Spaceship definition. New spaceships of the USA and Russia. Who piloted the Vostok ships?

A reusable spacecraft means a device whose design allows the entire ship or its main parts to be reused. The first experience in this area was the Space Shuttle. Then the task of creating a similar device was assigned to Soviet scientists, as a result of which Buran appeared.

Other devices are also being designed in both countries. On this moment The most notable example of this type of project is SpaceX's partially reusable Falcon 9 with a reusable first stage.

Today we’ll talk about why such projects were developed, how they showed themselves in terms of efficiency, and what prospects this area of ​​astronautics has.

The history of the space shuttle began in 1967, before the first manned flight under the Apollo program. On October 30, 1968, NASA approached American space companies with a proposal to develop a reusable space system in order to reduce the cost of each launch and each kilogram of payload put into orbit.

Several projects were proposed to the government, but each of them cost at least five billion US dollars, so Richard Nixon rejected them. NASA's plans were extremely ambitious: the project involved the operation of an orbital station, to and from which shuttles would constantly transport payloads. The shuttles also had to launch and return satellites from orbit, maintain and repair satellites in orbit, and conduct manned missions.

The final requirements for the ship looked like this:

• Cargo compartment 4.5x18.2 meters
• Possibility of horizontal maneuver over 2000 km (aircraft maneuver in a horizontal plane)
• Payload capacity 30 tons to low Earth orbit, 18 tons to polar orbit

The solution was to create a shuttle, the investment in which would pay off thanks to the launch of satellites into orbit on on a commercial basis. For the success of the project, it was important to minimize the cost of putting each kilogram of cargo into orbit. In 1969, the creator of the project talked about reducing the cost to 40-100 US dollars per kilogram, while for Saturn-V this figure was 2000 dollars.

To launch into space, the shuttles used two solid rocket boosters and three of their own propulsion engines. Solid rocket boosters were separated at an altitude of 45 kilometers, then splashed down into the ocean, repaired and reused. The main engines use liquid hydrogen and oxygen in an external fuel tank, which was discarded at an altitude of 113 kilometers, after which it partially burned in the atmosphere.

The first prototype of the Space Shuttle was the Enterprise, named after the ship from the Star Trek series. The ship was checked for aerodynamics and tested for its ability to land while gliding. Columbia was the first to go into space on April 12, 1981. In fact, this was also a test launch, although there was a crew of two astronauts on board: commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen. Then everything worked out well. Unfortunately, this particular shuttle crashed in 2003 with seven crew members on its 28th launch. The Challenger had the same fate - it survived 9 launches, and crashed on the tenth. 7 crew members were killed.

Although NASA planned for 24 launches annually in 1985, during the 30 years the shuttles were in use, they took off and returned 135 times. Two of them were unsuccessful. The record holder for the number of launches was the Discovery shuttle - it survived 39 launches. Atlantis withstood 33 launches, Columbia - 28, Endeavor - 25 and Challenger - 10.

Challenger, 1983

The shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor were used to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and Mir Station.

The cost of delivering cargo into orbit in the case of the Space Shuttle turned out to be the highest in the history of astronautics. Each launch cost from 500 million to 1.3 billion dollars, each kilogram - from 13 to 17 thousand dollars. For comparison, a disposable Soyuz launch vehicle is capable of launching cargo into space at a price of up to 25 thousand dollars per kilogram. The Space Shuttle program was planned to be self-sustaining, but in the end it became one of the most unprofitable.

Shuttle Atlantis, ready for Expedition STS-129 to deliver equipment, materials and spare parts to the International Space Station. November 2009

The last flight of the Space Shuttle program took place in 2011. On July 21 of that year, Atlantis returned to Earth. The final landing of Atlantis marked the end of an era. Read more about what was planned and what happened in the Space Shuttle program in this article.

The USSR decided that the characteristics of the Space Shuttle made it possible to steal Soviet satellites or an entire space station from orbit: the shuttle could launch 29.5 tons of cargo into orbit and release 14.5 tons. Taking into account plans for 60 launches per year, this is 1,770 tons annually, although at that time the United States did not send even 150 tons into space per year. The release was supposed to be 820 tons per year, although nothing was usually released from orbit. Drawings and photos of the shuttle suggested that an American ship could attack the USSR with nuclear weapons from any point in near-Earth space, being out of radio visibility.

To protect against a possible attack, a modernized 23-mm NR-23 automatic cannon was installed at the Salyut and Almaz stations. And in order to keep up with American brothers in militarized space, the Union began developing a reusable orbital rocket ship space system"Buran".

Development of the reusable space system began in April 1973. The idea itself had many supporters and opponents. The head of the Ministry of Defense Institute for Military Space played it safe and made two reports at once - in favor and against the program, and both of these reports ended up on the desk of D. F. Ustinov, the USSR Minister of Defense. He contacted Valentin Glushko, responsible for the program, but he sent his employee at Energomash, Valery Burdakov, to the meeting in his place. After a conversation about the military capabilities of the Space Shuttle and its Soviet counterpart, Ustinov prepared a decision that gave the development of a reusable spacecraft the highest priority. The NPO Molniya, created for this purpose, began creating the ship.

The tasks of "Buran" according to the plan of the USSR Ministry of Defense were: countering the measures of a potential enemy to expand the use of outer space for military purposes, solving problems in the interests of defense, National economy and science, conducting military applied research and experiments using weapons on known and new physical principles, as well as launching into orbit, servicing and returning spacecraft, astronauts and cargo to earth.

Unlike NASA, which risked the crew during the first manned flight of the shuttle, Buran made its first flight automatically using an on-board computer based on the IBM System/370. On November 15, 1988, the launch took place, the Energia launch vehicle launched the spacecraft into low-Earth orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The ship made two orbits around the Earth and landed at the Yubileiny airfield.

During landing, an incident occurred that showed how smart the automatic system turned out to be. At an altitude of 11 kilometers, the ship made a sharp maneuver and described a loop with a 180-degree turn - that is, it landed, entering from the other end of the landing strip. The automation made this decision after receiving data on the storm wind in order to take the most advantageous trajectory.

Automatic mode was one of the main differences from the shuttle. In addition, the shuttles landed with the engine inoperative and were unable to land several times. To save the crew, Buran provided a catapult for the first two pilots. In fact, designers from the USSR copied the configuration of the shuttles, which they did not deny, but they made a number of extremely useful innovations from the point of view of vehicle control and crew safety.

