This article will provide the reader with such interesting topic, like a space rocket, a launch vehicle and all the useful experience that this invention brought to mankind. It will also be told about payloads delivered into outer space. Space exploration began not so long ago. In the USSR, this was the middle of the Third Five-Year Plan, when the Second World War. The space rocket was developed in many countries, but even the United States failed to overtake us at that stage.

First

The first in a successful launch to leave the USSR was a space launch vehicle with an artificial satellite on board on October 4, 1957. The PS-1 satellite was successfully launched into low Earth orbit. It should be noted that for this it took six generations, and only the seventh generation of Russian space rockets were able to develop the speed necessary for reaching near-Earth space - eight kilometers per second. Otherwise, it is impossible to overcome the attraction of the Earth.

This became possible in the process of developing long-range ballistic weapons, where engine boosting was used. Not to be confused: a space rocket and a spaceship are two different things. A rocket is a delivery vehicle, and a ship is attached to it. Instead, there can be anything - a space rocket can carry a satellite, equipment, and a nuclear warhead, which has always served and still serves as a deterrent for nuclear powers and an incentive to preserve peace.

Story

The first to theoretically substantiate the launch of a space rocket were the Russian scientists Meshchersky and Tsiolkovsky, who already in 1897 described the theory of its flight. Much later this idea was picked up by Oberth and von Braun from Germany and Goddard from the USA. It was in these three countries that work began on the problems of jet propulsion, the creation of solid-fuel and liquid-propellant jet engines. Best of all, these issues were resolved in Russia, at least solid-fuel engines were already widely used in World War II ("Katyusha"). Liquid-propellant jet engines turned out better in Germany, which created the first ballistic missile - the V-2.

After the war, the team of Wernher von Braun, having taken the drawings and developments, found shelter in the USA, and the USSR was forced to be content with a small number of individual rocket assemblies without any accompanying documentation. The rest they invented themselves. Rocket technology developed rapidly, increasing the range and mass of the load carried more and more. In 1954, work began on the project, thanks to which the USSR was the first to carry out the flight of a space rocket. It was an intercontinental two-stage ballistic missile R-7, which was soon upgraded for space. It turned out to be a success - exceptionally reliable, providing many records in space exploration. In a modernized form, it is still used today.

"Sputnik" and "Moon"

In 1957, the first space rocket - that same R-7 - launched the artificial Sputnik-1 into orbit. The United States later decided to repeat such a launch. However, in the first attempt, their space rocket did not go into space, it exploded at the start - even live. "Vanguard" was designed by a purely American team, and he did not live up to expectations. Then Wernher von Braun took over the project, and in February 1958 the launch of the space rocket was a success. Meanwhile, in the USSR, the R-7 was modernized - a third stage was added to it. As a result, the speed of the space rocket became completely different - the second space rocket was reached, thanks to which it became possible to leave the Earth's orbit. A few more years, the R-7 series was modernized and improved. The engines of space rockets were changed, they experimented a lot with the third stage. The next attempts were successful. The speed of the space rocket made it possible not only to leave the Earth's orbit, but also to think about studying other planets of the solar system.

But first, the attention of mankind was almost completely riveted to the natural satellite of the Earth - the Moon. In 1959, the Soviet space station Luna-1 flew to it, which was supposed to make a hard landing on the lunar surface. However, due to insufficiently accurate calculations, the device passed somewhat by (six thousand kilometers) and rushed towards the Sun, where it settled into orbit. So our luminary got his first own artificial satellite - a random gift. But our natural satellite was not alone for long, and in the same 1959, Luna-2 flew to it, having completed its task absolutely correctly. A month later, "Luna-3" delivered us photographs of the reverse side of our night luminary. And in 1966, Luna 9 softly landed right in the Ocean of Storms, and we got panoramic views of the lunar surface. The lunar program continued for a long time, until the time when the American astronauts landed on it.

Yuri Gagarin

April 12 has become one of the most significant days in our country. It is impossible to convey the power of national jubilation, pride, truly happiness when the world's first manned flight into space was announced. Yuri Gagarin became not only national hero, the whole world applauded him. And therefore, April 12, 1961, a day that triumphantly went down in history, became Cosmonautics Day. The Americans urgently tried to respond to this unprecedented step in order to share space glory with us. A month later, Alan Shepard took off, but the ship did not go into orbit, it was a suborbital flight in an arc, and the US orbital only turned out in 1962.

Gagarin flew into space on the Vostok spacecraft. This is a special machine in which Korolev created an exceptionally successful space platform that solves many different practical problems. At the same time, at the very beginning of the sixties, not only a manned version of space flight was being developed, but a photo reconnaissance project was also completed. "Vostok" generally had many modifications - more than forty. And today satellites from the Bion series are in operation - these are direct descendants of the ship on which the first manned flight into space was made. In the same 1961, German Titov had a much more difficult expedition, who spent the whole day in space. The United States was able to repeat this achievement only in 1963.

"East"

An ejection seat was provided for cosmonauts on all Vostok spacecraft. This was a wise decision, since a single device performed tasks both at the start (emergency rescue of the crew) and a soft landing of the descent vehicle. Designers have focused their efforts on the development of one device, not two. This reduced the technical risk; in aviation, the catapult system was already well developed at that time. On the other hand, a huge gain in time than if you design a fundamentally new device. After all, the space race continued, and the USSR won it by a fairly large margin.

Titov landed in the same way. He was lucky to parachute down near the railway, on which the train was traveling, and journalists immediately photographed him. The landing system, which has become the most reliable and soft, was developed in 1965, it uses a gamma altimeter. She still serves today. The US did not have this technology, which is why all their descent vehicles, even the new Dragon SpaceX, do not land, but splash down. Only shuttles are an exception. And in 1962, the USSR had already begun group flights on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft. In 1963, the detachment of Soviet cosmonauts was replenished with the first woman - Valentina Tereshkova went into space, becoming the first in the world. At the same time, Valery Bykovsky set the record for the duration of a solo flight, which has not been beaten so far - he spent five days in space. In 1964, the Voskhod multi-seat ship appeared, and the United States lagged behind by a whole year. And in 1965, Alexei Leonov went into outer space!

"Venus"

In 1966, the USSR began interplanetary flights. The spacecraft "Venera-3" made a hard landing on a neighboring planet and delivered there the globe of the Earth and the pennant of the USSR. In 1975, Venera 9 managed to make a soft landing and transmit an image of the planet's surface. And Venera-13 made color panoramic pictures and sound recordings. The AMS series (automatic interplanetary stations) for the study of Venus, as well as the surrounding outer space, continues to be improved even now. On Venus, the conditions are harsh, and there was practically no reliable information about them, the developers did not know anything about the pressure or temperature on the surface of the planet, all this naturally complicated the study.

The first series of descent vehicles even knew how to swim - just in case. Nevertheless, at first the flights were not successful, but later the USSR succeeded so much in the Venusian wanderings that this planet was called Russian. Venera-1 is the first spacecraft in the history of mankind, designed to fly to other planets and explore them. It was launched in 1961, communication was lost a week later due to overheating of the sensor. The station became uncontrollable and was only able to make the world's first flyby near Venus (at a distance of about one hundred thousand kilometers).

In the footsteps

"Venus-4" helped us to know that on this planet two hundred and seventy-one degrees in the shade (the night side of Venus), the pressure is up to twenty atmospheres, and the atmosphere itself is ninety percent carbon dioxide. This spacecraft also discovered the hydrogen corona. "Venera-5" and "Venera-6" told us a lot about the solar wind (plasma flows) and its structure near the planet. "Venera-7" specified data on temperature and pressure in the atmosphere. Everything turned out to be even more complicated: the temperature closer to the surface was 475 ± 20°C, and the pressure was an order of magnitude higher. Literally everything was redone on the next spacecraft, and after one hundred and seventeen days, Venera-8 softly landed on the day side of the planet. This station had a photometer and many additional instruments. The main thing was the connection.

It turned out that the lighting on the nearest neighbor is almost no different from the earth - like ours on a cloudy day. Yes, it’s not just cloudy there, the weather cleared up for real. Pictures seen by the equipment simply stunned earthlings. In addition, the soil and the amount of ammonia in the atmosphere were studied, and the wind speed was measured. And "Venus-9" and "Venus-10" were able to show us the "neighbor" on TV. These are the world's first recordings transmitted from another planet. And these stations themselves are now artificial satellites of Venus. Venera-15 and Venera-16 were the last to fly to this planet, which also became satellites, having previously provided mankind with absolutely new and necessary knowledge. In 1985, the program was continued by Vega-1 and Vega-2, which studied not only Venus, but also Halley's comet. The next flight is planned for 2024.

Something about space rocket

Since the parameters and specifications all rockets differ from each other, consider a new generation launch vehicle, for example, Soyuz-2.1A. It is a three-stage medium-class rocket, a modified version of the Soyuz-U, which has been in operation with great success since 1973.

This launch vehicle is designed to ensure the launch of spacecraft. The latter may have military, economic and social purposes. This rocket can put them into different types of orbits - geostationary, geotransitional, sun-synchronous, highly elliptical, medium, low.

Modernization

The rocket has been completely modernized, a fundamentally different digital control system has been created here, developed on a new domestic element base, with a high-speed on-board digital computer with a much larger amount of RAM. The digital control system provides the rocket with high-precision launch of payloads.

In addition, engines were installed on which the injector heads of the first and second stages were improved. Another telemetry system is in operation. Thus, the accuracy of launching the rocket, its stability and, of course, controllability have increased. The mass of the space rocket did not increase, and the useful payload increased by three hundred kilograms.

Specifications

The first and second stages of the launch vehicle are equipped with RD-107A and RD-108A liquid-propellant rocket engines from NPO Energomash named after Academician Glushko, and a four-chamber RD-0110 from the Khimavtomatika design bureau is installed on the third stage. Rocket fuel is liquid oxygen, which is an environmentally friendly oxidizer, as well as low-toxic fuel - kerosene. The length of the rocket is 46.3 meters, the mass at the start is 311.7 tons, and without the warhead - 303.2 tons. The mass of the launch vehicle structure is 24.4 tons. The fuel components weigh 278.8 tons. Flight tests of Soyuz-2.1A began in 2004 at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, and they were successful. In 2006, the launch vehicle made its first commercial flight - it launched the European meteorological spacecraft Metop into orbit.

It must be said that rockets have different payload output capabilities. Carriers are light, medium and heavy. The Rokot launch vehicle, for example, launches spacecraft into near-Earth low orbits - up to two hundred kilometers, and therefore it can carry a load of 1.95 tons. But the Proton is a heavy class, it can put 22.4 tons into low orbit, 6.15 tons into geotransitional orbit, and 3.3 tons into geostationary orbit. The carrier rocket we are considering is designed for all sites used by Roskosmos: Kuru, Baikonur, Plesetsk, Vostochny, and operates within the framework of joint Russian-European projects.

In the 1960s, the combat equipment of which, after launching and entering low Earth orbit, after completing an incomplete orbit, hit a target on the Earth's surface. Such a system had no restrictions on the firing range, and the orbital flight trajectory did not allow predicting the aiming point. The system made it possible to launch nuclear missile strikes on the territory of the United States along the least expected trajectories - through the South Pole, from the direction opposite to that to which the NORAD early warning system was oriented in those years.

