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Russian Launch and Mission Thread


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6 hours ago, DDE said:

Well, this is optimism-inspiring: RKK Energia has declared a Federatsya abort to the Pacific unsurvivable because of lack of naval S&R assets.

https://ria.ru/20190706/1556272736.html

So... survival only slightly less likely than the thing every flying in the first place? :(

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18 hours ago, DDE said:

Well, this is optimism-inspiring: RKK Energia has declared a Federatsya abort to the Pacific unsurvivable because of lack of naval S&R assets.

Why can’t a helicopter be used to rescue the crew?

Edited by Teilnehmer
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48 minutes ago, Teilnehmer said:

Why can’t a helicopter be used to rescue the crew?

Because no helo could fly out to the middle of the pacific, pick up the crew and return. They just don't have the required range, and I doubt that Roscosmos would be willing to work with other nations for this. 

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2 hours ago, Teilnehmer said:

Why can’t a helicopter be used to rescue the crew?

Once they've tried when Soyuz-23 with crew of 2 splashed in a lake, close to the shore.
http://www.epizodsspace.narod.ru/bibl/davydov/text/12.htm

(Ironically, this was the only flight when one of the crew was a professional diver. Though, this didn't help much.)

Briefly: after a failed docking Soyuz-23 had deorbited and splashed into a salt lake at 120 km from the landing zone, during bad weather conditions.
The lake water was liquid, but cold and full of slosh, at Beaufort wind force = 2-3, in the night.
The capsule was tilted a little.

On having found the capsule, the airborne rescue team realized that they've forgotten lifeboats, because usually Soyuzes land, not splash.
Happily, several more helicopters soon appeared, one of them with lifeboats.
Several helicopters tried to stay above the capsule and descent a rescue team, but the blizzard made them stop this and land on the coast with empty tanks.
There they've established the HQ.

Meanwhile the crew started taking off the spacesuits and putting on diving suits.

Three lifeboats of rescuers tried do get to the capsule from the shore, but stuck in the slosh and ice and returned back.

Meanwhile the salt water got inside the barometer through its external openings and closed the circuit of the backup parachute pyrotech fasteners.
The opening cover was jettisoned, the backup parachute fell out into water, getting wet and heavy, and becoming at once an anchor and a drift anchor.
This pulled the side of the capsule down.

The capsule tilted more, and its breathing holes got under water.
When the carbon dioxide absorbing cartridges had been already depleted.
So, two hours after the backup chute resleasing the crew began suffering from hypoxia.

The crew had put on diving suits and reported that they are ready to exit.
But it was obvious that if open the crew hatch, the capsule will immediately sink, so the exit was impossible.

On the morning the blizzard finished, the sky got clear, and the frost increased, down to -22°C.
The rescure teams and unfueled copters stayed on the shore keeping warm by burning the found rubbish.
A rescue copter commander was staying in a lifeboat near the capsule, but unable to help.

The spaceship commander (Zudov) got unconcscious from hypoxia, so only engineer (and pro diver) (Rozhdestvenskiy) stayed active.

Then a helicopter from Karaganda arrived, piloted by the rescue service chief pilot.
It appeared again that the evacuation from the capsule is impossible.

He took a team omboard and got to above the capsule, then lowered a lifeboat with a diver.
Then the diver dived and reported that it's impossible to level the capsule or get to the hatch while it's under water.

So, they decided that the only way to save the crew is to pull the capsule to the shore by the helicopter, overthrottling its engines. This could cause a helicrash before they could reach the shore.
This was tested earlier in the Black Sea, but still was prohibited by the pilot instructions, so could mean a jail when something gets wrong.

After a short but hot discussion between the space center representative and the chief pilot, they decided to try their best, pulling the capsule at 7 km/h speed.
The diver attached a tether to the capsule, the copter started pulling the capsule, and almost had suddenly fallen because a 600 m2 wet backup chute behind the capsule working as a anchor, drift anchor, and a sail pulling back.

At last they had pulled the capsule onto the shore and landed next to it.

***

And the splashdown point was in 2 km from the coastline, and was a 2 t heavy capsule with crew of 2, rather than 6.

Edited by kerbiloid
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1 hour ago, MinimumSky5 said:

What, is that? 

Did the Soviets try copying Thunderbirds? 

