USSR SPECIAL ISSUE - THE SOVIET SPACE PROGRAM PUBLIC POLICY AND PROGRAMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-00733R000100150014-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: May 20, 1986
• Content Type: REPORT

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20 May 1986
Vol. 1, No. 2
Science and
Technology
The USSR has entered a new phase in its manned space effort and has announced
ambitious programs for scientific and planetary research. Two major Soviet publications
on their space program have appeared in recent. months. These sources, together with a
range of other open source materials, provide an overview of Soviet public space policy and
plans for future space programs.
The Militarization of Space Theme ...................................................................................................... Page 1
A major propaganda campaign has been mounted against the U.S. Strategic Defense
Initiative. The pervasiveness of this theme was reflected in Soviet reaction to the Challenger
disaster.
Public Rationale for the Soviet Space Program .................................................................................... Page 2
Success in space is viewed as a valuable source of national prestige. Main continuing themes
are the scientific value of space research, benefits to the national economy, and international
space cooperation.
The Orbital Space Station Program ...................................................................................................... Page 5
The recent launch of the Mir station initiates a major expansion in the manned program.
Production operations in orbit are portrayed as a near-term reality.
Unmanned Scientific Programs .............................................................................................................. Page 7
Five missions have been announced for the late 1980s and 1990s. Large space telescopes with
high precision pointing accuracy are in development.
Planetary Programs ................................................................................................................................ Page 8
Concentration on Mars marks a shift in Soviet planetary research. The precise status of plans
for a manned mission to Mars remains problematic.
Long-Range Projections ........................................................................................................................ Page 11
Among prospects discussed are large orbital complexes, lunar production bases, and eventual
planetary colonization.
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This paper was prepared by Science and
Technology Center, FBIS. Comments and queries are
welcome and may be directed to the author on 0 or
the Chief/S&TC/FBIS ono Selections from the two
primary Soviet sources on which this paper is based will
appear in forthcoming FBIS reports. Excerpts from "USSR
Cosmonautics" will be published in the USSR REPORT:
SPACE (FOUO). A collection of selected articles from the
"Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics" will appear as a special
issue of the same report series.
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For the USSR the start of 1986 has brought major successes in space. The encounter of the Vega
spacecraft with Halley's Comet received worldwide attention. In February the launch of the Mir third-
generation orbital station marked a major expansion in the Soviet manned program. The USSR has also
announced a series of projects for the late 1980s and 1990s which comprise an ambitious program of
space science and planetary research.
At the end of 1985 a new "Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics" was produced under the general
editorship of V. P. Glushko, a major designer of rocket engines. The last such encyclopedia, also edited
by Glushko but more limited in scope, appeared more than 15 years ago. Early 1986 saw the appearance
of a lavishly produced large-format volume entitled "USSR Cosmonautics," written by an authorial
collective which includes many of the major figures in the Soviet space program. While these books
present no major changes in space policy, when taken together with a wide range of other available open
source materials they present a fairly detailed picture of the public face of the Soviet space program. The
following sections summarize this self-portrayal in terms of stated policy aims, details of specific near-
term programs, and indications of long-range goals in the civil, scientific and applied areas of the Soviet
space effort.
1. SPACE POLICY
Soviet media contrast a peaceful Soviet program undertaken for "science, the national economy,
and the good of all mankind" with a U.S. policy intent on militarizing space and seeking military
superiority. In an interview upon the publication of the new cosmonautics encyclopedia Glushko stated
"the peace-loving policy of the Soviet state is reflected in the encyclopedia. Anyone seeking articles there
on terms or objects connected with militarization of space will do so in vain." Under the entry "Space
Program of the USSR" one finds a listing of institutes of the Academy of Sciences as the organs involved
in developing and carrying out the Soviet space program. In the corresponding entry on the U.S. space
program one reads that it is carried out by NASA and the Department of Defense. The entry continues:
"funds and efforts are directed basically toward creation of satellites with military missions and for the
militarization of space."
The militarization of space theme is dominant in the massive propaganda campaign directed
against the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative. Soviet media portray the SDI program as an attempt to
create an arms race in space and to develop "space strike weapons." The ultimate strategic purpose of
the system is alleged to be a desire to achieve military superiority by making possible a first strike
against Soviet offensive nuclear missiles without danger of retaliation. The pervasiveness of the anti-
SDI effort affected even Soviet reaction to the explosion of the Challenger. Media commentary almost
immediately interpreted the explosion as an object lesson in the vulnerability and danger of highly
complicated space systems. A similar explosion of a spacecraft in orbit, the argument ran, might be
interpreted as the result of hostile action, which could trigger a nuclear war.