Several missiles were developed for use as part of a partially orbital bombardment system in the USSR, but only one of them was put into service:

• Orbital rocket R-36orb (8K69), developed by OKB-586 M.K. Yangel. It was deployed in 1968, the first regiment took up combat duty in 1969 on the territory of NIIP-5. The maximum number of deployed missiles is 18;
• Global rocket GR-1 (8K713), developed by OKB-1 S.P. Korolev. Work on the rocket was abandoned for a number of reasons (one of which was problems with the engines);
• R-46, also proposed by OKB-586, did not leave the state of the project;
• Universal missile UR-200A (8K81), developed by OKB-52 V. N. Chelomey. After nine launches at the NIIP-5 test site, work on the rocket was discontinued;
• The powerful universal rocket UR-500 (which later became the Proton launch vehicle) began to be developed by decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of April 29, 1962 No. 409-183, including in the version of a combat orbital rocket.

US DSP Early Warning Satellites (English) Russian, the first of which was launched in 1970, allowed the United States to detect launches of orbital [ ] missiles [ ] .

The OSV-2 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, signed by the USSR and the USA in 1979, prohibited the deployment of systems similar to the partial orbital bombardment system:

Article 9

1. Each Party undertakes not to develop, test or deploy:

c) means for launching nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction into low Earth orbit, including partially orbital rockets;

In accordance with the agreement, the R-36orb missiles were decommissioned in January 1983.

Literature

• Strategic missile systems ground-based. - M.: "Military Parade", 2007. - 248 p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-902975-12-3.
• Rockets and spacecraft of the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau / Ed. S. N. Konyukhova. - Dnepropetrovsk: ColorGraph LLC, 2001. - 240 p. - 1100 copies. - ISBN 966-7482-00-6.

In the second half of the 1960s, discussions on the "Treaty on the principles of the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies", which entered into force in October 1967, were completed.

Already in the first articles of the Treaty (and there are 17 in total) it is indicated that the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, must be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, that outer space does not belong to “national appropriation”. The Treaty specifically emphasizes that its parties undertake not to launch into orbit around the Earth any objects with nuclear weapons or other types of weapons of mass destruction and not to install such weapons on celestial bodies.

To promote international cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, in accordance with the objectives of this Treaty, the States Parties to the Treaty will consider, on an equal footing, requests from other States Parties to the Treaty to provide them with the opportunity to observe the flight of space objects launched by these States. The Treaty also proclaims that all stations, installations, equipment and spacecraft on the Moon and on other celestial bodies are open to representatives of other States Parties to this Treaty on the basis of reciprocity. These representatives shall communicate well in advance of the planned visit in order to allow appropriate consultations and maximum precautions to be taken for normal operations at the facility to be visited.

It would seem that everything is clear. However, the confrontation between the superpowers, each of which strives for world domination, has its own logic. And here very often words diverge from deeds.

As shown by the further development of events.

If in the Soviet Union they habitually remained silent, demonstrating ostentatious peacefulness, but continuing to “forge” space weapons behind the high walls of secret factories, then in the United States they just as habitually could not refrain from commenting.

The New York Times, in an editorial dated December 11, 1966, informed readers: “Except for prohibiting the launching of weapons of mass destruction into space, the treaty does not prohibit the great powers from developing military devices that will operate in space. Thus, for example, it does not follow from this treaty that it will be necessary to stop launching reconnaissance satellites, electronic reconnaissance satellites for eavesdropping on radio transmissions and radar signals.

It also does not hinder the development of completely new spacecraft for military purposes, such as, for example, a giant mirror that will illuminate areas of partisan operations at night. It does not prohibit the development of military aspects of human activity in space, in particular, according to the project of a manned orbital laboratory (MOL), which is currently under development.

James Hagerty, who served as press secretary in the Eisenhower administration, headlined his commentary on the treaty: "Space treaty is not an obstacle to military projects." Asked how the Treaty would affect current and future Defense Department space projects, Hagerty replied that the impact would be negligible. On the issue of launching weapons systems into orbit, Hagerty recalled that Secretary of Defense McNamara was of the view that “launching weapons from space is a complex technical task requiring huge expenses. The same tasks can be performed more efficiently when launched from the Earth.”

However, the author of the commentary insisted that “with the rapid development of technology, such a point of view cannot long remain valid. The treaty prohibits the launching of weapons into space, but it does not, in particular, prohibit the development of such weapons. Space weapons systems are under evaluation and study, and it is to be hoped that the Department of Defense will continue to study them."

So, the Treaty of 1967 has become another "filkin's letter", which was born only in order to reassure the world community. Indeed, who in their right mind would shut down military programs that took ten years and many millions of rubles and dollars to develop?

Space-based strike systems

From studying the writings of rocket pioneers and rereading old science fiction novels, it is easy to see that outer space was viewed as a potential area of ​​warfare long before the technical possibilities for such action were available.

After the Second World War, the situation in this area only worsened. In 1948, Walter Dornberger, the former head of the Peenemünde Rocket Center, moved to the United States and put forward the idea of ​​placing an atomic bomb in low Earth orbit. Such a bomb, in principle, could be dropped on any region of the Earth and was presented effective tool intimidation.

In September 1952, at the height of the Korean War, public attention was drawn to the project of a military orbital station published by Wernher von Braun: “... strong points in space are needed, on which high-resolution telescopes will be installed to spy on communist countries; these orbital stations can also serve as launch sites for missiles with nuclear charges, with the help of which, if necessary, it will be possible to hit enemy targets on Earth.

If we turn not to the documents that were prepared by authoritative military experts and were addressed to the highest US government leaders, but to press materials and specialized literature, then the range of assessments and proposals related to the use of outer space for military purposes will be even wider.

So, for example, T. Finletter, who at one time held the post of Minister of the Air Force, in his book “ Foreign policy: The Next Stage, which was published in 1958, actively called for the start of a struggle for the establishment of US military dominance in space: “Satellites can move in orbits, carrying hydrogen charges on board, and be ready to attack any object on command from Earth. Satellites can take the form of a platform for launching rockets, and can also be used as satellites of the Moon and planets. In addition, manned bombers capable of reaching speeds comparable to those of ballistic missiles may appear in the future ... "

These views were shared by General Power, who headed the US Air Force Strategic Air Command. In his opinion, the American concept of waging wars in three spatial dimensions - on land, at sea and in the air "ultimately transforms into a concept of war in four dimensions", including outer space.

There was little enthusiasm in the US Congress for the concept of nuclear bombing satellites.

It was sluggishly discussed for several years, and a revival began only in 1960 in the context of the debate about the technical backwardness from the USSR.

However, at this stage, the feasibility of creating orbital bombardment systems had to be determined by comparing them no longer with long-range bombers, but with intercontinental ballistic missiles. The main advantage of orbital bombs was the minimum time to reach the target after deorbiting. If an ICBM takes 30 to 40 minutes to fly to an intercontinental range, the orbital charge would fall to Earth 5 to 6 minutes after the deceleration pulse. On the other hand, a rocket can be aimed at any point at any time, while an orbital bomb can only hit a target that is on its flight path. The lack of maneuverability of warheads in the atmosphere meant that defeating an arbitrary target could take hours or even days. Thus, the system proved to be more suitable for delivering a planned first strike than as a weapon of retaliation.

Orbital bombs were inferior to ballistic missiles in terms of hit accuracy due to the greater error in determining their location compared to a rocket in a fixed launcher. In addition, the predictability of the movement of orbital bombs and the general structural insecurity made them a more vulnerable target.

At the same time, the creation and maintenance of orbital bombs was twenty times more expensive than the creation and maintenance of an ICBM fleet of similar capabilities, and this, apparently, became the most compelling argument in favor of abandoning such a system.

But fears remained about the possible creation of orbital weapons by the Soviet Union, since the Soviet leadership, hoping to gain superiority in the military sphere, as a rule, did not skimp on expenses. The communist leaders fueled these suspicions in every possible way.

So, in August 1961, while receiving cosmonaut German Titov in the Kremlin, Khrushchev said, addressing the West: “You don’t have 50- or 100-megaton bombs, we have bombs with a capacity of over 100 megatons. We launched Gagarin and Titov into space, but we can replace them with another cargo and send it to any place on Earth.”

It was an outright bluff, because in order to land the descent vehicle of the Vostok spacecraft at a given point, it was necessary to use all the means of the command and measurement complex. But for the American military and politicians, it was enough that Soviet designers developed rocket blocks that launch in zero gravity and, therefore, are theoretically capable of pushing a previously launched cargo from orbit.

Project "Global Rocket"

On October 17, 1963, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 1884 calling on all nations to refrain from being placed in orbit around the Earth or stationed in space. nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction.

Interestingly, a year earlier, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatrick had officially announced that the United States "does not have a program to place any weapons of mass destruction in orbit."

Soviet Union supported Resolution 1884, but this did not mean that the Soviet leadership shared the opinion of the US military about the low effectiveness of orbital bombs. Rather, it decided to go "another way", bypassing the UN resolution.

The first indication of this came on March 15, 1962, when Nikita Khrushchev announced to the whole world: “... we can launch missiles not only through the North Pole, but also in the opposite direction. [..] Global missiles can fly from the ocean or from other directions where warning equipment cannot be installed.”

Design and research work on a three-stage global rocket in OKB-1 under the leadership of Sergei Korolev has been carried out since 1961. However, a government decree on the development of such a missile was issued on September 24, 1962. Boris Chertok recalls:

“... Korolev suggested discussing the schedule for designing a new “ultra-long-range” missile, which he called global.

The idea was that the R-9 rocket was supplemented with a third stage. At the same time, the flight range was not limited.

The third stage was even capable of entering the orbit of an artificial satellite. The control system for the last stage and its nuclear "payload" involved the use of celestial navigation. The proposal was, as Korolev said, enthusiastically received by Khrushchev ... "

The rocket was supposed to ensure the launch of the warhead with a nuclear warhead into an orbit with a height of about 150 kilometers.

After orientation in space and correction, deceleration occurred. The warhead left orbit and rushed towards the target. With such a flight pattern, the "global missile" had an almost unlimited range.

In the original version, "GR-1" ("Global First Rocket") was a modification of the R-9A rocket, equipped with a third stage with a liquid-propellant rocket engine, created in OKB-1 under the leadership of Mikhail Melnikov. Later, work began on a project of a rocket with sustainer engines of the first and second stages by the chief designer of OKB-276, Nikolai Kuznetsov.

"GR-1" ("8K713") - a three-stage ballistic missile.

Its dimensions are: length - 39 meters, maximum hull diameter - 2.75 meters, launch weight - 117 tons, warhead weight - 1500 kilograms. The rocket had oxygen-kerosene engines traditional for the royal design bureau. The first stage was equipped with four NK-9 oscillating rocket engines designed by Kuznetsov with a total thrust of 152 tons. The second stage had one sustainer LRE "NK-9V" with a thrust of 46 tons. The third stage is the S1-5400 rocket engine designed by Mikhail Melnikov with a thrust of 8.5 tons.

The launch of the rocket was supposed to be carried out from a silo launcher, for which a special launch complex with full automation of pre-launch operations was created at site No. 51 of the Tyura-Tam test site (Baikonur).

The missile was to be delivered to the position in a transport launch container. The production of "GR-1" was carried out at the Kuibyshev plant "Progress". On May 9, 1965, at a military parade in Moscow, new ICBMs were demonstrated, which received the designation "SS-10 Scrag" in the West. Their appearance on Red Square was accompanied by the following radio commentary:

“Three-stage intercontinental missiles.