Unfortunately, the first flight of the Buran was the last. In 1990, work was suspended, and in 1993, it was completely closed.

As sometimes happens with objects of national pride, version 2.01 “Baikal”, which they wanted to send into space, rotted for many years on the pier of the Khimki Reservoir.

You could touch history in 2011. Moreover, then people could even tear off pieces of the casing and heat-insulating coating from this story. That year, the ship was transported from Khimki to Zhukovsky to be restored and presented at MAKS in a couple of years.

"Buran" from the inside

Delivery of "Buran" from Khimki to Zhukovsky

"Buran" at MAKS, 2011, a month after the start of restoration

Despite the economic inexpediency shown by the Space Shuttle program, the United States decided not to abandon projects to create reusable spacecraft. In 1999, NASA began developing the X-37 drone with Boeing. There are versions according to which the device is intended to test the technologies of future space interceptors capable of disabling other devices. Experts in the United States are inclined to this opinion.

The device made three flights with a maximum duration of 674 days. It is currently on its fourth flight, with a launch date of May 20, 2015.

The Boeing X-37 orbital flying laboratory carries a payload mass of up to 900 kilograms. Compared to the Space Shuttle and Buran, capable of carrying up to 30 tons during takeoff, Boeing is a baby. But he also has different goals. The minishuttles were pioneered by the Austrian physicist Eugen Senger when he began developing a long-range rocket bomber in 1934. The project was closed, remembering it in 1944, towards the end of World War II, but it was too late to save Germany from defeat with the help of such a bomber. In October 1957, the Americans continued the idea by launching the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.

The X-20 orbital aircraft was capable, after entering a suborbital trajectory, of diving into the atmosphere to an altitude of 40-60 kilometers in order to take a photo or drop a bomb, and then return to space using lift from the wings.

The project was abandoned in 1963 in favor of the civilian Gemini program and the military MOL orbital station project.

Titan launch vehicles to launch the X-20 into orbit

X-20 layout

In the USSR, in 1969, they began to build “BOR” - an unmanned orbital rocket plane. The first launch was carried out without thermal protection, which is why the device burned out. The second rocket plane crashed due to parachutes not opening after successful braking into the atmosphere. In the next five launches, only once did the BOR fail to enter orbit. Despite the loss of the devices, each new launch brought important data for further development. With the help of BOR-4, thermal protection for the future Buran was tested in the 1980s.

As part of the Spiral program, for which the BOR was built, it was planned to develop a booster aircraft that would rise to a height of 30 kilometers at speeds of up to 6 speeds of sound in order to launch the orbital vehicle into orbit. This part of the program did not take place. The Ministry of Defense demanded an analogue of the American shuttle, so they sent their forces to the Buran.

BOR-4

BOR-4

If the Soviet "Buran" was partially copied from the American "Space Shuttle", then in the case of the "Dream Chaser" everything happened exactly the opposite: the abandoned "BOR" project, namely the rocket plane of the "BOR-4" version, became the basis for the creation reusable spacecraft from SpaceDev. Rather, Space Chaser is based on a copied HL-20 orbital plane.

Work on the Dream Runner began in 2004, and in 2007, SpaceDev agreed with the United Launch Alliance to use Atlas 5 rockets to launch. The first successful tests in a wind tunnel took place in 2012. The first flight prototype was dropped from a helicopter from a height of 3.8 kilometers on October 26, 2013.

According to the designers' plans, the cargo version of the ship will be able to deliver up to 5.5 tons to the International Space Station and return up to 1.75 tons.

The Germans began to develop their own version of a reusable system in 1985 - the project was called “Zenger”. In 1995, after the development of the engine, the project was closed, since it would have provided a benefit of only 10-30% compared to the European Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

Aircraft HL-20

"Dream Chaser"

To replace the disposable Soyuz, Russia began to develop the multi-purpose Clipper spacecraft in 2000. The system became an intermediate link between the winged shuttles and the Soyuz ballistic capsule. In 2005, for the purpose of cooperation with the European Space Agency, it was introduced a new version- winged "Clipper".

The device can put 6 people and up to 700 kilograms of cargo into orbit, that is, it is twice as good as the Soyuz in these parameters. At the moment there is no information that the project is ongoing. Instead, the news is talking about a new reusable ship - the Federation.

Multipurpose spacecraft "Clipper"

The manned transport ship "Federation" should replace the manned "Soyuz" and "Progress" trucks. It is planned to be used, among other things, for a flight to the Moon. The first launch is planned for 2019. In autonomous flight, the device will have to be able to stay for up to 40 days, and when docked from an orbital station, it will be able to operate for up to 1 year. At the moment, the development of preliminary and technical designs has been completed, and working documentation for the creation of the first stage ship is being developed.

The system consists of two main modules: the reentry vehicle and the propulsion compartment. The work will use ideas that were previously used for Clipper. The ship will be able to carry up to 6 people into orbit and up to 4 people to the Moon.

Parameters of the "Federation" device

One of the most noticeable reusable projects in the media at the moment is the development of SpaceX - the Dragon V2 transport ship and the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

Falcon 9 is a partially re-entry vehicle. The launch vehicle consists of two stages, the first of which has a system for return and vertical landing on the landing pad. The last launch was not successful - an accident occurred on September 1, 2016.

The reusable Dragon V2 manned spacecraft is now being prepared for safety testing for astronauts. In 2017, they plan to carry out an unmanned launch of the device on a Falcon 9 rocket.

Reusable manned spacecraft Dragon V2

In preparation for the flight of the expedition to Mars, the United States developed a reusable Orion spacecraft. The ship's assembly was completed in 2014. The first unmanned flight of the device took place on December 5, 2014 and was successful. Now NASA is preparing for further launches, including crewed ones.

Aviation, as a rule, involves the reusable use of aircraft. In the future, spacecraft will have to have the same property, but to achieve this, a number of problems will have to be solved, including economic ones. Each launch of a reusable ship should be cheaper than building a disposable one. It is necessary to use materials and technologies that will allow the devices to be restarted after minimal repairs, and ideally without repairs at all. Perhaps spaceships in the future will have both the characteristics of a rocket and an airplane.

