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Keldysh, Mstislav Vsevolodovich

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Keldysh

Born: 1911-02-10. Died: 1978-06-24.

Keldysh entered Moscow State University in 1931, then pursued advanced studies in physics and mathematics at TsAGI (Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute). He was named a professor at Moscow State University in 1937 and received his doctorate in 1938. After the war he was made Director of Research Institute NII-1 from 1946-1955. There he designed a Soviet version of the Saenger-Bredt Antipodal Bomber and conducted the basic research required for Soviet long-range ballistic and cruise missiles. He also worked at the Steklov Mathematics Institute and was Director of the Institute of Applied Mathematics from 1953 to 1978.

Keldysh supported Korolev and his manned lunar landing program. When that program failed he was quick to push for crash development of unmanned lunar probes and originated the legend that their had been no Soviet manned lunar program. He later supported development of the Buran copy of the American shuttle and the acquisition by the Soviet Union of cryogenic rocket technology.

Keldysh made fundamental contributions to the fields of mathematics, mechanics, aerodynamics and cybernetics that contributed to the Russian nuclear and space programs. From the mid-1950's he headed the bodies that calculated trajectories for earth satellites, lunar, and interplanetary flight. Keldysh became a corresponding member of the Academy Sciences of the USSR in 1943, an Academician in 1953, a member of the Presidium in 1960, Vice President of the Academy in 1961, and President from 1961 to 1975. For his services to the Soviet state he was three times made Hero of Socialist Labor (1956, 1961, 1971).

Photo Gallery

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Keldysh

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• Birth of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh. Chief Theoretician of the Soviet missile and space programmes, 1946-1978. Played a key role in virtually every space project decision until his death. He was President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR from 1961 to 1975..

• Keldysh Space Bomber authorised - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Saenger. Program: Navaho.

  The NII-1 NKAP research institute was formed with Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh as its head to investigate and develop the German Saenger-Bredt design. It was clear from the preliminary study that an immense amount of work needed to be done before a draft project of a feasible design could be prepared - it would take until the mid-1950's.

• State Commission Meeting - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Barmin, Bushuyev, Glushko, Keldysh, Korolev, Rudnev, Semenov. Program: Vostok, Venera. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Rudnev chaired the meeting, which first heard the failure analysis for the failed Mars launches on 10 and 14 October and the R-16 catastrophe on 24 October. All of these had been accelerated to coincide with Khrushchev's visit to the United Nations in New York, in Kamanin's view a criminal rush that led to the death of 74 officers and men in the R-16 explosion. Future plans were then reviewed. Launches of probes toward Venus were planned for 20-23 January, 28-30 January, and 8-10 February. Four Vostok manned spacecraft were completed, with first launch scheduled for 5 February and the second for 15-20 February.

• Back at Tyuratam - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Moskalenko, Semenov, Yangel. Spacecraft Bus: 2MV. Spacecraft: Mars 2MV-2. Kamanin flies to the cosmodrome with Korolev, Keldysh, Moskalenko, General Semenov, and others. Yangel's R-16 ICBM is not ready for launch yet due to continuing problems with the radio systems. The Venera is set for a 2 February launch attempt..

• Underway to Venus - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Khrushchev, Korolev. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Venera 1VA, Vostok.

  Korolev says the Venera flight continues normally. He and Keldysh will fly to Yevpatoriya tomorrow to review long-range communications with the spacecraft. After the launch he and Keldysh talked to Khrushchev, who was very happy with the success. Meanwhile, the Vostok for the next flight attempt has arrived at Tyuratam. Launch is set for 24-25 February.

• Vostok launch preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Bushuyev, Feoktistov, Gallay, Keldysh, Korolev, Voskresenskiy, Yazdovskiy. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Korolev, Yazdovskiy, Gallay, Feoktistov, Makarov, and Alekseyev spend over three hours editing the 'Instructions to Cosmonauts'. This is the first flight manual in the world for a piloted spacecraft, including instructions for all phases of flight and emergency situations. Korolev, Keldysh, Bushuyev, and Voskresenskiy want the instructions to be simply 'put on suit, check communications, observe functioning of the spacecraft'. Korolev is motivated by his belief that on this single-orbit flight everything should occur automatically. Kamanin, Yazdovskiy, Gallay, and Smirnov are categorically against such a passive role for the cosmonaut. They argue that the cosmonauts know the equipment and must be capable of manually flying the spacecraft after releasing the electronic logical lock. They need to observe the instruments, report on their status by radio, and make journal entries. The emotions of the cosmonaut during high-G's and zero-G must be understood in order to fully prepare the cosmonauts that will follow. After long debate, Korolev and Keldysh give in. The agreed first edition of the flight manual is signed by Korolev and Kamanin. The next Vostok 3KA launch is set for 9 March.

• R-7 Failure Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bogomolov, Glushko, Keldysh, Korolev, Kosberg, Sokolov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Keldysh, Korolev, Sokolov, Glushko, Bogomolov hear testimony from Kosberg on the causes of the RO-7 engine failure on the 22 December 1960 launch, that resulted in the suborbital flight of the Vostok capsule with a landing in Tura. The causes are not completely understood, but the bottom line is that a fuel line must have leaked. Further testimony is offered on the booster trajectory, landing time at various points along the trajectory, tracking station readiness, communications lessons, and recovery efforts. The communications are clearly unreliable. The radius of the HF radio is 5000 km, and 1500 km for UHF. TsP Moscow and PU Tyuratam, plus Novosibirsk, Kolpachev, Khabarovsk, and Yelizov (Kamchatka) all have HF and UHF transceivers. But due to practical reception problems, only UHF communications were available at Tyuratam, Kolpachev, and Yelizov, and only HF at Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk. It is recommended that each IP tracking station should have a Chief Communications Officer, a cosmonaut to act as capsule communicator, a physician, and a representative from the Ministry of Communications to assure action on problems.

• Tyuratam - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The cosmonauts play chess and cards on the flight to Tyuratam. At the airfield, Korolev, Keldysh, and five film cameramen await the cosmonauts. Korolev and Keldysh warmly greet the cosmonauts, but categorically refuse to be filmed. Korolev asks each cosmonaut one or two technical questions. All are correctly answered. Korolev says he wants to ensure that each one of them is 'ready to fly today'. As of now, six Vostoks have been launched, of which four reached orbit, and two landed successfully (one of these albeit after an emergency separation from the third stage on a suborbital trajectory). Two have been unsuccessful, including one on-pad failure on 28 July 1960. Two hours after arrival the cosmonauts go to the MIK assembly hall to familiarise themselves with the launch vehicle and spacecraft. At 14:00 Kamanin meets with the cosmonauts to review the 'Cosmonaut's Manual'. They make several suggestions. They do not feel it is necessary to loosen the parachute harness during the one-orbit flight. They note that the gloves are tried on only 15 minutes before the launch, and not on the closing of the hatch as indicated by Alekseyev. They recommend that a shortened version of the manual should be on board the spacecraft for use in case of a manual re-entry. Communications will be mainly using the laryngeal microphone Incidents will be recorded in the ship's log. The cosmonauts should be able to manually activate the reserve parachute. Kamanin agrees with the latter, but there is no time to change it for the first flight.

• Flight preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Barmin, Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Nelyubov, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1.

  Between 10:00 and 12:00 Chief Designer of Launch Facilities Barmin meets with the cosmonauts. He reviews the launch mechanism. The rocket is suspended at the 'shoulders' of the strap-ons, on four swivelled supports. After the rocket has lifted 49 mm, it is free from these, and counterweights weighing dozens of tonnes will swing them back and away from the rising booster. At 12:00 Kamanin meets with Keldysh and Korolev. They agree with his position that the flight be announced as soon as the cosmonaut is safely in orbit.

• Vostok State Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Keldysh. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The Commission, headed by Keldysh, meets at 11:00. Alekseyev gives the first presentation. The required four ejection seat tests from an Il-28 bomber test aircraft have not even begun yet, or the tower tests of the NAZ ejection seat. They are planned for the next 7 to 10 days. On the other hand ejection tests from the sphere on the launch pad have been completed with satisfactory results. Nikolayev of OKB-124 briefs on the environmental control system. There are still problems with the oxygen regenerator. The fixes made so far resulted in little improvement in performance of the system during the latest ten-day trial. The only solution seems to be to abandon the system entirely and replace it with a different one using active chemical regeneration, but this will take 14 to 15 days. The gas analyser still operates poorly. Despite all problems not having been solved as required, the decision is made to proceed with the unmanned launch anyway.

• Korabl-Sputnik 5 - . Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 2. Mass: 4,695 kg (10,350 lb). Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Gagarin, Goreglyad, Kamanin, Karpov, Keldysh, Kirillov, Korolev, Nelyubov, Nikolayev, Popovich, Titov, Voskresenskiy, Yazdovskiy. Agency: RVSN. Program: Vostok. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok. Duration: 0.0600 days. Decay Date: 1961-03-25 . USAF Sat Cat: 95 . COSPAR: 1961-Iota-1. Apogee: 175 km (108 mi). Perigee: 175 km (108 mi). Inclination: 64.90 deg. Period: 88.00 min.

  Carried dog Zvezdochka and mannequin Ivan Ivanovich. Ivanovich was again ejected from the capsule and recovered by parachute, and Zvezdochka was successfully recovered with the capsule on March 25, 1961 7:40 GMT.
  Officially: Development of the design of the space ship satellite and of the systems on board, designed to ensure man's life functions during flight in outer space and return to Earth. Additional Details: here....