The SDI campaign has provided one of the few contexts in which reference is made to a Soviet
military space program. Such comments are couched in terms of hypothetical countermeasures to U.S.
deployment of a space-based ballistic missile defense system. Recently, a military commentator claimed
that countermeasures such as space mines, launches of decoy missiles, and use of laser-reflective
coatings on missiles could effectively foil a space-based BMD system and at only 1 to 2 percent of the
cost of deploying such a system. The SDI program is also interpreted as an implied challenge to the
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economic and scientific capacities of the USSR. After having just argued that an SDI system could be
easily defeated by simple countermeasures, the same commentator goes on to cite the "bitter experience
of 1941" and proclaim that the Soviet Union could develop a space-based BMD system of its own.
"Today the material capabilities of the USSR and its scientific-technical potential are such
that our country, if it is necessary, is entirely and realistically capable of responding to the
U.S. with the same thing that they intend to threaten us with from space."
The capacity of Soviet science to meet any U.S. challenge was asserted by Defense Minister
Sokolov in a 23 February PRAVDA article:
"Now our country is capable of solving any scientific or technical problem and will not
permit anyone to achieve military superiority over it, whether on Earth or in space."
National pride in the achievements of the space program has been a prominent element in Soviet
public discussion since the launch of Sputnik and the first manned orbital flight of Yuriy Gagarin. The
civilian and scientific achievements of the space effort have been extensively exploited as proof of world
leadership of Soviet science and technology and, therefore, as a validation of the Soviet system. The
following example occurred in a 1984 Soviet journal devoted to problems of historiography:
"The first steps taken in mastering outer space at the turn of the fifties resulted from the work
of the Soviet people and, at the same time, were an original symbol of their socioeconomic
progress. Soviet man's leap into space embodied both the heights already reached by, and the
unlimited potentials of, socialist society."
The same theme is taken up in the first pages of "USSR Cosmonautics":
"Each stage in the development of Soviet cosmonautics is a major historical milestone along
the path of mastery of space, an outstanding contribution to world science and space
technology. The Soviet people may be justly proud that the chapters inscribed in the history
of cosmonautics by our country begin for the most part with the words `for the first time in
the world', thus confirming the indisputable priority of the Soviet Union in the conquest of
After the launch of the new Mir space station, TASS was quick to pick up statements characterizing the
event as a major advance of the Soviet space program over the U.S. For example, on 19 and 22 March,
TASS in English reported statements by a U.S. space official and an aerospace executive to the effect
that the new Mir station has put the U.S. space program 10 years behind the Soviet Union.
The value of the Soviet space effort to pure and applied science has been a dominant theme in
public discussion since the inception of the space program. Study of near-Earth space and extra-
atmospheric astronomy have been stressed as major research areas for the manned program and have
been pursued in a number of unmanned programs such as the Prognoz solar research satellites and the
recent Astron high-apogee observatory spacecraft for research in the X-ray and UV wavelengths.
The Soviet planetary program has achieved a number of significant scientific successes including
transmission of the first pictures from the surface of the Moon and from the surface of Venus. Recent
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missions have included a successful radar mapping of Venus by Venera- 15 and -16. The first phase of
the Vega mission to Halley's Comet dropped off landers and balloon probes for atmospheric research
during a Venus flyby. Details on these missions are now appearing extensively in the scientific literature.
In the area of scientific applications, the Earth resources program has been given special emphasis.
Remote sensing of Earth resources is given extensive coverage in reports on cosmonaut research
activity. In 1980 the Academy of Sciences began publication of a new scientific journal devoted to
remote sensing from space. Technical details on such systems as the Meteor-Priroda satellites and the
Cosmos- 1500 oceanographic satellite have appeared in this journal.
Although all Soviet space activity is reported as in the interests of science, only about 30 percent of
the total number of spacecraft launches are identified in the media. In 1985 TASS reported 97 space
launches which placed in orbit a total of 118 satellites or spacecraft. These include 13 communication
satellites, six navigation satellites, three weather satellites, five launches related to manned missions,
seven satellites for remote sensing of resources, the Prognoz- 10 solar research satellite and the Cosmos-
1667 biosat. The remaining 82 spacecraft were reported as generic "Cosmos" launches. These are
announced in a standardized TASS format which varies only in the satellite number, launch date and
orbital parameters. The only indication of mission is the formulaic phrase: "aboard the spacecraft there
is installed scientific apparatus for the continuation of space research." The Cosmos series has been
described as a broad scientific research and engineering program which uses a standardized satellite
design. However, of the more than 1,600 Cosmos satellites launched by the signed-to-press date (18
March 1985) of the "Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics" only 29 missions are given individual descriptive
entries in the text.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS
Soviet commentators frequently cite economic benefits provided by space technology.