The initial stage of space exploration (flights on the Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft) included issues of designing spacecraft and their systems, testing ground-based flight control systems, methods for lowering ships from orbit, searching for and meeting cosmonauts on the ground.

The world's first human flight into space took place on April 12, 1961. At 6:07 a.m., the Vostok-K72K launch vehicle was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome from launch pad No. 1, which launched the Soviet spacecraft Vostok into low-Earth orbit.

The spacecraft was piloted by Yuri Gagarin (the call sign of the first cosmonaut on Earth is “Kedr”). The backup was German Titov, the reserve cosmonaut was Grigory Nelyubov. The flight lasted 1 hour 48 minutes. After completing one revolution around the Earth, the spacecraft's descent module landed on the territory of the USSR in the Saratov region.

First daily space flight was accomplished by cosmonaut German Stepanovich Titov from August 6 to 7, 1961 on the Vostok-2 spacecraft.

First formation flight of two ships- Vostok-3 (cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolaevich Nikolaev) and Vostok-4 (cosmonaut Pavel Romanovich Popovich) took place on August 11-15, 1962.

World's first female space flight carried out by Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova from June 16 to June 19, 1963 on the Vostok-6 spacecraft.

On October 12, 1964, the first multi-seat spacecraft, Voskhod, was launched. The crew of the ship included cosmonauts Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov, Boris Borisovich Egorov.

The first human spacewalk in history carried out by Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov during the expedition on March 18-19, 1965 (spaceship Voskhod-2, crewed by Pavel Ivanovich Belyaev). Alexey Leonov moved away from the ship at a distance of up to 5 meters, held outer space outside the airlock 12 minutes 9 seconds.

The next stage of Russian manned cosmonautics is the creation of the multi-purpose Soyuz spacecraft, capable of performing complex maneuvers in orbit, approaching and docking with other spacecraft, and long-term orbital stations Salyut.

First flight on the new Soyuz-1 spacecraft was performed on April 23-24, 1967 by cosmonaut Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov. At the end of the flight program, when the main parachute of the descent vehicle did not come out during descent to Earth, Vladimir Komarov died.

First joint flight of three ships: Soyuz-6, Soyuz-7 and Soyuz-8 took place from October 11 to October 18, 1969. The crews of the ships included cosmonauts Georgy Stepanovich Shonin, Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov, Anatoly Vasilyevich Filipchenko, Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov, Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko, Vladimir Alexandrovich Shatalov, Alexey Stanislavovich Eliseev.

From 1 to 19 June 1969 first long-duration autonomous space flight carried out by Andriyan Nikolaevich Nikolaev and Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov on the Soyuz-9 spacecraft.

First long-term job space orbit on the Soyuz-11 spacecraft was carried out from June 6 to June 30, 1971 by cosmonauts Georgy Timofeevich Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Nikolaevich Volkov, Viktor Ivanovich Patsaev. When returning to Earth, the descent module depressurized and the ship's crew died.

January 11, 1975 began first expedition to the Salyut-4 space station(crew: Alexey Aleksandrovich Gubarev, Georgy Mikhailovich Grechko, Soyuz-17 spacecraft), which ended on February 9, 1975.

First international space flight- July 15-21, 1975. In orbit, the Soyuz-19 spacecraft, piloted by Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, was docked with the American Apollo spacecraft, piloted by astronauts T. Staffor, D. Slayton, V. Brand. Mutual transitions of cosmonauts and astronauts, joint and autonomous scientific and technical research were carried out. According to Alexei Leonov, then, in the 1970s, the two superpowers managed to prove that cooperation in solving such a global problem as space exploration was possible.

The first expedition to the Salyut-5 station carried out on the Soyuz-21 spacecraft by Boris Valentinovich Volynov and Vitaly Mikhailovich Zholobov. The expedition lasted from July 6 to August 24, 1976.

The first expedition to the Salyut-6 station took place from December 10, 1977 to March 16, 1978 (96 days, crew - Yuri Viktorovich Romanenko, Georgy Mikhailovich Grechko, spacecraft Soyuz-26 (launch) and Soyuz-27 (landing).

From March 2 to March 10, 1978, the first international crew visited Salyut-6 - cosmonaut Alexey Aleksandrovich Gubarev and Vladimir Remek, a citizen of Czechoslovakia Socialist Republic. In total, nine international space expeditions visited Salyut-6.

The first expedition to the Salyut-7 orbital station took place from June 24 to July 2, 1982. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov, Alexander Sergeevich Ivanchenkov, and French citizen Jean-Loup Chrestien worked at the station at that time. Total on Salyut-7 in different time 10 expeditions worked.

The Salyuts were replaced by the third generation of near-Earth laboratories - the Mir station, which was the base unit for the construction of a multi-purpose permanent manned complex with specialized orbital modules of scientific and national economic importance. Subsequently, the Kvant, Kvant-2, Kristall, and Spectrum modules were docked to the station and began operating. The construction of the permanently inhabited orbital complex was fully completed on April 26, 1996, when the fifth and final retrofitting module, Priroda, with sophisticated scientific equipment, which made it possible to carry out comprehensive studies of land, ocean and atmosphere, was docked to Mir.

Orbital complex "Mir" was in operation until June 2000 - 14.5 years instead of the five envisaged. During this time, 28 space expeditions were carried out on it, a total of 139 Russian and foreign space researchers visited the complex, 11.5 tons of scientific equipment of 240 items from 27 countries were deployed.

During space expeditions, new methods were developed for assembling large-sized structures in space using thermodynamic compounds from materials with a shape memory effect - future elements of the new International Space Station; the nature of noctilucent clouds, aerosol layers in the atmosphere and mesosphere was studied, interstellar gas was studied, scientific information was obtained on the relationship of physical processes occurring in the Universe and near-Earth space, as well as many other experiments in space medicine, biotechnology, astro- and geophysics, materials science and others.

The Russian space complex has set world records for duration of orbital flight, duration of stay in space, and spacewalks.

Thus, doctor-researcher Valery Polyakov spent 437 days and 18 hours in space as part of three space expeditions in a row.

Cosmonaut Sergei Avdeev set an outstanding record for the total duration of stay in space - a total of 742 days in space over three flights.

In total, during Mir's operation in manned mode, cosmonauts and astronauts made over 75 spacewalks - a total of about 15 days spent outside.

