Much has changed in manned cosmonautics in more than 60 years of its development. Cosmonauts have turned from pioneers into multidisciplinary specialists who perform tasks in orbit from almost all areas of science. At the same time, flights to the Moon and Mars still do not seem to be a close prospect. About how flights differ before and now, whether there was a lunar race between the USA and the USSR, about approaches to training cosmonauts in different countries, working on a new ship, and even about how to train your vestibular apparatus, he recently spoke in an interview with correspondent Denis Kayyran Soviet cosmonaut Alexander Alexandrov, who celebrated his 80th birthday.
– Tell us about your path to becoming a cosmonaut, how did it differ from others?
— Maybe it's not very modest, but my path to manned astronautics was not the same as for many. As a child, I wanted to be a pilot, but I did not, because then there were not enough schools. Parents worked all their lives at rocket technology enterprises. My father died at the age of 57, my mother was left alone, so I returned early from the army. Sergei Pavlovich Korolev had known her since the 1930s when she worked at GIRD (Jet Propulsion Study Group — ed.) and invited her to OKB-1 (now RSC Energia — ed.). And at the same time me and her. I joined Boris Raushenbakh's department of control systems.
In 1965, Sergei Pavlovich said that a group of test engineers should be created, who could then be assigned to crews to investigate what was happening with the ship directly in space. I was only 25 years old then, I worked for a little over three years, and even studied at the evening department of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University (now Bauman Moscow State Technical University — ed.), Opened by Korolev on the basis of OKB-1 right in Kaliningrad (now Korolev — ed. ). I did not think to apply, but many asked why I did not write.
The result was a very ambitious statement. It was written there: «To the Chief Designer from Technician Alexandrov. Application. Please enroll me in a group of test engineers. Ready for space exploration.» You see, «ready» I write! Here he is.
– Literally two lines?
– Yes, two lines. Then there was a requirement to write in detail, to explain what you want, why you are drawn there, why. Today they are writing a statement to the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center with a detailed description of their motivation.
— How many employees of OKB-1 wrote such statements?
— Among experienced design engineers, probably, every third one wrote about 300 statements in total. And we had 10-12 thousand employees. But there were not very many young people like me. Not everyone managed to get into the squad. Someone did not pass on health grounds, and someone from engineering positions was not dismissed by the authorities.
I only came to the interview in 1967. After a short conversation, I was sent for a health check. I lay down for a month in the hospital, where they twist and turn you, and I passed the commission, consider it by accident.
I had a fairly average resistance to vestibular stress, but additional training was not required. Some who failed the test were encouraged to practice and then try again. By that time, otolaryngologists had already come up with a set of tests that made it possible to find out whether a person was training or not.
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– Can the vestibular apparatus be trained?
— In the human middle ear is the otolith, which is responsible for the sense of spatial position. He is suspended in a shell whose hairs feel his touch. When you shake your head, signals are sent to the brain in which direction you turn it. When standing, it lies at the bottom of this cavity. On Earth, vision also helps you in this, but in zero gravity everything turns off. The eyes say that you are standing, but the otolith is in a suspended state and does not give any signals.
Doctors say that you need to put a person on a chair, rotate and stop so that he tilts his head. The apparatus will be irritated in all directions.
– So you need equipment without which you can’t train?
— No, why? My friends went to the children's carousels and spun there, it helped them. When we were kids, we played all over the place. At the construction site there was an installation for a lift, it rotated 360 degrees on bearings. To take out the arrow, we sat down and spun. Maybe that helped me. But there are also the untrained. If you «made friends» with the basin right away, then they may not give you a second chance.
After the commission, I decided that a dream is a dream, but we must continue to work. He asked me to be transferred to the department of test pilot Sergei Nikolaevich Anokhin. I was connected to the training of astronauts. Then they gave the topic of a flyby of the moon, we wrote on-board instructions for it and led the crews from the enterprise. //ria.ru/20230323/kikina-1860100819.html» data->
– During your first flight in 1983, you conducted two spacewalks lasting six hours .
— Yes, it's nonsense. Of course, not the 12 minutes that Leonov's exit lasted, but not eight hours, as work in outer space lasts now. Our suits are very good now, there are so many innovations, there are hinges in the elbows. Our spacesuit was just like a beam. It was hard to even turn it around. But no matter how hard it is physically, you work, you don’t notice the time.
My position was at the exit hatch, the commander worked on the console. I had to turn the wheel and open the hatch, it opened inwards. I remember how I opened the hatch, we had two or three millimeters of pressure. A little, but still, and dust, and even some tool — pliers, they took it and flew out. I opened the hatch, in front of me was a black sky, an abyss in general — this, of course, is a feeling.