• Vostok problems review - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Dementiev, Keldysh, Korolev, Voronin. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The meeting is held at G T Voronin's OKB-124 at the 'Daks' factory. All of the program bigwigs are there (Korolev, Keldysh, etc). The big issue is the problem with the oxygen regenerator. On the 10 day trial 4 litres of lithium chloride were consumed, but the test was unsuccessful. A new solution of chlorine-lithium is proposed. But this is dangerous - the doctors are worried that if it gets into the cosmonauts body, it will poison him. A sharp discussion ensues, but the final decision is to try a five day trial with lithium chloride. At 12:00 the commission proceeds to Dementiev's GKAT. The tests of the Vostok recovery system are reviewed. There were to have been two to four ejection seat tests from Il-28 bombers, tests, plus tests at sea at Fedosiya of the NAZ ejection seat and the characteristics of the parachute underwater. The discussion turns again to the five-day ECS cabin test. It is decided to keep the faulty gas analyser, but not to connect it to the telemetry - the readings will be read with a television camera instead. There is a clear political aspect in the argument between the VVS design bureau and the institute over the performance of the ECS system. Lieutenant-General Kolkov orders yet another examination of the cosmonauts.

• Vostok 1 State Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Alekseyev, Semyon, Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Rudnev, Titov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Rudnev arrives at the cosmondrome, and the first state commission meeting is held with Korolev and the technicians at 11:30. The oxygen regenerator is still not ready, and it is decided to fly with the old dehumidifier on the first flight, since only a 90 minute mission is planned anyway. The suit and all recovery systems worked perfectly on the 9 and 25 March mannequin flights, so the NAZ system is deemed ready for flight. After the meeting Rudnev and Makarov of the KGB go to work on the written orders that will be binding on the cosmonauts in case of accidental landing on foreign territory. Kamanin, Keldysh, and Korolev draw up the final draft of the announcements to be issued in case of normal orbital insertion and after successful landing. In the evening Gagarin and Titov try on their individual suits and Alekseyev checks the parachute systems. The cosmonauts return to the hotel at 11 pm.

• Vostok 1 State Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Moskalenko, Titov, Yazdovskiy. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Rudnev chairs the meeting, in which Kamanin recommends that Gagarin pilot the first manned spaceflight, with Titov as backup. A discussion follows on whether to have a representative from the FAI at the launch in order to obtain registration of the world record. Marshal Moskalenko and Keldysh are opposed - they don't want anyone from outside at the secret cosmodrome. It is decided to enclose the code to unlock the controls of the spacecraft in a special packet. Gagarin will have to break it open in order to get the code that will allow him to override the automatic system and orient the spacecraft manually for re-entry. An emergency ejection during ascent to orbit is discussed. It is decided that only Korolev or Kamanin will be allowed to manually command an ejection in the first 40 seconds of flight. After that, the process will be automatic. There is embarrassment when Moskalenko confronts Yazdovskiy: 'so why are you here, when you're a veterinarian and only handle dogs?' Kamanin has to explain that Yazdovskiy is actually a medical doctor. After the meeting, Kamanin reviews Titov's training in the spacecraft, which has gone well.

• Vostok 1 - . Call Sign: Kedr (Cedar ). Crew: Gagarin. Backup Crew: Nelyubov, Titov. Payload: Vostok 3KA s/n 3. Mass: 4,725 kg (10,416 lb). Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Karpov, Keldysh, Korolev, Moskalenko, Rudnev. Agency: RVSN. Program: Vostok. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Vostok 1. Spacecraft: Vostok. Duration: 0.0750 days. Decay Date: 1961-04-12 . USAF Sat Cat: 103 . COSPAR: 1961-Mu-1. Apogee: 315 km (195 mi). Perigee: 169 km (105 mi). Inclination: 65.00 deg. Period: 89.30 min.

  First manned spaceflight, one orbit of the earth. Three press releases were prepared, one for success, two for failures. It was only known ten minutes after burnout, 25 minutes after launch, if a stable orbit had been achieved.

  The payload included life-support equipment and radio and television to relay information on the condition of the pilot. The flight was automated; Gagarin's controls were locked to prevent him from taking control of the ship. The combination to unlock the controls was available in a sealed envelope in case it became necessary to take control in an emergency. After retrofire, the service module remained attached to the Sharik reentry sphere by a wire bundle. The joined craft went through wild gyrations at the beginning of re-entry, before the wires burned through. The Sharik, as it was designed to do, then naturally reached aerodynamic equilibrium with the heat shield positioned correctly.

  Gagarin ejected after re-entry and descended under his own parachute, as was planned. However for many years the Soviet Union denied this, because the flight would not have been recognized for various FAI world records unless the pilot had accompanied his craft to a landing. Recovered April 12, 1961 8:05 GMT. Landed Southwest of Engels Smelovka, Saratov. Additional Details: here....

• Gagarin out of the hospital. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Tereshkova, Vershinin. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 6.

  Korolev says he will need 28 pilot-cosmonauts and 22 specialist cosmonauts (engineers, scientists, etc) in the period 1962-1964. This is to include five women. Kamanin had already brought up the concept of a female spaceflight to Vershinin, Korolev, and Keldysh immediately after Gagarin's flight. He believed it was their patriotic duty to beat the Americans in putting a woman in space, and he wanted to find a female cosmonaut who would be a dedicated Communist agitator in the same class as Gagarin or Titov.

• Zenit booster failure damages pad, delays Vostok 3/4 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Titov, Vershinin. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 3, Vostok 4. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Zenit-2 satellite.

  A briefing by engineer V A Smirnov predicts that the Americans will make a 17-18 revolution flight of the earth by the end of 1962. Kamanin disagrees, believing they will not achieve this until the second half of 1963. Another Zenit-2 spy satellite has failed to achieve orbit. The first had failed due to a third stage problem, and now the third attempt failed due to a first stage problem. It blew up 300 m from the pad, and did enough damage to put the launch complex out of operation for a month. Therefore the Vostok 3/4 launches cannot now take place until the end of July at the earliest.

  Kamanin has continued arguments over the reorganisation of VVS space units and the role of IAKM. Korolev has never supported a leading role for the VVS or Kamanin in the Soviet space program. He is complaining about the 'offences' of the VVS, Kamanin, and the cosmonauts. Korolev cites Gagarin's trauma and Titov's motor accidents. He believes cosmonauts should be selected only from OKB-1 engineers. He also believes the cosmonauts are wasting too much time on publicity tours. Vershinin and Keldysh are hearing all of these complaints.

• Vostok 3 rollout - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Nikolayev, Popovich, Smirnov. Program: Vostok, Soyuz. Flight: Vostok 3, Vostok 4. Spacecraft: Soyuz A, Soyuz B, Soyuz V.

  At the MIK Popovich finally trains in his suit in the seat 'as planned'. At 11:30 Smirnov, Korolev, and Keldysh inspect the new space food prepared for the flight, then meet with the cosmonauts. The Soyuz spacecraft is discussed - the cosmonauts want to have a mock-up commission. Afterwards the pilots conduct more training in their flight suits. At 21:00 Vostok 3 is rolled out from Area 10 to the pad. There was a two hour delay due to the need to reinspect the fasteners on the ejection seat - use of unauthorised substitutes was detected on other seats.

• Landing of Vostok 4 - . Return Crew: Popovich. Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Keldysh, Khrushchev, Korolev, Nikolayev, Popovich, Rudenko, Smirnov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 4.

  Recovered August 15, 1962 6:59 GMT. Landed 48:09 N 71:51 E. By 07:00 the temperature aboard Vostok 4 is down to 10 deg C, and the humidity at 35%. Popovich is ready to continue for a fourth day, but he admits the cold is getting to him. Keldysh and Rudenko now support returning Vostok 4 to earth on the 49th orbit, but Smirnov still wants to go for the extra day. Then Popovich radios 'I observe thunderstorms (groza). Groza is the pre-agreed code word to indicate that the cosmonaut is vomiting. It is believed he is declaring an emergency and requesting an immediate landing. The State Commission meets again and has to decide within 40 minutes whether to begin setting the spacecraft up for retrofire. But then when Korolev and Smirnov ask the cosmonaut to verify, he explains "I am excellent, I was observing meteorological thunderstorms and lightning". However Gagarin and Kamanin are suspicious of the explanation - they believe Popovich had an attack of nausea, panicked, made the emergency radio transmission, but then felt better and didn't want to admit to his weakness when confronted by the leadership. However it is now too late. He is set to return at nearly the same time as Nikolayev on Vostok 3. Both spacecraft land successfully six minutes apart a short distance from each other. However flight plans for the State Commission are wrecked due to bad weather at nearby airfields.

• Future Vostok flight plans discussed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Malinovskiy, Smirnov. Program: Vostok. Flight: Vostok 10, Vostok 11, Vostok 12, Vostok 5, Vostok 6, Vostok 6A, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9.

  At Baikonur for the launch of a Venera probe, the Soviet space leadership discussed future plans. The female cosmonaut training group was there for their first rocket launch. The next Vostok would carry the first woman into space; Ponomaryova, Solovyova, and Tereshkova were the leading candidates. Flight plans were discussed at a meeting in the evening between Kamanin and Leonid Smirnov. It would be possible to make the flight by the end of 1962, but March-April 1963 was more likely, depending on the final report on the Vostok 3/4 flights. The work force would be fully occupied in August-October in launching probes to Venus and Mars, also probably delaying any Vostok flight until the following spring. The next flight would probably be part of a group flight of two or three spacecraft, piloted by both men and women. The female flights would be limited to three days, while the male flights would last for 7 to 8 days. Additional Details: here....

