KRET enterprises took an active part in space exploration. The products developed by the Concern's specialists can be found on all spacecraft and stations, from Vostok-1 to the ISS. Yuri Gagarin prepared for the flight using simulators created at the KRET enterprise. More than one generation of Soviet cosmonauts used a unique development - a space electric razor.
SPACE WIRES
Artificial satellites, apparatuses for the study of the Moon, Mars, Venus and Halley's comet, as well as spaceships and stations are almost entirely equipped with wires and cables created at the Cable Industry Design Bureau (OKB KP).
At the Mir station, practically the entire on-board cable network was made from OKB KP products. During the entire operation of the station, there was not a single failure on board due to the fault of cables. Their resource was not exhausted by the time the station was flooded.
Today, 95% of the cable network of the Russian ISS modules consists of the company's products. A four-pair symmetric heat-resistant cable, developed by OKB, is one of the main elements of the ISS information network. It is used to connect both American computers and hardware.
The company also created special load-carrying control cables. Thanks to one of them, the USSR pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the world's first manned space walk.
TRAINING MACHINES FOR COSMONAUT
The Research Institute of Aviation Equipment (NIIAO), which is part of KRET, is the leading enterprise for the creation of simulators for training cosmonauts.
The Institute's specialists have developed more than 20 simulators for all manned spacecraft from Vostok to Buran and Soyuz TMA. It was at NIIAO that Yuri Gagarin's flight training simulator was created.
A simulator based on the TsF-18 centrifuge, which is still one of the main means of training cosmonauts, is recognized as the pride of NIIAO. The scale of the TsF-18, the only centrifuge in the world in terms of its parameters, is really amazing: the radius of rotation is 18 meters, the total mass of the rotating parts is 305 tons, the power of the main engine is about 27 megawatts.
Today, modern simulators from the Research Institute are being introduced into operation to train crews for flights on board Soyuz-TMA spacecraft with the latest computer systems and excellent visualization capabilities.
SPACE SHAVER
In 1971, specialists from the Ufa Instrument-Making Production Association (UPPO) received a special order for the creation of the first electric shaver for astronauts.
An ordinary razor was not suitable in space, since there is no industrial network of 220V, and besides, in the absence of gravity, hairs will fly all over the ship.
As a result of numerous agreements with spacecraft designers, the Agidel-K electric shaver appeared. In addition to being powered by a 27V on-board network, it was equipped with a built-in micro-vacuum cleaner.
The models have successfully passed space tests. Soviet cosmonauts Pavel Popovich and Yuri Artyukhin were the first to highly appreciate the quality of the electric shaver, and they announced this to the whole world directly from the spacecraft. Later, more than one generation of Soviet cosmonauts thanked the Ufa electric shaver. Until now, the space electric shaver is a unique development, which has no analogues in the world.
ON-BOARD EQUIPMENT OF SHIPS
KRET enterprises have successfully participated in the development and production of onboard equipment for domestic spacecraft of the Vostok and Soyuz type, the lunar orbital spacecraft, the Mir and ISS orbital stations, and the Progress cargo vehicle.
Experts from many of the Concern's enterprises worked on the equipment for the Vostok-1 spacecraft, on which Yuri Gagarin made the world's first space flight.
NIIAO specialists have developed equipment for the first spacecraft: information display systems and manual controls. Another enterprise that is part of the Concern today, AVEX, has created a fuel consumption control system for the rocket, with the help of which Vostok-1 was launched.
The onboard equipment for the Mir station was produced at the UPPO. In total, about 400 devices were produced. The total weight of the onboard equipment manufactured at the Ufa enterprise for the Mir station exceeded 1 ton. Later, the UPPO manufactured instruments for the ISS modules with a total weight of more than 2 tons.
Today, the Ufa enterprise manufactures control devices for the onboard complex of transport ships, and also participates in the modernization of the Russian segment of the ISS station and the deployment of a multipurpose laboratory module (MLM).
One of the Concern's latest space achievements is the Neptun-ME control system for the Soyuz-TMA series spacecraft developed by the Research Institute of Aviation Equipment.
"Neptune-ME" is a modernized version of the information display system "Neptune", created at the institute back in 1999. NIIAO is one of the few in the world and the only supplier of information display systems of this level in Russia.
The system is capable of monitoring and operatively controlling the onboard systems of a manned spacecraft. "Neptun-ME" is a control panel with three processors and two matrix liquid crystal displays.
The new system has already been successfully tested - the Soyuz-TMA # 709 manned spacecraft equipped with the Neptun-ME was successfully launched in May last year.
BATTERIES FOR SPACE
The development of competitive space technology requires a transition to new types of batteries. One of the leading Russian developers of modern lithium-ion storage batteries for spacecraft is Aviation Electronics and Communication Systems OJSC (AVEX), which is part of KRET.
The characteristics of such batteries are much higher than those of other types of batteries with the same service life and the number of charge-discharge cycles. Nevertheless, the main advantage of these batteries is considered to be the reduction in weight compared to traditional batteries.
According to experts, the use of lithium-ion batteries on telecommunication satellites with a capacity of 15-20 kW will reduce the weight of batteries by 300 kg. This will significantly reduce financial costs, given that the cost of putting 1 kg of useful mass into orbit is about 30 thousand dollars.
