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    Soviet space program history

    Mike E
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    Post  Mike E Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:07 am

    Finally! Some more news to share! (An article in this case...)

    UR-700A: The unknown nuclear leviathan of the Moon Race

    The largest design in the Soviet effort to beat America to the Moon turned out to be also the most elusive for historians. Only during the celebration of the 100th birthday of its creator Vladimir Chelomei in 2014, did detailed information on the incredible UR-700 Version "A" design finally emerge.

    Soviet space program history Ur700a_1
    An atomic Moon rocket
    During the 1960s, the prolific Soviet space designer Vladimir Chelomei led the development of the giant UR-700 rocket. It was conceived as a modular alternative to the "single-body" N1 booster, which was favored by the Soviet leadership for the politically urgent goal of landing a man on the Moon ahead of the US. However the N1 project masterminded by Sergei Korolev at the end of the 1950s, ran into numerous technical problems, not last of which, was the need to build the giant vehicle at the remote launch site in Baikonur in the midst of the Kazakh steppe and to develop a complex multi-engine propulsion system.
    By the end of 1967, the Kremlin gave the green light to Vladimir Chelomei to work on the preliminary design of the UR-700 rocket as a backup to the troubled N1. Unlike the N1, Chelomei's rocket would be assembled out of components built in Moscow and transportable by rail. Even more importantly, it would use just 12 engines on its three stages, instead of 42 on the boosters stages of the N1. Finally, the UR-700 could launch 151 tons of payload versus 97 tons carried by the N1 and 127 tons delivered by the American Saturn-5.
    In parallel with the development of the UR-700, Chelomei's engineers drafted a much bigger follow-on vehicle. Known as Skhema "A" (or Configuration "A", where "A" stood for "atomic"), an even more colossal rocket would use a yet-to-be-developed nuclear engine to increase its payload to an unprecedented 250 tons. (658)
    The first two stages of the "A" variant would be borrowed largely unchanged from the original UR-700. On both versions, the six boosters of the first stage would feed their own engines and, simultaneously, refuel the three boosters of the second stage. As a result, the second stage would have full tanks when it took over the powered ascent after the separation of the first stage.
    In the meantime, the third and fourth stages of the "atomic" version of UR-700 would be developed from scratch and equipped with the revolutionary RO-31 nuclear engines (a.k.a. RD-0411) burning either cryogenic liquid hydrogen or liquid methane and developing a thrust of 40 tons. Seven such engines would be installed on the third stage and three would propel the fourth stage.
    The third stage could have the job of sending a spacecraft on an escape trajectory from the Earth orbit and the fourth could conduct a braking maneuver near the Moon or Mars. The design work on the RO-31 engine was initiated at the KBKhA design bureau in the city of Voronezh in 1964. (717) On Oct. 26, 1965, the Soviet government issued a decree No. 842-304 giving a green light to the development of a small-scale prototype of a nuclear rocket engine known as RD-0410. (718) It was expected to propel an upper stage of the Proton rocket, launching future planetary probes into deep space. (156)
    The atomic version of the UR-700 rocket was apparently expected to carry a manned spacecraft on a direct flight to the Moon with a crew reaching seven people. In addition, modules of the lunar base and components of a Martian expeditionary complex could also be launched. Finally, a single such rocket would be enough to launch a manned spacecraft to fly by Mars or Venus. (400)
    Chelomei signed the completed preliminary design of the UR-700, (which apparently included a proposal for the "atomic" version), on Sept. 30, 1968. However the full-scale development of the UR-700 rocket was never funded as all the money and efforts were committed to making the N1 fly in the last leg of the race to the Moon.
    UR-700M: The biggest rocket ever conceived?
    However Chelomei apparently saw an even bigger chance for a follow-on to UR-700 within a year after the cancellation of the project. With the loss of the Moon Race to the US in 1969, Soviet politicians and engineers alike thought of a new frontier in the Space Race. One option would be to beat NASA to Mars!
    By 1970, Chelomei's team asked the Moscow-based KBOM design bureau specialized in launch equipment to draft a launching pad that would be at the absolute limit of conceivable size. The facility had to accommodate the 16,000-ton colossus dubbed UR-700M capable of orbiting 750 tons of cargo. The three-stage vehicle would develop 23,400 tons of thrust at liftoff and launch the MK-700 Martian expeditionary complex in a single shot. The spacecraft was named Aelita after a famous Russian post-revolutionary sci-fi novel by Alexei Tolstoy.
    In 1971, KBOM also fulfilled orders for launch pad designs for a two-stage version of the UR-700M rocket, which would probably be enough to orbit a giant manned outpost around the Earth.
    To handle such a giant vehicle at the launch site, KBOM engineers had to abandon all accepted architectural principles of the Soviet rocketry, according to which a fully assembled space booster is transported in horizontal position and then erected onto its launch pad. Now, they had to adopt an American approach, delivering the rocket to the pad in vertical position. Moreover, the spacecraft would be transported separately and integrated with the rocket on the launch pad.
    After considering three possible designs of the launch pad, the one involving a partially buried launch platform was adopted, probably in order to reduce associated wind pressure on the towering vehicle. Even more amazingly, Chelomei requested a provision for a simultaneous assembly of three such rockets at three individual launch pads. (112) More than 40 years after it has been conceived, the design of the monstrous vehicle still remains a mystery.
    (More to come!)
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    Post  Mike E Tue Sep 23, 2014 1:52 am