The Mir space complex was replaced in orbit by the International Space Station (ISS), in the construction of which 16 countries participated. When creating the new space complex, Russian achievements in the field of manned space flight were widely used. The operation of the ISS is designed for 15 years.

The first long-term expedition to the ISS began on October 31, 2000. Currently, the 13th international expedition is operating on the International Space Station. Crew commander - Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, flight engineer - NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams. The first Brazilian cosmonaut, Marcos Pontes, arrived to the ISS with the crew of Expedition 13. After completing the week-long program, he returned to Earth along with the crew of the 12th ISS Expedition: Russian Valery Tokarev and American William MacArthur, who had been working at the station since October 2005.

New Russian ships: Soyuz TMA-MS, Progress MS, PPTS and PTK NP Rus.

New US ships: Signus, Dragon, CST-100, Orion.

Existing Russian ships: Progress M, Soyuz TMA-M.
Existing US ships: No.

Photo of Signus with Soyuz TMA-M

Soyuz TMA-MS is a Russian multi-seat spacecraft for flights in low-Earth orbit.

New modernized version of the Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft. The update will affect almost every system on the manned spacecraft. The first launch is planned no earlier than 2016.

The main points of the spacecraft modernization program:

• the energy efficiency of solar panels will be increased through the use of more efficient photovoltaic converters;


• reliability of approach and docking of the ship with the space station due to changes in the installation of the mooring and orientation engines. New scheme these engines will make it possible to perform rendezvous and docking even in the event of failure of one of the engines and ensure the descent of the manned spacecraft in the event of any two engine failures;


• a new communication and direction finding system, which, in addition to improving the quality of radio communications, will facilitate the search for a descent vehicle that has landed anywhere on the globe;


• new rendezvous and docking system “Kurs-NA”;


• digital television radio line;


• additional anti-meteor protection.

The modernized Soyuz TMA-MS will be equipped with GLONASS system sensors. During the parachute stage and after landing of the descent vehicle, its coordinates, obtained from GLONASS/GPS data, will be transmitted via the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system to the MCC.

Soyuz TMA-MS will be the latest modification of Soyuz. The ship will be used for manned flights until it is replaced by a new generation ship.

Perspective Manned Transport System (PPTS) Rus is a multi-purpose manned reusable spacecraft.

PTS, as a key element of the Russian space infrastructure, is created for the following tasks:

• ensuring national security;


• technological independence;


• Russia's unhindered access to space;


• flight to the polar and equatorial orbit of the Moon, landing.

For the PPTS, a modular construction of the base ship is adopted in the form of functionally complete elements - the reentry vehicle and the engine compartment. The ship will be wingless, with a reusable return part of a truncated conical shape and a disposable cylindrical engine compartment. The maximum crew of the new ship will be 6 people (for flights to the Moon - up to 4 people), the mass of cargo delivered into orbit is 500 kg, the mass of cargo returned to Earth is 500 kg or more, with a smaller crew. The length of the ship is 6.1 m, the maximum diameter of the hull is 4.4 m, the mass during near-Earth orbital flights is 12 tons (for flights to lunar orbit - 16.5 tons), the mass of the return part is 4.23 tons (including soft systems). landing - 7.77 t), Volume of the sealed compartment - 18 m³. The duration of the ship's autonomous flight is up to a month. New structural materials based on aluminum alloys with improved strength characteristics and carbon fiber reinforced plastics will reduce the weight of the spacecraft structure by 20-30% and will extend its service life. Household compartments will simply be docked, depending on the task that the PTS will face.

NASA is dependent on its partners in the ISS program. In this regard, NASA management decided to begin work on the COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation) program. The essence of the program is the creation by private companies of inexpensive means of delivering cargo into orbit.

Cygnus is a private transport automatic cargo supply spacecraft.

SpaceX's Dragon is a private transport spacecraft designed to deliver payload and, eventually, people to the International Space Station.

CST-100 (Crew Space Transportation) is a manned transport spacecraft developed by Boeing.

Orion, MPCV, is a multi-mission reusable manned spacecraft.

The goal of this program was to return Americans to the Moon, and the Orion spacecraft was intended to deliver people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and for flights to the Moon, as well as to Mars in the future.

At the moment (2013) the new ships in space are Signus and Dragon, and after 2020 real competition in space should begin and I hope the dawn of the space age of humanity begins.

Dragon SpaceX - judging by the data and that it has already begun to fly, is a very successful development and a serious competitor.