• N1 and GR-1 authorised. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Yangel. Program: Vostok.

  Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 1021-436 'On start of work on the N1 and GR-1' was issued. Following a review of the N1 project by an Academy of Sciences expert commission headed by Keldysh in July, this decree provided a detailed plan leading to a first launch by the end of 1965. Planning and drawing release for the GR-1 were completed by this date and the decree ordered test flights to begin in the third quarter of 1963. However development problems with the NK-9 engine resulted in continual delays. Finally in 1964 Korolev's GR-1 was cancelled and Yangel's R-36 was selected for the mission. This would deprive Korolev of a vital test-bed for flight test of the N1 engines.

• Agreement reached on future Vostok flights - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Dementiev, Keldysh, Malinovskiy, Smirnov. Flight: Vostok 10, Vostok 5, Vostok 6, Vostok 6A, Vostok 7, Vostok 8, Vostok 9.

  After eight months of debate, a Vostok project plan was finally agreed. There would be a single female cosmonaut flight in March-Apriil 1963. This would be followed by 4 to 5 additional Vostok flights in 1963 and 2 to 3 flights in 1964. This plan was approved by Malinovskiy, Keldysh, Smirnov, and Dementiev and forwarded to the Communist Party Central Committee. However Rudenko and others were still opposed.

• Presidium of Inter-institution Soviet - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Chelomei, Glushko, Keldysh, Korolev. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Soyuz A, Soyuz B, Soyuz V.

  The expert commission report on Soyuz is reviewed by the Chief Designers from 10:00 to 14:00. The primary objective of the Soyuz project is to develop the technology for docking in orbit. This will allow the spacecraft to make flights of many months duration and allow manned flyby of the moon. Using docking of 70 tonne components launched by the N1 booster will allow manned flight to the Moon, Venus, and Mars. Keldysh, Chelomei and Glushko all support the main objective of Soyuz, to obtain and perfect docking technology. But Chelomei and Glushko warn of the unknowns of the project. Korolev agrees with the assessment that not all the components of the system - the 7K, 9K, and 11K spacecraft - will fly by the end of 1964. But he does argue that the first 7K will fly in 1964, and the first manned 7K flight will come in 1965.

• Vostok proposed as the first 'space trainer'. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  In a meeting between the VVS and OKB-1 engineers, Korolev and Keldysh push for acceptance by the military and use of Vostok as the first 'space trainer'. Cosmonauts would train for spaceflight on Vostok missions before being assigned to operational flights aboard Soyuz.. This was consistent with aircraft practice (e.g. where the first effective jet fighter, the MiG-15, was converted to the MiG-15UTI and became the standard jet trainer for the VVS). It also envisioned a future where operational Vostok and Soyuz spacecraft would be mass-produced by the military and flown as regularly as fighter aircraft.

• Vostok 5 / Vostok 6 Planning - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Khrunov, Korolev, Leonov, Ponomaryova, Rudenko, Solovyova, Tereshkova, Volynov, Yerkina. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  Korolev reports still problems with components of the electrical system from the Kharkov factory -- the same problems that existed in 1962. The cosmonauts will go to Tyuratam on 27/28 May, with launch planned for 3/5 June. Bykovskiy is named prime for Vostok 5, with Volynov his backup. Tereshkova is named prime for Vostok 6, with Solovyova and Ponomaryeva both as her backups. This selection is however made despite strong support for Ponomaryeva as prime by Keldysh and Rudenko.

• Vostok 5 scrubbed due to solar flares. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  The launch of Vostok 5 is set for 11 June. Final training and consultations are under way. Korolev is not happy with the condition of the spacecraft. At 22:30 in the evening the launch is scrubbed when Keldysh calls from Moscow and advises excessive solar flare activity is expected. Keldysh will review the data tomorrow and advise if it really poses a danger to the cosmonauts.

• Controversy over Tereshkova's performance - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Korolev, Tereshkova, Tyulin, Yazdovskiy. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6.

  The cosmonauts are prepared by Keldysh, Tyulin, and Korolev for their first big press conference. Yazdovskiy has inserted a paragraph in the official press release about Tereshkova's poor emotional state while in space. He claims she experienced overwhelming emotions, tiredness, and a sharply reduced ability to work and complete all of her assigned tasks. Kamanin takes him aside and asks him not to exaggerate her difficulties during the flight. She only had tasks assigned for the first day. When the flight was extended for a second, and then a third day, there was essentially nothing for her to do. The ground command did nothing to support her during those additional days. She certainly was never tired, never objected, but rather did all she could to complete fully the flight program.

• Vostok 5/6 cosmonauts preparared for first international press conference. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Serbin, Tereshkova. Flight: Vostok 5, Vostok 6. Spacecraft: Vostok.

  At a meeting of the Central Committee, Tereshkova and Bykovskiy are taken through possible questions and correct replies by Serbin and Keldysh in preparation for their first international press conference. The training extends form 10 in the morning to 17:00 in the afternoon.

• Scientific objectives for spaceflights in 1964 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh.

  Keldysh issues a letter listing the scientific objectives for spaceflights in 1964:

  • Photograph on marked film the earth and its atmosphere, the surfaces of the moon and planets,
  • Observe the zodiacal light via photometer
  • Conduct spectrographic analysis of the earth's atmosphere in the 3000 to 3600 Angstrom range
  • Conduct ultraviolet spectroscopy of the sky at 304 and 60 Angstroms
  • Map the infrared radiation of the earth from space, especially of the polar regions

• Conference on space cabin ecology. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Voronin. Spacecraft Bus: TMK. Spacecraft: TMK-1.

  Keldysh, Korolev, Voronin, and Kamanin attend a conference on space cabin ecology. Presentations are made by IAKM, OKB-124, the Biology Institute, and the Physiology Institute. In two to three years the USSR expects to orbit spacecraft of 78 to 80 tonnes, which will be assembled in earth orbit to produce larger spacecraft. These will not only fly around the moon, but also be used to fly to Venus, Mars, and other planets. Although it will take years, many technical problems have to be solved before such a spacecraft can be built. How to shield the crew from radiation? How best to regenerate the air? How to recycle the water? Can the crew survive for long flights in zero-G, or must some form of artificial gravity be provided? If so, what is the best method? How can the psychological health of the crew best be maintained on long flights?

  It is reported that a lot of test stand work has been completed and is underway on closed ecological systems for recycling the air and water. One kilogram of chlorella algae can produce 27 kg of oxygen per day. Since each man will require 25 kg of oxygen per day, 2 kg of chlorella per crew member will be adequate. Therefore the problem of recycling the cabin atmosphere is considered already solved.

  Food requirements per crew member are 2.5 to 3.0 kg/day, or about one tonne per year. It is expected that in two to three years development will be complete of a system that will recycle 80% of the food. A 150 kg device will produce 400 to 600 g of food per day, or 100 to 200 kg per year.

• Voskhod plans - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Smirnov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  VVS officers meet to plan training for the Voskhod 1 crew. It is agreed that a passenger-cosmonaut can be trained within three months. That means, in order to be ready for an August mission, the candidates for the scientist- and physician-cosmonaut seats will have to be identified, screened, and selected by 30 April. It is estimated that 30 physician and 30 scientist candidates will have to be submitted to the medical commission in order for the necessary six finalists to get through the screening. Kamanin privately believes this is all an insanely dangerous adventure. Smirnov, Keldysh, and Korolev have gone off the rails in their desire to make sure that the Americans do not seize and space 'firsts' once the Gemini flights begin.

• Voskhod candidates - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Bykovsky, Keldysh, Korolev, Popovich, Titov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  Kamanin works out with the other ministries the criteria for the Voskhod crew. The commander will be a trained unflown cosmonaut. The others have to be civilians. The VVS will be responsible for training the passengers on a three-month schedule. Candidates will be considered from OKB-1, the Academy of Science, the IAKM (Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine) and the DOSAAF civilian flying organisation. After General staff review, it is decided the commander will be a flown cosmonaut (Titov, Bykovsky, or Popovich): that Korolev will submit six engineer-cosmonaut candidates from within OKB-1; that Korolev will co-ordinate submittal of a small group of physician-cosmonaut candidates; and that Keldysh will submit scientists from the Academy.

• Korolev's single-launch lunar scheme reviewed by the Chief Designers - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Glushko, Isayev, Keldysh, Khrushchev, Korolev, Kuznetsov, Pilyugin, Smirnov. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK. How to achieve the additional N1 payload was a key point of discussion.. Additional Details: here....

• Cosmonaut meeting at OKB-1 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Feoktistov, Keldysh, Komarov, Korolev, Mozzhorin, Tyulin, Yegorov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 1. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  The traditional meeting with the crew is followed by a smaller group in Korolev's office. Numerous toasts are drunk to the crew, to future victories in space, and... "on to the moon". From 18:00 to 20:00 the cosmonauts are prepared by Keldysh, Tyulin, Pashkov, Skuridin, Mozzhorin, Rumyanets, and others in allowable answers for the next day's press conference. Kamanin wants the crew to be free to answer questions about the physical characteristics of the booster and spacecraft (thrust, weight, dimensions, and so on) but Keldysh and Tyulin prohibit it strongly.

• Cosmonaut examinations completed - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Demin, Gubarev, Keldysh, Korolev, Ponomaryova, Shatalov, Solovyova, Tyulin.