    I'd like to add some more info (and opinions) on the UR-700(A);

     - Had it been built, *it would have been the first rocket to ever use fuel-cross-feed*. As of now, only the Falcon Heavy is planned to use it. (For those who don't know what it is, cross-feed is when the liquid-powered-boosters pump fuel into the main stage, so that when they separate the main stage will be full of fuel (and oxidizer). This gets rid of excess weight ASAP, and allows for a decently large improvement in payload.)

     - The primary engines (as used on the boosters and core) would be the UDMH-powered RD-270, which *would have been the first engine in use to be of the full-flow staged combustion cycle design*. - As readers of this thread *might know*, FFSCC engines have all of their fuel pass through the pre-burner rather than have some of the fuel bypass it. This typically adds 10-20 isp to the engine, but is an engineering challenge at the same time. As such, the RD-270 hand an usually high isp for UDMH at SL (305) and in a vacuum (322) while generating a MASSIVE 1,509,142 pounds of thrust! - In a single-chamber, unlike the RD-170.... It surprises me that work stopped on this engine, a single up-rated version could of replaced all six RD-253 engines on the Proton, while using the same fuel and oxidizer (it would have been more efficient as well)... The weight of the RD-270 is argued upon, but its thrust/weight ratio would have been very near, if not better than the later-designed RD-170. (UDMH is toxic, which is a problem.... However, if the reliability rate was good enough it would be a none-problem.)

     - Yet *another possible first, nuclear thermal engines*. The tech at the time would have required much more funding to reach production, but it *could have been done*.

     - It would have had by far the most thrust of any rocket on its first stage, which leads me to say this;

    WHY? - I think I'd be permanently wetting myself if this monster was built.... Embarassed

    I'd love to see Russia reigniting the RD-270 project with either a Methane or Kerosene variant.
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    Post  kvs Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:17 am

    The story of the N1 highlights how the Soviet system sabotaged itself. The design was a plumber's nightmare built by committee. It was predictable that it would fail. The resonances in that monstrosity must have been numerous and impossible to control.

    The KISS (keep it simple, stupid) is a universally valid principle. Reducing the degrees of freedom in a mechanical system (or even in organizations) increases reliability. The less things that can go wrong, the less chance that something will go wrong. The N1 tore itself apart after launch every single time. No amount of fixing would save this dead end design.

    The UR-700 would have been the correct project to follow. I bet they cancelled the RD-270 to save face.
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    Post  Mike E Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:46 am

    kvs wrote:The story of the N1 highlights how the Soviet system sabotaged itself.   The design was a plumber's nightmare built by committee.   It was predictable that it would fail.  The resonances in that monstrosity must have been numerous and impossible to control.

    The KISS (keep it simple, stupid) is a universally valid principle.  Reducing the degrees of freedom in a mechanical system (or even in organizations) increases reliability.  The less things that can go wrong, the less chance that something will go wrong.    The N1 tore itself apart after launch every single time.   No amount of fixing would save this dead end design.  