Communications satellites are well suited to a country with the large area and diverse geography of the
USSR. The Soviets claim that in areas east of the Urals, satellite communication is three times cheaper
than radio relay lines. Satellite systems such as Ekran and Gorizont now allow USSR Central Television
broadcasts to reach 93 percent of the population of the country.
According to the director of the Priroda State Center, Yuriy Kiyenko, some 300 economic
programs now use space photographic data. Over 1 million photographic documents per year are
provided to about 1,000 separate organizations. Areas of application include cartography, geology, oil
and mineral exploration, agriculture, and fisheries. An example of economic effect which has appeared
more than once in the literature is the use of space data for territorial evaluation of resource potential. It
is claimed that such an evaluation can be accomplished three to four times more rapidly than with
traditional methods and at a cost 12 to 15 times lower.
Soviet claims of savings in ruble amounts range from the impressionistic to the highly specific. The
head of the new organization USSR Glavkosmos stated recently that the economic effect of space
photography and cosmonaut observations over the past five-year plan for the Central Asia regions alone
amounted to "tens of millions of rubles." According to a 1983 article in IZVESTIYA, the use of weather
data from meteorological satellites saves 500 to 700 million rubles per year for the national economy.
The article goes on to say that in the future the effect of resources studies from space will be 12 to 17
rubles for every ruble spent.
The amounts cited are of more anecdotal than analytic value since no figures are provided on
investment in individual space systems or for the space program as a whole. In view of the frequent
claims of economic gains flowing from the space program it is rather curious that the chairman of the
State Committee for Science and Technology opened a recent roundtable discussion with the following
statement:
"The problem facing this country is to make cosmonautics a paying branch of the economy."
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Terms such as "profitability" and "economic return" are prominent in discussions of the new Mir
orbital station. In an interview after the launch of the Mir a space engineer stated that economic
considerations were a major element in the design of the station. He pointed out that the enhanced
docking capacities of the Mir "will make it possible to use expensive equipment at full capacity."
The Soviet Union has developed a number of international space programs which have yielded
both political and scientific benefit. A number of countries have attained the prestige of "spacefaring
nations" by using Soviet launch services, placing experiments on Soviet space missions, and having
cosmonauts participate in Soviet space flights. In addition to the good will and propaganda value gained
by these programs the USSR has also been able to exploit the scientific capacities of the participant
countries. To cite only one example, the MKF-6 multispectral camera system was developed as a
cooperative program of the GDR and USSR. The camera was manufactured by the GDR company Karl
Zeiss Jena and became a standard instrument on Salyut-6 and Salyut-7.
The Intercosmos organization was founded formally in 1970 to coordinate space cooperation
between the USSR and the six East European communist states (Hungary, GDR, Bulgaria, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, and Romania). Original members also included the Soviet clients Mongolia and Cuba.
Vietnam became an Intercosmos member in 1979. Five permanently operating working groups
coordinate activities in the fields of space physics, meteorology, communications, biomedicine, and
remote sensing. To date, 22 dedicated Intercosmos satellites have been launched by Soviet rockets as
well as 11 geophysical sounding rockets in the Vertikal series. A major element in the Intercosmos
program has been the launch of cosmonauts from member countries as participants in short-term visits
to the Salyut-6 space station. In the period 1978-1981 cosmonauts from all nine Intercosmos countries
participated in these one-week flights. In 1982 a French cosmonaut flew as a member of a visiting crew
to Salyut-7 and, most recently, an Indian cosmonaut visited the station in 1984.
The Intersputnik organization was formed in 1971 by the then nine members of Intercosmos to
provide international satellite service for telephone, telegraph, and TV transmissions. The
organization's functions paralleled those of the Intelsat consortium which was founded in 1964. In the
period 1979-1984, six countries were added as Intersputnik members: Afghanistan, Laos, South Yemen,
Vietnam, Syria, and North Korea. Communication services are provided by two Soviet Gorizont
satellites in geostationary orbit. Fourteen ground stations are located in member countries as well as in
Iraq and Algeria. Stations are reportedly under construction in Libya, Nicaragua and elsewhere.
The Soviet Union has also undertaken a number of bilateral space agreements. Cooperative
programs with France began as early as 1966 and have included a number of experiments such as Araks
and Arkad. Three Indian satellites have been launched by Soviet rockets. Sweden has flown experiments
on the Intercosmos-16 and Prognoz-7 satellites. The first cooperative programs between the U.S. and
USSR began as early as 1962. The high water mark occurred in 1975 with the Apollo-Soyuz flight. A
new cooperative agreement was signed in Geneva in 1977 but expired in 1982 when the U.S. declined to
extend it.
