once the capsule was upright, the crew was able to expel the rest of the fumes before the onboard emergency oxygen ran out. Nobody else knew what had happened until after the Apollo command module was on the deck of the USS New Orleans and the crew got out. The welcoming ceremonies were underway when the captain of the New Orleans learned about what transpired and ended the ceremonies early. The only visible sign that something might be wrong was that Vance Brand looked a little green, as he was still a bit ill. He apparently got a higher exposure of fumes due to his proximity to the air vent. Once the crew got to the ship’s sick bay, Brand passed out again. None of the crew seemed to have difficulty breathing. But there was some damage done to their lungs, and they weren’t taking in as much oxygen as they should with each breath. As a result, the Apollo crew had to spend two weeks in the hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, before being released. Slayton stayed in the hospital a little longer when a lesion was discovered on his lung. Surgery to remove the lesion revealed that it was noncancerous. The crew recovered normally after that.

  ASTP’s Legacy

  Of the ASTP crewmembers, Leonov, Stafford, and Slayton would not fly in space again. In 1976 Leonov accepted the position of chief cosmonaut, giving him the responsibility of crew training at the Gagarin Training Center in Star City; he held that position until 1982, before being promoted. He finally retired from the space program in 1992 to continue painting, to write articles for books, and to pursue business opportunities.

  Tom Stafford stayed active in the U.S. Air Force, being promoted to major general after the ASTP mission, and took command of the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB during the early testing of the space shuttle Enterprise. After he retired from NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Stafford took up a few jobs in the private sector, including heading up a consulting firm that maintained contact with leaders in both the U.S. and Russian space programs to advise them on respective spaceflight matters.

  Deke Slayton stayed on at NASA to manage the approach and landing test phase of the shuttle program, but he retired in 1982 not long after the first successful flights of the space shuttle Columbia. He pursued some ventures in the private sector, including development of a commercial space payload launcher, before being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Deke Slayton died of cancer in 1993.

  Both Valery Kubasov and Vance Brand would return to space, with Kubasov flying one more Soyuz mission before retiring in 1993 and Brand flying three space shuttle missions before leaving the astronaut office in 1992. After that, Vance Brand held various administration positions at NASA until he finally retired from the agency in 2008. Kubasov recently passed away on 19 February 2014. He was seventy-nine years old, and his death was reported to be from natural causes.

  The end of the flight didn’t mean the end of ASTP, as there were further meetings between the engineering teams after the mission to analyze the data collected. But future joint manned spaceflights would have to wait, as both countries’ leaders took on stances that became progressively more hard-line in the years that followed. Many observers felt that while ASTP was an excellent joint effort and fostered a spirit of cooperation, it was unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. However, the words of U.S. president Gerald Ford, from a speech he read to the ASTP crews during their first day of docked operations, would prove prophetic in the decades that followed: “It has taken us many years to open this door to useful cooperation in space between our two countries, and I am confident that the day is not far off when space missions made possible by this first joint effort will be more or less commonplace.”

  7

  Salyut Endurance!

  Once the Apollo command module representing the American half of ASTP returned successfully to Earth on 24 July 1975, it would be almost six years before NASA would fly astronauts in space again. For half a decade, the Soviets would have manned space exploration all to themselves. They would devote that time almost completely to development of the DOS Salyut stations and rack up many successes along the way.

  Soyuz 22, the Last Independent Soyuz Mission

  During the flight of the Salyut 5 OPS station, the Soviets launched Soyuz 22. They made use of the backup spacecraft built for ASTP. The APAS docking collar was removed from the orbital module, and in its place was mounted the MKF-6 multispectral camera built by the East German firm Carl Zeiss Jena. The system could take photographs in both visible-light and infrared wavelengths and could take up to six photographs at once of a point of interest in a staggered fashion. Once the film was developed, the pictures could be put together like a mosaic. It was capable of photographing an area up to 165 kilometers wide on Earth from orbit, and it could image up to 500,000 square kilometers in ten minutes. The photos were similar to those from a Landsat satellite, with false color imagery showcasing details that might not be seen normally. Soyuz 22 was launched on 15 September 1976 and lasted until 23 September. On board were Vostok 5 veteran Valery Bykovsky and rookie flight engineer Vladimir Aksyonov. Bykovsky flew and oriented the Soyuz to achieve the proper attitudes for collecting imagery, while Aksyonov operated the camera system.