Their design has been improved. They are very reliable in operation.

Their service is fully automated. The parade of impressive combat power is crowned with gigantic orbital rockets. They are akin to launch vehicles that reliably launch our wonderful spacecraft, such as Voskhod-2, into space. There is no reach limit for these missiles. The main advantage of missiles of this class is their ability to hit enemy targets from literally any direction, which makes them essentially invulnerable to missile defense systems.

These were the GR-1 missiles. Soon they were again shown to the world - at the November parade of the same year: “... Giant rockets pass in front of the stands. These are orbital rockets.

The warheads of orbital missiles are capable of delivering sudden strikes against an aggressor on the first or any other orbit around the Earth.

After such demonstrations of "orbital rockets", the US State Department publicly demanded that the USSR clarify its attitude towards the UN resolution on preventing the launch of weapons into space. mass destruction. To this, it was stated that the resolution prohibits the use of space weapons, but not their production.

These demonstrations were another bluff. Formed in 1964 in military unit 25,741, the group for testing the GR-1 rocket was exhausted, but could not bring it to flight tests - there were so many failures when they were taken to the launch complex that they did not have time to eliminate them.

And at the beginning of 1965, a government commission summed up the results of the competition between rocket design bureaus to create "global missiles". The fact is that in addition to Sergey Korolev's OKB-1, two more design bureaus claimed to develop this project - Vladimir Chelomey's OKB-52 (UR-200A missile) and Mikhail Yangel's OKB-586 (R-36orb missile).

Vladimir Chelomey proposed a universal rocket designed to deliver anti-space defense, naval reconnaissance equipment into Earth's orbit, as well as to fire nuclear warheads at the enemy. According to the project, his "UR-200A" ("8K83") could also serve as a "global missile", delivering an orbital warhead weighing 2 tons to the calculated point. In general, the tests of the UR-200 (8K81) base missiles were successful - nine successful launches were made from November 1963 to 1965 - and there was hope that the UR-200A and UR-200K modifications would also show yourself from the best side.

However, after comparing the characteristics of the developed launch vehicles, the progress of the creation and testing of missiles, the commission concluded that the capacities of the GR-1 and UR-200A are clearly insufficient to solve the problems of launching global warheads. Priority was given to the development of Yangel, and it was decided to use the R-36orb (8K69) launch vehicle as the global one.

Project "R-36" (Systems of partially orbital bombardment)

On September 17, 1966, a launch took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the official announcement of which never appeared. A network of foreign tracking stations recorded more than 100 debris in orbit with an inclination of 49.6 in the altitude range from 250 to 1300 kilometers. The distribution of debris suggested that they were the remains of the penultimate stage in low Earth orbit, the last stage in an elongated elliptical orbit, and perhaps a separate payload located slightly higher. Such a double or triple explosion could not have occurred spontaneously, but whether it was planned in advance or was carried out due to malfunctions remained unknown.

A similar launch took place on November 2, 1966, also leaving more than 50 traceable fragments in orbit, distributed over altitudes from 500 to 1500 kilometers and indicating a separate explosion of the cargo, the last and penultimate stages of the rocket.

A new series of launches began in January 1967. The rockets launched from Baikonur went into very low orbits with an apogee of about 250 and a perigee of 140 to 150 kilometers.

As usual, they were announced as the next satellites of the Kosmos series, but in the standard wording there was no indication of the orbital period. This was immediately taken as evidence of the return of cargo from orbit even before the completion of the first orbit. Some commentators immediately associated the launches with tests of orbital weapons, others believed that the operation of the landing systems of manned spacecraft of the Soyuz type was tested in this way.

In all these launches, the flight path crossed eastern part Siberia, central part of the Pacific Ocean, extremity South America and the South Atlantic and then through Africa and the Mediterranean returned to the territory of the USSR, making it possible, after the first round, to land near the launch site or in the Kapustin Yar area.

Discussions among experts ended on November 3, 1967, when US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announced that these launches appeared to be tests Soviet system"partial orbital bombardment" ("Fractional Orbital Bombardment System", abbreviated as "FOBS"), intended to launch a missile attack on the United States not along the shortest ballistic trajectory through the North Pole, but from the least expected and least protected southern direction.

McNamara's statement was prompted by the October 16 and 28 launches, which took place after the entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Placing of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Space. But as surprising as it may sound, the US Secretary of Defense emphasized that these Soviet tests do not violate existing treaties and resolutions, “since the SS-9 warheads are in orbit for less than one revolution and at this stage of development, in all likelihood, do not carry nuclear charges."

A few days later, the rockets that made so much noise were demonstrated at the Moscow parade on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. As before, the GR-1 was also shown, but this time they were no longer called "orbital". After them, the R-36orb, known in the West as the SS-9 Scarp, appeared for the first time in public:

“... colossal missiles, each of which can deliver huge nuclear charges to the target. No army in the world has such charges. These rockets can be used for intercontinental and orbital launches."

"R-36orb" ("8K69") designed by OKB-586 Mikhail Yangel was created on the basis of the intercontinental ballistic missile "R-36" ("8K67"). The rocket is two-stage, the diameter of the first and second stages is 3 meters, the length is more than 33 meters. The launch weight of the rocket was more than 180 tons.

The first stage of the rocket is equipped with the RD-261 propulsion engine, which consists of three RD-260 two-chamber modules. The second stage was equipped with a two-chamber march "RD-262". The engines were developed at Energomash Design Bureau under the direction of Valentin Glushko. Nitrogen tetroxide and heptyl (asymmetric dimethylhydrazine) were chosen as fuel for both stages and the orbital head.

In the instrument compartment of the rocket, the command equipment of the control system of a new design was concentrated, the main element of which was a gyro-stabilized platform built on high-precision gyroscopes. The missile was also equipped with a new autonomous control system.

The orbital warhead included a warhead with a nuclear charge, a brake liquid propulsion system and an instrument compartment with a control system for orientation and stabilization of the warhead. The power of the orbital head reached 20 megatons. The braking engine of the orbital warhead is single-chamber.

It was installed in the central part of the control compartment inside the toroidal fuel module. This form of fuel tanks made it possible to make the layout of the compartment optimal and reduce the weight of its structure. Separating baffles and nets were installed inside the fuel tanks to ensure reliable start-up and operation of the engine in a state of weightlessness, which ensured reliable cavitation-free operation of the engine pumps.

The creation and development of a toroidal fuel module with the installation of a liquid engine in the inner cylindrical cavity of the tank torus ring became a major step forward in Soviet rocket engine building.

To conduct flight design tests of the R-36orb on the right flank of the Baikonur test site, a ground test complex was created, which consisted of a technical position at site No. 42, as well as ground and mine launchers.

On site No. 42, a protected arch-type structure No. 40 was built, where the assembly and horizontal testing of the rocket were carried out. In 1965, on the basis of the prepared mines, the construction of the “401 facility” began, consisting of three launchers and command post.

The first launch of the R-36orb was carried out by the combat crews of the test site on December 16, 1965. The warhead flew over the target in Kamchatka by 27 kilometers due to abnormal operation of the stabilization system along the yaw channel. On February 5, 1966, the second rocket was launched. During the second launch, a large deviation of the warhead from the target was noted due to the fault of the brake propulsion system.

The third launch, scheduled for March 18, 1966, did not take place, as the rocket caught fire during refueling. The cause of the fire was the premature disconnection of the filling lines due to an error in the calculation number.

The rocket burned out, significantly damaging the launch pad of the right launch site of site No. 67.

For the next launch, the left launcher of site No. 67 was retrofitted, and on May 20, 1966, another R-Zborb was launched. However, the launch was again unsuccessful - there was no complete separation of the warhead from the control compartment.

In 1967, the flight test program was even more intense. Nine launches were made. They were successful, but the targeting system caused criticism, which did not allow achieving the required accuracy.

However, after testing was completed, on November 19, 1968, the system was put into service and put into limited operation. In the Baikonur area, 18 silo-based R-36orb missiles equipped with partial orbital bombing warheads were deployed.

In subsequent years, launches were carried out with a frequency of twice a year and were in the nature of a constant maintenance of the combat readiness of the system. On the whole, they were successful, with the exception of the launch on December 23, 1969, with respect to which not everything is clear to this day. The payload itself, called Cosmos-316, was launched into low-Earth orbit, but with parameters not typical for launches under this program. It was not blown up, as during the launches of 1966, but went out of orbit under the action of earth's atmosphere. Part of the debris fell on the territory of the United States.

In 1971, the last launch on a partial orbital trajectory was carried out. No further launches were made. The fact is that in 1972 the United States put into operation a satellite early warning system that detects missiles not on approach, but at the time of launch. Now, in the case of launching orbital rockets, the United States would quickly receive information about their launch. Orbital rockets have lost one of their main advantages - the possibility of a surprise attack.

The Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Arms (SALT-2), concluded in 1979, banned orbital missiles.

In addition, the USSR and the USA agreed that military units with combat missiles would not be deployed at test sites. The agreement provided for the elimination of twelve orbital missile silos and the re-equipment of six silos for testing other complexes. The treaty was not ratified by the United States, but both America and the Soviet Union adhered to its provisions.

Since 1982, the phased removal from duty and destruction of the R-36orb combat missile systems began. In May 1984, all mines were liberated from missiles and blown up.

The partial orbital bombardment system has ceased to exist.

Nuclear explosions in space

The prospect of using near-Earth space as a springboard for deploying strike weapons made us think about ways to deal with satellites even before the appearance of the satellites themselves.

The most radical means at that time was the destruction of spacecraft by an explosion of a nuclear charge delivered by a rocket beyond the atmosphere.

In order to test the effectiveness of this type of anti-satellite system in the Soviet Union, a series of tests was carried out, which received the code name "Operation K" in the documents. In addition, this series was designed to investigate the impact of high-altitude nuclear explosions on the operation of ground-based radio-electronic means.

Operation "K" was led by the government-appointed State Commission, headed by Colonel General Alexander Vasilyevich Gerasimov.

The first two experiments were carried out on October 27, 1961 ("K1" and "K2"), the other three - on October 22, October 28 and November 1, 1962 ("KZ", "K4" and "K5").

In each experiment, two R-12 ballistic missiles were sequentially launched from the Kapustin Yar missile range, and their warheads flew along the same trajectory one after the other with some delay from each other. The first missile was equipped with a nuclear charge, which was detonated at a given height for this operation, and numerous sensors were placed in the head of the second, designed to measure the parameters of the destructive effect of a nuclear explosion.

The height of the detonation of nuclear charges was: in operations "K1" and "K2" - 300 and 150 kilometers with a warhead capacity of 1.2 kilotons. The height of the detonation of nuclear charges in operations "KZ", "K4", "K5" - 300, 150, 80 kilometers, respectively, with significantly higher power charges than in the first two operations (300 kilotons).

Information about these tests is still sketchy.

Grigory Kisunko, chief designer of the missile defense system (system "A"), in his book "The Secret Zone" spoke about "Operation K", but he was most interested in the operation of the missile defense system. Here is an excerpt from the book, which talks about the impact of explosions on the operation of equipment:

“In all of these experiments, high-altitude nuclear explosions did not cause any disturbances in the functioning of the “firing radio electronics” of the “A” system: precision guidance radars, radio lines of sighting of anti-missiles, radio links for transmitting commands to the side of the anti-missile, on-board equipment for stabilization and flight control of the anti-missile.