Interesting video about the International Space Station / ISS

A spaceship is an aircraft designed to fly people or transport cargo in outer space. Spacecraft for flight in near-Earth orbits are called satellites, and for flights to other celestial bodies - interplanetary ships. The main features of spaceships can be considered using the example of the well-known Soyuz spacecraft. “Soyuz” is a generation of spaceships that replaced the well-known “Vostok”, one of which carried the first envoy of the Earth into space - Soviet citizen Yu. A. Gagarin, and “Voskhod”, the first multi-seat spaceship. On the Soyuz, for the first time, maneuvering in space, manual docking were performed, two cosmonauts transferred from ship to ship, the control system for descents from orbit was tested, and much more. Subsequently, the Soyuz repeatedly cruised to the Salyut orbital stations and back, the Soyuz crew made the first docking with a US spacecraft, and on the Soyuz astronauts more than once carried out scientific research and delivered from orbit information necessary for various sectors of the country's national economy. The Soyuz spacecraft is impressive in size. Its length is about 8 m, its largest diameter is about 3 m, its mass before launch is almost 7 tons. All compartments of the ship are covered on the outside with a special heat-insulating “blanket” that protects the structure and equipment from overheating in the sun and too much cooling in the shade. The ship has 3 compartments: the orbital, instrumentation and assembly modules and the descent vehicle. The orbital compartment is where astronauts work and rest during their orbital flight. Scientific equipment, crew berths, and various household appliances are located here. If the ship is intended to dock with an orbital station or another ship, a docking unit is installed on the orbital compartment. A circular hatch connects the orbital compartment to the descent vehicle. This is the main thing workplace crew when controlling the ship in flight. The astronauts are in the descent module during insertion into orbit, docking and descent to Earth. They are placed in cushioned chairs in front of the control panels. On the outside, the descent module has a heat-protective coating that protects it from excessive heat during flight in the atmosphere. The special shape and control microjet engines installed on the descent vehicle allow it to make a gliding descent in the atmosphere along a relatively flat trajectory. At the same time, the crew does not experience too much overload. The third compartment of the ship - the instrumentation and assembly compartment - contains its main service systems. The following are installed here: small jet engines that provide various movements and orientation of the ship in outer space, equipment and units of a thermal control system that maintains a given temperature in the ship; radio equipment, with the help of which data from various measurements is transmitted to Earth, commands from the Control Center are received and negotiations are conducted with specialists. The main propulsion system of the ship is located in the same compartment. It consists of two powerful liquid rocket engines. One of them is the main one, the other is the backup one. With the help of these engines, the ship can move to another orbit, approach or move away from the orbital station, and slow down its movement to switch to the descent trajectory. After braking in orbit, the ship's compartments are separated from each other. The orbital and instrument-assembly compartments burn up in the atmosphere, and the descent module descends into the specified landing area. When 9-10 km remain from the Earth, the parachute system is activated. First, the braking parachute opens, and then the main one. On it, the descent vehicle makes a smooth descent. Immediately before landing at a height of 1 m, the soft landing engines are turned on. Following the Soyuz, our country created the improved Soyuz T and Soyuz TM spacecraft, which significantly expanded the capabilities of manned flights and servicing orbital scientific stations. The Progress transport spacecraft is designed to deliver various cargo and fuel to the Salyut and Mir orbital stations for refueling the station's propulsion system. Although it resembles the Soyuz in many ways, there are significant differences in its design. This ship also consists of 3 compartments, but their purpose and, therefore, the design are different. The transport ship must not return to Earth. Naturally, it does not include a descent module. Instead, there is a compartment for transporting fuel - fuel and oxidizer, and the orbital compartment in Progress has turned into a cargo compartment. It delivers food and water supplies,* scientific equipment, and replacement units into orbit various systems orbital station. All this amounts to over 2 tons of cargo. The instrument and component compartment of the Progress is similar to the similar compartment of the Soyuz spacecraft. But there are some differences in it too. After all, “Progress” is an automatic ship, and therefore all systems and assemblies here operate only independently or under commands from Earth. Spaceships are also being created in the USA. The most famous among them is the Apollo ship. In addition to the main (orbital) block, which consisted of a crew compartment and an engine compartment, it included a lunar cabin, divided into 2 stages - landing and takeoff. The lunar cabin was intended to land astronauts on the Moon and return them back to lunar orbit. “The octagonal base is supported by four spindle-shaped legs. On this base is placed a structure that vaguely resembles a human head... The hatch looks like a human mouth, and the triangular portholes look like two eyes,” this is how one of the American newspapers described the lunar cabin. The Apollo (left) and Soyuz-19 spacecraft before docking. July 1975 In July 1969, a launch vehicle carrying the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched towards the Moon. There are three astronauts on board - N. Armstrong, M. Collins and E. Aldrin. After entering the lunar orbit and maneuvering there, the lunar cabin “Eagle” with N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin on board separated from the ship and descended to the Moon. On July 21 at 5:56 a.m. N. Armstrong set foot on the surface of the Moon. Then E. Aldrin joined him. Having installed scientific instruments on the Moon and collected soil samples, the crew returned to the cabin. A few hours later, the Eagle's takeoff stage separated from its landing part and entered orbit around the Moon. After docking with the ship, the take-off stage of the lunar cabin separated from it and remained in space. Having left the lunar orbit, Apollo 11 headed towards Earth... The crews of the following ships set off along the path blazed by the first crew of lunar explorers. In the early 1980s. In the USA, a transport spacecraft was created, called the Space Shuttle. It is designed for launching various satellites and small orbital stations into low-Earth orbit. At the same time, it can be returned to Earth and repeatedly used for flights into space. The ship's second stage is an orbital plane with a large tank of liquid fuel. It is connected to the first stage by two blocks of solid propellant engines. When launching a ship into space, the engine blocks with solid fuel are first fired, then they are separated and parachuted into the ocean. Next, the orbital aircraft's engines are turned on, fed by liquid fuel from a large external tank. After all the fuel from it has been used, the tank separates and, upon entering the atmosphere, collapses and burns. An orbital aircraft carries various cargo into orbit; it can approach a spaceship or station in distress and provide assistance to astronauts or evacuate them. The crew of the Space Shuttle (up to 7 people) can service satellites directly in space and troubleshoot problems. Having finished its business in orbit, the shuttle returns to Earth. It passes through the atmosphere like a high-speed glider, and lands like an airplane - on a special landing strip. (Unfortunately, this ship is increasingly being used not for peaceful purposes, but for military research in space.) With all the variety of already known types of spacecraft, we should not forget that this is just the beginning. Undoubtedly, the new ships will be more advanced, and their flights will be even more complex and interesting.

Perhaps, by uttering tricky words without any explanation, rocket professionals (and those classified among them) see themselves as a separate intellectual caste. But what about an ordinary person who, being interested in rockets and space, tries to immediately master an article peppered with incomprehensible abbreviations? What is BOKZ, SOTR or DPK? What is “crumpled gas” and why did the rocket “go over the hill”, while the launch vehicle and the spacecraft – two completely different products – bear the same name “Soyuz”? By the way, BOKZ is not Albanian boxing, but block for determining star coordinates(in common parlance - a star tracker), SOTR is not a violent abbreviation of the expression “I’ll grind it into powder”, but support system thermal regime , and WPC is not a furniture “wood-polymer composite”, but the most rocket-propelled one (and not only) drain safety valve. But what to do if there are no transcripts in either the footnote or the text? This is a problem... And not so much the reader, but the “writer” of the article: they won’t read it a second time! To avoid this bitter fate, we have undertaken the modest task of compiling a brief glossary of rocket and space terms, abbreviations and names. Of course, it does not pretend to be complete, and in some places, to be strict in its formulation. But we hope it will help the reader interested in astronautics. And besides, the dictionary can be supplemented and clarified endlessly - after all, space is infinite!..

Apollo- an American program to land a man on the Moon, which also included test flights of astronauts on a three-seater spacecraft in low-Earth and lunar orbit in 1968-1972.

Ariane-5— the name of a European disposable heavy-class launch vehicle designed to launch payloads into low-Earth orbits and departure trajectories. From June 4, 1996 to May 4, 2017, it completed 92 missions, 88 of which were completely successful.