The program was very necessary, obligatory. To charge the batteries, the Salyut-7 station had three solar panels of 30 square meters each. But energy was not enough. Either the solar cells have degraded, or the solder has oxidized somewhere, or something else.
The designers have laid the possibility of increasing the area of solar panels. To do this, they figured out where to install an additional solar battery in the form of a folded accordion, and then, with the help of an already installed cable, open this accordion and give an additional 10 square meters of battery. This is what we were doing. They did everything quickly, they didn’t think to sit there for a long time just like that. But when there was a shadow, we rested: «lying», reasoning, like on a beach, romance.
Then people began to walk longer, more serious tasks appeared. But we had the first exit in the history of domestic cosmonautics to solve a technological problem. Not just to install scientific equipment.
– How did you feel about the task of filming footage for the film «Return from Orbit»?
< br />— With pleasure, with pleasure. I was so interested. They sent our legendary film camera «Konvas». During preparation, I took the camera home and shot there, then developed the film and looked at the quality. I didn't film the scenes. The directors wanted to include simple view shots: sunrises, sunsets, the Earth's orbit, the horizon. I made them, sent them to Dovzhenko Studio. Then there was a premiere in Moscow.
– Were they satisfied with your camera work?
– Since there was a premiere, it means that they were satisfied. The film, of course, was not very loud, but we were interested.
— Are you looking forward to the release of the film «The Challenge», the plot of which is also built around an emergency situation at the station?
— Of course, there will be a premiere — I'll take a look. In general, I watch all the films that come across to me, for example, «The Martian» or «Passengers». Each of them with their own «kookies», but each has an interesting idea. Regardless of how they correspond to reality.
In the movie «Gravity», for example, all technologies are shown very authentically. The flight from one station to another on our Soyuz with indication in Chinese is, of course, a circus, but it was beautifully filmed. As the heroine gets into the device and starts pressing the buttons there, they did it great.
– During the expedition had to be delayed due to the failure of the rocket that was supposed to send the Soyuz T-10.
– We were waiting for them very much, we were going to watch the launch of the ship when we flew over Baikonur, although we did not see a flame or an explosion. At the next turn, they asked the MCC (mission control center — ed.), And there everyone is silent, they say that they are still sorting it out. After another turn, they said in a whisper that the start had been cancelled.
The fire broke out in the tail section of the rocket four seconds before the main engine was switched on. Both launchers — the head of the training ground, General Shumilin and the designer Soldatenkov — noticed this and pressed the «Accident» buttons. Only when pressed simultaneously did a signal go to the station, which issued a command to the emergency rescue system. They managed to work, the SAS (emergency rescue system — ed.) took out and landed the ship one and a half kilometers from the start. And the rocket flared up, everything burned down, everything exploded, and the entire Gagarin launch turned into scrap metal. Then they rebuilt it again.
– When did they tell you?
— The next day. We got in touch, they said that as a result we would have to work longer. That is, to complete the program for yourself and for them.
– How did you react?
– We were very stunned. We had no idea what would happen next, but we thought about it and said that we were ready. The batteries were to be installed by a new crew, we had no way out at all. We were doubles for them on the previous flight, but they did not dock and returned. We duplicated them for the exit just in case. As it turned out, not in vain.
– Your expedition to the Mir station was the second manned expedition within the framework of the flight of this complex. Were there any difficulties associated with this?
– Yes, we only had two modules. Each new module is a big download. Although you studied him, you had to switch to friendly relations with him. This is your house, even though you built it, you need to settle down in it. But still, the flight was easier. When we entered «Salyut-7», there was twilight, uncertainty, since the station was of the type visited. And Mir is a station of a new generation. There is light here, and a more comfortable space for work, and a crew that meets you.
– After your flight, Mir worked for another 15 years in orbit, didn’t you want to go on a third flight?< br />“For three months we were preparing for the flight with commander Valery Korzun and cosmonaut-researcher Toktar Aubakirov. One cosmonaut in the crew must be a flyer. That is, of all three — only me.
Then, according to international agreements, they decided to add the Austrian Franz Viebeck to the crew. A decision was made to remove Valery and me from the ranks, Alexander Volkov was appointed commander.
– Why weren't you and Valery Korzun assigned to another crew?