    The UR-700 would have been the correct project to follow.  I bet they cancelled the RD-270 to save face.
    I agree and disagree.... Had Korolev lived to see it launch, he might of been able to fix its problems. Lots of engines is a problem, but it also means a higher T/W ratio and doesn't require a ton of R&D to design the engines themselves (less thrust needed).

    Actually, KISS doesn't apply to rockets. For crying out loud they are some of the most complex things made today! The problem wasn't within KISS as the design itself was "simple", it was the basis of the idea that was flawed ("lot of engines").

    True, but the UR-700 project was started at a much later time, hence the reason the Soviets fell for the N1. They cancelled it becuase they had little interest (never-mind a lack of funds) in the Moon after the US got there first...
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    Post  kvs Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:52 am

    Mike E wrote:
    kvs wrote:The story of the N1 highlights how the Soviet system sabotaged itself.   The design was a plumber's nightmare built by committee.   It was predictable that it would fail.  The resonances in that monstrosity must have been numerous and impossible to control.

    The KISS (keep it simple, stupid) is a universally valid principle.  Reducing the degrees of freedom in a mechanical system (or even in organizations) increases reliability.  The less things that can go wrong, the less chance that something will go wrong.    The N1 tore itself apart after launch every single time.   No amount of fixing would save this dead end design.  

    The UR-700 would have been the correct project to follow.  I bet they cancelled the RD-270 to save face.
    I agree and disagree.... Had Korolev lived to see it launch, he might of been able to fix its problems. Lots of engines is a problem, but it also means a higher T/W ratio and doesn't require a ton of R&D to design the engines themselves (less thrust needed).

    Actually, KISS doesn't apply to rockets. For crying out loud they are some of the most complex things made today! The problem wasn't within KISS as the design itself was "simple", it was the basis of the idea that was flawed ("lot of engines").

    True, but the UR-700 project was started at a much later time, hence the reason the Soviets fell for the N1. They cancelled it becuase they had little interest (never-mind a lack of funds) in the Moon after the US got there first...

    They are complex, but they could be more complex. So KISS does apply. There was no way to fix the N1. They lacked the ability to simulate the dynamics of the structure and there is only so much you can do with pencil and paper calculations. This is again where KISS comes in. Robust designs with reduced modes of vibration also tend to be simpler to model and understand their characteristics.

    The race was lost only because the USSR gave up. The USSR could have gone to the moon three years later and done something the Americans did not do. By going there the USSR would have diluted the glory of the US. Nobody is handing out gold medals in this "race". We have had similar races in the past as various powers grabbed land around the world. Not getting there first did not mean a loss. The trick was perseverance. The Soviet command economy did not operate on money in the sense most people in the west understand. I routinely see the claim that Reagan "bankrupted" the USSR with his military spending arms race. This is nonsense since command economies do not work that way. The money is really vouchers and economic activity is organized via plans and directives to fulfill them. There is no market that requires money to operate. The USSR had enough human and material resources to keep with the space race for as long as it existed. It failed for a slew of other reasons which are too long to get into.
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    Post  Mike E Tue Sep 23, 2014 7:14 am

    kvs wrote:They are complex, but they could be more complex.   So KISS does apply.   There was no way to fix the N1.   They lacked the ability to simulate the dynamics of the structure and there is only so much you can do with pencil and paper calculations.   This is again where KISS comes in.  Robust designs with reduced modes of vibration also tend to be simpler to model and understand their characteristics.  

    The race was lost only because the USSR gave up.   The USSR could have gone to the moon three years later and done something the Americans did not do.   By going there the USSR would have diluted the glory of the US.  Nobody is handing out gold medals in this "race".   We have had similar races in the past as various powers grabbed land around the world.   Not getting there first did not mean a loss.   The trick was perseverance.   The Soviet command economy did not operate on money in the sense most people in the west understand.   I routinely see the claim that Reagan "bankrupted" the USSR with his military spending arms race.   This is nonsense since command economies do not work that way.   The money is really vouchers and economic activity is organized via plans and directives to fulfill them.   There is no market that requires money to operate.   The USSR had enough human and material resources to keep with the space race for as long as it existed.   It failed for a slew of other reasons which are too long to get into.
    Let's keep it at there is a reason people use the idiom "it ain't rocket science". - Rockets are already super complicated, and keep in mind that compared to today's super successful rockets, the N1 was a dinosaur tech-wise. Are you suggest that Korolev and his team didn't know what they were getting into (calling them idiots)? Trust me when I say that his team knew their stuff, and that with him as their leader the N1 *might of* had a different reputation...

