On August 21, 1957, exactly 60 years ago, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) R-7 was successfully launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. This Soviet missile was the first intercontinental ballistic missile to be successfully tested and delivered a warhead to an intercontinental range. The R-7, which was also called the "seven" (GRAU index - 8K71), was a two-stage ICBM with a detachable warhead weighing 3 tons and a flight range of 8 thousand kilometers.
Later, from January 20, 1960 to the end of 1968, a modification of this missile under the designation R-7A (GRAU index - 8K74) with an increased flight range of 9.5 thousand kilometers was in service with the Strategic Missile Forces of the USSR. In NATO countries, this missile was known as the SS-6 Sapwood. This Soviet rocket became not only a formidable weapon, but also a major milestone in Russian cosmonautics, becoming the basis for the creation of launch vehicles intended for launching spacecraft and ships into space, including manned ones. The contribution of this rocket to space exploration is enormous: many artificial satellites of the Earth, starting with the very first ones, were launched into space on carrier rockets of the R-7 family, and the first man flew into space.
The history of the creation of the R-7 rocket
The history of the creation of the R-7 ICBM began long before its first launch took place - in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, according to the results of the development of single-stage ballistic missiles R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-5, which were led by the outstanding Soviet designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, it became clear that in the future, to reach the territory of a potential enemy, a significantly more powerful composite a multistage rocket, the idea of creating which was previously announced by the famous Russian cosmonautics theorist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
Back in 1947, Mikhail Tikhonravov organized a separate group at the Research Institute of Artillery Sciences, which began to carry out systematic studies of the possibility of developing composite (multistage) ballistic missiles. Having studied the results that were obtained by this group, Korolev decided to carry out a preliminary design of a powerful multistage rocket. Preliminary research on the development of ICBMs began in 1950: On December 4, 1950, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a comprehensive search R&D was carried out on the topic "Study of the prospects for the creation of various types of RDDs with a flight range of 5-10 thousand kilometers and a warhead weight from 1 to 10 tons." … And on May 20, 1954, another government decree was issued, which officially set before OKB-1 the task of developing a ballistic missile that could carry a thermonuclear charge at an intercontinental range.
New powerful engines for the R-7 rocket were created in parallel at OKB-456, the work was supervised by Valentin Glushko. The control system for the rocket was designed by Nikolai Pilyugin and Boris Petrov, the launch complex was designed by Vladimir Barmin. A number of other organizations were also involved in the work. At the same time, the country raised the issue of building a new test site for intercontinental ballistic missiles. In February 1955, another decree of the Government of the USSR was issued on the beginning of the construction of the test site, which was named the 5th Research and Test Site of the Ministry of Defense (NIIP-5). It was decided to build the polygon in the area of the Baikonur aul and the Tyura-Tam junction (Kazakhstan), later it went down in history and is known to this day precisely as Baikonur. The cosmodrome was built as a highly secret facility; the launch complex for the new R-7 missiles was ready in April 1957.
The design of the R-7 rocket was completed in July 1954, and already on November 20 of the same year, the construction of the rocket was officially approved by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. By early 1957, the first Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile was ready for testing. Starting in mid-May 1957, the first series of tests of the new rocket was carried out, it demonstrated the presence of serious flaws in its design. On May 15, 1957, the first launch of the R-7 ICBM was performed. According to visual observations, the flight of the rocket proceeded normally, but then changes in the flame of the exhaust gases from the engines became noticeable in the tail compartment. Later, after processing the telemetry, it was found that a fire broke out in one of the side blocks. After 98 seconds of controlled flight due to loss of thrust, this unit was separated, after which the command to turn off the rocket engines followed. The cause of the accident was a leak in the fuel line.
The next launch, which was scheduled for June 11, 1957, did not take place due to a malfunction of the central unit motors. Several attempts to start the rocket engines did not lead to anything, after which the automatics issued an emergency shutdown command. The test leadership decided to drain the fuel and remove the R-7 ICBM from the launch site. On July 12, 1957, the R-7 rocket was able to take off, but at 33 seconds of flight stability was lost, the rocket began to deviate from the specified flight trajectory. This time, the cause of the accident was a short circuit on the body of the control signal circuits of the integrator along the rotation and pitch channel.
Only the fourth launch of the new rocket, which took place on August 21, 1957, was recognized as successful, the rocket for the first time was able to reach the target area. The rocket was launched from Baikonur, worked out the active section of the trajectory, after which the head of the rocket hit a given square of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Kura rocket range). But even in this fourth launch, not everything was smooth. The main disadvantage of the launch was the destruction of the head of the rocket in the dense layers of the atmosphere on the descending part of its trajectory. Telemetry communication with the rocket was lost 15-20 seconds before the estimated time to reach the earth's surface. The analysis of the fallen structural elements of the R-7 rocket warhead made it possible to establish that the destruction began from the tip of the warhead, and at the same time to clarify the magnitude of the carryover of its heat-shielding coating. The information received made it possible to finalize the documentation for the missile warhead, to clarify the strength and design calculations, layout, and also to manufacture a new missile as soon as possible for the next launch. At the same time, on August 27, 1957, news appeared in the Soviet press about the successful test in the Soviet Union of an ultra-long-range multistage rocket.
