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SALYUT: Soviet Steps Toward Permanent Human Presence in Space SALYUT: Soviet Steps Toward Permanent Human Presence in Space December 1983 NTIS order #PB84-181437 Recommended Citation: SALYUT: Soviet Steps Toward Permanent Human Presence in Space–A Technical Mere- orandum (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTA- TM-STI-14, December 1983). Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 83-600624 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword As the other major spacefaring nation, the Soviet Union is a subject of interest to the American people and Congress in their deliberations concerning the future of U.S. space activities. In the course of an assessment of Civilian Space Stations, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) has undertaken a study of the presence of Soviets in space and their Salyut space stations, in order to provide Congress with an informed view of Soviet capabilities and intentions. The major element in this technical memorandum was a workshop held at OTA in December 1982: it was the first occasion when a significant number of experts in this area of Soviet space activities had met for extended unclassified discussion. As a result of the workshop, OTA prepared this technical memorandum, “Salyut: Soviet Steps Toward Permanent Human Presence in Space. ” It has been reviewed extensively by workshop participants and others familiar with Soviet space activities. Also in December 1982, OTA wrote to the U. S. S. R.’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoliy Dobrynin, requesting any information concerning present and future Soviet space activities that the Soviet Union judged could be of value to the OTA assess- ment of civilian space stations. The result of this request is appendix A of this technical memorandum: “The Soviet Salyut Space Program: Space Station, Spacecraft, Support, and Training Facilities” is an official summary of Salyut space station activities, pro- vided to OTA by Dr. Balayan, Vice-Chairman of the Intercosmos Council of the U. S. S. R. ’s Academy of Sciences. OTA appreciates the cooperation of Ambassador Dobrynin and the Soviet Academy in providing this information. This appendix is of particular interest in that such information is seldom provided to American agencies through official Soviet channels. Appendix B is a paper prepared for OTA by Geoffrey E. Perry, head of the Ketter- ing Group in England. This paper, “Soviet Space Stations: Achievements, Trends, and Outlook, ” provides an independent view of Soviet accomplishments in this area; it is based, in part, on the Kettering Group’s long-term monitoring of audio communica- tions between the Salyuts and Soviet ground stations. Those individuals acknowledged in appendix C provided information during the course of the study and/or reviewed the draft report. Director ///. OTA Staff for Salyut: Soviet Steps Toward Permanent Human Presence in Space John Andelin, Assistant Director, OTA Science, Information, and Natural Resources Division Nancy Naismith, Science, Transportation, and Innovation Program Manager William Mills, Science, Transportation, and Innovation Program Manager (until Oct. 1, 1983) Thomas F. Rogers, Project Director, Civilian Space Stations Assessment Philip P. Chandler, II, Deputy Project Director, Civilian Space Stations Assessment Contractors Leonard David Courtland S. Lewis Al Peabody Peter Ognibene Administrative Staff Marsha Fenn R. Bryan Harrison OTA Publishing Staff John C. Holmes, Publishing Officer John Bergling Kathie S. Boss Debra M. Datcher Joe Henson Glenda Lawing Linda A. Leahy Cheryl J. Manning -— INTRODUCTION . .. .. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . 3 EARLY SOVIET MANNED SPACEFLIGHT. 5 PRE-SALYUT SOYUZ SPACE FLIGHTS . 13 SALYUT SPACE STATION CHARACTERISTICS . 15 SALYUT ACI’IVITIES, . 21 FUTURE DIRECTIONS . ,..,. 35 IMPACT ON FOREIGN POLICY . 41 CONCLUSION . 43 POSTSCRIPT . ? . 45 GENERAL REFERENCES . 47 APPENDIX A: THE SOVIET SALYUT SPACE PROGRAM: SPACE STATION, SPACECRAFT, SUPPORTAND TRAINING FACILITIES . .?...., . 51 APPENDIX B: SOVIET SPACE STATIONS: ACHIEVEMENTS, TRENDS, AND OUTLOOK . 64 APPENDIX C: OTA WORKSHOP ON SOVIET SPACE STATION ACTIVITIES . 69 Photo cradit: Tass Orbiting complex Salyut 7–Soyuz T-5 (photo taken from Soyuz T-6 on July 2, 1982, from a distance of about 120 m) .