Atlas V- the name of a series of American disposable medium-class launch vehicles created by Lockheed Martin. From August 21, 2002 to April 18, 2017, 71 missions were completed, 70 of them were successful. It is used primarily for launching spacecraft on orders from American government departments.

ATV(Automated Transfer Vehicle) is the name of a European disposable automatic transport vehicle designed to supply the ISS with cargo and flew from 2008 to 2014 (five missions were completed).

BE-4(Blue Origin Engine) is a powerful propulsion liquid rocket engine with a thrust of 250 tf at sea level, running on oxygen and methane and developed since 2011 by Blue Origin for installation on promising launch vehicles Vulcan and New Glenn. Positioned as a replacement for the Russian RD-180 engine. The first comprehensive fire tests are scheduled for the first half of 2017.

CCP(Commercial Crew Program) is a modern public American commercial manned program conducted by NASA and facilitating access for private industrial firms to technologies for the study and development of outer space.

CNSA(China National Space Agency) is the English abbreviation of the government agency that coordinates work on the study and development of outer space in the PRC.

CSA(Canadian Space Agency) is a government agency that coordinates space exploration in Canada.

Cygnus- the name of an American disposable automatic transport ship created by Orbital to supply the ISS with supplies and cargo. From September 18, 2013 to April 18, 2017, eight missions were completed, seven of them were successful.

Delta IV- the name of a series of American disposable medium- and heavy-class launch vehicles created by Boeing as part of the EELV program. From November 20, 2002 to March 19, 2017, 35 missions were conducted, 34 of which were successful. Currently used exclusively for launching spacecraft on orders from American government departments.

Dragon- the name of a series of American partially reusable transport ships developed by the private company SpaceX under a contract with NASA under the CCP program. Capable of not only delivering cargo to the ISS, but also returning it back to Earth. From December 8, 2010 to February 19, 2017, 12 unmanned ships were launched, 11 of them were successful. The start of flight testing of the manned version is scheduled for 2018.

Dream Chaser- the name of the American reusable transport orbital rocket plane, developed since 2004 by Sierra Nevada to supply orbital stations with supplies and cargo (and in the future, in a seven-seat version, for crew changes). The start of flight tests is scheduled for 2019.

EELV(Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) - program evolutionary development disposable launch vehicles for use (primarily) in the interests of the US Department of Defense. As part of the program, which began in 1995, carriers of the Delta IV and Atlas V families were created; Since 2015, they have been joined by Falcon 9.

EVA(Extra-Vehicular Activity) — English name Extravehicular activities (EVA) of astronauts (work in outer space or on the surface of the Moon).

FAA(Federal Aviation Administration) - Federal Administration civil aviation, which regulates legal issues of commercial space flights in the United States.

Falcon 9- the name of a series of American partially reusable medium-class carriers created by the private company SpaceX. From June 4, 2010 to May 1, 2017, 34 missile launches of three modifications were carried out, 31 of which were completely successful. Until recently, the Falcon 9 served both to launch unmanned Dragon cargo ships into orbit to resupply the ISS, and for commercial launches; is now included in the spacecraft launch program commissioned by American government departments.

Falcon Heavy is the name of an American partially reusable heavy-duty launch vehicle developed by SpaceX based on the Falcon-9 launch vehicle stages. The first flight is planned for autumn 2017.

Gemini - the name of the second American manned space program, during which astronauts on a two-seater spacecraft made near-Earth flights in 1965-1966.

H-2A (H-2B)- variants of a Japanese disposable medium-class launch vehicle designed to launch payloads into low-Earth orbits and departure trajectories. From August 29, 2001 to March 17, 2017, 33 launches of the H-2A variant were carried out (of which 32 were successful) and six launches of the H-2B (all successful).

HTV(H-2 Transfer Vehicle), also known as Kounotori, is the name of a Japanese automatic transport vehicle designed to supply the ISS with cargo and has been flying since September 10, 2009 (six missions completed, three remaining according to plan).

JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is an agency that coordinates space exploration work in Japan.

Mercury- the name of the first American manned space program, during which astronauts on a single-seat spacecraft made near-Earth flights in 1961-1963.

NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - public administration, which coordinates aviation and space exploration work in the United States.

New Glenn- the name of a partially reusable heavy-duty launch vehicle being developed by Blue Origin for commercial launches and use in the lunar transport system. Announced in September 2016, the first launch is planned for 2020-2021.

Orion MPCV(Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle) is the name of multifunctional manned spacecraft developed by NASA as part of the Exploration program and intended for flights of astronauts to the ISS and beyond low Earth orbit. The start of flight tests is scheduled for 2019.

Skylab- the name of the first American space station, on which three expeditions of astronauts worked in 1973-1974.

SLS(Space Launch System) is the name of the American family of super-heavy launch vehicles developed by NASA as part of the Exploration program and designed to launch elements of space infrastructure (including manned Orion spacecraft) onto flight trajectories. The start of flight tests is scheduled for 2019.

SpaceShipOne(SS1) is the name of an experimental reusable suborbital rocket plane created by Scaled Composites, which became the first non-governmental manned vehicle to overcome the Karman Line and reach space. Theoretically, it was supposed to carry a crew of three people, but in fact it was controlled by one pilot.

SpaceShipTwo(SS2) is the name of a reusable multi-seat (two pilots and six passengers) suborbital rocket plane from Virgin Galactic, designed for short tourist trips into space.

Space Shuttle, otherwise STS (Space Transportation System) is a series of American reusable manned transport spacecraft, created by order of NASA and the Department of Defense for state program and completed 135 missions into near-Earth space between 1981 and 2011.

Starliner (CST-100)- the name of an American partially reusable manned transport ship, developed by Boeing under a contract with NASA under the CCP program. The start of flight tests is scheduled for 2018.

ULA(United Launch Alliance) is a joint venture created in 2006 by Lockheed Martin and Boeing to cost-effectively operate Delta IV and Atlas V launch vehicles.

Vega- the name of a European light-class launch vehicle, developed in international cooperation with the decisive participation of Italy (Avio company) for launching payloads into near-Earth orbits and departure trajectories. From February 13, 2012 to March 7, 2017, nine missions were completed (all were successful).