The positive results of the flight of the first Soviet ICBM R-7 on the active part of the trajectory made it possible to use this rocket to launch the first artificial earth satellites in the history of mankind on October 4 and November 3 of the same year. Originally created as a combat missile, the R-7 possessed the necessary energy capabilities, which made it possible to use it to launch a significant mass of payload into space (into near-earth orbit), which was clearly demonstrated by the launch of the first Soviet satellites.
Based on the results of 6 test launches of the R-7 ICBM, its warhead was significantly modified (in fact, replaced with a new one), the warhead separation system was revised, and slotted antennas of the telemetry system were also used. On March 29, 1958, the first launch took place, which was successful in full (the head of the rocket reached the target without destruction). At the same time, during 1958 and 1959, flight tests of the rocket continued, according to the results of which all new modifications were made to its design. As a result, by the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU No. 192-20 of January 20, 1960, the R-7 rocket was officially put into service.
Rocket design R-7
The R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile, created at OKB-1 under the leadership of chief designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (chief designer Sergei Sergeevich Kryukov), was built according to the so-called "batch" scheme. The first stage of the rocket consisted of 4 side blocks, each of which had a length of 19 meters and a maximum diameter of 3 meters. The side blocks were located symmetrically around the central block (the second stage of the rocket) and connected to it by the lower and upper belts of power connections. The design of the rocket blocks was the same. Each of them consisted of a support cone, a power ring, fuel tanks, a tail compartment, and a propulsion system. All units were equipped with RD-107 rocket engines with a pumping system for supplying fuel components. This engine was built on an open circuit and included 6 combustion chambers. In this case, two chambers were used as steering chambers. The RD-107 rocket engine developed a thrust of 82 tons at the earth's surface.
The second stage of the rocket (central block) included an instrument compartment, a fuel and oxidizer tank, a power ring, a tail compartment, a main engine and 4 steering units. On the second stage, the ZhRE-108 was placed, which was similar in design to the RD-107, but differed in a large number of steering chambers. This engine developed 75 tons of thrust at the ground. It was switched on simultaneously with the engines of the first stage (even at the moment of launch) and worked accordingly longer than the liquid-propellant engine of the first stage. The launch of all the available engines of the first and second stage right at the start was carried out for the reason that at that time the creators of the rocket did not have confidence in the possibility of reliable ignition of the second stage engines at high altitude. A similar problem was then faced by American designers who were working on their Atlas ICBMs.
LPRE RD-107 in the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow
All engines of the first Soviet ICBM R-7 used two-component fuel: fuel - kerosene T-1, oxidizer - liquid oxygen. To drive the turbopump units of rocket engines, hot gas was used generated in the gas generator during the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, and compressed nitrogen was used to pressurize the tanks. To ensure the given range of the rocket flight, an automatic system for regulating the operating modes of the engines was placed on it, as well as a system for synchronous emptying of tanks (SOB), which made it possible to reduce the guaranteed fuel supply. The design and layout of the R-7 rocket ensured the launch of all its engines at the time of launch using special pyro-ignition devices, they were placed in each of the 32 combustion chambers. The cruise rocket engines of this rocket for their time were distinguished by very high energy and mass characteristics, and also favorably distinguished themselves by their high degree of reliability.
The control system of the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile was combined. The autonomous subsystem was responsible for providing angular stabilization and stabilization of the center of mass while the rocket was on the active leg of the trajectory. And the radio engineering subsystem was responsible for correcting the lateral movement of the center of mass at the final stage of the active section of the trajectory and issuing a command to turn off the engines. The executive bodies of the missile control system were air rudders and rotary chambers of the steering engines.
The value of the R-7 rocket in the conquest of space
The R-7, which many called simply the "seven," became the progenitor of a whole family of Soviet and Russian-made carrier rockets. They were created on the basis of the R-7 ICBMs in the course of a deep and multi-stage modernization process. From 1958 to the present, all missiles of the R-7 family are produced by TsSKB-Progress (Samara).
Launch vehicles based on R-7
The success and, as a consequence, the high reliability of the missile design, combined with a power sufficiently large for an ICBM, made it possible to use it as a launch vehicle. Already during the operation of the R-7 in this capacity, some shortcomings were identified, a process of its gradual modernization took place to increase the mass of the payload put into orbit, reliability, as well as expand the range of tasks solved by the rocket. The launch vehicles of this family really opened the space age to all mankind, with their help, among other things, were carried out:
- launching the first artificial satellite into the earth's orbit;
- Launching the first satellite with a living creature on board into the earth's orbit (the dog-cosmonaut Laika);
- launching the first spacecraft with a man on board into earth orbit (Yuri Gagarin's flight).
The reliability of the design of the R-7 rocket created by Korolev made it possible to develop on its basis a whole family of launch vehicles: Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya, Soyuz, Soyuz-2 and their various modifications. Moreover, the newest of them are actively used today. The R-7 family rockets have become the most massive in history, the number of their launches is already about 2000, they are also recognized as one of the most reliable in the world. To date, all manned launches of the Soviet Union and Russia have been carried out using carrier rockets of this family. Currently, Roskosmos and the Space Forces are actively operating the Soyuz-FG and Soyuz-2 missiles of this family.
Duplicate copy of Gagarin's "Vostok-1". Exhibited on the territory of the Museum of Cosmonautics in Kaluga