New cooperative efforts reported in the media include plans for a visit by a Syrian cosmonaut to a
Soviet orbital station. Two Syrian cosmonaut candidates are now training in the USSR. A protocol has
also been signed for a second French cosmonaut to work aboard a Soviet station in 1988. It has been
specified that this will be a longer mission than the usual one-week visit by previous non-Soviet crew
members. Scientific contacts with other West European countries are widening. The FRG and Austria
participated along with the Intercosmos countries in the Vega project. Sweden and Finland will be
added to that group for the upcoming Phobos mission.
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II. CURRENT AND FUTURE SPACE PROGRAMS
The role of permanently operating orbital stations with rotating crews has long been stressed as the
main road for development of Soviet cosmonautics. Cosmonaut crews have logged impressive records in
mission duration and have shown skill and adaptability in dealing with difficult situations in flight.
Supplementary solar panels have been added to the main panels of Salyut-7 by three separate crews
between November 1983 and August 1985. Successful repairs on a fuel line were carried out during
cosmonaut EVAs in 1984. Most recently, in June 1985 two cosmonauts were able to reactivate the
Salyut-7 station after a complete loss of electrical power. This was followed in September 1985 by the
first crew rotation.
The Soviet manned program stands alone in terms of experience with long-duration missions. The
last U.S. long-duration flight was the 84-day Skylab mission launched in 1973. Soviet commentators
have argued that long flights are more efficient since it takes up to a month and a half for cosmonauts to
attain optimum working capacity. This applies both to gaining familiarity with onboard conditions and
equipment and also to developing visual acuity for various observation and survey programs. According
to Soviet academicians, the present orbital flight record of 237 days may be surpassed. The president of
the Academy of Sciences has stated that no insurmountable biological obstacles have been encountered
which would prevent prolonged human stay in space, on the order of a year.
The launch of the Mir station in February of this year marks the introduction of the third
generation of Soviet orbital stations. The design represents an evolutionary advance over the Salyut
spacecraft, the main new feature being a multiple docking port which gives the Mir a capacity for
receiving six spacecraft simultaneously. Scientific and production operations will be housed in
specialized modular craft such as the Cosmos-1686 which is currently docked with Salyut-7.
Media coverage since the launch of the Mir has provided some additional details on new features of
the station's design and operation. A commentary in the 12 March issue of EKONOMICHESKAYA
GAZETA stated that the Mir has two main solar panels with a total area of 76 square meters, versus the
three panel 60 square meter configuration of Salyut-7. It was also revealed that the Mir panels use
gallium arsenide solar cells which provide a "substantial" but unspecified increase in the station's power
capacity. In a 12 April interview the flight director for the Mir mission stated that the Mir has a system
of seven separate onboard computers for specific tasks. The Salyut-7 has only one computer.
A new data relay satellite system has been inaugurated. A TASS report on 29 March identified the
Cosmos-1700 satellite, now designated as Luch, as a relay satellite used for communications from the
station to the Flight Control Center during periods when the station is beyond radio range of Soviet
territory. Previously, data relays were handled by space support ships in open ocean areas. The original
TASS launch announcement for Cosmos-1700 (launched on 25 October 1985) stated only that the
satellite carried experimental equipment operating in the centimeter band.
A new generation of transport ships designed specifically for operations with the new modular
complex is apparently to go into service with the next flight of cosmonauts to the station. Commentators
have stated that the Soyuz T-15, which brought the first crew of two cosmonauts to the Mir, is the last
craft in the Soyuz T series.
The role of Salyut-7 in the current operational plan has been clarified somewhat. The 22 March
issue of the French aerospace journal AIR & COSMOS quotes the deputy director of the Cosmonaut
Training Center Aleksey Leonov to the effect that a new crew will be sent to reman Salyut-7 in the near
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future. Leonov went on to say that there are no plans to dock Salyut-7 with the Mir, although this would
be technically possible, because Salyut-7 is "too old." According to one Soviet commentator,
cosmonauts will "commute" back and forth between the Mir and Salyut-7.
NEAR- AND LONG-TERM STATION OPERATIONS
If no major problems occur during the present checkout period, additional crew members will
probably be sent up to the Mir shortly. Press comments have suggested that the base crew may consist of
six cosmonauts. This stage should be accompanied by launches of modular spacecraft and the first use of
the Mir's lateral docking ports. References have been made to dedicated modules for astrophysics,
remote sensing, biological research, and materials production.
No details have yet appeared on new equipment or research programs to be housed in the new
modular complex. However, one area being discussed more than others is materials processing. In an
interview on the day of the Mir launch, General Leonov described the station as a space laboratory
which would start the transition from the research stage to large-scale production activities in space.