  The 15 cosmonaut candidates have all 'graduated' from basic cosmonaut training. The highest scores were by Beregovoi, Shatalov, Gubarev, and Demin. Two days later they officially receive their cosmonaut rating, bringing the total contingent to 34, of which 9 have already been in space. With this contingent the Soviet Union will fly to the moon and man an orbital station. That is insufficient - Kamanin wants a 40-man second contingent. The new contingent will have to be absolutely healthy male specimens, no older than 32 years, under 175 cm in height and 75 kg in weight. Keldysh, Korolev, and Tyulin are against further female flights in space, despite Kamanin's insistence.

• L3 single-launch spacecraft draft project approved. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Pilyugin. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Interdepartmental Scientific-Technical Council on Space Research (MNTS-KI) Decree 'On approval of the L3 draft project' was issued. The decree followed a review by a Keldysh-led Academy of Sciences state commission the previous December. The decree moved the first flight of the N1 to the end of 1966. Additional Details: here....

• Cosmos 60 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Chertok, Ishlinskiy, Kamanin, Keldysh, Kerimov, Korolev, Rudenko.

  At 13:00 the State Commission meets at the launch pad. All work is complete, and the approval to launch the E-6 robot probe to the moon is given. Keldysh takes the opportunity to confront Rudenko by asking him, who will manage the manned flights to the moon - the VVS or the Rocket Forces? Kerimov replies that this is a function of the VVS. Ishilinskiy, Kamanin, and Kerimov hope very much to be the first commander of a spaceport on the moon... The Lunik is launched successfully into earth parking orbit, but the fourth stage fails to ignite when the moment comes to launch it towards the moon. This is the sixth Lunik not to make it anywhere near its objective; together with the 100% failure rate of the planetary probes, there have been 10 failures. Kamanin believes this points to the absolute necessity of the crew being in control at all times during a manned lunar flight, as opposed to Korolev's insistent reliance on fully automatic systems. Korolev is greatly disturbed by this latest failure, and appoints Chertok to head the investigation.

• Sunday at the cosmodrome. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Keldysh, Leonov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod. Volleyball, chess, excessive drinking by some. Keldysh returns to Moscow; journalists arrive from Moscow..

• Voskhod 2 preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Keldysh, Korolev, Rudenko, Smirnov, Tyulin, Ustinov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  With the rocket erected on the pad, a meeting is held several hundred meters away between the chief designers, Keldysh, Rudenko, and 600 to 700 workers. Afterwards Korolev and Tyulin call Moscow, and certify to Smirnov, Ustinov, Kosygin, and Brezhnev that all is ready for the flight.

• Voskhod 2 crew recovered - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Brezhnev, Keldysh, Korolev, Leonov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  By the next morning, two clearing suitable for helicopter operations have been cleared - a small zone 1.7 km from the capsule, and a larger zone 5 km from the capsule. At 6:50 the cosmonauts and their rescuers - seven in all - ski away from the capsule, reaching the small zone at 8:06. They are picked up there by an Mi-4 helicopter and flown to the large zone, arriving their 20 minutes later. From there a larger Mi-6 helicopter flies them at 9:50 to the airport at Perm. They were to depart aboard an An-10 from Perm at 11:00 for Tyuratam, but their departure is delayed by an hour as they talk on the telephone with Brezhnev. Afterwards toasts are raised at Area 10 at Baikonur by the Chief Designers and Keldysh. Korolev calls for them all to push together toward reaching the moon. The cosmonauts finally arrive at the cosmodrome at 17:30 and are driven through cheering crowds in Zvezdograd. In the hall of the hotel they give the first account of their mission.

• Voskhod 2 debriefings - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Brezhnev, Keldysh, Korolev, Leonov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod. The Voskhod 2 crew briefs the State Commission from 10:00 to 13:00. At 13:00 Korolev and Keldysh call Brezhnev, and are told to have the cosmonauts in Moscow the next day for celebrations..

• Voskhod 2 press conference preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Keldysh, Leonov, Sedov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  Belyayev and Leonov are trained for their press conference. Keldysh and Sedov and others take the crew through the acceptable answers to likely questions. Kamanin wants the crew to provide truthful answers to questions on the problems the crew faced, but Keldysh absolutely prohibits this.

• Voskhod 2 truth? - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Brezhnev, Keldysh, Korolev, Leonov, Smirnov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  Kamanin meets Korolev at 9:30; Korolev agrees with Kamanin that the truth of the difficulties encountered should be revealed at the press conference. The matter must be escalated to Brezhnev, since Keldysh and Smirnov are against this course. At 10:30 the leading engineers of OKB-1 meet with 11 of the cosmonauts. The results of the Voskhod-2 flight are reviewed.

• Voskhod 2 press preparation - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Belyayev, Keldysh, Leonov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 2. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  Belyayev and Leonov are given 60 likely questions from the press corps, and briefed on allowable answers. In the afternoon the press conferences are held, with Keldysh sitting at the podium with the cosmonauts. It goes well, and the video of the spacewalk is shown.

• Voskhod crews - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Artyukhin, Beregovoi, Demin, Gorbatko, Katys, Keldysh, Khrunov, Korolev, Ponomaryova, Rudenko, Shatalov, Solovyova, Vershinin, Volynov, Zaikin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 3, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5, Voskhod 6.

  Kamanin meets with Marshall Rudenko to present his cosmonaut crew plans. For the experimental gravity flight he proposes Volynov-Katys (prime crew), Beregovoi-Demin, and Shatalov-Artyukhin (back-up crew). Rudenko wants Beregovoi's as the first crew, but Kamanin, sensing the Marshall is unsure in his position, pushes for Volynov. He then presents his plan for the next Voskhod EVA mission: Solovyova and Ponomaryova as the female prime crew, Khrunov and Gorbatko, and Zaikin as the male back-up crew. Kamanin says he already has Korolev, Keldysh, and Vershinin behind this plan. But Rudenko says he will decide this later - he has to take his daughter to the hospital.

• Development of R-36-O and Tsyklon launch vehicles authorised - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Chelomei, Keldysh, Yangel. Spacecraft: IS-A, OGCh, US-A.

  Decree 'On Creation of an R-36 Based Carrier Rocket for Launching the IS and US KA--start of work on an R-36-based launch vehicle for the IS and US programs' was issued. After Khrushchev was ousted from power, Chelomei's projects were examined by an expert commission under M V Keldysh. It was found that Yangel's R-36 rocket was superior to Chelomei's UR-200. The UR-200 was cancelled; the IS and US satellites would be launched by the R-36 11K67. The Tsyklon 2 definitive operational version replaced the 11K67 launch vehicle from 1969.

• Voskhod 3 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gagarin, Grechko, Andrei, Keldysh, Malinovskiy, Rudenko, Tsybin, Vershinin. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 3, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5, Voskhod 6.

  A major programme review is held on plans for Voskhod s/n 5, 6, and 7. Tsybin insists that to conduct all of the experiments requested by the Ministry of Defence will take ten spacecraft and missions, but only five have been authorised. Spacecraft s/n 5 will fly with dogs, on a biosat mission. Spacecraft s/n 6 and 7 are being completed for 15-day flights with two crew, outfitted for artificial gravity experiments and medical and military research. The readiness of the military experiments is very poor, due to the fact that in the past Malinovskiy over and over again prohibited any work on military uses of space, at least until the ideal military platform was developed. It was only on Keldysh's initiative that any preliminary work had been done at all. Kamanin replies to Tsybin that it was not the business of OKB-1 to develop military experiments; this was the concern of the Military of Defence. Yet, Kamanin admits to himself, there is no single organisation within the Ministry that is supervising this work. Later Kamanin takes Gagarin to a meeting with Vershinin and Marshal Grechko. The Marshal is unimpressed with Gagarin's understanding of the issues involved in the issue of whether the VVS or RVSN should handle manned spaceflight. Kamanin resolves not to take cosmonauts to such high-level meetings in the future. Grechko does understand finally how poorly Malinovskiy and his deputies have handled military spaceflight. But Malinovskiy, and his supporters, Marshal Rudenko, and Colonel-General Ponomaryov, will not give up in their effort to prevent the VVS from becoming the responsible organisation for military spaceflight.

• Decision to use analogue guidance in early N1 launches - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Korolev, Pilyugin, Ryazanskiy. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK. Pilyugin called Keldysh to tell him he had heard that Keldysh again wanted to form an expert commission to study guidance system development problems with the N1, with Bushuyev as the head.. Additional Details: here....

• State Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Katys, Keldysh, Kerimov, Mishin, Pravetskiy, Shabarov, Shatalov, Shonin, Tsybin, Tyulin, Volynov. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Voskhod 3, Voskhod 4, Voskhod 5. Spacecraft Bus: Vostok. Spacecraft: Voskhod.

  The commission, chaired by Tyulin, with attendance by Mishin, Tsybin, Shabarov, Kerimov, and others considers manned flight plans for 1966. The 20-day dog flight of Voskhod s/n 5 is expected to launch on 22-23 February. Kamanin notes that although he is not against the flight, it has no interest to the military. Launch of Voskhod 3 is set for 20-23 March. Kamanin names his crews for the flight - Volynov/Shonin and Beregovoi/Shatalov as back-ups. Only Pravetskiy objects to these selections, pushing Katys for the prime crew. This settled, Mishin announces he still intends to pursue the artificial gravity experiment on the flights of Voskhod s/n 7 and/or 8. Kamanin informs Mishin that he has requested for more than a year that this experiment be moved to a Soyuz flight - there are 700 kg of new military scientific equipment that has to be flown aboard Voskhod, leaving little room for nothing else.

