Novosti Kosmonavtiki No.20
VideoCosmos
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The most interesting theme of the issue
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Who are on training in TsPK?
- Oct 3, 1995
- By Igor Marinin
Chief of the cosmonauts detachment of the Yuri Gagarin
Cosmonaut Training Center (TsPK) depicted current assignments of
Russian cosmonauts and foreign astronauts on training in the TsPK.
- Group D7-21: Crews for 21st Mir mission EO-21.
Crew 1: Yuri Onufrienko (Cdr), Yuri Usachev (FE)
Crew 2: Vassili Tsybliev (Cdr), Aleksandr Lazutkin (FE)
Crews are in immediate flight training. They study Shuttle
systems and experiments including Nikon F4 camera and vibration
free platform, radio technical systems, personal computers onboard,
English. Crews are preparing to pass the main medical check in
October which is to result in a medical "Go" for flight. When
launch was delayed till February, Tsybliev was given O.K. to visit
Kharkov Military Pilots School he have graduated from.
(D7 stands for DOS-7, 7th civilian station = Mir core - I.L.)
- Group D7-22: Crews for 22st Mir mission EO-22.
Crew 1: Gennadi Manakov (Cdr), Pavel Vinogradov (FE)
Crew 2: Valeri Korzun (Cdr), Aleksandr Kaleri (FE)
Crews are in immediate flight training. French spationauts
Claudie Andre-Deshays and Leopold Eyharts will join them soon.
Russian crew members train in TDK-7ST (Soyuz TM spacecraft)
and Teleoperator (remote-controlled docking of Progress) trainers,
learn English, study star sky in TsPK Planetarium. Korzun flies
L-39 training aircraft to keep flight skills. Flight plans, onboard
systems, radio systems, photo/video cameras, experiments are also on
schedule. Individual training schedules are implied as crew members
have different skills and experience.
- Group D7-K: Commanders
Aleksandr Volkov, Viktor Afanassiev,
Vladimir Titov, Talgat Musabaev;
also Yuri Malenchenko (after his broken leg recovered) and
Anatoli Soloviev (after readaptation and rest) will join D7-K
group
All Commanders are preparing for main medical check. Their schedule
also includes keeping spacecraft piloting and manual docking
skills. Talgat Musabayev is included in the group conditionally:
the decision was not made yet to provide him commander's training.
But Vladimir Titov is here on "legal" condition. After he declined
to be deputy directorate manager in TsPK, he is only an instructor
cosmonaut and is waiting his turn to command a mission.
- Group D8-1: Crew commanders
Sergei Krichevski and Gennadi Padalka
(D8 in principle stands for DOS-8 = Alpha Service Module but
it does not mean that Krichevski and Padalka are preparing for
Alpha mission. Plans are not detailed for that period yet - I.L.)
Now Krichevski and Padalka are mastering in transport spacecraft
systems on trainers. They have not experiment training yet but
learn English and fly L-39. This was Krichevski's group from the
very beginning and he stayed first all the time. Meanwhile, Gennadi
Padalka is planned for EO-23 mission.
- Group D8-2: Crew commanders
Sergei Zaletin and Salizhan Sharipov
Zaletin and Sharipov are also training in group. They have
lectures on personal computers, star sky, study spacecraft and Mir
station consoles, prepare for visual and instrumented observations
and run tests in trainers. Flights in L-39 and English lessons are
also on schedule. Zaletin and Sharipov are to pass exams soon.
L-39 flights are scheduled for many cosmonauts. There was no
jet fuel in summer for flight training but it is all O.K. now.
- Group D8-B: Flight Engineers
Sergei Treshchev
Only Sergei Treshchev of RKK Energia is in this group now
after he was rated as not fully prepared and was bumped from EO-20
backup crew. He has a small lecture course, study spacecraft and
station systems, consoles, personal computers. He is preliminary
slated for EO-24 backup crew.