Yes. The An-225 would double the range and speed of a converted troop carrier ekranoplan.

ampss01.jpg

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9 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

[Thrilling tale of drama and heroism]

Dude, this totally needs to be a movie! :o

1 hour ago, MinimumSky5 said:

What, is that? 

Did the Soviets try copying Thunderbirds? 

Yo Dawgski, Ivan heard you like airplane...

3 minutes ago, DDE said:

Yes. The An-225 would double the range and speed of a converted troop carrier ekranoplan.

Wait, so this is/was a real proposal, not just some random guy’s render? :0.0: Could a loaded ekranoplan maintain control high enough up to separate from the Antonov, even in a constant dive?

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29 minutes ago, Nightside said:

It is incredible, but what was the supposed advantage over an AIRplane?

Efficiency, IIRC. Also called Ground Effect Vehicles, cuz they only fly in ground effect. Basically while in ground effect (near the ground), a vessel experiences a significant decrease in drag, so it could fly faster/heavier than it otherwise could. The Russians really took this concept and ran with it, at least for a while.

It's been known to get pilots of normal aircraft into trouble, since you can lift off with an overweight aircraft, but not climb out of ground effect, while rapidly running out of runway. Had my own little experience with it on a broiling Phoenix day trying to fly in a dinky little Cessna 152. Took off ok, but couldn't climb for crap after that and had to circle around back and land. Density altitude is a cruel mistress.

Edited by CatastrophicFailure
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8 hours ago, DDE said:

The An-225 would double the range and speed of a converted troop carrier ekranoplan.

There was also a project of rescue ICBM, UR-100N UTTH with rescue equipment instead of warhead, to deliver it quickly and accurately.

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1 minute ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Linky, plz...

http://militaryrussia.ru/blog/topic-844.html

Quote

комплекс "Призыв" - совместно в ЦНИИМАШ НПО машиностроения в 1990-е годы вышло с инициативным предложением о разработке проекта спасательной ракетно-космической системы "Призыв". Предлагалось к 2000-2003 годам на базе МБР УР-100НУТТХ создать комплекс оказания помощи морским судам, которые терпят бедствие. Поезная нагрузка - специальные воздушно-космические спасательные летательные аппараты СЛА-1 и СЛА-2, которые могут нести различные спасательные средства. Время доставки аварийного комплекта терпящим дбедствие могло составить от 15 минут до 1,5 часов, точность посадки - 20-30 м, масса полезного груза - 420 кг и 2500 кг в зависимости от типа СЛА. Спасательный летательный аппарат СЛА-1 способен доставить до 90 спасательных плотов или аварийный комплект. Спасательный летательный аппарат СЛА-2 – может доставить аварийно-спасательное оборудование для судов (противопожарный модуль, водоотливной модуль и водолазный модуль); в другом варианте – дистанционно-пилотируемый летательный аппарат или робот-спасатель. Работы по проекту не вышли из стадии предварительной проработки.

"Call (to somewhere: to flag, to arms)" complex - TsNIIMash and NPO "Mashinostroyeniye" in 1990s offered a development of the Rescue Rocket-Space System "Call".
It was supposed to create in 2000.2003 a sea rescue complex based on ICBM UR-100N UTTH.
Payload - special spaceplanes SLA-1 & SLA-2 carrying various sets of rescue equipment.

Spoiler

fTLCC.jpg

Flight time = 15 min..1.5 hours, accuracy = 20..30 m, payload = 420 and 2 500 kg respectively, depending on SLA.
SLA-1 can deliver 90 life rafts or 1 rescue pack,
SLA-2 can deliver rescue equipment for ships. Variant 1: a fire-fighting module, a draining module, a diver's module. Variant 2: an aerial drone or a rescue robot.

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4 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

There was also a project of rescue ICBM, UR-100N UTTH with rescue equipment instead of warhead, to deliver it quickly and accurately.

Some of the touted advantages of Nova/Saturn-8 was that it could resupply a whole division, or drop in a battalion.

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I suppose it's just easier to put "unsurvivable" on the landing and rescue the capsule in some unforeseen manner than to install Apolloesque floaty things and invest in one or two recovery craft for a more guaranteed rescue.

I suppose they could hire Spacex's Mr. Steven...

Edited by GearsNSuch
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