After capturing the target according to target designations from the Danube-2 detection radar, the entire firing part of the A system clearly worked in normal mode until the target was intercepted by the V-1000 anti-missile - as in the absence of a nuclear explosion.

A completely different picture was observed at the Danube-2 and especially the TsSO-P meter radio detection radar: after a nuclear explosion, they were blinded by interference from ionized formations that arose as a result of the explosion.

And here is what Boris Chertok writes about the last test in the series, made on the day when preparations were underway at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the launch of an automatic interplanetary station to Mars:

At the start, preparations were underway for the evening launch. I ran into the house after lunch, turned on the receiver, made sure that it was working on all ranges. At 2:10 p.m., he went out into the air from the house and began to wait for the agreed time.

At 2:15 pm, with a bright sun in the northeast, a second sun flared up. It was a nuclear explosion in the stratosphere - a test of nuclear weapons under the code "K-5". The flash lasted a fraction of a second. The explosion of the nuclear charge of the R-12 rocket at an altitude of 60 kilometers (the actual height of the explosion of the charge was 80 kilometers. - A.P.) was carried out to test the possibility of stopping all types of radio communications. According to the map, it was 500 kilometers to the place of the explosion. Returning quickly to the receiver, I was convinced of the effectiveness of the nuclear experiment. There was complete silence on all bands. Communication was restored only after an hour or so ... "

Finishing the topic of Soviet nuclear explosions in space, one cannot fail to mention the E-3 project, which involved the delivery to the moon and the detonation of an atomic charge on its surface.

Its author was the well-known Soviet nuclear physicist Academician Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich. The main goal of the project was to prove to the whole world that the Soviet station had reached the surface of the moon. Zeldovich reasoned as follows.

The station itself is very small and not a single terrestrial astronomer can fix its fall on the lunar surface.

Even if you fill the station with explosives, then no one on Earth will notice such an explosion. But if an atomic bomb is blown up on the lunar surface, then the whole world will see it and no one else will have questions or doubts.

Despite the abundance of opponents of the E-3 project, it was worked out in detail, and OKB-1 even made a model station with a nuclear warhead. The container with the charge, like a naval mine, was all studded with fuse pins to guarantee an explosion in any orientation of the station at the moment of contact with the surface of the moon.

However, the layout had to be limited. Already at the stage of preliminary design, quite reasonable questions were raised about the safety of such a launch. No one undertook to guarantee the absolute reliability of the delivery of the charge to the Moon. If the launch vehicle had crashed in the areas of work of the first or second stages, then the container with a nuclear bomb would have fallen on the territory of the USSR. If the third stage had not worked, then the fall could have occurred on the territory of other countries.

In the end, it was decided to abandon the E-3 project. Moreover, the first person who suggested doing this was its initiator, Academician Zel'dovich.

Subsequently, the E-3 index was assigned to a project that involved photographing the far side of the Moon with a higher resolution than the Luna-3 station did.

Two launches were carried out, on April 15 and 19, 1960. Both of them ended in accidents, and no more launches were made as part of the project.

Orbital interception

The fear of the Western world before the first satellites gave rise to a wave of publications in which the threat of the appearance of Soviet "orbital warheads" in orbit was colorfully painted. As a result, since the end of the 1950s, all branches of the US armed forces have been conducting search and experimental work in the field of space interceptors and inspectors.

The first attempts to destroy satellites were made with the help of rockets launched from aircraft.

In September 1959, a rocket was launched from the B-58 aircraft, the target of which was the Discoverer-5 satellite (Discoverer 5, was in orbit from August 13 to September 28, 1959). This launch ended ingloriously - an anti-satellite missile crash. On October 13, 1959, the Bald Orion rocket was launched from a B-47 and passed 6.4 kilometers from the Explorer 6 satellite (Explorer 6, launched on August 7, 1959). This was touted as the first successful interception of a satellite.

The attitude of the US political leadership towards anti-satellite systems has changed from categorical denial to cautious support. Thus, the opposition to the satellite interceptor program was caused by the desire to preserve the principle of "freedom of space", which provided guaranteed access to orbit for reconnaissance vehicles, while the appearance of space fighters could create a precedent for the abolition of the principle of "freedom of space".

Wishful statements by Nikita Khrushchev led to a return to the discussion of the topic of nuclear weapons in low Earth orbit during the years of President Kennedy's rule.

In May 1962, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara approved the start of testing by the US Army of three-stage solid-propellant Nike-Zeus anti-missiles (Nike Zeus), which were also planned to be used as anti-satellite fighters (Program 505).

To do this, they were going to install a warhead with a thermonuclear charge on the anti-satellite version of the missile. This, as American military experts assumed, would significantly reduce the requirement for pointing accuracy.

Tests of Nike-Zeus anti-missiles, not equipped with a warhead, were carried out first at the White Sands missile range in New Mexico, and then at Kwajalein Atoll in the Western Pacific Ocean. However, the possibility of using Nike-Zeus as an anti-satellite interceptor was limited to a maximum intercept altitude of about 320 kilometers. On September 12, 1962, the leaders of the Air Force submitted to the Minister for consideration air force Eugene Zukert a preliminary plan for the use of ballistic missiles "Thor LV-2D" ("Thor LV-2D") as an anti-satellite interceptor. The project of such an interceptor has been developed since February 1962.

The Thor missile (length - 19.8 meters, maximum diameter - 2.4 meters, launch weight - 47 tons) provided much greater interception capabilities than NikeZeus. It was planned to place the missiles equipped with a nuclear warhead on Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean.

There in 1962 was established test site for high-altitude nuclear explosions under the Fishbow program.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 gave a tangible boost to the American anti-satellite program. By February 1963, the development of the Thor interceptor, called the Program 437, was recognized as superior to the Program 505 due to its greater height of action. On May 8, 1963, President Kennedy approved Program 437.

Nevertheless, the US leadership still had doubts about the need to create an anti-satellite program.

At the end of 1963, a special meeting of representatives of the administration was even devoted to this problem. After it, work on the "Program 437" began to go even faster. The time of creation of the system was also affected by the fact that most of its components (rocket, warhead, launch equipment) had already been created and tested.

By themselves, the technical capabilities of the "Program 437" were low. The Thor missile, when launched from Johnston Island, could hit a satellite located from the launch site at a distance of 130 kilometers in height and 2,780 kilometers along the course. In this case, the starting window was only about 2 seconds. It was planned to keep two Thors in combat readiness: one - the main one, the second - the reserve one. The missile placed the warhead on a ballistic trajectory passing through the point of impact with the target.

At the signal of the radar, a nuclear warhead was detonated - in the "Program 437" a warhead of the "Mk49" type with a capacity of 1 megaton was used, with a radius of destruction of 9 kilometers.

The first test launch of the Tor missile under Program 437 took place on the night of February 14, 1964. The dummy warhead passed at a distance of defeat from the target - the body of the Ablestar stage of the Thor-Ablestar launch vehicle No. 281, which launched the Transit 2A spacecraft into orbit on June 22, 1960. The launch was declared successful.

These launches completed the first phase of testing under the "Program 437", after which the Air Force decided to move on to the second phase - bringing the system into working condition. As part of this phase, the third test launch took place. It went well.

Given the successful nature of the tests, the fourth test launch was cancelled. It was decided to use the Tor missile intended for it for a combat training launch as part of a personnel training program. On May 29, 1964, despite the failure of the combat training launch the day before, Program 437 was assessed as having reached initial operational readiness with one Tor missile on alert. On June 10, when the second Thor was put on alert, the anti-satellite system was declared fully operational. And on September 20, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson publicly announced the existence of the Nike-Zeus and Thor anti-satellite systems during a campaign speech.

Although Program 437 achieved its goal, subsequent events limited its full use. The original plan called for the formation of three units (Combat Crews A, B and C) under the 437 Program, each of which was supposed to conduct one combat training launch per year. However, back in December 1963, the Department of Defense informed the Air Force that the number of Thor missiles that were supposed to be transferred to Program 437 was reduced from 16 to 8. Due to the fact that two missiles had to be kept on Johnston Island on combat duty and two in the arsenal at Vandenberg Air Force Base, only four Thors remained for combat training launches until the beginning of the 1967 financial year, when new missiles could be ordered. Therefore, in 1964-1965, only one training launch took place, and the next one was carried out only two years later.

The phasing out of the 437 Program began in 1969.

After the signing of the "Treaty on Principles for the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies," the threat of nuclear strikes from outer space ceased to seem so acute.

In addition, there was a war in Vietnam, and the budget allocated to the Department of Defense was not enough for such exotic programs.

As a result, reductions in the personnel assigned to the project began; nuclear warheads were removed from the missiles that were on alert and placed in storage. In late 1969, the Department of Defense stated that the system would be phased out completely by the end of fiscal year 1973. On May 4, 1970, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard directed the Air Force to expedite the 437 Program's reserve phase and complete it by the end of the current fiscal year. The Thor missiles, which were in a state of 24-hour readiness for launch, and the separately stored warheads were removed from Johnston Island, and the ground facilities of the test site were disabled. Now it would take 30 days to put the "Program 437" into operational readiness.

The final point in the history of the 437 Program was put by Hurricane Celeste, which passed through Johnston on August 19, 1972. Strong wind and torrents of water hit the island and damaged computers and other anti-satellite systems at the test site. The main damage was repaired only by September. They tried to transfer the system to a combat state, but in December they again removed it from combat duty to fully restore all equipment. Only on March 20, 1973, all the damage was repaired and the program was returned to the reserve state with a 30-day combat readiness.

Although Program 437's practical ability to destroy Soviet orbital weapons was now minimal, it was still America's only anti-satellite system. For this reason, she continued to be supported. However, the obvious shortcomings of the system predetermined its closure. There were at least three such shortcomings of the 437 Program.

Firstly, during a nuclear explosion in space due to the capture of explosion products magnetic field On Earth, artificial radiation belts arose with an intensity 1,001,000 times higher than the usual background. This was confirmed by space nuclear explosions carried out in August 1958 as part of Operation Argus (Argus). Artificial radiation belts disabled both enemy spacecraft and their own.

Secondly, the system had a very low efficiency, since it was necessary to wait until the target route passed near the missile launch point.

Thirdly, in the event of the outbreak of hostilities in space, a large number of Tor launchers would be required to simultaneously destroy a large number of enemy satellites, and it was not possible to deploy them in a short time. On August 10, 1974, the Office of the 437 Program issued a directive to phase out the anti-satellite system facilities on Johnston Island. On April 1, 1975, the Department of Defense officially terminated Program 437...

Given the identified shortcomings of the system of orbital interception using nuclear weapons, in the early 70s, the Air Force began to develop a new anti-satellite project. It was designed to hit the target not with a nuclear warhead, but due to a direct hit of an anti-satellite missile into an enemy spacecraft. Efficiency of its use was achieved due to aircraft basing. But I will talk about this below.

Astronauts go on boarding

The Soviet military also did not remain indifferent to the idea of ​​orbital interception.

One of the projects practically repeated the American tests of 1959. Namely, it was supposed to create a small rocket launched from an aircraft from a height of about 30 kilometers and carrying a charge of about 50 kilograms of explosives. The missile was supposed to approach the target and explode no further than 30 meters from it. Work on this project began in 1961 and continued until 1963.