Vulcan- the name of a promising American rocket designed to replace the Delta IV and Atlas V carriers. It has been developed since 2014 by the United Launch Alliance ULA. The first launch is planned for 2019.

X-15- an American experimental rocket plane created by North American on behalf of NASA and the Department of Defense to study the conditions of flight at hypersonic speeds and atmospheric reentry of winged vehicles, evaluate new design solutions, heat-protective coatings and psychophysiological aspects of control in the upper atmosphere. Three rocket planes were built, which made 191 flights in 1959-1968, setting several world speed and altitude records (including an altitude of 107,906 m reached on August 22, 1963).

Ablation- the process of mass removal from the surface solid flow of incoming gas, accompanied by heat absorption. It forms the basis of ablative thermal protection, protecting the structure from overheating.

"Angara"- the name of the Russian launch vehicle, as well as a family of disposable modular launch vehicles of light, medium and heavy classes, designed for launching payloads into low-Earth orbits and departure trajectories. The first launch of the Angara-1.2PP light rocket took place on July 9, 2014, the first launch of the Angara-A5 heavy carrier took place on December 23, 2014.

Apogee— the most distant point in the orbit of a satellite (natural or artificial) from the center of the Earth.

Aerodynamic quality— dimensionless quantity, lift ratio aircraft to the drag force.

Ballistic trajectory- the path along which a body moves in the absence of aerodynamic forces acting on it.

Ballistic missile - an aircraft that, after turning off the engine and leaving the dense layers of the atmosphere, flies along a ballistic trajectory.

"East"- the name of the first Soviet single-seat manned spacecraft, on which cosmonauts made flights from 1961 to 1963. Also - the open name of a series of Soviet disposable light-class launch vehicles, created on the basis of the R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile and used from 1958 to 1991.

"Sunrise"- the name of the multi-seat modification of the Soviet manned spacecraft "Vostok", on which the cosmonauts made two flights in 1964-1965. Also - the open name of a series of Soviet disposable medium-class launch vehicles used between 1963 and 1974.

Gas rocket engine(gas nozzle) is a device that serves to convert the potential energy of a compressed working fluid (gas) into thrust.

Hybrid rocket engine(GRD) is a special case of a chemical jet engine; a device that uses chemical energy from the interaction of fuel components in different states to create thrust state of aggregation(for example, liquid oxidizer and solid fuel). The engines of the SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo rocket planes are built on this principle.

Gnomon- an astronomical instrument in the form of a vertical stand, which allows one to determine the angular height of the sun in the sky, as well as the direction of the true meridian, by the shortest length of the shadow. A photognomon with a color calibration scale served to document samples of lunar soil collected during the Apollo missions.

ESA(European Space Agency) - organization that coordinates activities European countries on space exploration.

Liquid rocket engine(LPRE) - a special case of a chemical jet engine; a device that uses chemical energy from the interaction of liquid fuel components stored on board an aircraft to create thrust.

Capsule- one of the names of the wingless descent vehicle of artificial satellites and spacecraft.

Spacecraft— a general name for various technical devices designed to perform targeted tasks in outer space.

Space rocket complex(KRC) is a term characterizing a set of functionally related elements (technical and launch complex of the cosmodrome, measuring instruments of the cosmodrome, ground control complex spacecraft, launch vehicle and upper stage), ensuring the launch of the spacecraft onto the target trajectory.

Karman Line- agreed upon international level the conventional boundary of space, lying at an altitude of 100 km (62 miles) above sea level.

"World"- the name of the modular Soviet/Russian orbital space station, which flew in 1986-2001, hosting numerous Soviet (Russian) and international expeditions.

ISS(International Space Station) is the name of the manned complex, which was created in low-Earth orbit by the efforts of Russia, the USA, Europe, Japan and Canada to conduct scientific research related to the conditions of long-term human stay in outer space. English abbreviation ISS (International Space Station).

Multistage (composite) rocket- a device in which, as fuel is consumed, there is a sequential discharge of used and unnecessary structural elements (stages) for further flight.

Smooth landing— contact of a spacecraft with the surface of a planet or other celestial body, in which the vertical speed allows for the safety of the structure and systems of the apparatus and/or comfortable conditions for the crew.

Orbital inclination- the angle between the plane of the orbit of the natural or artificial satellite and the plane of the equator of the body around which the satellite orbits.

Orbit- a trajectory (most often elliptical) along which one body (for example, natural satellite or spacecraft) moves relative to the central body (Sun, Earth, Moon, etc.). To a first approximation, the Earth's orbit is characterized by such elements as inclination, perigee and apogee heights, and orbital period.

First escape velocity- the lowest speed that must be given to a body in the horizontal direction near the surface of the planet in order for it to enter a circular orbit. For Earth - approximately 7.9 km/s.

Overload — vector quantity, the ratio of the sum of thrust and/or aerodynamic force to the weight of the aircraft.

Perigee— the point of the satellite’s orbit closest to the center of the Earth.

Circulation period- the period of time during which the satellite makes a full revolution around the central body (Sun, Earth, Moon, etc.)

New generation manned transport ship (PTK NP) “Federation”- a reusable four-six-seater ship developed by the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia to provide access to space from Russian territory (from the Vostochny Cosmodrome), delivery of people and cargo to orbital stations, flights to polar and equatorial orbit, exploration of the Moon and landing on it . It is being created within the framework of FKP-2025, the start of flight tests is scheduled for 2021, the first manned flight with docking with the ISS should take place in 2023.

"Progress"- the name of a series of Soviet (Russian) unmanned automatic ships for delivering fuel, cargo and supplies to space stations Salyut, Mir and the ISS. From January 20, 1978 to February 22, 2017, 135 ships of various modifications were launched, 132 of them were successful.

"Proton-M"— the name of a Russian disposable heavy-class launch vehicle designed to launch payloads into low-Earth orbits and departure trajectories. Created on the basis of Proton-K; The first flight of this modification took place on April 7, 2001. Until June 9, 2016, 98 launches were completed, of which 9 were completely and 1 partially unsuccessful.

Acceleration block(RB), the closest Western equivalent in meaning is the “upper stage,” a launch vehicle stage designed to form the target trajectory of a spacecraft. Examples: Centaur (USA), Briz-M, Fregat, DM (Russia).

Launch vehicle- currently the only means of launching a payload (satellite, probe, spacecraft or automatic station) into outer space.

