Dec 10 1977
From The Space Library
December 10-31: The USSR launched Soyuz 26 from Baykonur at 4:19am Moscow time Dec. 10 in what Tass described as a mission "jointly with the Salyut 6 space station." The 300ton "ferry vehicle" carried 2 cosmonauts, flight commander Lt.Col. Yuri Romanenko and flight engineer Georgy Grechko, into an orbit with 329km apogee, 267km perigee, 90.2min period and 51.6° inclination. Tass reported that the crew would rest for 12 to 21hr while the spacecraft was beyond radio contact with Soviet territory, during which time two research vessels would receive and relay telemetry from the satellite.
The Soyuz 23 mission launched in Oct. carrying Vladimir Kovalenok and Valery Ryumin had failed to link with Salyut 6, although it had come within 393ft of the orbiting station [see Oct. 9-12]. The crew returned safely 48hr after liftoff. The "deviation" causing the cancellation was never explained.
Tass reported Dec. 11 that Soyuz 26 had docked successfully with Salyut 6 at 6:02am Moscow time. The news agency noted that Salyut 6 had been equipped with 2 docking ports, 1 on the transfer compartment of the station and the other opposite it in the equipment bay, to allow 2 spacecraft to service the manned station. The Soyuz 25 had made its unsuccessful approach from the transfer-compartment side, but Soyuz 26 had docked with the unit on the other side. "The presence of two docking units on orbital stations considerably expands the opportunities and possibilities of future space flights," Tass said. "In particular, this allows two ships to dock with a station, which is important for replacing crews, for carrying out rescue operations, and delivering foodstuffs and equipment to an orbital scientific laboratory." Tass said the 2 crewmen had crossed into the space station.
Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shatalov, training chief for the program, said on TV that during the docking he had watched it "with greater excitement than my own, which I performed in 1969." Press reports called it "an important recovery" for the Soviet space program, after the failure of the previous docking attempt which was to have marked the 60th anniversary of the Russian revolution. Grechko's outside assignment would be to inspect the docking device on the "main entrance," and some press reports speculated that the cosmonauts might be preparing for the docking of a second spacecraft.
On the following days the cosmonauts "changed into light working clothes" and began to "mothball the onboard systems of the transport" Soyuz 26, according to Tass. They had also begun reactivating the space station, where they would live on a time pattern "as close as possible to that of Moscow." Tass emphasized the added comfort of being able to communicate through the research vessels instead of staying up to make contact while over :their home territory, besides being more convenient for "the hundreds of specialists who support the flight here on earth." The cosmonauts were the first to call "ready" for the first communications session with the control center Dec. 12. The next day was a rest period to prepare for a "complex experiment" scheduled in the next few days.
Dr. Konstantin Feoktistov in an interview described "great changes" in both the external structure and the flight control and life support systems of the space station, aimed at increased reliability, length of service, and better conditions for the cosmonauts. Scientific equipment for astrophysics and earth monitoring had been improved on the basis of previous experience. Feoktistov emphasized the addition of another docking port as a safety device, citing the possibility of accident to the ferry craft (failure of the engine or some automatic device, or encounter with a meteorite) and the risk necessary in undocking it for inspection. Having two ports would permit sending up another craft for rescue and return to earth, as well as access for additional equipment or supplies. He also noted that the water-regeneration unit labeled experimental on Salyut 4 was now standard equipment, and that the new design includes an "experimental place for washing," no easy matter under conditions of weightlessness: "If water is let into the chamber it will immediately spread all around and get into the respiratory organs." Another improvement was incorporation of a "Delta" autonomous system for navigation that would permit the station to determine its orbit without participation of earth-based radio equipment. Other automatic instruments to monitor the area around the station had detected "micrometeor particles" in quantities confirmed by earth radar observation.
On Dec. 20 the cosmonauts donned semirigid full-pressure spacesuits and left the space station to check the transfer compartment and its docking unit and to carry out any necessary repairs. In addition to the special tools for the docking unit, Grechko carried a mobile TV camera that he used to send views of the docking elements to earth. No damage was visible, and Grechko reported the equipment in full working order. Tass said the men spent most of the 88min in space depressurizing and repressurizing the airlock leading to outer space, again suggesting the possibility of further visits.
Grechko's spacewalk was the first by a Soviet spaceman in 9yr. The new spacesuits were said to be more flexible than previous models, with a small instrument panel in front and a door-like entrance hatch in back. In a Dec. 20 recorded 'interview, Gen. Shatalov described the lengthy training in a special simulator apparently resembling the neutral buoyancy tank at JSC, where the cosmonauts had practiced their extravehicular activity, and the orbital-station mockup on "flying laboratories" where they had learned to put on the new spacesuits in conditions of weightlessness.
Ensuing days saw performance of experiments in medical research, earth resources monitoring (during which they reported forest fires on the African continent), and distortions caused by the optical properties of porthole surfaces. On Dec. 24 Tass reported that tadpoles had hatched out of frog eggs brought from earth in the same vessel with tadpoles born on earth; the earth-born tadpoles had reacted to weightlessness by "swimming disorderly," not distinguishing top from bottom, but the newborns were swimming in spirals.
For the remainder of Dec., the crew proceeded with a schedule that each research center had helped to establish, with each center "looking forward to its hour." The cosmonauts reported a burning meteorite flashing past the station Dec. 27; one that struck a window had left a tiny scratch. On Dec. 28 Tass reported that so far the crew had not used any of the onboard recreation facilities (chess, a small library, a videotape recorder). The time allocated for leisure was occupied by Romanenko in checking the control systems, and by Grechko with camera and sketchbook near the transfer-compartment portholes. Tass reported a New Year tree was in place, "packed for the journey by friends from the Star Town together with toys." At year's end the cosmonauts reported that onboard systems were working normally, they were feeling well, and the planned program of research and experiments was being "completely fulfilled." A motor on Soyuz 26 had been used Dec. 29 to correct the Salyut 6 flight trajectory. (W Post, Dec 11/77, A-3b; Dec 20/77, A-7; Dec 21/77, A-28; W Star, Dec 10/77, A-4; Dec 12/77, A-4; FBIS, Tass in English, Dec 10, 12, 13, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28/77; Tass Intl Sv in Russ, Dec 11/77; Moscow in Engl to Afr, Dec 28/77; Mosc Dom Sv in Rus, Dec 13, 15, 19, 20, 30)
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