  In addition to the camera experiment, Soyuz 22 also carried an aquarium to study the behavior of primitive fish in zero gravity and a small centrifuge to see if artificial gravity would have a positive effect on plant development and growth. The cosmonauts also kept a log to see if they encountered any cosmic-ray light flashes, as the Apollo astronauts had. The camera system imaged over thirty geographic areas in Soviet and Eastern European territories and took over 2,400 photographs. The images collected were of very good quality and were used in Earth science and resource investigations for several years after. Soyuz 22 would be the last scheduled independent flight of a crewed Soyuz. If any craft ever flew free after that, it would be either an unmanned test flight or the result of a docking failure.

  Salyut 6

  The next Soviet DOS station to fly didn’t look all that much different from its Salyut 4 predecessor, but internally Salyut 6 was a much more mature vehicle, making use of every bit of design knowledge that was learned up to that point. The hardware was beefed up and provisions were made for equipment change outs. Like Salyut 4, Salyut 6 had three main solar arrays that could track the sun independently.

  One major change made on Salyut 6 was an extension ring built onto the back of the core module replacing the Soyuz-based propulsion module. The new extension housed the station’s main engines; within the ring, designers fitted a second docking port. A second Igla antenna was also fitted facing aft. Soyuz craft could dock at either port, but the aft port would mainly be used by the supply craft since it also contained fuel lines in the docking collar to allow a Progress to refill the Salyut’s onboard fuel tanks.

  To accommodate refueling, the fuel and oxidizer supply of the station was changed from nitric acid and hydrazine to unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. The internal plumbing and fuel-pressurization system of Salyut 6 featured a set of internal bladders pressurized by nitrogen gas. During a refueling procedure, the bladders would provide negative pressure in the Salyut’s fuel and oxidizer reservoirs while the fuel system of the Progress would remain at a positive pressure. As a result, the Salyut would suck fuel and oxidizer out of the Progress. The process would take hours to perform, but it would guarantee an orderly transfer of fuel and oxidizer between spacecraft. With this capability in place, Salyut 6 could stay operational as long as its systems were functioning and its fuel supply could be topped off. The system also meant that the station didn’t have to carry as much of a fuel reserve, so Salyut 6 could be reboosted more frequently into higher orbits.

  29. With two docking ports, Salyut 6 could be resupplied frequently. Courtesy of the author.

  Internally, Salyut 6 shared about the same layout with its DOS predecessors, but with some minor equipment changes. Salyut 6 was the first Soviet station to make use of color television cameras, while previous stations used only black-and-white cameras to transmit video
to Earth. Scientific equipment was also developed for Salyut 6, but not all of it was launched with the station, in order to keep the flight weight down. Instead, Progress craft would bring up the equipment on regular supply runs.

  Enter the Orlan

  Two space suits were also at Salyut 6’s disposal. While the DOS and OPS core always had a side hatch intended for EVA use, the previous stations were not equipped with space suits. Salyut 6 contained two Orlan (a Russian word meaning “Sea Eagle”) suits. The Orlan was originally designed for spacewalk use in the Soviet lunar-landing program. When the lunar program was canceled, work still continued on refining the Orlan. By the time Salyut 6 launched, the Zvezda design bureau had ten years of development and testing invested in the Orlan, making it a very mature system.

  The Orlan is a semirigid space suit featuring a solid torso and integral helmet. Cosmonauts climb inside through a hatch resembling a refrigerator door in the suit’s backpack. The backpack also houses the suit’s life-support system. Different gloves can be fitted, while the length of the arms and legs can also be adjusted for the occupant by using a set of internal straps. A cosmonaut can don the suit in as little as five minutes, after putting on a liquid cooling garment to both regulate body temperature and minimize perspiration.