    The CCCP didn't lose the "Space Race", and even though they lost the "Moon Race", they still were well accomplished there.


    Last part is  Off Topic...
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    Post  GarryB Thu Sep 25, 2014 12:07 pm


    The CCCP didn't lose the "Space Race", and even though they lost the "Moon Race", they still were well accomplished there.

    The race to put a man on the moon was won by the US... all the other significant "races" were won by the Soviets including first view of the dark side of the moon (the side that always faces away from earth and would be a great place for a base that was not effected by electronic noise from earth). The first moon rover was Soviet, the first landing on the moon was Soviet... the only thing they won was getting a man there first and if the Soviets had been a bit more reckless they could easily have lost that too.

    The thing is that putting men up is all PR, so losing those men is worse than not bothering in the first place.

    Once the US landed men on the moon there was no point repeating the feat... even the Americans got bored with it after a dozen or more landings.

    Lots of people still think it never happened anyway... and to those who think they are weird... if the US government or governments in general didn't lie so often then perhaps they might be more readily believed.

    Given time there is no reason why the N1 couldn't have gone to the moon and back... not 100% safe, but even the nazi rocket von brown built wasn't 100% safe for the US.

    Can't believe I haven't posted this already...

    Didn't you know the ISS is MIR II?

    After all that investment they are hardly going to throw it all away just because the US doesn't want to continue to fund it.
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    Post  AlfaT8 Thu Sep 25, 2014 2:31 pm

    Might as well throw in my 2 cents.

    From what i can see the Soviets were without a doubt the space pioneers, not there western counterparts, i mean the only reason the west even participated in this race was to one up Russia, not pioneer into the final frontier, so i find it funny when i saw the trailer for the movie Interstellar telling me of how they were ones the pioneers. Rolling Eyes

    Hell, i believe the only reason sought a movie is even been made, is because Russia has made public there plans for a manned mission to Mars, so now the U.S is trying to build up public support. Razz
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    Post  Big_Gazza Thu Sep 25, 2014 3:51 pm

    kvs wrote:The story of the N1 highlights how the Soviet system sabotaged itself.  

    Agreed in many respects. One of the worst of the many farces in the Soviet manned lunar program was Glushko doing a giant dummy spit and refusing to develop the large kerolox engines that Korolev wanted for his SHLV. He was apparently upset that Korolev refused to consider putting his cosmonauts on top of several thousand tons of high corrosive carcinogens, and with urging of Chelomei in his ears, he took his bat and ball and stumped off home. This sounds impossible given the totalitarian nature of Soviet management practices, but he did it and rather than government enforcers having a quiet word in his ear about the need to cooperate with State plans (and how refusal could lead to health complications...) he got away with it and Korolev was forced to go to Kuznetsov for engines. The NK-15 and NK-33 proved to be excellent engines, but the number of chambers and the fragility of the resulting over-complex plumbing system and its susceptibility to catastrophic failure from poorly understood vibrational modes (impossible to simulate in the 1960s) doomed the N-1 to failure.

    I still cannot fathom why the lunar programs sponsors in Soviet government did not tell Glushko to get busy and do what he was #@%&ing told. After all, "his" design bureau was state property and not his own private company...
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    Post  Mike E Thu Sep 25, 2014 9:01 pm

    GarryB wrote:

    The CCCP didn't lose the "Space Race", and even though they lost the "Moon Race", they still were well accomplished there.

    The race to put a man on the moon was won by the US... all the other significant "races" were won by the Soviets including first view of the dark side of the moon (the side that always faces away from earth and would be a great place for a base that was not effected by electronic noise from earth). The first moon rover was Soviet, the first landing on the moon was Soviet... the only thing they won was getting a man there first and if the Soviets had been a bit more reckless they could easily have lost that too.