However, flight tests did not allow to achieve the results that the developers had hoped for. The guidance system was not as effective as it should have been. Tests in space were not even carried out.

The next project was born on the wave of the euphoria that reigned in the Soviet cosmonautics after a manned flight into space. On September 13, 1962, after the joint flight of Vostok-3 and Vostok-4, when non-maneuvering ships were able to be brought to a distance of up to five kilometers due to launch accuracy, the Scientific and Technical Commission of the General Staff heard reports from cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolaev and Pavel Popovich about the military the capabilities of the Vostok ships.

The conclusion from the reports was as follows: “Man is capable of performing in space all military tasks similar to aviation tasks (reconnaissance, interception, strike). The Vostok ships can be adapted for reconnaissance, and for interception and strike, it is urgent to create new, more advanced spaceships.

Similar ships were already being developed in the meantime.

Based on the 7K-OK (Soyuz) manned orbiter, it was planned to create a space interceptor - 7K-P (Soyuz-P), which was supposed to solve the problem of inspecting and disabling enemy spacecraft.

The project met with support from the military leadership, since the plans of the Americans to create the MOL military orbital station were already known, and the Soyuz-P maneuvering space interceptor would be an ideal tool to deal with such stations.

However, due to the general overload of OKB-1 projects, the tempting military program had to be abandoned.

In 1964, all materials on Soyuz-P were transferred to branch No. 3 of OKB-1 at the Kuibyshev aircraft plant Progress. The head of the branch was the leading designer Dmitry Kozlov. Soyuz-P was by far not the only military development transferred to the branch.

Here, in particular, the Zenit-2 and Zenit-4 photo reconnaissance satellites were created.

Initially, it was assumed that Soyuz-P would ensure the rendezvous of the ship with an enemy space object, the exit of astronauts into outer space in order to examine the object. Then, depending on the results of the inspection, the cosmonauts will either disable the object by mechanical action, or remove it from orbit by placing it in the ship's container.

On common sense, such a technically complex and dangerous project for astronauts was abandoned. At that time, almost all Soviet satellites were equipped with an emergency detonation system, with which you could destroy any of your satellites so that it would not fall into the hands of the enemy. Adequate actions were also expected from a potential adversary, so it was reasonable to conclude that with this option, the astronauts could become victims of booby traps. The inspection in this form was abandoned, but the manned version of the space interceptor itself continued to develop.

As part of the updated project, it was supposed to create a Soyuz-PPK (Manned Interceptor) ship equipped with eight small missiles. The scheme of the system has also changed. As before, the ship was supposed to approach the enemy spacecraft, but now the cosmonauts were not supposed to leave the ship, but to visually and with the help of onboard equipment examine the object and decide on its destruction. If such a decision was made, then the ship moved to a distance of up to one kilometer from the target and shot it with the help of airborne mini-missiles.

Dimensions of the Soyuz-PPK space interceptor: total length - 6.5 meters, maximum diameter - 2.7 meters, habitable volume (for two cosmonauts) - 13 m3, gross weight - 6700 kilograms.

In addition to the Soyuz-P interceptor ship, Dmitry Kozlov's branch No. 3 developed the Soyuz-VI (Military Researcher) and Soyuz-R (Scout) warships.

The project of the ship "7K-VI" ("Soyuz-VI", "Zvezda") appeared in pursuance of the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of August 24, 1965, ordering to speed up work on the creation of military orbital systems. The Soyuz-VI, as in previous cases, was based on the design of the 7K-OK orbiter, but the filling and control system were very different. The designers of branch No. 3 promised to create a universal warship that could carry out visual reconnaissance, photo reconnaissance, and perform maneuvers to approach and destroy potential enemy spacecraft.

Delays and failures in the Soyuz orbital flight test program forced Kozlov to revise his warship design in early 1967.

The new 7K-VI spacecraft with a crew of two had a total mass of 6.6 tons and could operate in orbit for three days. However, the Soyuz launch vehicle could only put 6.3 tons of payload into its intended orbit. The carrier also had to be finalized - as a result, a project of a new modernized Soyuz-M rocket (11A511M) appeared.

The project of a new version of the Soyuz-VI complex was approved, and by a decree of July 21, 1967, the date of the first flight of the military research ship was approved - the end of 1968 or the beginning of 1969.

In the Soyuz-VI, the location of the main modules has changed. The descent vehicle was now at the very top. Behind the crew seats there was a hatch for access to the cylindrical orbital compartment, which was larger than the Soyuz standard. Unlike other modifications of the Soyuz, the crew seats were not located in a row, but one after another. This made it possible to place monitoring and control devices on the side walls of the capsule.

The descent vehicle carried a Nudelman recoilless gun, designed specifically for firing in a vacuum.

To test this gun, a special dynamic stand was created - a platform on air supports. Bench tests proved that an astronaut could aim a spaceship and a cannon with minimal fuel consumption.

The orbital module contained various instruments for observing the Earth and near-Earth space: optical systems, radars, and cameras. On the external suspension of the orbital module, rods with direction finders were fixed, designed to search for enemy objects.

Another innovation applied at Soyuz-VI was a power plant based on an isotope reactor. Initially, Dmitry Kozlov considered the possibility of using solar panels, but quickly abandoned this idea, since the batteries made the ship vulnerable.

A variant of the Soyuz-VI equipped with a docking station was also considered, allowing docking with the Almaz military orbital station.

Dimensions spaceship Soyuz-VI: full length - 8 meters, maximum diameter - 2.8 meters, habitable volume - 11 m3, gross weight - 6700 kilograms.

Already in September 1966, a group of cosmonauts was formed, who were to master the new spacecraft. It included: Pavel Popovich, Alexei Gubarev, Yuri Artyukhin, Vladimir Gulyaev, Boris Belousov and Gennady Kolesnikov. The crews of Popovich-Kolesnikov and Gubarev-Belousov were supposed to go into space first.

However, Vasily Mishin and a number of other leading designers of OKB-1 (TsKBEM) took up arms against the Soyuz-VI project. Opponents of the project argued that it makes no sense to create such a complex and expensive modification of the already existing 7K-OK (Soyuz) ship if the latter is quite capable of coping with all the tasks that the military can set for it. Another argument was that one should not dissipate forces and means in a situation where the Soviet Union could lose its "leadership" in the lunar "race".

There was another motive as well. Boris Chertok writes frankly about this:

"We (TsKBEM. - A.P.) did not want to lose the monopoly on manned space flights."

The intrigue did its job: in December 1967, the Soyuz-VI military spacecraft project was closed.

SAINT project

Military experts considered other ways to destroy enemy satellites. For example, in both the USSR and the USA, a variant of rendezvous with the target of an unmanned interceptor satellite was studied, which, after inspecting the object, directs a missile launched from the Earth at it, or destroys the target itself with the help of airborne mini-missiles.

In America, the study of this option was devoted to the 706 Program, launched in 1960, also known as the SAINT project (“SAINT” is short for “Satellite Inspection Technique”).

"SAINT" was the simplest satellite weighing 1100 kilograms, carrying several television cameras and launched into orbit by the Atlas-Agena carrier (with the Agena stage acting as an orbital engine).

Initially, SAINT was supposed to serve only to inspect enemy satellites, but after successful tests, the Air Force hoped to make it a full-fledged interceptor by equipping it with small missiles. The administration of the President of the United States forbade even discussing the possibility of using the inspection apparatus as an anti-satellite, since this contradicted its thesis about the peaceful nature of the American space program.

Internal political tensions that caused financial difficulties were exacerbated by conceptual problems, such as: will photographing a satellite, measuring antennas, and the like, give more than can be learned from its orbital characteristics? What physical means of inspection can be considered acceptable and what countermeasures can be expected from the other side? The delicacy of the questions was due primarily to the fact that the main object of the inspection was supposed to be Soviet orbital bombs.

By the time the United States came to the conclusion that such bombs were useless, they still had not appeared in the USSR. Therefore, in December 1962, the US Air Force abandoned Project SAINT, shifting the problem of orbital rendezvous and inspection to NASA.

ASAT program

Ultimately, the US military opted for the ASAT system (“ASAT” is short for “Air-Launched Anti-Satellite Missile”), which provides for the placement of anti-satellite missiles on combat aircraft.

Aviation missile system The ASAT interceptor has been developed by the American firms Vought, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas since 1977.

The complex included a carrier aircraft (modernized F-15 fighter) and a 2-stage ASAT rocket (Anti-Satellite). The rocket was suspended under the fuselage.

Rocket dimensions: length - 6.1 meters, body diameter - 0.5 meters, weight - 1200 kilograms.

As a propulsion system for the first stage, an improved solid-propellant rocket engine with a thrust of 4500 kilograms (installed on the Boeing SREM guided missile) was used, the second - a solid-propellant engine with a thrust of 2720 kilograms (used in the fourth stage of the Scout launch vehicle). The payload is a small-sized interceptor "MHIV" ("MHIV" - short for "Miniature Homing Intercept Vehicle") from Vought, having a weight of 15.4 kilograms, a length of 460 millimeters and a diameter of about 300 millimeters.

The interceptor consists of several dozen small engines, an infrared homing system, a laser gyroscope and an on-board computer. There is no explosive on board, since it was planned to hit the target (an artificial satellite of the enemy's Earth) due to kinetic energy with a direct hit on it.

Guidance of the ASAT missile to the calculated point in space after its separation from the carrier aircraft is carried out by an inertial system. It is located on the second stage of the rocket, where small engines powered by hydrazine are installed to provide control over three planes.

By the end of the second stage, the small-sized interceptor spins up to 20 rpm using a special platform.

This is necessary for the normal operation of the infrared homing system and to ensure the stabilization of the interceptor in flight. By the time the interceptor was separated, its infrared sensors, leading the survey of space with the help of eight optical systems, must lock onto the target.

The solid propellant engines of the interceptor are arranged in two rows around the circumference of its body, with the nozzles placed in the middle. This allows "MHIV" to move up, down, right and left. The moments of turning on the engines to guide the interceptor to the target must be calculated so that the nozzles are oriented in space as needed. To determine the orientation of the interceptor itself, a laser gyroscope is used. The signals from the target received by infrared sensors, as well as information from the laser gyroscope, are fed into the on-board computer.

It determines, to the microseconds, which engine must be turned on to ensure the interceptor moves towards the target. In addition, the on-board computer calculates the sequence of switching on the engines so that the dynamic balance is not disturbed and the interceptor does not start nutating.

To test the guidance system, Vought built a complex ground complex, including vacuum chambers and a test room with small-sized drop interceptors, which were guided in free fall on satellite models (more than 25 such tests were carried out).

The launch of the ASAT missile from the carrier aircraft was supposed to be carried out at altitudes from 15 to 21 kilometers, both in level flight and in climb mode.

To turn the F-15 serial fighter into the ASAT carrier, it was necessary to install a special ventral pylon and communications equipment. The pylon accommodates a small computer, equipment for connecting the aircraft with the rocket, a switching system, a backup battery and a gas generator that ensures the separation of the rocket.

The withdrawal of the aircraft to the calculated point of the launch of the rocket was supposed to be carried out according to commands from the aerospace defense control center, which would be displayed in the cockpit. Most of the pre-launch operations are carried out with the help of an aircraft computer. The task of the pilot is to maintain a given direction and perform a launch upon receipt of an appropriate signal from the computer, and the launch must be carried out in a time interval of 10 to 15 seconds.