Some success has already been achieved with experimental production operations aboard Salyut-6 and
Salyut-7. The Soviets claim that the "Tavriya" electrophoresis unit has produced a highly pure protein
which was later used at a biomedical facility to prepare a trial batch of influenza vaccine. During the
211-day flight in 1982 the "Korund" apparatus reportedly produced an 800 gram crystal of cadmium
selenide 30 cm long and 30 mm in diameter. It has also been reported that an electron pumped UV laser
at the Academy of Sciences Physics Institute uses a crystal produced in orbit and has shown outstanding
operating characteristics. Orbital production of semiconductor materials is considered to be a near-term
possibility. Commentators point out that although the output of a unit like the "Korund" is relatively
small, the annual requirement for such materials for electronics instruments is only on the order of tens
to hundreds of kilograms.
Along with the claimed successes there are also indications that unforeseen difficulties have been
encountered on both the technical and theoretical levels. In a 12 November 1985 PRAVDA article a
State Prize laureate wrote:
"The general picture of physico-chemical processes in weightlessness has turned out to be far
more complex than the simple models that were accepted in the initial stage of research. The
behavior of various substances in weightlessness still requires detailed research."
Scientific commentators are now calling for a coordinated approach under the rubric of a new
independent branch of science to be known as "physics of weightlessness." A step in this direction was
the recent creation of a new Academy of Sciences Scientific Council for Problems of Space Materials
Science.
The authors of "USSR Cosmonautics" convey a highly optimistic view of the near-term prospects
for space manufacturing. They cite industrial production of materials and alloys as one of the areas best
prepared for transition to modular station operations. Production in orbit is said to make possible new
materials which either cannot be obtained in normal gravity conditions or which require very expensive
techniques. In addition to the equipment already used aboard orbital stations the authors indicate
several new technologies which will be developed. These include shaping of molten metals by weak
magnetic fields to form ingots of any required shape without casting in molds. The authors claim that
magnetic shaping would produce highly pure metals with virtually no internal stresses. Foam materials
are also mentioned as ideally suited to production in weightlessness. For example, a foam steel
containing 13 percent metal and 87 percent gas would have the strength of steel but weigh only as much
as aluminum. Manufacture of crystals will be developed for both structural and electronics applications.
The authors claim that large-dimension acicular monocrystals grown in space could be used as structural
elements. Large sapphire "needles" produced in weightlessness could withstand pressures up to two tons
per square millimeter. Crystals of semiconductor compounds produced in spherical shapes will be used
in "new classes" of electronic devices.
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The scaling up of orbital manufacturing operations is viewed by the Soviets as the principal factor
determining the next stage of development of transport operations to and from orbit. Modular
complexes will require a higher flow of supplies and raw materials. The need to return to Earth the
output of the "space production shops" will require that the next generation of cargo transport craft
have a return capacity. It should be stressed that the term employed in this context is "returnable," not
"reusable." The first stage in the development of this capacity is said to be the use of a return module on
the Cosmos-1443 craft which returned about 350 kilograms from orbit.
Soviet statements indicate that a possible long-range development of the orbital station program
may involve placing a number of modular complexes in a range of Earth orbits. Press commentary on
the Mir station refers to a "unified complex of large-scale orbital structures placed in orbits from 200 to
40,000 kilometers and connected with each other and with the Earth by transport ships for cargo and
passengers and controlled from a unified center." This description of a unified system of orbital
installations in the specific range of orbits from 200 to 40,000 kilometers is repeated almost verbatim
from a November 1983 PRAVDA article on the potential of orbital stations. The 1983 article,
coauthored by president of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences Boris Paton, and Doctor of
Technical Sciences Yu. Semenov, goes on to specify that the orbital system will include specialized
research laboratories, housing modules, energy installations, a refueling station, repair workshops, and
construction sites for producing and installing standardized construction components.
According to the "Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics" entry on orbital stations, plans exist for placing
stations at orbital libration points and in lunar orbit where they would serve as outfitting bases for
flights to the planets of the solar system.
The concluding section of "USSR Cosmonautics" discusses several near-term scientific programs.
Launch schedules are not given, but the following five projects are said to be planned for "the next few
years", presumably the period of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Two programs will study Earth's magnetosphere and solar-terrestrial relations:
Two Prognoz-type satellites will be used, each with a maneuverable subsatellite. The Tail Probe
satellite will intersect the plasma layer in the tail of the magnetosphere at a distance of 100 to
150 thousand kilometers from the Earth. The second satellite, Auroral Probe, will orbit above
the polar auroral oval at an altitude of 10 to 15 thousand kilometers. Each of the main satellites
will have a subsatellite which will be able to vary its position relative to the main satellite by
using correcting engines.
This program calls for an active diagnostics experiment to study reaction of the magnetosphere
to a wave propagating within it. A transmitter aboard a spacecraft will inject a VLF signal into
the magnetosphere. The Active-IK spacecraft will also utilize a controllable subsatellite.