    The thing is that putting men up is all PR, so losing those men is worse than not bothering in the first place.

    Once the US landed men on the moon there was no point repeating the feat... even the Americans got bored with it after a dozen or more landings.

    Lots of people still think it never happened anyway... and to those who think they are weird... if the US government or governments in general didn't lie so often then perhaps they might be more readily believed.

    Given time there is no reason why the N1 couldn't have gone to the moon and back... not 100% safe, but even the nazi rocket von brown built wasn't 100% safe for the US.

    Can't believe I haven't posted this already...

    Didn't you know the ISS is MIR II?

    After all that investment they are hardly going to throw it all away just because the US doesn't want to continue to fund it.
    True, and the only reason I say that Russia "lost" the Moon Race is becuase it doesn't piss off western trolls... - Not kidding, I've been in  some heated debates on who really won the Space Race, and we all know who did! Very Happy

    That is also true, the whole "putting man on the Moon" act was a PR stunt that tried to rally the Americans... - It did!

    There was no real point in even sending men up there... Moon "dirt" could have easily been returned by rover (it was eventually) without putting lives in danger... 

    I say they actually happened, but to each his own...

    Of course not, but the reason the N1 failed (quite literally) was a lack of quality control. - That is where Korolev would have helped, as he was very strict when it came to that.

    Don't doubt me GarryB, of *course* I know the ISS is Mir 2 and as such, is mostly Russian.

    I don't get it myself, seems like a massive waste of both time and progress, while also slowing down the OPSEK project!
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    Post  Vann7 Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:04 am

    Is everyone aware that Russia in soviet times in the 80's sent a lander and orbiters to venus and still today is the only nation in the world that have landed in Venus surface and sent back pictures of it surface ? Smile

    Soviet space program history V14


    Photo from the orbiter..

    Soviet space program history C_Venera15_Altimetry

    Using computers to glue individual images of the hundreds Russia took of the the planet using real data
    from venus you get this..
    Soviet space program history C_Venera15_New

    and this..

    Soviet space program history C_Venera_Perspective

    Soviet space program history VWV1AQR

    I found amazing how similar other planets surface looks to some places in earth.. the sand and rocks are similar
    to volcanic zones in earth .. but the sky for sure very different.



    Last edited by Vann7 on Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:35 am; edited 6 times in total
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    Post  Mike E Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:16 am

    Yeah... They were the first to land, flyby, and orbit (Mariner 2 was a "flyby", but a very distant one.)! The CCCP also conducted many photo "missions" of Venus, while it was largely forgotten in the West (Must have to do with all their hard-work being put into the Apollo missions, wouldn't you say?). - Both India and Russia have plans to conduct missions at Venus, VOM and Venera-D.
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    Post  Vann7 Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:25 am

    Mike E wrote:Yeah... They were the first to land, flyby, and orbit (Mariner 2 was a "flyby", but a very distant one.)! The CCCP also conducted many photo "missions" of Venus, while it was largely forgotten in the West (Must have to do with all their hard-work being put into the Apollo missions, wouldn't you say?). - Both India and Russia have plans to conduct missions at Venus, VOM and Venera-D.

    This is Big deal.. because in the west.. IS never mentioned at all any achievement by Russia on anything.. all magazines that i used to read about Science or even schools didn't teach anything about Soviets Space program..
    for almost everyone in the west before there was internet ,Americans were the only ones that could explore planets and go beyond the atmosphere.. The only things you learn in the west about space is what NASA have achieved..
    or at least what they claimed to achieve.. lol1

    check again my previous post will be updated. Smile

    A side note.. is quite depressing how bad looks other planets.. can't imagine anyone living in Venus ever..
    In Mars if humans go.. they will have to export everything including plants and animals and depend 100%
    on technology and to live there..   Perhaps it will be a better idea to just create a Space Station that rotates and generation gravity.. because living on other planets for more than a year ,doesn't look really fun  if you cannot go outside without a space suit and all you see is a dead planet .