Super-heavy class launch vehicle(RN STK) is the code name of a Russian development project intended to create a means of launching elements of space infrastructure (including manned spacecraft) onto flight trajectories (to the Moon and Mars).

Various proposals for the creation of a super-heavy class carrier based on the modules of the Angara-A5V, Energia 1K and Soyuz-5 rockets. Graphics by V. Trouser

Solid fuel rocket engine(solid propellant motor) - a special case of a chemical jet engine; a device that uses the chemical energy of the interaction of solid fuel components stored on board an aircraft to create thrust.

Rocketplane- a winged aircraft (aircraft) that uses a rocket engine for acceleration and/or flight.

RD-180- a powerful propulsion liquid rocket engine with a thrust of 390 tf at sea level, running on oxygen and kerosene. Created by the Russian NPO Energomash by order of the American company Pratt and Whitney for installation on carriers of the Atlas III and Atlas V family. Serially produced in Russia and supplied to the USA since 1999.

Roscosmos- short name of the Federal Space Agency (from 2004 to 2015, from January 1, 2016 - Roscosmos State Corporation), government organization, which coordinates work on the study and development of outer space in Russia.

"Firework"- the name of a series of Soviet long-term orbital stations that flew in low-Earth orbit from 1971 to 1986, receiving Soviet crews and cosmonauts from the countries of the socialist community (Intercosmos program), France and India.

"Union"- the name of a family of Soviet (Russian) multi-seat manned spacecraft for flights in low-Earth orbit. From April 23, 1967 to May 14, 1981, 39 ships flew with crew on board. Also - the open name of a series of Soviet (Russian) disposable medium-class launch vehicles used to launch payloads into low-Earth orbits from 1966 to 1976.

"Soyuz-FG"- the name of the Russian disposable medium-class launch vehicle, which since 2001 has been delivering spacecraft - manned (Soyuz family) and automatic (Progress) - into low-Earth orbit.

"Soyuz-2"— the name of a family of modern Russian disposable light and medium-class launch vehicles, which since November 8, 2004 have been launching various payloads into low-Earth orbits and departure trajectories. In its variants, Soyuz-ST has been launched from October 21, 2011 from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana.

"Soyuz T"- the name of the transport version of the Soviet manned Soyuz spacecraft, which from April 1978 to March 1986 made 15 manned flights to the Salyut and Mir orbital stations.

"Soyuz TM"- the name of a modified version of the Soviet (Russian) manned transport spacecraft Soyuz, which from May 1986 to November 2002 made 33 manned flights to the Mir orbital stations and the ISS.

"Soyuz TMA"— the name of the anthropometric modification of the Russian Soyuz transport ship, created to expand the permissible range of height and weight of crew members. From October 2002 to November 2011, he made 22 manned flights to the ISS.

"Soyuz TMA-M"— further modernization of the Russian transport spacecraft Soyuz TMA, which from October 2010 to March 2016 carried out 20 manned flights to the ISS.

"Soyuz MS"- the final version of the Russian Soyuz transport spacecraft, which made its first mission to the ISS on July 7, 2016.

Suborbital flight— movement along a ballistic trajectory with a short-term exit into outer space. In this case, the flight speed can be either less or more than the local orbital one (remember the American probe Pioneer-3, which had a speed higher than the first cosmic speed, but still fell to Earth).

"Tiangong"- the name of a series of Chinese orbital manned stations. The first (Tiangong-1 laboratory) was launched on September 29, 2011.

"Shenzhou"- the name of a series of modern Chinese three-seat manned spacecraft for flights in low-Earth orbit. From November 20, 1999 to October 16, 2016, 11 spacecraft were launched, 7 of them with astronauts on board.

Chemical jet engine- a device in which energy chemical interaction fuel components (oxidizer and fuel) are converted into the kinetic energy of the jet stream, which creates thrust.

Electric rocket motor(EP) - a device in which, to create thrust, the working fluid (usually stored on board the aircraft) is accelerated using an external supply of electrical energy (heating and expansion in a jet nozzle or ionization and acceleration of charged particles in an electric (magnetic) field).

The ion electric rocket engine has low thrust, but high efficiency due to the high speed of exhaust of the working fluid

Emergency rescue system— a set of devices for rescuing the crew of a spacecraft in the event of a launch vehicle accident, i.e., when a situation arises in which launching onto the target trajectory is impossible.

Spacesuit- an individual sealed suit that provides conditions for the work and life of an astronaut in a rarefied atmosphere or in outer space. There are different types of rescue suits and extravehicular activity suits.

Descent (return) apparatus- part of a spacecraft intended for descent and landing on the surface of the Earth or other celestial body.

Search and rescue team specialists examine the descent module of the Chinese Chang'e-5-T1 probe, which returned to Earth after flying around the Moon. Photo by CNSA

Traction- the reactive force that sets in motion an aircraft on which a rocket engine is installed.

Federal space program(FKP) - main document Russian Federation, defining the list of main tasks in the field of civil space activities and their financing. Compiled for a decade. The current FCP-2025 is valid from 2016 to 2025.

"Phoenix"— the name of the development work within the framework of FKP-2025 to create a medium-class launch vehicle for use as part of the Baiterek, Sea Launch and LV STK space rocket systems.

Characteristic speed (CV, ΔV)— a scalar quantity characterizing the change in the energy of an aircraft when using rocket engines. Physical meaning— the speed (measured in meters per second) that the vehicle will acquire when moving in a straight line only under the influence of traction at a certain fuel consumption. It is used (including) to estimate the energy costs required to perform rocket-dynamic maneuvers (required CS), or the available energy determined by the on-board fuel or working fluid reserve (available CS).

Transporting the Energia launch vehicle with the Buran orbital spacecraft to the launch site

"Energy" - "Buran"- Soviet spacecraft with a super-heavy class launch vehicle and a reusable winged orbital ship. Developed since 1976 as a response to the American Space Shuttle system. In the period from May 1987 to November 1988, he made two flights (with a mass-size analogue of the payload and with an orbital vehicle, respectively). The program closed in 1993.

ASTP(experimental flight "Apollo" - "Soyuz") - a joint Soviet-American program, during which in 1975 the manned Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft carried out a mutual search, docking and a joint flight in low-Earth orbit. In the USA it is known as ASTP (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project).