As part of the system creation program, it was planned to conduct 12 flight tests. To evaluate the effectiveness, 10 targets were made. They could change the characteristics of thermal radiation to simulate satellites for various purposes. The targets were planned to be launched from the Western Missile Range (Vandenberg Air Force Base, California) using Scout launch vehicles capable of launching a payload weighing about 180 kilograms into a circular orbit 550 kilometers high.

Target interception points were planned over the Pacific Ocean.

At the time of testing, the system was located at Edwards Air Force Base (California). It was believed that the entire complex would be deemed fit for combat missions if the probability of hitting ten targets was 50%.

The first launch of an experimental ASAT rocket from an F-15 aircraft against a simulated space target took place in early 1984 at the US Western Missile Range. His task was to check the reliability of the functioning of the first and second stages of the rocket, as well as the onboard equipment of the carrier aircraft. The rocket, after launching at an altitude of 18,300 meters, was launched to a given point in outer space. Instead of a small-sized interceptor, its weight mock-up was installed on board the rocket, as well as telemetry equipment, which ensured the transmission of flight trajectory parameters to Earth.

During the second test, which took place in the fall of 1984, a rocket equipped with a small-sized interceptor with an infrared guidance system was supposed to capture a specific star. This made it possible to determine its ability to accurately withdraw the interceptor to a given point in space.

The first close-to-combat test was conducted in California on September 13, 1985. A rocket launched from a fighter destroyed the American satellite Soluind at an altitude of 450 kilometers.

In 1983, the cost of developing an aviation missile system to destroy satellites was estimated at $700 million, and the deployment of two squadrons of such fighters was estimated at $675 million.

It was originally planned that the American anti-satellite system should include 28 F-15 carrier aircraft and 56 ASAT missiles. Two squadrons will be stationed at Langley Air Force Base (Virginia) and McCord Air Force Base (Washington).

In the future, the number of carrier aircraft was supposed to be increased to 56, and anti-satellite missiles - to 112. The combat duty of the complexes was scheduled to begin in 1987. Organizationally, they were supposed to be subordinate to the US Air Force Space Command; interception control was planned to be carried out from the anti-space defense center KP NORAD. In those periods when combat readiness is not declared and no satellite interception exercises are carried out, the upgraded F-15 fighters should be used as ordinary NORAD command interceptors (it will take about 6 hours to re-equip the F-15).

Anti-satellite systems located on the continental United States could intercept only 25% of the satellites in low orbits.

Therefore, in order to create a global anti-satellite system, the United States sought the right to use bases in foreign territories, and primarily in the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands and New Zealand. In addition, practical training was carried out on the issues of in-flight refueling of F-15 carrier aircraft, as well as the re-equipment of F-14 carrier-based fighters for carriers of ACAT missiles.

In the early 1990s, work on the ACAT system was terminated as a result of an informal agreement with Russia.

However, so far, such anti-satellite systems have not been banned by any of the existing formal treaties.

Anti-satellite complex "MiG-31D"

The Soviet Union also considered the possibility of using ASAT air-launched anti-satellite missiles.

Since 1978, Vympel Design Bureau has been developing such a missile capable of launching from a MiG-31 aircraft.

In 1986, the Mikoyan Design Bureau began refining two MiG-31 fighters for a different armament. The modified aircraft received the designation "MiG-31D" ("Product 07"). The product had to carry one large specialized missile, and the weapons control system was completely redone for it.

Both prototypes did not have radar stations (instead there was a 200-kilogram weight model), the radio-transparent nose cone was replaced with an all-metal one, the niches of the R-33 guided missiles were sewn up by installing a central retractable pylon for an anti-satellite missile. In addition, the MiG-31D was equipped with influxes, as on the MiG-31M, and large triangular planes at the ends of the wing ("flippers"), similar topics that stood on the MiG-25P prototype. "Flippers" served to increase stability in flight when suspended on the outer pylon of a large rocket.

The prototype aircraft received tail numbers "071" and "072".

The refinement was completed in 1987, and in the same year, the 072 board entered flight tests in Zhukovsky. The first flight was carried out by Aviard Fastovets.

The test program continued for several years, but was suspended in the early 90s due to an unclear situation with the advent of a new rocket. At present, cars "071" and "072" are located in Kazakhstan.

According to officials from the administration of the President of Russia, in the future, testing of this system may well be resumed.

Satellite Destroyer Program

Nevertheless, the project of creating a “kamikaze” satellite, which, exploding itself, destroys the target, found the greatest support in the Soviet Union. Moreover, the option of not absolutely accurate hit of the interceptor satellite into the target was considered, but the option of an explosion at some distance from the target and its destruction by a fragmentation charge. It was the cheapest, easiest and most reliable option. It subsequently became known as the "Satellite Destroyer" program.

The essence of the project to create the "Sputnik Fighter" was as follows: with the help of a powerful launch vehicle, an interceptor satellite was launched into orbit around the Earth.

The initial parameters of the interceptor's orbit were determined taking into account the parameters of the target's orbit. Already in near-Earth orbit, with the help of an onboard propulsion system, the satellite carried out a series of maneuvers that made it possible to approach the target and destroy it by exploding itself. Interception of the target was supposed to be carried out on the first, maximum - on the third turn. In the future, it was supposed to increase the potential of the satellite so that it would be possible to re-intercept, in case of a miss during the first. Of great importance in the creation of such a system was the accuracy of launching the interceptor into low Earth orbit.

The satellite was a relatively simple spacecraft with a shape close to a sphere and a mass of about 1400 kilograms. It consisted of two functional compartments: the main compartment, equipped with a control and targeting system, carrying about 300 kilograms of explosives, and an engine compartment. The casing of the apparatus was made in such a way that after the explosion it disintegrated into a large number of fragments flying at high speed. The radius of guaranteed destruction was estimated at one kilometer. Moreover, in the direction of the satellite, a target was hit at a distance of up to two kilometers, and in the opposite direction - no more than 400 meters. Since the scattering of fragments was unpredictable, a target located at a much greater distance could also be hit.

The engine compartment was a reusable orbital engine. The total engine running time was approximately 300 seconds.

The main and engine compartments were a single structure. Their separation at any stage of the flight was not provided.

Work on the creation of the "Sputnik Fighter" began in 1961 in the OKB-52 of Vladimir Chelomey. Chelomey chose the UR-200 rocket as a launch vehicle for the Sputnik Fighter. Work on the creation of the rocket progressed much more slowly than on the satellite, and therefore, when the satellite was already created, the industry leadership decided to use a slightly modified R-7 launch vehicle by Sergei Korolev for test flights.

Flights "Flights"

November 1, 1963 in the USSR was launched "the first maneuvering spacecraft" under the name "Flight-1". Unusually magnificent even for those times, the official announcement announced that this was the first device from a new large series and that "numerous" maneuvers to change the height and plane of the orbit were performed during the flight. The number and nature of the maneuvers were not specified, and TASS did not even report the inclination of the initial orbit.

The second "Flight" was launched on April 12, 1964. This time, the parameters of the initial and final orbits were indicated in full, which allowed Western experts to estimate the minimum margin of the vehicle's characteristic velocity, taking into account the change in the orbit plane.

These two launches were the first of the Satellite Fighter test program. This program included a much larger number of flights. However, in October 1964, as a result of the movements in the top Soviet leadership associated with the removal of Nikita Khrushchev from power, work on the creation of the Sputnik Fighter was completely transferred from OKB-52 Chelomey to OKB-1 Korolev. In this regard, new tests had to be postponed.

The Korolev bureau did not make too many changes to what had already been done. The “Sputnik Fighter” remained practically in the same form as it was developed at the beginning, but it was decided to use the R-36 intercontinental ballistic missile designed by Mikhail Yangel as a launch vehicle (after refinement, this launch vehicle was named “Cyclone”), abandoning the further development of the UR-200 launch vehicle.

The tests were resumed in 1967 and, in fact, from the very beginning. The flight test program for the new version of the "Sputnik Fighter" was designed for five years, and it was almost completely implemented.

In the very final phase of the trials, politics intervened. In 1972, an agreement was signed between the USSR and the USA on the limitation of strategic weapons and anti-missile defense systems, which also imposed restrictions on the production of anti-satellite systems.

In this regard, the test program was curtailed. However, the anti-satellite system itself was put into service and underwent significant modifications.

Test flights under the ASAT program resumed in 1976 and continued until 1978. At this stage of testing, improved on-board satellite systems, new guidance systems, and new target interception trajectories were tested.

After the completion of the third phase of testing, several more launches took place during the years 1980-1982, during which the functioning of combat systems was tested after long-term storage.

After 1982, there were no test flights under the Satellite Fighter program. Currently, this system has been withdrawn from service as obsolete.

Further tests under the "Satellite Destroyer" program

Below I will talk about some of the flights under the flight test program of the "Sputnik Fighter". It doesn't make much sense to describe them all. Here we will talk only about those flights that fall out of the general range and can be regarded either as unsuccessful or as carrying something fundamentally new.

So, with the launch on October 27, 1967, flight and design tests of the spacecraft developed at OKB-1 (TsKBEM) by Sergei Korolev and known as the “Sputnik Fighter” began. On this day, the Cosmos-185 satellite was launched. The launch of the satellite into orbit was carried out using a combat intercontinental ballistic missile "R-36". During the flight of the Kosmos-185 satellite, the onboard propulsion system was tested.

The next launch took place on April 24, 1968. The flight program of the Cosmos-217 satellite was supposed to continue testing the onboard propulsion system, using it to perform a series of maneuvers in orbit, and then use this satellite as a target for further testing of anti-satellite systems. However, the flight program was not completed due to the fact that during launching into orbit, the separation of the spacecraft and the last stage of the launch vehicle did not occur. In such a situation, the inclusion of the satellite's engines turned out to be impossible, and after two days the device deorbited and burned out in the dense layers of the atmosphere. On October 19, 1968, the Kosmos-248 satellite was launched. This time everything went more or less well.

The satellite "migrated" from the initial low orbit to the calculated higher one.

The next day, October 20, 1968, the Kosmos-249 satellite was launched. Already on the second orbit, with the help of its own engines, the Cosmos-249 satellite approached the Cosmos-248 and exploded. Many experts recognized this test as "partially successful", as the Kosmos-248 satellite (target) continued to function. However, the flight program provided for the reuse of the target, and during the launch of Cosmos-249, only the guidance system and the detonation system were checked, but the task of destroying the target was not set.

The target was destroyed during the launch of the second Kosmos-252 interceptor, which launched on November 1, 1968 and was blown up in orbit along with the target on the same day. On August 6, 1969, the Kosmos-291 target satellite was launched. The test program provided for the interception of this target by an interceptor satellite, the launch of which was planned for the next day. However, the onboard engines on the target satellite did not turn on after it was put into orbit, it remained in an off-design orbit, not suitable for testing, and the launch of the interceptor satellite was canceled.

The next target satellite, Cosmos-373, was launched on October 20, 1970, and, having made several maneuvers, entered the calculated orbit. The interception of this target, as planned, was carried out twice. First, on October 23, 1970, the Kosmos-374 interceptor satellite was launched.

On the second orbit, it rendezvoused with the target satellite, passed it and then exploded, leaving the target intact. On October 30, 1970, a new interceptor satellite Kosmos-375 was launched, which also intercepted the target on the second orbit. As in the case of Kosmos-374, the interceptor missed the target and only then exploded. Such a double launch of interceptor satellites with a short time interval made it possible to evaluate the capabilities of launch teams for the operational preparation of launchers for re-launches. In addition, the methodology for determining the initial data necessary for launching interceptor satellites was tested.