    Information came from here..

    http://venera-d.cosmos.ru/index.php?id=688&L=2

    and here for original Soviet Venus images..
    http://mentallandscape.com/C_CatalogVenus.htm


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    Post  Werewolf Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:40 am

    Vann7 wrote:
    Mike E wrote:Yeah... They were the first to land, flyby, and orbit (Mariner 2 was a "flyby", but a very distant one.)! The CCCP also conducted many photo "missions" of Venus, while it was largely forgotten in the West (Must have to do with all their hard-work being put into the Apollo missions, wouldn't you say?). - Both India and Russia have plans to conduct missions at Venus, VOM and Venera-D.

    This is Big deal.. because in the west.. I NEVER knew Russia explored anything.. all magazing or even schools didn't
    teach anything about Soviets Space program.. for west NASA is the only one that could explore planets and go beyond the atmosphere.. The only things you learn in the west about space is what NASA have achieved.. lol1

    check again my previous post will be updated. Smile

    Yep, had an argument with some a**hole, two days ago where he said russians are so crap they can't go any further than our moon...well posted him wenn Russia actually did missions that were out of reach for US for that year 1961, was quite early in the space race and already reached another planet.

    I personally would be interested in pictures from saturn titan and other moons and neptun how the conditions are there.
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    Post  GarryB Thu Oct 02, 2014 1:08 pm

    I found amazing how similar other planets surface looks to some places in earth.. the sand and rocks are similar
    to volcanic zones in earth .. but the sky for sure very different.

    There was a lot of speculation before the Soviets send probes to Venus that perhaps under all those clouds that Venus might be like a prehistoric Earth with dinosaurs and such like.

    When the first probe entered the atmosphere they quickly realised the environment was too harsh for humans to live... enormous pressure, enormous heat, and acidic "air".

    Amusingly enough we have since found life on the ocean floor near volcanic vents where the acid levels, temperature and pressure are very similar to that on Venus so sending life their might not be that impossible...

    I personally would be interested in pictures from saturn titan and other moons and neptun how the conditions are there.

    Cold. afro
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    Post  Big_Gazza Thu Oct 02, 2014 2:32 pm

    You can also add the first soft-landing on Mars to the list of Soviet space firsts - the landing of Mars-3 on 2nd Dec 1971. To put this in perspective, this was only 14 years after the launch of Sputnik! Shocked

    Unfortunately Mars-3 landed during a global dust-storm, and radio comms ceased only 14.5 seconds after a photographic scan was started, and the returned signal contained only noise with no recogniseable features cry

    Many possible causes for the failure have been debated, but what is interesting is that both of the redundant radio transmitters fell silent at exactly the same time, which suggests that either orbiters radio relay failed (both channel simultaneously?) or the orbiter dropped below the landers local horizon and the radio link was lost. The later is a distinct possibility as the Mars-3 orbiter suffered a fuel loss and had insufficient delta-V to enter is proper 25 hr orbit, instead ending up in an elliptical orbit of >12 days period. My theory is that the bad orbit messed up the comms window with the lander causing a loss of the 1st science uplink, and by the time the orbiter was next over the landers horizon (~13 days later) , the lander had long since depleted its batteries. Mars-3 landed and went about its science program, but sadly no-one was listening...

    Interestingly, the Mars-3 surface hardware appears to have been located by NASAs MRO orbiter, and while the resolution isn't quite high enough to show categorically that the objects are genuine, the tantalizing petal-like appearance of the lander candidate makes me think they have found it! The landscape appears to be mostly sand/dust with minimal exposed rock outcrops, so the odds of surviveability should have been very good.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_3#mediaviewer/File:PIA16920-MarsSoviet3Lander1971-PossibleDebrisField.jpg
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    Post  Big_Gazza Thu Oct 02, 2014 3:00 pm

    GarryB wrote:Amusingly enough we have since found life on the ocean floor near volcanic vents where the acid levels, temperature and pressure are very similar to that on Venus so sending life their might not be that impossible...

    Venusian surface temperatures are around 450 deg C, or twice as hot as your oven can get, the atmospheric pressure is 89 bar (earth at sea level is ~1 bar) and the planet is utterly desiccated with virtually no water in the atmosphere. Venus is as dead as dead can be...
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    Post  GarryB Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:45 am

    Venusian surface temperatures are around 450 deg C, or twice as hot as your oven can get, the atmospheric pressure is 89 bar (earth at sea level is ~1 bar) and the planet is utterly desiccated with virtually no water in the atmosphere. Venus is as dead as dead can be...