  Internal atmosphere in the suit is maintained using a chemical oxygen-generation system that also removes exhaled carbon dioxide and moisture. The Orlan also includes a backup, bottled oxygen supply for use in emergencies. For the Salyut missions, the suit was given up to a five-hour single-EVA capability, and it could perform as many as four EVAs for up to ten hours total use with proper maintenance and filter changing between space walks. While it doesn’t have the dexterity or finesse of NASA’s EMU (extravehicular mobility unit) designed for the shuttle program, the Orlan suit provides an important capability. The Orlan design has gradually been upgraded over the years, improving its capabilities. The latest versions of the Orlan suit are still used to this day aboard the ISS.

  Salyut 6’s exterior was fitted with EVA handholds. Each cosmonaut would remain connected to the station through a safety tether and an electrical and communications line that powered the suit and allowed for a voice link with the ground. Two cosmonauts would perform each space walk and keep track of one another using the buddy system. For EVA training, the Soviets built an NBT at Star City known as the Hydrolab and outfitted it with an exterior mockup of the station. Versions of the Orlan for underwater use were developed; thanks to regular training sessions, cosmonauts had plenty of experience by the time they reached orbit. From that point on, while not all Salyut missions had a scheduled EVA, cosmonauts would train for them in case the need for one arose.

  Salyut 6 was launched on 29 September 1977. Launch and orbital insertion proceeded as planned. Ten days later, Soyuz 25 lifted off with Vladimir Kovalyonok in command and Valery Ryumin as the flight engineer. While both cosmonauts were rookies to space, they had both been on the cosmonaut program for several years. Kovalyonok joined the program in 1967. Ryumin was a stocky individual and looked very much like a stereotypical Russian, even at his relatively young age. Prior to joining Korolev’s bureau in 1966 as an engineer, Ryumin had served in the Soviet Army as a tank commander before going back to school to get his electronics and computing degree in spacecraft control systems. Ryumin became a cosmonaut in 1973.

  30. The Orlan suit was first used on Salyut 6. Pictured here is an Orlan used on the ISS. Courtesy NASA.

  There were high hopes for the Soyuz 25 mission, as it was to take place during the sixtieth anniversary of the October Revolution. Unfortunately, hardware problems tend to have little concern for dates and anniversaries. Rendezvous took place with no problems. But although the craft achieved a successful soft dock on the front docking port, they were unable to secure a hard dock. The next few tries were no more successful than the first one, and the mission was called off after five docking attempts. The crew asked controllers if they could attempt an aft-port docking, but permission was denied, to avoid damaging the aft port if the Soyuz probe was the source of the problem.

  After yet another docking failure, it was decided that at least one crewmember with previous spaceflight experience would fly successive missions. This meant that the next crew, also made up of spaceflight rookies, was split up and that its two cosmonauts were divided into new crews. Soyuz 26 launched next on 19 December 1977 with Yuri Romanenko and flight engineer Georgy Grechko on board. The veteran Grechko was no stranger to fixing balky hardware, after coming up with the work-around for Salyut 4’s solar telescope problem. In addition to a normal long-duration mission, the crew was also tasked with inspecting Salyut 6’s front docking hatch and conducting repairs as needed. Their Soyuz craft eased in for a successful manual docking with Salyut 6’s aft port.

  Upon entry, the crew got right to work in making sure their home for the next few months was in good shape. Medical experiments would be the primary task of the mission. The crew would try to beat all previous space endurance records set by both the Americans and the Soviets. For scientific studies, Salyut 6 included an expanded and revised MKF-6M camera system, similar to the one flown on Soyuz 22. Additional telescopes were fitted for celestial and solar observations. Additional equipment would arrive later.

  First Salyut EVA and “A Good Joke”

  About a week after docking, Romanenko and Grechko conducted an EVA to inspect Salyut 6’s front docking port. This required them to don the Orlan suits for the first time and to depressurize the station; Grechko could then conduct the EVA while Romanenko remained inside, acting in a support role. Only the front docking port hatch would be opened, not the side door. Grechko’s legs would remain inside the hatch while Romanenko held on to him. The EVA would serve as an excellent first operational test of the Orlan suits.