Member countries of Intercosmos will participate in both of these projects.
In the area of high-energy astrophysics, plans exist for orbiting instruments in the second half of the
1980s with observational capacities over a wide range of the spectrum, including X-rays, soft gamma
radiation and submillimeter waves. Projects are under way for three orbital astronomical observatories:
Granat is apparently the current designation for the joint Soviet-French project earlier referred
to as Gamma-l. The Gamma-l telescope, which weighs around 1,500 kilograms, will be the
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basic instrument on the satellite. The total scientific payload will weigh over two tons and will
include a smaller gamma telescope and an X-ray telescope. French participation in
development of the telescope system involves scientists at the Saclay Nuclear Research Center
and the Toulouse Space Research Center. A system for precision angular orientation has been
developed at the Warsaw Polytechnical Institute. The observatory will be placed on a Soviet
high-apogee stabilized satellite with a period of revolution of four days. Studies will be made of
spectra of sources in the 3 to 2,000 keV energy range and high precision imagery of sources in
the 3 to 500 keV range will be carried out. The project has been in development for over 10
years and apparently has been delayed for unexplained reasons.
Roentgen is an X-ray observatory for detailed spectroscopic study of X-ray sources in the 2 to
800 keV range. Scientific equipment for the mission is being developed by the Netherlands, the
Federal Republic of Germany and other ESA members. In a West German press report this
mission was referred to as "Salyut-HEXE" (High Energy X-Ray Experiment). According to this
report the observatory spacecraft would operate in conjunction with a Salyut orbital station.
West European participants in the project were identified as the University of Utrecht
(Netherlands), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (FRG), and the University
of Birmingham (Great Britain).
Aelita is a project for research in the submillimeter range at wave lengths of 0.1 to 2 mm. A
spacecraft will place in near-Earth orbit a cryogenically cooled telescope with a one-meter mirror
and a 3-15' field of view. The telescope will operate in a high sensitivity mode with a variable
spectral filter or in a spectrometry mode using a Fourier spectrometer. Research will be
performed on "cold matter" in the galaxies and irregularities in the galactic background
radiation. There is no mention of any non-Soviet participation in this project.
According to "USSR Cosmonautics," the development of space astronomy will be accomplished by
placing still larger telescopes in orbit.
"In principle, at the present time no problems remain which would prevent the placing in
orbit of telescopes with mirrors several meters in diameter for observations in the optical, UV
and IR ranges. Such instruments would have stabilization and pointing accuracy of about
.001 second of arc and resolution of. 0 1 second of arc."
"USSR Cosmonautics" reports that orbital radiotelescopes are also to receive "intensive
development in upcoming years." Large radiotelescopes in the centimeter and decimeter ranges will
reportedly be used as the orbital components of radiointerferometers with practically unlimited
resolution. The KRT-10 antenna deployed on Salyut-6 in 1979 is described as the first stage in this
development. According to the authors, final work is now proceeding on improved instruments of this
type and structural elements are being developed for assembly of radiotelescopes of any required
dimensions.
C. PLANETARY PROGRAMS
According to "USSR Cosmonautics", the Soviet planetary program will carry forward previous
research on Venus and Mars, as well as inaugurate new programs for study of comets and asteroids.
Specific new missions in the Venera series are not identified, but the authors refer to a program for
Venus research which includes further surveys of the planet's surface, search for evidence
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of volcanism and long-term measurement of the planet's cloud layer. The success of the Vega mission
has reportedly encouraged scientists to consider new projects. For example, instead of the comet flyby
flight profile used by the Vega spacecraft, a flight is under consideration in which a spacecraft would
enter the tail of a comet and slowly approach the nucleus while performing detailed studies over a long
period of time. How such a craft would be shielded during such a long-term stay inside a cometary tail is
not explained.
Vesta is described as a multipurpose program which would include a Venus research phase as well
as encounters with dozens of asteroids and possibly a comet. The asteroid flybys would occur over
several years during the course of several orbits around the Sun. In at least one case the flyby craft would
release a descent probe which would make a hard landing on an asteroid's surface. Although U.S.
publications have reported that France will play a major role in designing the Vesta spacecraft, the
authors of "USSR Cosmonautics" make no reference to any non-Soviet participation in the project.
According to a report in the 24 March issue of AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY,
director of IKI Roald Sagdeyev has stated that the original plan for a Venus flyby has been changed to a
Mars flyby trajectory. The originally scheduled launch date of 1992 may be delayed for two years at the
request of the French national space agency to allow more time for development of the asteroid flyby
craft.
Discussions of the Phobos project have appeared in open source materials since mid-1985. This
mission represents an ambitious expansion of the Soviet planetary research program. Since the early
1970s the Soviet planetary program has concentrated exclusively on Venus. No spacecraft have been
launched to Mars since the limited successes achieved by the Mars-4, -5, -6 and -7 missions of 1973.