  It is decided that the flights of Voskhod s/n 5 and 6 will be run from Moscow rather than from the cosmodrome. The state commission will return to Moscow immediately after launch for this purpose. Four groups of staff will follow the flight on four-hour shifts.

  Tyulin, Keldysh, and Mishin want engineer and scientist cosmonauts to be trained for early Soyuz flights. Kamanin agrees, telling them he will submit suitable candidates. The meeting goes well, possibly since in the absence of Korolev the commission is stacked with military representatives - of 17 members, 9 are military.

• Mishin selected as Korolev's replacement after four-month delay - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Babakin, Keldysh, Khrushchev, Korolev, Mishin, Mozzhorin, Okhapkin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  From 1963-1965 Ustinov was both head of the Soviet for the National Economy and the First Secretary of the Presidium of Soviet Ministers. He supported civilian space projects and instructed the military to co-operate in them. But after Khrushchev was ousted, Ustinov had less influence with the Ministry of Defence.

  After the death of Korolev in January, a letter was sent to the Central Committee requesting that Mishin be appointed director of OKB-1. Ustinov tried to line up support for Mishin, but by the time of the first first Saturn IB orbital flight on 26 February 1966, no decision had been made. America was progressing on the path to the moon, but Russia was stalled. An alternate that had been considered was Sergei Okhapkin, another Deputy Chief Designer at TsKBEM. But Okhapkin knew only spacecraft, he had never developed complete launch-booster-spacecraft systems. By the time Mishin was appointed, it was clear that the race was lost. The American's planned their first Saturn V launch in September 1967 and their first manned flight in 1968. Mishin could not expect trials of the LK lunar lander until 1969 at the earliest. There were insufficient funds allocated, and the schedule had no allowance for test flight failures. Ustinov, Morozhin, and Keldysh pointed fingers as to who had presented such unrealistic schedules to the Politburo. Keldysh now supported unmanned robot lunar landers in development by Babakin. Even these would not land until 1970, allowing three years of flight trials to achieve reliability. Khrushchev, it seemed, was to blame for such enormous unaffordable projects. This in turn put Ustinov in danger, as Khrushchev's point man for space.

• Soyuz simulators - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Burnazyan, Keldysh, Mishin. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The 7K-OK simulator consists of a mock-up of the BO living compartment and SA re-entry capsule only. The interiors are not yet fitted out with equipment, and development of the optical equipment to allow the cosmonauts to train with simulated dockings is proceeding very slowly. Mishin has promised a dozen times to speed up the work on the trainers, but produced nothing. Meanwhile Mishin is proceeding to train his cosmonaut team for Soyuz flights in September. It is said that he has other leaders, including Burnazyan and Keldysh, on his side.

• Beregovoi pushed for Soyuz mission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anokhin, Beregovoi, Burnazyan, Gagarin, Keldysh, Khrunov, Krylov, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Rudenko, Shonin, Tsybin, Tyulin, Vershinin, Volynov, Zakharov. Program: Soyuz, Voskhod. Flight: Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz s/n 3/4, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.

  Mishin, Rudenko, and others have met with Beregovoi and support his selection as commander for the first Soyuz mission. Kamanin does not believe he is fit for the assignment, due to his age, his height and weight (that are the limit of the acceptable for the Soyuz). Gagarin reports that during a visit to OKB-1 the day before, he discovered that they were still going all out to prepare their own crews and train their own cosmonauts for Soyuz flights. Kamanin reassures him that the full power of the VVS, the General Staff, and the Ministry of Defence is behind the position that only VVS pilots will command the missions. Mishin is gloating over the latest spacesuit tests. Khrunov tried exiting from the Soyuz hatch in the Tu-104 zero-G aircraft. Using his full dexterity and strength, he had more success than in earlier tests. But Kamanin notes that designing a spacecraft hatch only 10 mm wider than the cosmonaut is hardly the basis for practical spaceflight or training. Later Kamanin plays tennis with Volynov and Shonin. Their Voskhod 3 flight is still not officially cancelled. They have been fully trained for the flight for months now, but no go-ahead is given. On Saturday, Tsybin presents to the General Staff OKB-1's concept for training of engineer cosmonauts. Tyulin, Burnazyan, and Keldysh have approved the plan, except they have substituted VVS engineer cosmonauts for those from OKB-1 for the first Soyuz flights. So this is the result of months of controversy - a position that there is no fundamental opposition to cosmonaut candidates from OKB-1. Kamanin sees the absolute need for his draft letter to be sent from the four Marshals (Malinovskiy, Zakharov, Krylov, and Vershinin) to the Central Committee. Mishin continues to "assist" the situation - it has been two weeks since he promised to submit the names and documentation for his candidates to the VVS, and he has done nothing.

• Lunar cosmonaut training - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Burnazyan, Keldysh, Mishin, Tyulin. Program: Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1.

  Kamanin receives a document, signed by Mishin, Tyulin, Burnazyan and Keldysh, which declares that OKB-1 will be solely responsible for training of cosmonauts for L1 circumlunar missions. Only OKB-1 engineers and Academy of Science researchers will be considered for such missions, and no assistance is needed from VVS cosmonauts or its training centre.

• Soyuz recovery training at sea - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Burnazyan, Bykovsky, Gorbatko, Grechko, Keldysh, Khrunov, Kolodin, Komarov, Kubasov, Nikolayev, Smirnov, Volkov, Voronov. Program: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Yastreb.

  Nikolayev, Bykovsky, Komarov, Khrunov, Gorbatko, Kolodin, and Voronov complete two parachute jumps each, with landing at sea. Training in sea-recovery by helicopter, with the cosmonauts in spacesuits, will be completed over the next two days. Smirnov is ready to sign a letter from Afanasyev, Burnazyan and Keldysh creating a new civilian cosmonaut training centre under the Ministry of Medium Machine Building, separate from the VVS centre. The letter is not coordinated with the Defence Ministry, and contradicts the letter sent by the four marshals to the Central Committee. Kamanin prepares a vigorous refutation of the letter's position. The physicians' board on OKB-1 candidates has only cleared Yeliseyev for flight - they could not agree on Volkov, Kubasov, and Grechko. OKB-1 only submitted four candidates for review, not the eight promised.

• Government go-ahead for N-1 use in lunar program - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Chelomei, Keldysh, Mishin. Program: Lunar L3. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft: LK-700, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Mishin's draft plan for the Soviet lunar landing was approved by an expert commission headed by Keldysh. The first N-1 launch was set for March 1968. At same meeting, Chelomei made a last ditch attempt to get his revised UR-700/LK-700 direct landing approach approved in its place. Although Chelomei had lined up the support of Glushko, and Mishin was in a weak position after Korolev's death, Keldysh managed to ensure that the N1-L3 continued. However continued design work on the LK-700, the UR-700 booster, and development of the RD-270 engine were authorised.

• First Soyuz Launch Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Grechko, Keldysh, Kerimov, Krylov, Kurushin, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Mnatsakanian, Pashkov, Petrovskiy, Pravetskiy, Rudenko, Ryazanskiy, Serbin, Smirnov, Tkachev, Ustinov, Vershinin, Zakharov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Flight: Soviet Lunar Landing, Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 2, Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Rudenko has reached agreement with Mishin that L1 and L3 crews will also consist of a VVS pilot as commander, and an OKB-1 flight engineer. Kamanin is depressed. Despite the support six marshals (Malinovskiy, Grechko, Zakharov, Krylov, Vershinin and Rudenko), Mishin has won this argument with the support of Ustinov, Serbin, Smirnov, Pashkov, Keldysh, Afanasyev, and Petrovskiy. Later the State Commission meets, for the first time in a long time at Tyuratam. Kerimov chairs the session, with more than 100 attendees, including Mishin, Rudenko, Krylov, Pravetskiy, Kurushin, Ryazanskiy, Mnatsakanian, and Tkachev. All is certified ready,. Launch of the active spacecraft is set for 26 November, and the passive vehicle on 27 November.

• The 2-launch N1 scenario was discussed in an interdepartmental technical review with MV Keldysh. - . Related Persons: Mishin, Bushuyev, Keldysh, . Spacecraft: Block D, Soyuz 7K-LOK, LK, Luna Ye-8.

  At this point the Ye-8 would be delivered to the moon by a UR-500K launch vehicle. The basic constraint was the 5300 kg payload capability of the Block D to translunar injection. This meant tradeoffs in the accuracy of the Ye-8's initial landing versus its lifetime on the surface waiting for arrival of the LK. It was agreed that a working group would meet the next day to develop final specifications Ye-8 and a more detailed outline of the N1-L3 expedition using Ye-8. (start-up sequence, the time, the connections between LK, LOK and Ye-8, the means for determining the location). KD Bushuyev was to study the backup LK concept. (Mishin Diaries 1-235)

• Lunar Soviet - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Chelomei, Keldysh, Kuznetsov, Mishin. Program: Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Spacecraft: L5.