— Valery flew later, and I retired. In 1987, I was appointed head of the flight test service, a large team involved in design and testing, as well as crew training. There is no time for flights, it was necessary to work. I, as Korolev said, after the flight brought my thoughts, recommendations for improving the technology of manned flights. ://ria.ru/20210429/kosmos-1730465690.html» data-title='An expert compared the Chinese orbital station with the Mir complex'>
— Together with you, the Syrian Mohammed Faris, who became the first foreigner on the Mir, recovered. How was the preparation of your crew going, and how are the preparations for the flight of a space flight participant different from what it was 35 years ago?
— Preparation in any case takes a lot of time. Let you fly for two days, but you are flying in a ship that should know. Even tourists who fly today sometimes help. To the left of the commander sits a flight engineer and works with the commander in pairs. And the one on the right, he also has instructions, he can turn on the connection, some other devices in the ship's system. The station has a so-called red book with emergency situations: depressurization, fire, urgent descent. This is all he should know, be able to and understand.
— All Soviet stations flew in orbit with an inclination of 51.6 degrees, the same orbit for the ISS. It is proposed to build a new ROS in a high-latitude orbit in order to better monitor the territory of Russia. Why wasn't such a task set before the Soviet stations?
— Such an inclination is tempting because we will see a lot of new things, especially where we have a lot of natural resources. And then, the Northern Sea Route requires control and management. A piloted program should also be used here.
The inclination of a space object is determined by the latitude of the take-off polygon. All Soviet stations started from Baikonur. Now, due to the control systems of the new-generation Soyuz-2 rockets, it is possible to do not just take off with a pitch turn, but reach the programmed inclination angle during launch into orbit. The plane must be selected immediately, directly from the rocket. To change it after launch, you need to have such energy on the ship, it is impossible to pump so much fuel. //ria.ru/20230304/mars-1855868325.html» data->
– Will a Russian cosmonaut ever go to the Moon or Mars?< br />— I think that, frankly, in less than 50 years, a person will not set foot on Mars. Americans Starship Elon Musk is not breathing yet. The super-heavy rocket SLS doesn't go that easy either. Yes, and the Orion ship for the Moon is also still in a calm state. Of the new ships, they have so far only certified Dragon, but it flies to the ISS. Our ship, the PTK NP manned transport ship, will be of the same class. And if we fly to the Moon, then on it, because it will be multi-purpose. If we have an Angara-A5V with a hydrogen upper stage, then there will be no problems at all.
True, the Martian program should consist not of one launch, but of two or even three. Because you need to send, I think, a backup ship of some kind nearby, in order to be able to change seats somewhere in distant worlds in case something happens.
– Isn't it too difficult?
— Yes, it is difficult, but there are several mandatory requirements. We must be 100% sure that a person will either not get sick, or get sick and recover. Second, radiation safety must be ensured. The Institute of Biomedical Problems is now setting this task.
Landing and taking off from Mars is also not easy. There are storms, very strong winds. All this will have to be overcome. Several machine guns flew there, but no one has brought anything from there yet.
And today, probably, as Konstantin Feoktistov (the world's first civilian cosmonaut — ed.) wrote, we have already sat up at the orbital stations. Elements of a long flight to Mars, an assessment of human capabilities on the ISS are already being worked out. Although not all, but much has been studied, experience has been gained. And a new station at a new latitude will be a step forward.
– Why do you think there are dozens of times fewer people wishing to become astronauts in the Russian Federation than in the United States, judging by the number of applications received?
— First, propaganda, advertising. Well, their selection is simpler. Since Soviet times, it has been little modernized in our country. This does not mean that it should be simplified. But some things need to be brought into line. Previously, they were not allowed to fly with glasses. Now they allow, even in a spacesuit you can fly with glasses. Wider need to look for potential astronauts. Maybe straight from the university bench. But such a selection requires organizational work in universities. For this, youth centers are needed, such as the Youth Space Center at Bauman Moscow State Technical University. I want to say that we need to work more with young people.
– Do you envy the astronauts who are flying now, or should they envy you?
– I– No. This is another generation, our children, one might say. They have different approaches, flight conditions. We, as experienced cosmonauts, should not educate, but teach young people. Do not say how it should or should not be, but set an example. It is not easy to bring up a good rocket engineer, and then a spacecraft designer, who can later become astronauts. But the basic knowledge has not changed. It is necessary to start training from school.
We need to organize more model circles or stations for young technicians, such as they were in Soviet times. Today, everyone has computer science, computers in their heads, but not only this is the most important thing, this is not what will lead us into the generation of creators of interesting space systems. You need to start with the most basic design.