The next test took place in February 1971.

During this test, for the first time, the Kosmos carrier (lighter and cheaper than the R-36 carrier) was used to launch a target satellite, and for the first time the target was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome.

The target satellite Kosmos-394 was launched on February 9, 1971, and the interceptor satellite Kosmos-397 was launched on February 25, 1971. The interception was carried out on the second orbit according to the already tested scheme. The interceptor approached the target and exploded. On March 18, 1971, the Kosmos-400 target satellite was launched, and on April 4, 1971, the Kosmos-404 interceptor satellite was launched. The flight program provided for further development of the guidance system and verification of the functionality of the propulsion system.

Instead of a charge, additional measuring equipment was installed on the satellite. A new scheme for approaching the interceptor with the target was also tested. Unlike all previous tests, the interceptor approached the target not from above, but from below. All the necessary information about the operation of the onboard systems was transmitted to Earth, after which the satellite was de-orbited and burned up above Pacific Ocean.

At the end of 1971, another test of the "Satellite Fighter" took place. It took place as part of the State tests, the results of which were to make a decision on the adoption of the system into service. On November 29, 1971, the Kosmos-459 target satellite was launched, and on December 3, 1971, the Kosmos-462 interceptor satellite was launched. The interception was successful. The State Commission generally approved the results of the work and recommended, after a number of improvements, mainly related to the targeting system, that the system be put into service.

A year was allotted for refinement, and at the end of 1972 it was planned to conduct new tests. However, the "Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty" (SALT-1 Treaty) and the "Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Missile Defense Systems" (ABM Treaty) were soon signed. On September 29, 1972, by inertia, the Soviet military launched another target satellite, Kosmos-521, into space, but this test did not take place.

The system itself was put into service, and several "Sputnik Fighters" were placed in silo launchers in the area of ​​​​the Baikonur cosmodrome.

Testing resumed only in 1976. The break in testing caused by the international "détente" was used not only to refine individual elements of the system, but also to develop some rather fundamental solutions. The most important of the improvements was new system targeting.

New tests were of a routine nature and were completed approximately two years later in connection with the start of Soviet-American negotiations on limiting anti-satellite systems.

Despite the fact that the test program was not fully implemented, the modified interceptor satellite was put into service.

In 1980, negotiations stalled, and the flights of the "Satellite Fighter" resumed. On April 3, 1980, the Kosmos-1171 target satellite was launched. On April 18, 1980, an attempt was made to intercept it by the Kosmos-1174 interceptor satellite.

On the first attempt, the interception failed, as the interceptor could not get close to the target. Over the next two days, attempts were made to maneuver the interceptor with the help of an onboard engine in order to again approach the target. However, all these attempts ended in failure, and on April 20, 1980, Cosmos-1174 was blown up in orbit.

This is the only interceptor satellite that has existed in orbit for so long.

Another test was carried out the following year. On January 21, 1981, the Kosmos-1241 target satellite was launched. This target was intercepted twice. First, on February 2, 1981, the Kosmos-1243 interceptor satellite approached the target up to a distance of 50 meters, and then on March 14, 1981, the Kosmos-1258 interceptor satellite approached the target to the same distance. Both tests were successful, the flight tasks were completed in full.

There were no combat charges on the satellites, therefore, with the help of onboard engines, they were deorbited and burned out in dense layers of the atmosphere.

The final test of the Satellite Destroyers deserves special attention, since it became part of the largest exercises of the Soviet armed forces, called in the West the "seven-hour nuclear war". On June 18, 1982, two PC-10M silo-based intercontinental missiles, an RSD-10 medium-range mobile missile, and a Delta-class ballistic missile were launched within seven hours. Two anti-missiles were fired at the warheads of these missiles, and in the same period of time, Cosmos-1379 intercepted a target imitating the US navigation satellite Transit. In addition, within three hours between the launch of the interceptor and its rendezvous with the target, navigation and photo-reconnaissance satellites were launched from Plesetsk and Baikonur. Earlier in the days of the interception, no other launches were made from any of the cosmodromes, so these launches can be considered as testing for the operational replacement of spacecraft "lost in the course of hostilities."

This "demonstration of power" gave the United States a compelling reason to create a new generation anti-satellite system as part of the SDI program.

On November 19, 1968, the USSR adopted the R-36-O (8K69) - an orbital missile with an unlimited flight range, invulnerable to missile defense. R-36-O served for almost 15 years and was removed from combat duty in January 1983 under agreements with Washington.

In 1962, the development of three projects of the so-called global or orbital rockets began in the USSR - R-36-O (8K69) in OKB-586 of Mikhail Yangel, GR-1 in OKB-1 of Sergey Korolev and UR-200A in OKB-52 of Vladimir Chelomeya. Only the R-36-O (sometimes referred to as the R-36orb) was adopted for service. In fact, it was a space rocket capable of delivering heavy warheads to any point on the planet along any trajectory, starting from a position in the center of the country of the Soviets, without completely leaving the near-Earth orbit.

The development of a strategic missile system with an 8K69 orbital missile based on the 8K67 intercontinental ballistic missile was set by a resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated April 16, 1962. The creation of the rocket itself and the orbital block was entrusted to OKB-586 (now Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, chief designer M.K. Yangel), rocket engines - OKB-456 (now NPO Energomash, chief designer V.P. Glushko), systems control - NII-692 (now Design Bureau "Khartron", chief designer V. G. Sergeev), command instruments - NII-944 (now NII KP, chief designer V. I. Kuznetsov), combat launch complex - TsKB-34 (chief designer E. G. Rudyak).

Compared to intercontinental ballistic missiles, orbital missiles at that time were invulnerable to missile defense systems and were not detected by means of warning of a missile attack. They had an unlimited flight range, they could throw warheads along an unpredictable trajectory. And even when detected in the orbital area, it was impossible to calculate where the warhead was aimed as a result. At the same time, satisfactory accuracy of hitting the target was ensured at very long launch ranges.

Thus, the main advantage of the R-36orb orbital missile was its ability to "bypass" the enemy's missile defense.

The energy capabilities of the global rocket made it possible to launch a nuclear warhead into space into a low orbit of an artificial Earth satellite, thereby increasing the flight range.

Due to the long range of the warhead, an attack using orbital missiles could be carried out not from the north, where the Americans were building a missile attack warning system, but from the south, where such a system was not planned. True, the mass of the warhead and the power of the rocket warhead decreased in this case.

A draft design of a two-stage orbital rocket based on the R-36 was developed in December 1962. The length of the rocket exceeded 32 meters, the width - 3 meters, the launch weight was more than 181 tons. The thrown weight reached 3,648 kg, of which 238 kg were means of overcoming missile defense. The firing range was 40 thousand km (that is, it was practically unlimited), the circular probabilistic deviation was 1.1 km according to some data, 5 - according to others. The height of the warhead orbit was estimated at 150-180 km.

The first stage of Mikhail Yangel's 8K69 rocket was equipped with an RD-261 main engine, consisting of three two-chamber RD-260 modules. The second stage was equipped with a two-chamber main engine RD-262. The engines were developed under the direction of Valentin Glushko. The engines were refueled with two components - UDMH (asymmetric dimethylhydrazine, aka heptyl) and AT (nitrogen tetroxide).

The main difference from the base rocket R-36 was the use of an orbital warhead with a brake propulsion system, a control system, a warhead with a charge of 2.3 megatons and an electronic protection system for the orbital warhead.

The braking stage was designed to ensure the descent of the rocket from orbit. It was equipped with its own propulsion system and its own automation.

At the end of 1964, preparations for testing began at Baikonur. The first launch of the R-36-O was made on December 16, 1965, turned out to be emergency and led to a big fire at the launch complex.

In 1966, four successful test launches were carried out. At the first attempt, the rocket launched the warhead into a circular orbit with a height of 150 km and an inclination of 65 degrees. Having made one revolution around the Earth, the warhead fell into a given area with a deviation that satisfied the Ministry of Defense.

Successful tests made it possible on November 19, 1968 to adopt the R-36-O orbital rocket. Serial production of products was launched at the Southern Machine-Building Plant in Dnepropetrovsk.

The first and only missile regiment with R-36orb orbital missiles took up combat duty on August 25, 1969 at the Baikonur cosmodrome. In 1970, the regiment had six launchers, in 1971 - 12, in 1972 the number of groupings reached 18 launchers. All of them were deployed in a single positional area - at the Baikonur training ground.

By the way, in 1963, the group silo option for deploying intercontinental ballistic missiles was rejected. This was due to the fact that the rapid development of means of nuclear missile attack led to the creation efficient systems control and guidance, to increase the accuracy of firing at targets and the power of nuclear charges. The enemy had the opportunity to destroy several Soviet missiles on combat duty with one missile.

Therefore, the construction of single launches was launched at Baikonur to accommodate R-36-O missiles. The new complexes were supposed to be placed in positional areas with single mine launchers of the OS type (single launch), spaced apart at such distances that two launchers could not be hit by one nuclear explosion. The complex consisted of six silo launchers dispersed 8-10 km from each other, remotely controlled in technological and combat mode from a single underground pit-type command post. The OS principle is still used in the Strategic Missile Forces.

The launch of the rocket from the silo launcher occurred with the launch of the first stage engines directly in the launcher. The rocket was launched from a fixed launch pad installed in the shaft. The impactless exit of the rocket from the silo launcher (silo) was carried out by its movement along the guides of the launcher. The gas flow from the operating engines of the first stage was diverted using a splitter installed in the lower part of the silo, into the gas outlet devices located along the launch cup barrel in one diametrical plane.

The silo was covered with a special protective device (roof) of a sliding type, which ensures the sealing of the mine shaft and the protection of the missile from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion.

The regiment of orbital missiles lasted almost 15 years. In January 1983, in accordance with the SALT-2 treaty, the R-36-O missile system was removed from combat duty.

By the way, in the United States, a system similar to the domestic system of partially orbital bombing was not created, although in the early 1960s the Americans seriously studied this issue. The idea was not supported due to the high cost of deploying a full-scale system.

The use of space technology for military purposes has always been of paramount importance in the Soviet Union. Some programs were entirely military-oriented, others provided for their dual use, and others simply pretended to be possible military use. There was nothing surprising in this state of affairs, since in the overwhelming majority of cases the Ministry of Defense acted as a customer, and, quite naturally, ordered the music.

One program that was developed exclusively for military use was the "partial orbital bombardment" system, or better known by its English abbreviation "FOBS". Its creation can be viewed as a logical continuation of the work begun at the time in the design bureau of Sergei Pavlovich KOROLEV and envisaged the development of a global missile "GR-1" capable of hitting targets on enemy territory from any direction. Although the royal rocket was created, it was not accepted into service. One of the reasons for this decision was the development in the design bureau of Mikhail Kuzmich YANGEL of a more powerful R-36orb missile, capable of more effectively solving the problem of delivering a nuclear warhead to the target.