According to "USSR Cosmonautics," the plan includes three main phases, the first being a study of
solar radiation over a wide frequency range during the flight to Mars. In the second phase, spacecraft
would be placed in orbit around Mars to perform research on the atmosphere and ionosphere of the
planet. The final phase of the mission involves a flyby of the Martian satellite Phobos to within "a few
dozen meters" of its surface. This would permit high resolution TV imagery of the surface, study of
Phobos's internal structure by means of radio waves and determination of the chemical and isotopic
composition of the surface layer.
Media reports in the second half of 1985 and early 1986 have clarified the basic flight plan. Two
Soviet interplanetary spacecraft will take part in the mission. A launch date of mid-1988 has been firmly
set because of the availability of a favorable launch window. The Earth to Mars flight will take
approximately 200 days. After a period of research in Mars orbit, both spacecraft will be shifted to
circular orbits close to that of Phobos. Both craft will approach Phobos to a distance between 30 and 70
meters from the satellite's surface. Some elements of the research program to be carried out in this phase
seem to be still awaiting final determination. The scientific instrumentation for the flight is being
developed by a collective of participating countries. This includes the same group which took part in the
Vega program, i.e. five East European Intercosmos members (Bulgaria, Hungary, GDR, Poland, and
Czechoslovakia) along with France, the FRG, and Austria. New participants in the Phobos project
include Sweden, Finland and scientists of the European Space Agency. Commentary as late as April of
this year indicates that the surface of Phobos will be studied by color TV cameras and laser and ion
beams whose effects will be analyzed by spectrometers to determine the chemical composition of the
surface layer. Deployment of both fixed and mobile landers to the surface of Phobos is said to be under
consideration. The entire mission is scheduled to last for 18 months.
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The exact status of a manned mission to Mars in Soviet space plans is difficult to determine from
the available open references. After the 237-day flight by three cosmonauts in 1984, TASS claimed that
this was "precisely the time which a spacecraft needs to reach Mars with the modern level of
technology." A few weeks later Moscow World Service in English reported that Soviet "space experts"
were working on preparations for a manned flight to Mars and quoted president of the Soviet Academy
of Sciences Anatoliy Aleksandrov to the effect that such a mission was technically feasible but involved
solution of a series of complicated matters. In the concluding section of "USSR Cosmonautics" which
discusses future space programs there is a conspicuous absence of any mention of a manned Mars flight
in the foreseeable future. The authors discuss the possibility of manned lunar bases, but the question of
manned missions to the planets, Venus and Mars in particular, is mentioned only in the context of
permanent habitation in the far distant future. On the other hand, the entry on nuclear rocket engines in
the "Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics" claims that while a Mars expedition would be "very
problematical" using chemical propulsion systems, a nuclear engine would make such a flight realizable.
Technical data for such an engine system and spacecraft are specified:
"Such a spacecraft would have a mass in near-Earth orbit of about 1000 to 1500 tons,
including several nuclear boost engines each having 0.5 to 1 MN of thrust, a specific impulse
of about 8200 m/s and an operating time of 30 to 60 minutes. There would also be a nuclear
braking engine for insertion of the spacecraft into Mars orbit and a nuclear boost engine for
return to Earth. The Mars expedition craft would have liquid fuel engines for landing and
takeoff. The flight is calculated for a duration of one and a half to two years."
The 6 February issue of PRAVDA carries a commentary by Roald Sagdeyev on the proposal
advanced by Carl Sagan for a joint Soviet-American manned mission to Mars. Sagdeyev responds
favorably to the idea of space cooperation, but goes even further, saying that the project would be
beyond the capacities of any single country:
"Our experience in preparing projects for exploration of distant space has shown that
realization of such grandiose projects as an expedition to Mars is impossible without
international cooperation."
The Sagan proposal was raised again in an interview with the chairman of Intercosmos Vladimir
Kotelnikov in the 11 April issue of IZVESTIYA. Kotelnikov characterized such a project as "technically
complex, but feasible," but he stipulates that it would depend on a change in the political situation.
In his PRAVDA comments Sagdeyev indicates that a manned flight to Mars would obviously be
preceded by a stage of unmanned exploration of the planet. He maintains that unmanned spacecraft
may even be more productive in terms of scientific results. A number of unmanned Mars projects have
been referred to in the literature. These include a soil sampler return mission and a powered "Mars
plane" for study of the Martian atmosphere. The "Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics" notes that a number
of proposals have been published for self-propelled Mars rover vehicles. Such a "marsokhod" could be
designed either for transport of cosmonauts on the planet's surface or as an autonomous research vehicle
along the lines of the Soviet lunokhods.