  Both cosmonauts sealed themselves inside the forward transfer compartment’s airlock and opened the front docking port’s drogue assembly to space. Grechko spent the next twenty minutes inspecting the drogue assembly, using special tools to actuate the docking latches to make sure there was no damage. He also took the time to inspect the station’s Igla radar system and found everything to be in good working order, confirming that Soyuz 25’s docking problem was due to its probe assembly and not Salyut 6’s port. As a final EVA task, Grechko also mounted a Medusa experiment cassette outside the station to expose some biopolymer material directly to space. It was retrieved on a future EVA.

  Near the end of the EVA and after Grechko reentered the station, Romanenko decided to stick his head outside and have a look around. This was not planned, and the crew kept it quiet. Apparently, Romanenko was not properly anchored and began floating out the hatch until Grechko grabbed his legs. For years after their mission, Grechko rather coyly joked that he had saved his comrade from a certain death of floating free in space with no way to get home. Many members of the international press took Grechko’s joke seriously, and the story of Romanenko’s “near-death” experience gained traction in published accounts for years to come. In reality, the early Orlan suits were firmly linked to the station at all times since the Orlan needed the tether to supply power. So even if Romanenko had drifted completely free of Salyut 6’s docking hatch, he still could have climbed back in using his tether, or Grechko could have pulled him back in.

  With a successful EVA, the crew settled in for the long haul. One big change in the scheduling from previous Salyut missions had the crew operating strictly on Moscow time, even on orbits when they would not be in range of Soviet tracking stations during daylight hours. This was made possible by improvements in data tape gathering and storage on board. The findings from scientific experiments could be recorded and transmitted to the ground when the Salyut was in range. The crew’s wake period lasted from 08:00 to 23:00 and was logically scheduled to include time for meals, exercise, mission tasks, and station maintenance. No attempts were made to have one crewmember sleeping while the other worked, and only an emergency would require cre
wmembers to be awakened during normal rest periods. The crew was in good spirits and got along well with one another, even though they had been put together at almost the last minute.

  Company’s Coming!

  On 10 January 1978 history was in the making as Soyuz 27 lifted off from Baikonur with cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Oleg Makarov on board. This was Dzhanibekov’s first spaceflight, but Makarov had been in space before on Soyuz 12’s test flight. Makarov was hoping to spend more time in space than two days, though, as his previous mission was the aborted Soyuz 18A mission. This time, the Soyuz spacecraft made a successful dock with the Salyut station.

  When the hatches were opened, it marked the first time three spacecraft had successfully docked with one another. The visitors were greeted with warm wishes and a bit more, as they were initially a little overwhelmed by the smell of the station. While the Soyuz 26 crew had only occupied the station for a month and had maintained good hygiene, they could do nothing about their flatulence. Excess gas from their intestinal tracts due to normal digestion produced a bit of an odor. When two people live in that for a while, their olfactory senses get used to it. But for newcomers, the smell was a little overpowering until their noses tuned it out. Since that time, many cosmonauts and astronauts have commented that the first “greeting” they get from the opening of the hatches is the assault to their olfactory senses as the environments from two spacecraft intermingle for the first time.

  The Soyuz 26 crew welcomed the distraction from the day-to-day routine, and it made for a very happy ship for the next few days. Unlike the crew that launched in December, Dzhanibekov and Makarov would only be on board for about a week, as their primary job was to ferry up a new Soyuz and take the old one home, freeing Romanenko and Grechko to conduct a long-duration mission without having to return home before their original spacecraft expired its flight design life. That isn’t to say the new crew would be just taking in the sights, though, as the pair were put through a battery of medical tests to see how well they adapted to space. Future short-duration Salyut crews would conduct similar experiments to add data. The two newcomers also acted as on-orbit repairmen, fixing a couple of minor systems that had failed soon after Salyut 6’s activation and performing some preventative maintenance on other systems.