The development of "R-36orb" (product index - 8K69; in various sources there are other rocket designations: OR-36 or R-36-0; NATO code - SS-9 Mod 3 "Scarp"; in the USA it also had the designation F- 1-r) based on the intercontinental ballistic missile "R-36" was set by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of April 16, 1962. The creation of the rocket and the orbital block for it was entrusted to OKB-586 (now Yuzhnoye Design Bureau; Chief Designer Mikhail Kuzmich YANGEL), rocket engines - OKB-456 (now NPO Energomash; Chief Designer Valentin Petrovich GLUSHKO), control system - Research Institute -692 (now Khartron Design Bureau; Chief Designer Vladimir Grigorievich SERGEEV), command instruments - NII-944 (now NII KP; Chief Designer Viktor Ivanovich KUZNETSOV). The combat launch complex for R-36orb missiles was developed at KBSM under the leadership of Chief Designer Evgeny Georgievich RUDIAK.

Already in December 1962, a preliminary design was completed, and in 1963, the development of technical documentation and the manufacture of prototypes of the rocket began.

The created rocket had two stages. Its total length was 32.6 - 34.5 m, the maximum body diameter was 3.05 m. At the start, the rocket weighed 180 tons. The firing range was 40,000 km, and the circular probabilistic deviation was -1100 m. km. How the actual parameters of the orbits of the orbital blocks corresponded to the calculated ones can be seen in Table 1, which shows the main data on the launches that took place. The control system was supposed to be inertial with a gyro-stabilized platform, the aiming system was based on ground-based instruments. The separation of the stages and the separation of the orbital block was supposed to take place using braking rocket solid propellant engines (RDTT). The rocket was to be launched from a silo launcher. Start type - gas dynamic. The launch preparation time is only 5 minutes, which favorably distinguished the R-36orb from the first rocket of this class, the GR-1, where the preparation time was much longer.

The first stage had a length of 18.9 m and a diameter of 3 m. Its dry weight was 6.4 tons, and when loaded, the stage weighed 122.3 tons. 2 cameras each), developed in OKB-456. The engine provided thrust in the void of 270.4 tf and an operating time of 120 s. The steering engine RD-68M, developed in OKB-586, could work for 125 s and provide 295 kN thrust in the void.

The second stage had a length of 9.4 m and a diameter of 3 m. Its dry weight was 3.7 tons, and together with fuel 49.3 tons. 120 tf and operating time 160 s. The RD-69M steering engine with four steering chambers had a thrust of 54.3 kN and an operating time of 163 s.

As a fuel, the engines of both stages used asymmetric dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), whose weight was 48.5 tons, and nitrogen tetroxide (AT) weighing 121.7 tons as an oxidizer.

The 8F021 orbital combat unit, which distinguished the R-36orb missile from the R-36 ICBM, consisted of a body, an instrument compartment with a control system, a thermonuclear monoblock charge weighing 1700 kg and a power of 5 Mt, as well as a brake propulsion system (TDU ), which brought the unit out of low Earth orbit and ensured the delivery of the charge to the target. The separation of the TDU from the warhead occurred by relieving pressure from the fuel tanks through special nozzles.

Flight design tests of the R-36orb missile were planned according to the standard scheme in four interconnected stages. The first stage provided for the development of the launch vehicle itself, the second - the development of the launch of the orbital unit into near-Earth orbit, the third - the development of the "partial-orbital bombing" system as a whole, the fourth, test, - the delivery of the system to the customer with the elimination of the comments identified in the previous stages.

The first stage began on December 16, 1965 with a launch from a ground-based launcher located at site No. 67 of the Tyura-Tam test site (for simplicity of narration and in order to avoid confusion, I will call the Tyura-Tam test site by a more familiar name - the Baikonur Cosmodrome), rockets "R- 36orb". Instead of the orbital block, its weight and size mock-up was installed on the carrier. The launch into low Earth orbit was not planned, and the launch was carried out solely to test the onboard systems of the carrier and ground equipment. In general, despite some minor shortcomings, everything went well.

The following year, the first stage of the LCI was continued. On February 5, March 16 and May 19, 1966, three more launches were carried out, and during the third, the rocket was launched for the first time from a silo launcher at site No. 69. and the tests themselves were carried out in order to refine the systems and assemblies of the carrier. The launches were considered successful.

Since, unfortunately, there is no way to get acquainted with the technical documentation about these launches, one has to rely only on the available publications about them, based either on the recollections of eyewitnesses or on Western intelligence data, which are cited in numerous foreign sources. These data do not allow us to state unequivocally that in 1966 only three test flights of the R-36orb rocket were carried out as part of the first stage of testing. Some sources report that in 1966, four launches were carried out as part of the LCI. The resulting inaccuracy can have two possible explanations. Or, speaking of four launches, the sources also take into account the launch on December 16, 1965, erroneously summing it up with launches next year. Either there really were four launches, but the author does not have any information about the fourth.

The second stage of the LCI was launched in the autumn of 1966 and included two launches of the R-36orb rocket. Since both launches are of interest from the point of view of the history of astronautics, I will dwell on them in more detail.

On September 17, 1966, the R-36orb rocket was launched from the silo launcher at the 69th site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (not to repeat every time, all subsequent launches came from the silo launchers at this site of the cosmodrome). Nine minutes later, the head unit of the rocket entered low-Earth orbit. Officially, the launch, like any other launch of a combat missile (with rare exceptions), was not reported. However, Western surveillance equipment recorded the appearance in low Earth orbit, first of one object, which was registered in the US Space Command catalog under the number 02437 (in the COSPAR registry, the launch was designated 1966-088), and after some time 52 more small objects identified as having arisen in the result of this launch. In Soviet publications for a long time this launch appeared for a long time under the name - "No data". I remember that the Aviation and Cosmonautics magazine at the end of the 60s tried to attribute all such launches (8 such launches were mentioned in Soviet publications) to either France or China. The truth surfaced in the late 80s. In Table 2, for reference, I provide data on these launches, although only two are related to the program for creating a "partial-orbital bombardment" system.

But back to the tests on September 17, 1966. There is still no clarity regarding the results of this test launch. We only know that the object exploded in orbit. But whether this was done intentionally or the explosion occurred arbitrarily is unknown. In favor of success is the fact that this launch was the first launch of the R-36 rocket with the launch of the warhead into low Earth orbit. On the other hand, the fact of an explosion in orbit, the absence of an official announcement, as well as orbital elements different from further launches, may testify in favor of a negative result. It is most logical to assume that, when trying to deorbit the orbital unit, the TDU did not work and the emergency destruction system, which was installed on almost all Soviet spacecraft in those years, was put into action. However, it is also quite logical that by the time of this launch, the TDU was simply not yet ready, and at this stage only the orbital unit itself, which was not equipped with a TDU, was tested. For a long time it seemed to me that the version of the emergency launch was correct, but after much deliberation, I began to lean towards the version of the absence of a TDU on the orbital unit. Based on this, I attribute the two launches of 1966 to the second stage of the LKI, and do not combine them with either earlier or later launches of R-36orb missiles.

A similar launch, which was also not officially announced, but COSPAR assigned its number 1966-101 to it, took place on November 2, 1966. Its only difference from the previous one was the number of debris in orbit. This time there were slightly fewer of them - 40.

Further launches as part of the creation of a partially orbital bombing system were officially reported as the next launches of satellites of the Cosmos series, naturally without deciphering their true purpose.

In 1967, the third stage of the LCI was quite intense. 9 launches were carried out with the launch of the orbital unit into low Earth orbit. According to other data, there were 10 launches. The situation with the R-36orb launch on March 22, 1967 is not entirely clear. It was not officially reported about it, the US Space Command did not record the appearance of objects in orbit, but did not report an emergency rocket launch either. Again, you have to guess and express your versions. It is likely that the flight program was not fully implemented. The orbital stage, for one reason or another, did not enter orbit, but flew along a suborbital trajectory. This explains why American surveillance equipment could not detect any objects in orbit. But, on the other hand, since all space objects that arose during the implementation of this program were short-lived, it is quite possible that the Americans simply “slept through” the launch, and in the Soviet Union they “forgot” to announce the launch of the next Cosmos (by the way, all reports of the launch of the next satellites during the implementation of the test program of the "partial-orbital bombardment" system appeared only after they were registered by the US Space Command). That is, they acted on the principle that once they saw it, it meant it happened, but if they didn’t see it, it means it didn’t happen. In general, the launches were successful, but the targeting system caused criticism, which did not allow achieving the required accuracy, as well as a number of other comments made by the military.

The American side first reported that the Soviet Union was testing a "partial orbital bombardment" system only on November 3, 1967. By that time, the main tests had already been completed, and the developers eliminated the comments made by the customer during the test launches.

In 1968, two (according to other sources, four) launches of No. R-36orb missiles were carried out. "If the picture is quite clear with respect to launches on April 25 and October 2, then launches on May 21 and 28 do not give a clear picture. During May launches, no the appearance of any objects in near-Earth orbit.Most likely, they were classified as R-36orb launches erroneously, since at the same time flight design tests of the R-36 ICBM, which, in terms of its tactical and technical parameters, was very close to the R -36orb". However, I admit that these could also be R-36orb launches, but at the same time it was possible to hide the fact that the orbital stage entered the near-Earth orbit (after all, US technical intelligence is not so omnipotent, as they are now trying to present) It is possible that during these launches only the carrier itself and its reliability were tested, but not the system of "partial-orbital bombardment" as a whole.

Be that as it may, on November 19, 1968, the "partial-orbital bombardment" system as part of the R-36orb launch vehicle and the 8F021 orbital unit was put into service. The first missile regiment with the R-36orb ICBM took up combat duty on August 25, 1969 at the Baikonur cosmodrome (the regiment commander was A.V. Mileev).

The regiment included 18 mine launchers, combined into three combat launch complexes (6 silos in each BSK). Each mine had a shaft diameter of 8.3 m and a height of 41.5 m. The distance between mine launchers was 6–10 km.

The regiment was the only one in the Strategic Missile Forces armed with these missiles.

In subsequent years, launches were carried out with a frequency of one or two times a year and their task was to maintain the combat readiness of the system. In 1971, the last launch on a partial orbital trajectory was carried out. No further launches were made. Several reasons can serve as an explanation for this. First, the system was not as efficient as we would like. Secondly, it was quite vulnerable due to the silo-based missiles. Thirdly, the United States created and put into operation a fairly effective early detection and warning system, which was able to detect a missile at the moment of its launch, and not on the approach trajectory. Fourth, international détente and Soviet-American negotiations on the reduction of strategic arms began.

In the United States, a system similar to the partial orbital bombing system was not created, although in the early 60s the US military seriously studied this issue. The idea was not supported due to the high cost of deploying a full-scale system.

And a few words at the end.

July 18, 1979 in Vienna (Austria) the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Leonid Ilyich BREZHNEV and US President Jimmy CARTER signed the "Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms” (SALT-2 Treaty).

One of the provisions of the Treaty forbade the parties to have weapons systems like FOBS. Of the 18 mine launchers deployed by that time, 12 were to be eliminated, and the remaining 6 were to be converted for testing modernized intercontinental ballistic missiles.

By January 1983, work on the elimination of R-36orb missiles was completed, and the system was withdrawn from service.

If we evaluate the partial-orbital bombing system from today's standpoint, then we cannot talk about its effectiveness as a weapon system. Its creation and deployment was due primarily to political reasons. This is supported by the deployment of a small number of R-36orb missiles, as opposed to the mass deployment of R-36 missiles. The liquidation of the system as a type of weapon was also due to political reasons. It is of the greatest interest from a historical point of view.

Copyright © 1999 Alexander Zheleznyakov.