FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1989
1989 - 1072.PDF
When it was launched in 1986, the Soviet Union's Mir space station was hailed as a new beginning in space. Three years on, the much vaunted, and larger, Mir 2 has not yet left the drawing board. A budget crisis, technical problems and inter-agency conflicts have brought Mir down to Earth, reports Tim Furniss, as a new crew prepare to launch but have little real work to do. Today, the Soviet Union's first Mir space station comprises only the 21-tonne core module launched on February 20, 1986, and a small 11-tonne Kvant astrophysics module, which was launched in 1987. Even this appears to have been a leftover from the Salyut 7 era. With manned and unmanned ferry vehicles and associated equipment and payloads attached, Mir's weight has grown to only 51 tonnes. If the Soviets are lucky, the first large add on module will be in place by the end of 1989, and another will be in place shortly after, but not operational before the end of 1990. What has happened? When it was launched, Mir was billed as the "beginning of the transition from research and experiments to large-scale activities in space". Mir, itself based on the 21-tonne Salyut space station which first flew in 1971, was to comprise four add-on modules, one providing additional habitation and the others dedicated to remote sensing, astronomy, and materials processing. All modules were to have been in place by the beginning of 1990, when Mir would weigh 135 tonnes. Within two years Mir 1 was to be superceded by the giant Mir 2, Cosmograd or Spacetown, incorporating 100-tonne-plus modules launched by the Energia system. Budget problems Even after just a few months in space, however, it was becoming unpleasantly clear that the cost of operating Mir was far greater than predicted. All of the Mir budget was being spent on running the station, not on developing it. In addition, problems with a data relay satellite system meant that the expensive ground and sea tracking network had to be maintained longer than antici pated, eating up more funding. The first relay satellite, Cosmos 1700, broke down early in 1987, so it was unable to assist for much of the Soyuz TM2 and 3 resi dency. It was replaced, in November 1987, by Cosmos 1897, but it has proved much harder than anticipated to use the data relay system efficiently, because it requires constant re-orientation by Mir. This also interferes with the station's other work—and consumes vast amounts of propellant. Mir was launched amid much publicity, and when the first crew to inhabit the station was named two days before launch, it was clear that the premiership of Mikhail Gorbachev marked the start of a new era. With glasnost, however, came economic realism. Gorbachev recognised the need for an early economic upturn. Every Govern ment department's funding came under the microscope. Space funding, which had previously seemed sacrosanct for prestige reasons, was cut. Space departments, such as the Institute of Space Research of the Academy of Sciences and the space agency Glavkosmos, found themselves vying for attention—and money—in very competitive fashion. The 46 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 15 April 1989
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