- Group K: Candidates
Mikhail Tyurin and Nadezhda Kuzhelnaya
Two employes of RKK Energia will finish their preliminary
course in four or six weeks. They have flight theory and English
lectures, study spacecraft and station systems, spacecraft control
system, star sky. Aleksandr Volkov characterize them as follows:
"Who comes to TsPK, who are in training are purposeful and know
what they came for... They understand that after becoming good
specialists they will be sooner in flight crew and will fly sooner."
Kuzhelnaya is also pilot who logged 10 hours in L-39 prime seat
with instructor.
International astronauts are in training for four programs. French
spationauts are the first in training. Claudie Andre-Deshays and
Leopold Eyharts have finished their preliminary training and now
are in group training. They take lectures in Soyuz TM spacecraft,
in Mir and its modules. As researchers they must provide life
support for themselves and so the life support system and energy
system studies take a lot of time. This week they are to "climb" to
5000 meters in pressure chamber. In February the French will join
EO-22 crews. Their mission is scheduled to begin on July 6th, 1996.
DARA group is to include German candidates for Mir-96 mission.
Hans-Dietrich Schlegel is now on training studying Russian.
Reinhold Ewald does know Russian and he will join Schlegel later
when space technique study begins.
Two NASA groups - NASA-21 and NASA-22 - are in training also.
The first one consists of John Blaha and Shannon Lucid. Lucid was
named as the prime crew member for Mir stay but from September
Blaha is seemed to become the primary choice for March-August
mission in 1996. The Americans may have understood after Thagard's
flight that a long duration Mir stay is not a spoon of honey and it
may be not good to send Lucid.
Blaha and Lucid are in their immediate flight training. They study
Mir and Soyuz systems (Souyz TM may become rescue ship for one of
them), technical documents, have practical lessons. They are
mastering in experiments and also in Russian.
Jerry Linenger and Scott Parazynski are in NASA-22 group.
(The Parazynski case was not revealed before approximately October
9th - I.L.) Their main task is in Russian language studies. Jerry
and Scott use technical documents on Mir and Soyuz as the main
Russian textbooks. They have some systems studies but does not have
trainers runs yet.
To summarize, 8 Russian cosmonauts, 2 French and 2 American are in
immediate flight training now. Group training is the current stage
for 8 Russians, one German and 2 Americans. Two Russian flight
engineers are in the end of their preliminary training. All other
cosmonauts are in reserve.
Also in the issue
-(very briefly)--
- Mir daily chronicle, Sep.24 to Oct.7. Russian and European
experiments, Mir maintenance, EVA preparation.
- Novosti Kosmonavtiki speaks to the Urans crew. Konstantin
Lantratov, TsUP, October 4th. The first month on Mir; who sleeps
where; experiments they enjoy.
- EO-20 is extended to February 29th. It wasn't official when the
issue was prepared but it is official now. The main reason is
lack of launcher. Soyuz-U2 vehicle construction cycle is
12 months and the one being prepared to EO-21 is two months late
due to delay in financing.
- Mir schedule in 1996:
EO-21/Soyuz TM-23 - Feb 21
EO-22 crew return - Feb 29
Priroda - Mar 10
STS-76 - Mar 21
Progress M-31 - Apr 01
3 EVAs - End of April
4th EVA - Second half of May
Progress M-32 - Jun 01
5th EVA - Mid-June
EO-22/Soyuz TM-24 - Jul 06
EO-21 crew return - Jul 22
Progress M-33 - Jul 27
STS-79 - Aug 01
4 EVAs - September
Progress M-34 - Oct 15
STS-81 - Dec 05
EO-23/Soyuz TM-25 - Dec 09
EO-22 crew return - Dec 29
- RKK Energia will continue Mir exploitation after 1997. TsPK
and Energia have settled Russian crews for Mir through ???.
The Interdepartment Commission MVK headed by Yuri Koptev of RKA
is to approve the crews later in October.
- Columbia on pad. Why and how flight attempts on Sep 28 and Oct 7
failed.
- Russia and Germany are in talks on Mir-96 German mission. The
agreement is not yet completed but training of German astronaut
have begun. Plans to return German astronaut on Shuttle failed.
- Igor Marinin interviewed Hans-Dietrich Schlegel at TsPK. DARA
is to name prime candidate for flight in March 1996.