    Imagine wiping away all the current human settlements on earth and looking at a forest covered Earth and planning where to drop a lander and digger... what are the odds of finding evidence of ancient human settlements/artifacts?

    Venus is what happens when there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the place starts heating up out of control... all the seas boil away and add to the thick atmosphere.

    the temperature near underwater volcanic vents can get beyond 400 degrees C and the pressure increases by one atmosphere with every fathom (ie each 13 feet of water equals all the air above us or 1 atmosphere)...

    The lack of water would be a problem but it is almost certain there was water there in the past, and possibly a geological record in the rock of the surface to explore... not the easiest dig site of course... Smile
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    Post  Mike E Fri Oct 03, 2014 4:04 pm

    GarryB wrote:
    Venusian surface temperatures are around 450 deg C, or twice as hot as your oven can get, the atmospheric pressure is 89 bar (earth at sea level is ~1 bar) and the planet is utterly desiccated with virtually no water in the atmosphere. Venus is as dead as dead can be...

    Imagine wiping away all the current human settlements on earth and looking at a forest covered Earth and planning where to drop a lander and digger... what are the odds of finding evidence of ancient human settlements/artifacts?

    Venus is what happens when there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the place starts heating up out of control... all the seas boil away and add to the thick atmosphere.

    the temperature near underwater volcanic vents can get beyond 400 degrees C and the pressure increases by one atmosphere with every fathom (ie each 13 feet of water equals all the air above us or 1 atmosphere)...

    The lack of water would be a problem but it is almost certain there was water there in the past, and possibly a geological record in the rock of the surface to explore... not the easiest dig site of course... Smile
    Still no way to explain its "location" in regards to the Sun. Atmosphere or not, Venus would be naturally too hot for sustained life. - Add that level of pressure, CO2, and volcanic activity and you get.... Venus!
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    Post  Mike E Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:14 pm

    New chapter on RSW about Voskhod! http://www.russianspaceweb.com/voskhod.html
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    Post  George1 Mon Dec 01, 2014 4:01 am

    Sergey Korolyov was the mastermind behind the soviet space program.

    Soviet space program history 225px-SKorolow


    The first human in space and to orbit the Earth, Yuri Gagarin.

    Soviet space program history Gagarin_in_Sweden


    Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, the first person to perform an EVA (spacewalk), in 1965.

    Soviet space program history 220px-Aleksey_Leonov_ASTP_-_cropped


    Cosmonaut Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was the first woman to fly in space, aboard Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.

    Soviet space program history 260px-RIAN_archive_612748_Valentina_Tereshkova

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    Post  George1 Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:26 pm

    The Soyuz T-10-1(1983) was a leakage of fuel and the flames coming in the rocket launch pad.Two seconds before its explodes, the crew was actived the Launch Escape Tower System for eject.

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    Post  kvs Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:31 am

    George1 wrote:Sergey Korolyov was the mastermind behind the soviet space program.

    Soviet space program history 225px-SKorolow


    If he had lived longer, the N1 would have been a success and the USSR would have had men on the Moon.

    Instead we had the degeneration of the N1 project into a petty ego battle by 2nd rate Sovok hacks. The
    N1 had massive resonance issues which were obvious from all of its failures. This plumber's nightmare should
    have never been built and Korolev would have made sure that something more sane was developed.

    Korolev's N1 would probably have been much closer to the Saturn V with fewer, larger engines and less plumbing
    to shake itself to pieces. The Americans were lucky they had Wernher von Braun.
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    Post  Werewolf Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:37 am

    Manned Moon landing was merely a prestige rather than beneficial exploration and not truelly worth to do it after someone already did it, since no one remembers Alan Shepard (2nd man in space).
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    Post  kvs Mon Feb 16, 2015 6:16 am

    Werewolf wrote:Manned Moon landing was merely a prestige rather than beneficial exploration and not truelly worth to do it after someone already did it, since no one remembers Alan Shepard (2nd man in space).

    To some extent this is true. But it is also about technological capacity. The Energiya and Buran were capacity development in competition
    with the US.

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