A definite denial that a manned Mars mission is in preparation occurred during a press conference
held in Moscow on 7 April at which cosmonauts Kizim and Solovyev commented on the current flight
of the Mir. A number of space officials and scientists were present and responded to journalists'
questions. The 8 April PRAVDA account of the press conference includes the following question and
answer exchange (the speakers are not identified):
"Is an expedition to Mars really being prepared in the Soviet Union?"
"No, such a project does not exist. But there are preparations under way for the Phobos project to
study the satellite of Mars."
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The 31 March issue of AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY reports that officials at
the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry imeni Vernadskiy have stated that a spacecraft
for a lunar polar orbiter mission is under development with a launch scheduled for 1991. The spacecraft
would reportedly carry a scientific instrument package weighing 300 kilograms and would be intended
to expand scientific knowledge of the dark side of the moon and the polar regions. No discussion of this
project has yet appeared in Soviet media.
D. LONG-RANGE PROJECTIONS
The concluding section of "USSR Cosmonautics" discusses a number of projections for space at
the turn of the century and beyond. The authors describe these programs as "not on the current agenda"
and as not yet having received detailed design, technical, and economic analysis. However, they are
viewed as plausible projections, based on the experience of the past three decades of cosmonautics and
"the general tendencies of its development."
By the year 2000, large orbital complexes should be in near-Earth orbit. They will have crews of 20
to 30, and eventually more than 100 persons. One such station would have the equivalent scientific and
production capacities of dozens of currently operating orbital stations. These large manned complexes
would, in turn, be the forerunners of even larger "ethereal settlements," the oft cited phrase of Soviet
space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovskiy referring to human colonization of space.
In addition to large-scale manned orbital complexes there would also be specialized complexes
designed to function autonomously with only periodic servicing by cosmonauts. Such complexes would
include astrophysical observatories, production facilities, solar power stations, and solar reflectors.
A key factor in the realization of such projects will be the development of an economical system for
delivery of large volumes of payload-on the order of many hundreds of tons-to orbit. This will
require development of "new principles of space power engineering."
Continued development of space industrialization will involve expansion of operations to the
Moon and asteroids. The first lunar bases with crews of 10 to 12 people could be constructed from
modular units placed in Earth orbit and then transported ,to the Moon by interorbital tugs. Permanent
lunar bases would eventually be built, probably by adapting existing terrain features. For example, a
series of lunar craters could be roofed over and connected by sealed passageways.
The authors view the question of manned bases on other planets of the solar system, Mars and
Venus in particular, as somewhat more doubtful. If such settlements are considered as desirable in the
future, the authors view the best strategy as a "transformation of the nature of these planets" so as to
make human habitation possible in conditions close to those on Earth. In the authors' opinion there is
no doubt that human colonization of space will become not only desirable but also a basic necessity in
the "not distant future." This follows inevitably from the fact that the natural environment of the Earth
is a finite system the capacities of which will eventually be exhausted.
In conclusion the authors argue that the most complete and efficient strategy for the enormous task
of development of the solar system would be based on broad international cooperation.
One of the more intriguing features of the final section of "USSR Cosmonautics" is a series of three
uncaptioned illustrations accompanying the text. Two of these artist's renderings show variants of a
modular structure connected by a spherical multiposition docking unit very similar to the new docking
unit on the Mir station. (Note that the book was typeset almost 10 months before the launch of the Mir.)
A connecting lattice of girders has been added to the modular elements. The second illustration shows a
group of cosmonauts working on the assembly of such a girder system in open space.
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Perhaps more interesting is the inclusion of a winged spacecraft in two of the illustrations. The craft
appears to have a deltawing design with wingtip winglets. A forward compartment with windows is
visible and a propulsion unit is housed in a slightly flared rear compartment. The craft has no vertical
stabilizer. The last illustration shows what appears to be the same spacecraft with an open central cargo
bay similar to that of the U.S. shuttle orbiter.
It would obviously be a mistake to read too much into these artist's renderings. In point of fact,
what we seem to have here is an imaginative conflation of two distinct types of spacecraft: a cargo-
carrying shuttle craft and a spaceplane with lifting body design. In general, the public Soviet position has
been that the present system of expendable transport craft and unmanned Progress resupply vehicles is
the most efficient approach for the current stage of orbital operations. On occasion commentators have
discussed the need for developing orbital transfer vehicles and small highly maneuverable craft for
assembly operations and individual return of cosmonauts. However, there have been no indications in
Soviet open, media that the USSR has any active programs under way for production of a spaceplane or
a reusable shuttle spacecraft. In a recent television press conference in Moscow, Sagdeyev stated that the
USSR is conducting research in both reusable and nonreusable space technology. He provided no
further elaboration.
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