- Anatoli Soloviev and Nikolai Budarin are greeted in TsPK. Igor
Marinin, October 3rd. Deputy General Director of RKK Energia
Valery Ryumin says the crew worked exellently and will have
bonuses.
- Terence Henricks and Kevin Kregel appointed to STS-78 crew.
- Pioneer 11 is dead after 22 years of fruitful studies in space.
Galileo, Ulysses, Voyagers and Pioneer 10 to continue.
- How Mars Pathfinder will be prepared for flight.
- New satellite launches: Telstar 402R, Resurs F2, Kosmos 2320,
Kosmos 2321.
Maxim Tarasenko reviews Resurs F1 and Resurs F2 missions. Table
of 62 Resurs missions with launch date and time, launch pad,
military designations and serial numbers and landing dates.
Resurses F1 have 17F41, 14F40 and 14F43 designations, Resurs F2
was known as 17F42. Table of 20 fifth-generation reconnaisance
satellites from Kosmos 1426 to Kosmos 2320. Kosmos 2321 was to be
a Parus navigation satellite but a failure to fire second stage
second time left it in useless orbit. Of 425 flights of Kosmos-3
and Kosmos-3M vehicles only 20 were failures and 7 resulted in
erroneous orbit. More than 700 Kosmos-3Ms were launched with
those fired for Air Defense Service.
- Russian geostationary meteosat Elektro No.1 experiences one central
processor failure in approximately 2 or 3 months. Military Space
Forces crews have now sufficient expertise to maintain the
spacecraft despite of this failures. TV pictures of weather are
sent 7-9 times per day. Radiation and magnetic measurements are
made each hour. The data transponders in centimeter band are
being tested now but regional data centers and the most part of
data platforms are not ready. Elektro is expected to work well
beyond its two-year primary service. Elektro No.2 may be launched
in 18-24 months.
- Ariane 501 is not to be launched before April, 1996.
- Russia and Kazakhstan exchanged acts of ratification for
lease of Baykonur.
- Railway accident at Baykonur, September 27th. Igor Barmin of
KBTM disagree with the ITAR-TASS opinion on the accident.
The transport and erect platform which was damaged in collision
of two platforms was not the one that was to be used with
Progress M-29. KBTM is now in charge of operating pads 1 and 2
in Baykonur where Military Space Forces worked for almost
40 years.
- ILS and Motorola leaders visited Khrunichev Space Center and
Baykonur to discuss preparation of Baykonur for the first
commercial launche of Astra 1F and the issues of Iridium program.
ILS leaders prepared a draft project for expanding Russian quota
for geostationary launches through 2000 from 8 to 20 and it is
now forwarded for Russian and American governments. The decision
can be made at Gore-Chernomyrdin commission session in November.
Khrunichev Center has contracts for 20 commercial launches
through 2001 which cost more than $1 billion.
- Plan through December 1995 includes Luch-1 comsat (October),
three Uragan/GLONASS satellites (December) and Gals (November)
launches. Priroda launch is delayed to 1996 because experiments
including American ones are not installed yet. Gorizont launch
to 140E is also delayed while it is needed urgently.
- Center for conversion technologies is founded in Moscow. Due to
its founders (RKA and Defense Ministry) it has right to sell
information from all Soviet/Russian satellites in archives.
- Maxim Tarasenko reports from Oslo where the 46th IAF Congress
was held.
- New experiment for simulating the weightlessness by water
submersion was held in the IMBP Institute in Moscow.
- John Young in his 65 years. Konstantin Lantratov and Igor Lissov
tell the story of Young's life for Russian readers who never had
opportunity of knowing it.
- The last but not the least: General Kamanin's diaries for August
12th and 13th of 1962, time of Nikolaev and Popovich flights.
Novosti Kosmonavtiki is publishing Kamanin's diary from where
it began in December 1960.
=== Novosti Kosmonavtiki ===
is a bi-weekly Russian-language newsletter of VideoCosmos Co.
in Moscow. It can be contacted by fax at 7-095-282-63-66 or by
e-mail at cos...@space.accessnet.ru.
Jim Kingdon
Thank you very much for the information.