  The meeting is headed by Afanasyev. The first N1 will have a payload of only 76 tonnes, versus the 95 tonnes required for the L3 lunar landing complex. In order to land two cosmonauts on the moon, as the Americans are planning, a 105 tonne low earth orbit payload would be needed. This would require new engines in the first and second stages. Kuznetsov says that his 153 tonne engine could be uprated to 170 tonnes without any basic changes. Lox/LH2 engines would be needed for the upper stages. Keldysh questions the safety of the current plan of landing only one cosmonaut on the moon. Mishin replies that putting two cosmonauts on the moon simply is not possible with the N1. Chelomei raises a question - How is it possible that the Americans have built he Saturn V, which can put 130 tonnes in low earth orbit, in order to land two men on the moon, and Mishin says he can do the same mission with 105 tonnes? Mishin claims that this is due to the lighter design and construction of the L3. The following decisions are made:

  • The first Soviet flight to he moon will use the current plan - one N1 launch, one cosmonaut on the moon.
  • Special measures must be taken to ensure the safety of that single cosmonaut
  • A new N1 model is to be developed to land the new L5 spacecraft (which will be able to handle 4 to 5 crew, 1.5 to 2.0 tonnes of scientific equipment, and spend three months on the lunar surface). This is to be ready two to three years after the first landing.
  • The Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Defence, and MOM are to develop a program of military and scientific experiments to be carried aboard the L3
  • The next meeting of the lunar soviet will be in November/December 1967

• 7K-VI cancelled. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin, Pashkov, Serbin, Smirnov, Stroganov, Ustinov. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz VI.

  Kamanin is dumbfounded. The leadership has decided to accept Mishin's recommendations, scrap the 7K-VI project, and replace it with a Soyuz variant! Mishin is an egotist, but he is supported by highly-placed leaders - Ustinov, Smirnov, Pashkov, Serbin, Stroganov, Keldysh, and others. So everyone in the space program has to dance in the service of this 'engineer-performer', who is not a credible chief designer.

• Three-launch Soviet lunar expedition pitched - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Chelomei, Glushko, Grechko, Andrei, Keldysh, Kuznetsov, Mishin, Nadiradze, Pilyugin, Tolubko, Ustinov, Yangel. Program: Lunar L3, Lunar L1. Spacecraft: L3M-1970, LK, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  The 'big' Soviet of Chief Designers meets and the three-launch landing concept developed a month earlier is presented in detail. Pilyugin pointed out that this was a typical contradiction. Mishin had just made a presentation to the expert commission justifying that the one-launch scheme was safe and reliable. Now they wanted to put forward a new scheme because the one-launch scheme was unsafe and unfeasible. Additional Details: here....

• Status of development of the LK-R. - . Related Persons: Mishin, Bushuyev, Keldysh, . Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, LK. At the expert commission on the UR-500K-L1 (Tyulin, Stroganov, Keldysh, Kashtanov and others), Bushuyev provided the status of development of the LK-R. (Mishin Diaries 2-120).

• Soviet on plan through 1975 for automated probes to the moon and planets. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Barmin, Keldysh, Tereshkova. Spacecraft: DLB Lunar Base, Luna Ye-8, Luna Ye-8-5.

  Keldysh heads a Soviet on plans through 1975 for automated probes and space research of the moon and planets. Barmin attends, his interest being the relation of this work to his lunar base. Kamanin finds the plan not well thought out... Tereshkova sees Kamanin and tells him she cannot handle the stress of both political demands on her time and cosmonaut training. She wants Kamanin's assistance to get her out of political tasks.

• L1/Soyuz program review. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin. Program: Lunar L1, Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK. The next L1 launch is set for 17 July. Mishin wants an L1 crew ready for an around-the-moon flight by June. He also wants to fly a 2+2 Soyuz mission in August. Keldysh insists that the Soyuz be proven in another unmanned flight first..

• Reduced L3 recovery forces accepted. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Gagarin, Keldysh, Ryabikov, Vershinin. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-LOK. Vershinin, Afanasyev, Keldysh, and Ryabikov accept the reduced recovery forces estimate. Meanwhile a letter from the cosmonauts disputes the Gagarin crash investigation finding ('pilot error resulting in an abrupt manoeuvre')..

• Soyuz 2/3 State Commission. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Barmin, Glushko, Keldysh, Kirillov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 3. Soyuz 2/3 State Commission. All the 'grey eminences' are there - Keldysh, Barmin, Glushko, Kirillov, etc. There are a huge number of physicians - 22 from the VVS, 100 from Minzdrav - all to check the single cosmonaut..

• L3 lunar lander behind schedule - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Keldysh, Malinovskiy, Mishin, Smirnov, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3, Apollo, Lunar L1. Flight: Soyuz 7K-L1 mission 1. Spacecraft: Luna Ye-8, Soyuz 7K-L1.

  The L3 spacecraft still does not even exist in mock-up form. All of the leadership are responsible for this farce - Malinovskiy, Smirnov, Ustinov, Brezhnev. There is no single manager of the space program. The VPK and Central Committee operate on rumours. The Interagency Soviet headed by Keldysh was supposed to coordinate space activities, but in fact has not functioned in the last four to five years. There is no single military space organisation in the Ministry of Defence. Piloted flight tests are being run by former artillery officers in the RSVN. Various organizations of MAP and VVS coordinate ground and flight tests poorly. These are the reasons for the failure of the Soviet Union in space. Today in the Central Committee Ustinov asked - 'how to answer Apollo 8?' Ustinov relies on Keldysh, Keldysh supports Mishin, and Mishin is unfit for his duties. But Mishin is not even there! The program they come up with: In January 1969, 2 Venera probes will be launched, two manned Soyuz missions, and L1 s/n 13 will be sent around the moon. In February the first N1 will be launched. By the end of March the first Ye-8 robot will land on the moon and return lunar soil to the earth. This meeting is followed by a session of the VPK at 16:00. The crews are named for the Soyuz 4 and 5 flights.

• How to beat the Americans to the lunar landing - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Babakin, Chelomei, Keldysh, Mishin, Okhapkin, Pilyugin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3, Lunar L1, Luna. Spacecraft: LK-1, Luna Ye-8-5, Soyuz 7K-L1.

  Meeting of the VPK Military-Industrial Commission to discuss how to beat the Americans to the lunar landing Ustinov called the meeting to order. Mishin was 'sick' again -- Okhapkin represented TsKBEM and gave a summary of the programme to that date:

  • The project had only been authorised on 3 August 1964. It consisted of two parts, circumlunar flights using Chelomei's UR-500K booster and LK-1 spacecraft, and a lunar landing using Korolev's N1 booster and L3 spacecraft.
  • On 25 October 1965 the programme was redirected. Military support was ordered and the decision was made to cancel Chelomei's LK-1 spacecraft and instead use the L1 version of Korolev's Soyuz for the circumlunar flights. This was ordered by the resolution 'On organisation of construction units for support of rocket-space systems for the lunar flyby'. That resolution ordered a manned L1 flight by the end of 1967 or early 1968.
  • The program actually took three years to implement rather than the two planned. Nine launches of he L1 had been made since March 1967, but it had not been possible to man-rate the UR-500K/L1 booster/spacecraft combination due to failures in both the launch vehicle and spacecraft. Flight trials of the N1 booster had not even begun yet.

  Keldysh proposed that further work on the L1 be abandoned, and Proton boosters instead be used to launch the Ye-8-5 lunar soil return robot spacecraft being developed by Babakin. Babakin had been accelerating this programme since the beginning of 1968 with the support of Keldysh, even though it would only return around 100 g of lunar soil, versus the tens of kilograms the Apollo manned flights would return. However it now offered an interesting possibility - he proposed obtaining lunar soil and returning it to earth before an American manned landing. The government's organs of mass communication would say that the Soviet Union's lunar program only consisted of robot probes, emphasising that his was much safer and that Russia would never risk it's citizen's lives for mere political sensation. Additional Details: here....

• Soviet of Chief Designers considers N1 cancellation - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Barmin, Chelomei, Keldysh, Mishin, Serbin, Tyulin. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Aelita satellite, LK, Mars 5NM, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Afanasyev and Keldysh chaired the unusual and extraordinary Soviet of the chief designers. Mishin opened with an emotional plea not to cancel the N1. He justified the delays and failures by saying that he had not been given sufficient budget to conduct necessary experimental and qualification tests of systems before flight. Additional Details: here....

• New projects should use the existing N1 - . Related Persons: Mishin, Keldysh, . Spacecraft: , MKBS.

  MV Keldysh is warning that new projects should use the existing N1 and trying to justify a program to upgrade it are premature. MV Keldysh - MKBS (use the existing launch vehicles) and direct broadcast satellites could also use existing LV's. Proposals for modernization are premature. Mozzhorin, Narimanov - also against the modernized N1M (Mishin Diaries 2-197)

• Russian only hope is major Apollo failure - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin, Pashkov, Serbin, Smirnov. Program: Lunar L3. Flight: Apollo 11.

  Mishin, Keldysh, Pashkov, Smirnov, and Serbin meet. Some of them are still expecting a big failure in the Apollo programme that will set the Americans back and still make it possible for Russia to be first on the moon. These are black days in the Soviet programme - it is clear to Kamanin that the Americans will successfully land on the moon in July, and the Russians are 2 to 3 years behind.

• Venera 5 lands on Venus - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh. Spacecraft Bus: 2MV. Spacecraft: Venera 2V. Keldysh first revealed the new 'party line' at a press conference on the mission. When asked about Soviet lunar plans, he revealed that Russia would only use robot probes, that it wouldn't risk men's lives in such an endeavour..

• Myth 'we were never in the moon race' disseminated by the Soviet Union - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Babakin, Keldysh. Program: Luna, Apollo, Lunar L3, Lunar L1. Flight: Apollo 11. Spacecraft Bus: Luna Ye-8. Spacecraft: Luna Ye-8-5.