— Introduction A number of citizens of the Soviet Union, and thereby increasing its capability in a seemingly their guests from other countries, have visited the more evolutionary or progressive fashion. By thus Earth’s lower space regime; the Soviet in-orbit relying on systems flight-proved in earlier space space infrastructure, primarily the Salyut space programs, the Soviets may have been able to re- stations (or, as the Soviets say, “orbital stations”), strain costs and minimize the time spent in de- has housed and supplied them there, more or less velopment and construction. The Soviet space continuously, for over a dozen years. During this program and the U.S. satellite communications period the total number of hours that Soviet cos- industry are similar in that both allow for the monauts have spent in space has overtaken and establishment of gradually evolving spacecraft de- is now much greater than the corresponding total sign, and it may be advisable for the United for U.S. astronauts. By all accounts, the Soviets States, in other selected areas of space applica- are more knowledgeable than the United States tions, for example, to adopt some form of the So- in space biology and medicine; in a number of viet strategy. Already, NASA’s Solar System Ex- technical areas, notably in the use of automated ploration Committee (SSEC), emphasizing the im- docking systems, they routinely use techniques portance of system heritability, has advocated a that the United States has never demonstrated. similar approach for planetary science. It is true, on the other hand, that the Space Shut- tle now gives the United States significant The relative merits of automated and human capabilities that the Soviets do not have, but it capabilities for performing work in space or, more is widely believed on the basis of photographic precisely, the criteria for establishing the optimal evidence available from unclassified sources that mix of the automation and the human presence the Soviet Union is developing both a small space for particular tasks, are the subjects of consider- plane and a heavy-lift shuttle expected to be ca- able debate in the United States. Although the pable of propelling more massive payloads into amount of time in space that American astronauts low-Earth orbit than can its U.S. counterpart. have amassed is nontrivial, there is a certain de- The Soviet space station program is the corner- gree of unreality about this debate because it can- stone of an official policy which looks not only not yet be grounded in extensive experience. The toward a permanent Soviet human presence in Soviet Union, on the other hand, can draw on low-Earth orbit but also toward permanent Soviet a much greater fund of experience as they imple- settlement of their people on the Moon and Mars. ment plans for integrating human and machine The Soviets take quite seriously the possibility capabilities for work on future space stations. that large numbers of their citizens will one day Perhaps the most important point to be made live in space. Although the Soviets do not often here is that the United States and the Soviet Union directly communicate detailed results of what has have cast the issue of humans versus machines in been learned by and from the cosmonauts aboard different terms. U.S. space policy is to explore and Salyuts, enough information is available to con- study space and to use it for general human ben- clude that they are accomplishing much more than efit—and, where appropriate, to involve human rudimentary scientific investigations: they are pro- beings in actual spaceflight. In addition, both the viding the data, information, and experience re- United States and the Soviet Union use their quired to design habitats and equipment which spaceflight programs involving people to enhance will allow individuals to reside for the long-term their national images. Soviet space poIicy, how- in space. ever, goes further; it includes the goal of learn- The Soviet approach to the development of ing how human beings may reside permanently space capabilities differs significantly from the in space, both as an end in itself and as a means American. Whereas the United States tends to ad- of serving their national purposes. To date, the vance from one space capability to the next by United States has not committed itself to perma- quantum leaps, the Soviet Union tends to modify nent human occupancy of space as a national and adapt technology that is already in hand, goal. 1 Executive Summary The launching of Sputnik 1 initiated a space But an individual unmodified Orbiter does not race that led to the landing of astronauts on the provide a habitation combining large volume, Moon; today the United States and the Soviet high power, and long duration needed for many Union are well aware of their relative strengths of the in-orbit research and development activi- and weaknesses in space activity. In most areas ties of interest, particularly to the life sciences and of space science and space applications—best ex- some in the private sector. emplified, respectively, by the Voyager missions The National Aeronautics and Space Admin- to Jupiter and Saturn, and the burgeoning satellite istration is now considering “the next logical step” communications industry-the United States, for its space program: the establishment of a po- through steady, long-term effort, seems to have tentially permanent human presence as part of an gained a substantial lead over the Soviet Union. actually permanent LEO infrastructure, i.e., what In human spaceflight, the picture is less clear NASA describes as a civilian space station. If the because the countries have taken quite different administration formally proposes to begin work approaches.
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