What were the cosmonauts doing on the secret space station? What kind of space cannon did our designers invent? How long did the spy satellites last on alert? The developers of Almaz, the most closed military space project in the USSR, told RG about this.
Sight from orbit
Is it easy to spot enemy ships in the oceans? At the height of the Cold War, this task was very difficult. A real solution for the USSR was the space observation system. Already in the mid-60s, the first Soviet "spy robots" were launched into orbit. For example, the electronic reconnaissance satellites (US-A, US-P), created in the design bureau of Vladimir Chelomey, could "ransack" the World Ocean twice a day and recognize not only the enemy's coordinates, but also the composition of the ship group, the direction of movement. These were the first spacecraft in the world to operate at a nuclear power plant.
At about the same time, the Zenit-type photographic reconnaissance aircraft developed by Sergey Korolev's OKB-1 were launched. However, the percentage of successful shots they had was small.
- Often capsules with cassettes filmed "on the machine" landed practically empty: only dense clouds could be seen on the film. At the same time, even successful shots taken in good weather did not always suit the military, since the camera had too low a resolution, - said Vladimir Polyachenko, a former leading designer of the Almaz program at TsKBM (now NPO Mashinostroyenia). “Therefore, it was decided to rely on people who could assess the situation on Earth and press the shutter of a powerful camera at the right moment.
"Filling" for a spy
So in the Chelomey Design Bureau a project of the Almaz secret manned orbital station appeared. Mass - 19 tons, length - 13 meters, diameter - 4 meters, orbit height - about 250 km. Estimated working time - up to two years. In the bow compartment, sleeping places for two or three crew members, a dining table, rest chairs, portholes were supposed. And the central working compartment was literally "stuffed" with the most advanced "spy" technologies. There was a control panel for the commander and an operator's place for surveillance control. There were also television surveillance systems, a long-focus high-resolution camera and a system for semi-automatic film processing. Plus, there is an optical sight, infrared equipment, an all-round periscope …
Soviet "spy robots" were the world's first nuclear powered spacecraft
- The periscope was set up the same as in a submarine, and in space it was even very useful, - Pilot-cosmonaut Pavel Popovich recalled at one time. - We, for example, saw the Skylab periscope (the first and only US orbital station. - Ed.) At a distance of 70-80 km.
The third compartment was a docking station for a transport supply ship (TKS), which could deliver five times more payload than Soyuz or Progress. Moreover, his reentry vehicle, thanks to its powerful thermal protection, was reusable, it was actually used three times, and it could have been used up to ten times!
But to transfer the filmed cassettes, the cosmonauts launched a special information capsule from orbit to the Earth. She fired back from the launch chamber and landed in a strictly defined area on the territory of the USSR. The resolution of the images obtained in this way is a little over a meter. In terms of quality, they are quite comparable to the frames that are provided by modern Earth remote sensing satellites.
“The General Staff and the Main Intelligence Directorate were amazed at the clarity and detail in these pictures,” says Vladimir Polyachenko. - For example, Popovich and Artyukhin recorded real missile bases in America. Everything could be considered there: the type of equipment, its readiness for combat use. Unless the numbers on the cars were not available.
But sometimes information had to be passed on urgently. Then the cosmonauts developed the film on board. On the TV channel, the image went to Earth.
Did the cannon shoot?
Perhaps the most secret system of the station is Shield-1. This is a rapid-fire 23-mm aircraft gun designed by Nudelman, modernized and installed in the bow of the Almaz. What for? In the early 1970s, the United States announced the beginning of work on the Space Shuttle: these ships could return large spacecraft from orbit to Earth. The parameters of the shuttle cargo compartment were in good agreement with the dimensions of the "Almaz". And there were real fears: what if the Americans in their "shuttle" fly up to our station and kidnap it?
Closing the project was a big mistake. If the program continued to be implemented, we would now have a different position in space.
The Shield-1 system itself is still classified, but the details of this experimental weapon became known to journalists.
“I was present at the ground tests of the gun: it’s a terrible roar, a powerful automatic burst,” says Vladimir Polyachenko. - We were afraid that shooting in space would affect the psyche of astronauts. Therefore, the command "fire" was given only after the crew left the station. Vibration, noise, recoil - everything is fixed within acceptable limits. And at the next station, we planned to suspend shells of the "space-to-space" system. Then this idea was abandoned.
Sky in "Diamonds"
50 years ago, in 1967, a commission of 70 respected scientists, designers and officials of the Ministry of Defense approved the project of the Almaz rocket and space complex. And already in 1971, the Proton launch vehicle launched the world's first Salyut-1 station into orbit. Then in KB V. P. Mishin had to modify this project into a civilian version and remove all "spy" equipment. And in 1973, the real military Salyut-2 was launched (this is how Almaz-1 was called for cover). But on the 13th day of the flight, the compartments were depressurized, and the station collapsed from orbit.
Salyut-3 (Almaz-2) was more fortunate in 1974: it stayed in orbit for 213 days, thirteen of which cosmonauts worked there: commander Pavel Popovich and flight engineer Yuri Artyukhin.
- They were specially "trained" to determine the goals and purposes of ground objects. For example, to make out from orbit, a farm in front of you and whether a rocket base, - says Vladimir Polyachenko. - The astronauts had to work with the most complicated photographic equipment, process the film, equip the capsule …
For psychological relaxation, music, programs were transmitted to the station through open radio communication channels from the MCC to the station, telephone conversations were available. Once a woman even phoned the station … on the usual long distance. How and why this could have happened is still a mystery.
The last manned station of the Almaz project, Salyut-5, was launched in 1976. She was in orbit for 412 days. The first crew, Boris Volynov and Vitaly Zholobov, worked for 49 days. The second - Viktor Gorbatko and Yuri Glazkov - 16 days …
According to experts, the closure of the Almaz project was a mistake: if the program had been implemented further, we would now have a different position in space.
The legacy of "Almaz"
“The Almaz station, which includes a 90 cubic meter module with ergonomically equipped work stations for a crew of three, is still relevant today,” says the pilot-cosmonaut, head of Star City Valery Tokarev. It allows you to work effectively in space for a long time, both in low-earth orbits and during flights to nearby planets or asteroids.
By the way, a significant part of the International Space Station is the legacy of Almaz. It was from him that the ISS service module Zvezda got the hull structure. And the Zarya module was created on the basis of a multipurpose platform of a transport supply ship.
In 2018, the renovated Cosmos pavilion will open at VDNKh in Moscow. There will be presented not only declassified materials on the program, but also a real automatic station "Almaz-1".
by the way
The world's first anti-space defense system based on maneuvering satellites equipped with homing heads was also developed under the leadership of Vladimir Chelomey. The satellite fighter was designed to intercept and destroy space targets.
The first launch was in 1963. And in 1978, the complex was put into service and was on alert until 1993. "This drone could change the altitude and plane of the orbit. With the help of the radar head, it aimed at the spy satellite, blew up its warheads, and a beam of debris hit the enemy," says Vladimir Polyachenko. "At that time, this development stopped the space arms race. All documentation yes, there are live samples, and the technology can now be restored rather quickly."