  Keldysh first revealed the new 'party line' at a press conference on the semi-successful Venera 5 landing on Venus. When asked about Soviet lunar plans, he revealed that Russia would only use robot probes, that it wouldn't risk men's lives in such an endeavour. At the same time Babakin was hard at work finishing the first Ye-8-5 robot lunar soil return spacecraft, to be launched before Apollo 11.

• N1 State Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Barmin, Bushuyev, Chelomei, Keldysh, Mishin, Nadiradze, Okhapkin, Pashkov, Smirnov, Tyulin, Yangel. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Aelita satellite, LK, Soyuz 7K-L1A, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Over two days a State Commission reviewed all of the conclusions of the N1 3L failure investigation and the readiness of N1 5L for flight. All of the fixes identified to remedy the 3L failure had been incorporated into 5L. It was felt that the behaviour of the systems in fire conditions were understood and appropriate measures had been taken. The wiring had been rerouted and insulated. Barmin wanted the system not to shut down any engines under any conditions during the first 15-20 seconds of flight, so that the booster would clear the pad and there would be no risk of the pad's destruction. But there was no time to develop such measures before the 5L launch; it could only be added in vehicle 6L. Additional Details: here....

• Soviet post-mortems after Apollo 11 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Glushko, Keldysh, Kuznetsov, Mishin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3.

  Two sequential N1 failures could not just be blamed on the poor reliability of the first stage. It was apparent that, compared to the Americans, both the management and the development practices of the Soviet space programme were inferior to the Americans. Politically there was no consensus within the Soviet state of the need for a space programme. Glushko and Ustinov waged a perpetual struggle against Afanasyev, Keldysh, and Mishin. RVSN Commander Kirillov wrote a letter to Smirnov on behalf of Afanasyev on the root causes of the failures. His faction believed these were the continued use of artillery/military rocket development practices for large, complex systems. These outdated practices required 20 to 60 flight tests to achieve reliability before a rocket could be put into production. Additional Details: here....

• After the Apollo 11 moon landing, an ambiguous note by Mishin. - . Related Persons: Mishin, Keldysh, Ustinov, Afanasyev, Sergei, . Spacecraft: , MKBS. The Supreme Council: DF Ustinov MV Keldysh, SA Afanasiev, PV Dementiev PV, VD Kalmyks, ID Serbin, BA Stroganov, et al: TSKBEM should not be expending funds on MKBS (Unclear: perhaps "not" crossed out by the author) (Mishin Diaries 2-211).

• N1M to launch expeditions to the moon, Mars, and MKBS. - . Related Persons: Mishin, Keldysh, Ustinov, Chelomei, . Spacecraft: , MKBS.

  Mishin pitched his first draft for the next five year plan, with an upgraded N1M to launch expeditions to the moon, Mars, and MKBS. Again his plans to improve the N1 were not well received (Mishin Diaries 2-213): Meeting with the DF Ustinov (22.00) on the rocket and space Five Year Plan. N1-L3 - Core package for lunar exploration. Expedition to Mars \ necessary to accelerate MKBS / MV Keldysh - Against OB-VI and against N1M with EYaRD. There are three preliminary designs for an expedition to Mars (TsKBEM, Chelomei, Yangel)
  "Luch" - you need to develop (especially realistic anti-jamming measures). NA Pilyugin - against the N1M LV.

• Kamanin lists the reasons the Soviets have lost the moon race. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Feoktistov, Gagarin, Keldysh, Korolev, Mishin, Smirnov, Ustinov. Program: Apollo, Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-LOK, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The Americans were able to pull equal in the race during their Gemini programme, then ahead with Apollo. The Soviet Union is now four to five years behind. Kamanin's accounting:

  • No qualified Soviet government leadership in space research (Ustinov and Smirnov are a parody of proper management). They operate without rhyme or reason or plan. There is no single direction, no disciplined execution when a decision is finally made
  • Korolev, Keldysh, Mishin, and Feoktistov are all dedicated to automated spacecraft - 'over-automation'
  • Korolev and MIshin's rejection of Glushko's engines, and the leadership's rejection of the UR-700 as an alternative
  • Ustinov and Smirnov's cancellation of the 18 day Voskhod 3 mission, even though the crews had been trained, and the associated pressure on development of Soyuz. This resulted in Soyuz being flown before it was mature, resulting in the death of Komarov and an 18 month delay in manned flights
  • Death of Korolev and Gagarin both badly affected morale
  • Making Mishin head of TsKBEM was a huge mistake. Mishin cannot cope with the huge number of space and missile projects assigned to his bureau

• DOS Conspiracy briefed to wide circle of space planners - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Bushuyev, Chelomei, Feoktistov, Keldysh, Mishin, Semenov, Serbin, Tyulin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3, Almaz, Salyut. Spacecraft: Almaz OPS, LK, Salyut 1, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  In the euphoria after the return of the Soyuz 6/7/8 crews, the problem was how to get Ustinov to meet further with the DOS 'conspirators'. Mishin had prohibited any meetings by TsKBEM staff with the Communist Party Secretary unless Mishin was also present. Another obstacle was that Feoktistov was not a party member; how could his presence at a party meeting be explained to Mishin later?

  In any event these consideations were simply ignored. Feoktistov was present at a party meeting with Keldysh, Afanasyev, Tyulin, Serbin, and the Ministry of Defence's party cell: Strogonov, Kravtsev, and Popov. Keldysh was mainly worried how the project would affect the N1, but was reassured that the N1 had a dedicated work force, and the L3 lunar lander spacecraft engineers and workers that would work on DOS were currently idle and had no part of that work. It was finally decided to go ahead with the DOS no earlier than January, to allow time for Ministry Decrees, approval of a work plan by the VPK, preparation of a decree for signature by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Soviet Ministers. Work began on the project in December 1969 under the initial auspices of the Academy of Sciences. Additional Details: here....

• Press conference preparations - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8. A meeting is held with Mishin and Keldysh to prepare the cosmonauts and other participants for an upcoming press conference. Kamanin notes a huge amount of time is spent in such preparations..

• Press conference - lunar project raised. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L3. Flight: Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8.

  Major press conference. Keldysh dodges questions from American reporters on the Soviet lunar landing program. The cosmonauts perform all right, no mistakes. Kamanin views Keldysh as a braking force on the space programme. He attributes the loss of the moon race to bad managers like Keldysh and Mishin.

• 1969 in retrospect. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Grechko, Andrei, Keldysh, Kutakhov, Mishin, Smirnov, Tereshkova, Ustinov. Program: Soyuz, Lunar L3.

  Tereshkova is on a tour of Jordan and Syria. Kamanin muses over the year 1969. He is able to rationalise that it wasn't a bad year -- they flew 9 cosmonauts on five space missions. But of course they lost the moon to the Americans. He blames Mishin, Keldysh, Smirnov, and Ustinov for this. But he also blames the attitude of the Ministry of Defence and VVS. This is indicated by the total indifference to civilian space projects of Grechko and Kutakhov. They don't support the Gagarin Centre, or Kamanin's request for 10 additional Soyuz flights in earth orbit. Kamanin views the L3 spacecraft and mission scenario as unsafe. What is needed is a new spacecraft, launched by two N1 boosters, that will take a crew of 3 to 5 to the moon.

• Leonov wants to send letter to Brezhnev - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Grechko, Andrei, Keldysh, Krylov, Leonov, Mishin, Serbin, Smirnov, Ustinov, Zakharov.

  Work continues at the Gagarin Centre even on Sundays. Kamanin studies the reorganization of space units within the Ministry of Defence. Leonov wants to write a letter to Brezhnev, complaining about the management of the space programme. He wants to finger Mishin, Keldysh, Sminrov, Serbin, Ustinov, Krylov, Zakharov, and Grechko by name. Kamanin asks him -- can all the cosmonauts write to the head of state whenever they want? Who will protect them from the inferno of backlash that would result? He doesn't support Leonov's idea.

• Soyuz 9 press conference preparations. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin, Nikolayev, Sevastyanov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 9. Kamanin and the Soyuz 9 cosmonauts meet with Keldysh and Mishin to prepare for a press conference, to be carried live on television..

• Contacts on join USA/USSR docking system. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Nikolayev, Sevastyanov. Program: ASTP. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-TM.

  Communist Party Meeting at the cosmonaut centre. Keldysh calls later. Six specialists are to be sent to the United States to discuss design of a common USA/USSR docking system. Kamanin yet again goes through the correct answers and prepared speeches to be given to the press by Nikolayev and Sevastyanov on their visit to West Germany.

• Acceleration of N1 after 1973 for MKBS. - . Related Persons: Mishin, Keldysh, Ustinov, Afanasyev, Sergei, Smirnov. Spacecraft: , MKBS.

  Meeting DF Ustinov (Smirnov, Keldysh Afanasiev, Serbin, Stroganov, Kommissarov, Tsarev, Kerimov and others, on acceleration of N1 after 1973 for MKBS. Meeting at 12:00 - DF Ustinov (Smirnov, Keldysh Afanasiev, Serbin, Stroganov, Kommissarov, Tsarev, Kerimov and others.) ... 2) MKBS - Accelerate after 1973. It is necessary to accelerate the draft resolution on the MKBS and associated activities - EYaRD, reusable transport spacecraft. (Mishin Diaries 2-299)

• Vast work needed to be done on MKBS - . Related Persons: Mishin, Keldysh, Smirnov. Spacecraft: , MKBS.

  A meeting with LV Smirnov and MV Keldysh (Mishin Diaries 2-296) goes through a shopping list of the vast work needed to be done on MKBS On accelerating the work on MKBS:
  - Power
  - Life support systems
  - Equipment for scientific research
  - Equipment for the benefit of the national economy
  - Funding
  - Building design and experimental base
  - Development of production capacity
  - Expansion of cooperation.

