Word: salyut
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...routine mission." For three days, not a word was uttered about the historic space walks, although an old canard was repeated: that the shuttle had been built for sinister military purposes. In a display of competition, Moscow announced last week that three cosmonauts had been sent off to reoccupy Salyut 7, the Soviet semipermanent space station. The cosmonauts successfully docked with Salyut 7 and settled in for what may be an attempt to eclipse the 211-day orbital endurance record set by the Soviets in 1982. With their three-man launch, the Soviets inadvertently joined with the Americans in establishing...
Reagan, who had earlier slashed furiously at the space program and even canceled an unmanned rendezvous with Halley's comet, was apparently won over by two key points: 1) the increasing sophistication of the Soviet space effort, which has permitted cosmonauts to remain aboard their semipermanent Salyut space stations for as long as seven months at a time, and 2) the possible commercial payoff from a space station, notably manufactured goods far superior to any made under the tug of earthly gravity. Among them: ultrapure Pharmaceuticals, difficult-to-grow gallium arsenide crystals for microchips, alloys made of metals that...
...Packed with everything from computers to miniature automated factories, it is a major advance over Skylab, the U.S.'s first scientific work station in orbit, which was occupied by three successive teams of astronauts in the early 1970s. Spacelab is also considerably more sophisticated than the current Salyut 7, which the Soviets hint may be the first building block of a larger orbital station. Spacelab's uniqueness lies in the versatility of its three major components: 1) two cylindrically shaped laboratories, where the earthlike atmosphere will permit astronaut-scientists to work in shirtsleeves; 2) five external platforms...
Belatedly acknowledging the mishap after it had been reported by Western intelligence sources, Soviet officials nonetheless insisted that the failure of the resupply effort in no way endangered the Salyut 7 cosmonauts. As if to prove the point, Moscow television last week showed Alexandrov and Lyakhov bantering with mission controllers. Still, after three months in orbit, the cosmonauts need fresh supplies of food, oxygen and fuel. To provide those materials, the Soviets last week launched an unmanned Progress 18 space "freighter" that was expected to dock with Salyut...
Some observers had thought the Soviets might attempt an emergency evacuation of the cosmonauts via their original Soyuz ferry ship (which is still attached to Salyut), so the decision to send up Progress 18 was regarded as an encouraging sign for the spacemen. Said veteran Soviet Space Watcher James Oberg (Red Star in Orbit): "There seems to be little real anxiety in mission control." However, as Oberg notes, Salyut's steering problems, combined with the launch-pad fiasco, show that the Soviets cannot yet manage replacement of crews on a regular, scheduled basis. Such a capability is a prerequisite...