• Lunokhod 1 has completed its lunar activities. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh. Spacecraft: Lunokhod. Kamanin's son, also a VVS pilot, is being sent to Hanoi for service. Kamanin writes a letter to Keldysh on the naming of lunar craters for deceased cosmonauts..

• ECS technology review. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Gazenko, Keldysh, Severin, Voronin. Program: Salyut. Spacecraft: Aelita satellite, MKBS, Salyut 1.

  Keldysh heads a review of spacecraft environmental control system development. The work of the IMBP is not well organised. They have been developing systems for eight years with no concrete results. G I Voronin is responsible for oxygen regenerator and thermal regulation systems; G I Severin, for space suits; O G Gazenko for biosensors, medicines, and space food. Two problems need to be solved: to understand and counter the effects of zero gravity on the human organism; and to develop a reliable environmental control system with a guaranteed life of two to three years. Keldysh declares that in the next five to ten years the Soviet Union will not fly space stations with artificial gravity. Therefore, due to the inevitable deterioration of the human body in zero gravity, crews will have to be rotated every 30 to 60 days. Development must continue with an eye to supporting eventual lunar bases and manned expeditions to Mars.

• Kamanin lists Soviet space management failures. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Karas, Keldysh, Smirnov, Ustinov. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  It is obvious to Kamanin from the ECS conference that there are many mistakes in the organization of the Soviet space program. There is no single agency directing the program, like the American NASA. There is not only no five year plan for manned spaceflight, there is not even a plan for next year! Decisions on manned space are made erratically by unqualified members of the leadership. There is no single manager of military space projects. Ustinov, Smirnov, Keldysh, and Karas at GUKOS are all pulling in different directions. Ustinov, Smirnov, and Keldysh don't give space more than 10% of their working time.

• Soviet view of Apollo 14. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin, Shonin, Smirnov, Ustinov. Program: Apollo, Lunar L3. Apollo 14 successfully lands on the moon. Kamanin notes that the Soviet Union is now five to six years behind, due to the mistakes of Mishin, Keldysh, Smirnov, and Ustinov. Shonin is training on Soyuz s/n 32 at the KIS of TsKBEM..

• N1/L3 Expert Commission - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Kuznetsov, Nikolai F, Mishin, Tereshkova. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Krechet, LK-700, Soyuz 7KT-OK.

  Pushkin and Kuznetsov brief Kamanin on the results of the N1/L3 expert commission. They found that the N1/L3 is unreliable and that the design needs to be fundamentally re-examined. Therefore the Soviet Ministers and Central Committee passed a decree that the commission must determine by 1 May 1971 what to do with the lunar project. Kamanin's opinion: abandon the N1-L3, modify Chelomei's UR-700 design to replace it, and design a new lunar landing spacecraft for missions in 1974-1975. Mishin is afraid of such a solution. Kamanin believes that the commission, headed by Keldysh, will finally recommend continued development and flight of Mishin's bad booster and even worse spacecraft. It is true that the N1 design has been substantially reworked in the last 18 months, but Kamanin believes it to be fundamentally flawed and that nothing can make it reliable.

  After Mishin pushed his Indian Ocean recovery plan for the L3, the VVS insisted on sea trials of the capsule. These showed the cosmonauts had to get out within 30 to 35 minutes before the valves to the interior started leaking seawater. The L3 is also unsafe due to the EVA method of transfer to the LK of a single unassisted cosmonaut. The Krechet spacesuit is very bulky and unmanoeuvrable.

  Prague wanted Gagarin's widow for International Women's Day.since Tereshkkova couldn't go, but she wants no part of public appearances.

• N1 threatened again - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Sergei, Babakin, Keldysh, Mishin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  An expert commission met to consider the N1-L3. Keldysh made several categorical demands:

  • the laser-based Kontakt rendezvous and docking system had to either be backed up with redundancy throughout, or an independent back-up system had to be developed
  • the L3 had to be designed with an internal transfer compartment, as was being done for the DOS/7K-T space station system
  • each stage of the N1 had to undergo flammability tests
  • the mission scenario had to be reformulated to provide support by more than one cosmonaut on the moon at a time, and use of automated landers and rovers from Babakin at Lavochkin
  • landings of the capsule in the equatorial oceans of the world had to be eliminated. The capsules had to land on the territory of the USSR
  Additional Details: here....

• Soyuz 11 Day 22 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Dobrovolsky, Isayev, Keldysh, Mishin, Patsayev, Smirnov, Ustinov, Volkov. Program: Salyut, Lunar L3. Flight: Soyuz 11. Spacecraft: Salyut 1, Soyuz 7KT-OK.

  The shocking news of rocket engine designer Isayev's premature death is received at the Soyuz 11 control point at Yevpatoriya. This is followed by the news that the third N1 failed 57 seconds into its flight. A total of 13 N1's were built, and all three launched so far have exploded. Kamanin agreed to cancellation of the entire project three years ago, but Ustinov, Smirnov, Keldysh, and Mishin continued in their grandiose charade, wasting billions of roubles in the process. Meanwhile on the 22nd day of Soyuz 11's flight, the crew is up and about. Volkov is especially active, which should improve his readaptation when he returns to earth.

• Soyuz 11 Day 23 - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Afanasyev, Dobrovolsky, Karas, Keldysh, Mishin, Patsayev, Volkov. Program: Salyut. Flight: Soyuz 11. Spacecraft: Salyut 1, Soyuz 7KT-OK.

  The cosmonauts have to be extremely careful in putting Salyut in storage mode. They go through the checklist together with the ground to make sure no errors are made. The Salyut station is much more comfortable than the Soyuz, but the mission has revealed it needs many improvements, including: a unit for ejecting liquids from the station; solar panels, and scientific instruments, that can be automatically pointed at the sun or their target and stabilised; an improved control section; better crew rest provisions. Only with such improvements will it be possible to make flights of two months or longer. And such flights will take ten years to work up to, not by the end of the year, as Mishin claims. Kamanin thinks it will be possible to prolong flights to 40 to 60 days in 1972, but that this will then be a long-standing record. Any longer would be equivalent to running 100 km but then collapsing and dying - the Soviet Union doesn't need those kind of records!

  The bigwigs arrive from Moscow to be in on the landing. But Afanasyev, Keldysh, Mishin, and Karas all remain at the cosmodrome for the investigation into the N1 failure.

• N1 cancellation imminent - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh, Mishin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: L3M-1972, LK, Mars 5NM, MKBS, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Ustinov achieved a leadership consensus to kill the N1 by the beginning of May 1974. He achieved the agreement of the other Ministers on the Military-Industrial Commission, and finally Keldysh. Projects that were ongoing that were linked with the N1 included: the lunar base, MKBS space station, Mars robotic soil return spacecraft and manned expedition, a space radio telescope with a 100 m antenna, and multiple channel communications satellites. All of these died with the cancellation. If 8L had been successful, then after 1 or 2 further test launches, the N1-L3M could begin flying. That meant that the Soviet Union was within 3 to 4 years of establishing long-term lunar expeditions and a moon base. The Americans would have been leapfrogged. Instead, the leadership decided to develop a completely new heavy-lift launch vehicle, which never became operational before the Soviet Union collapsed.

• New heavy-lift vehicle - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Brezhnev, Glushko, Keldysh, Mishin, Ustinov. Spacecraft: Buran.

  Glushko's first action was to implement a decision of the leadership to develop a completely new heavy-lift launch vehicle. This work started in 1974, with a planned first flight in 1984, at a total estimated cost of 5 to 6 billion roubles. One factor in the decision was the fact that Keldysh was greatly disturbed by the manoeuvrability of the space shuttle. He talked the matter up until he managed to get Ustinov and Brezhnev worked as well. He told them a US shuttle could manoeuvre around Soviet PVO and PKO anti-missile and satellite defences and deliver a 25 tonne nuclear bomb of greater than 25 megatons force directly on Moscow.

  Keldysh was convinced that the US planned to use the shuttle for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Russia. Therefore the USSR needed an analogous capability to maintain the strategic balance. While this discussion was going on, the energies of TsKBEM were completely absorbed in the Apollo-Soyuz program, on which the prestige of the Soviet Union depended. Additional Details: here....

• N1 work cancelled - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Glushko, Keldysh, Korolev, Kuznetsov, Mishin, Ustinov. Program: Lunar L3. Spacecraft: Buran, LK, Soyuz 7K-LOK.

  Glushko formally cancelled the N1 within the new NPO Energia on 13 August 1974 with the support of Ustinov, even though he had no decree of the VPK Military-Industrial Commission or the Central Committee authorising such an act. The N1-L3 itself was not officially closed down until the resolution of February 1976 starting work on the Energia/Buran boosters. By that time 6 billion roubles had been spent on the N1 over 17 years. Additional Details: here....

• Cosmonaut reunion as Soyuz 15 crew arrives in Moscow. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Demin, Glushko, Keldysh, Mishin, Smirnov, Ustinov. Program: Salyut. Flight: Soyuz 15.

  Kamanin attends a reunion of cosmonauts on the occasion of the arrival of the Soyuz 15 crew at Chkalovsky Airfield. Demin has flown at the age of 48, the oldest astronaut ever, until Slayton makes his flight. Kamanin talks to Glushko and learns that the N1 has finally been cancelled. The misbegotten project went for eight years only because of the unconditional support of Mishin by Keldysh, Smirnov, and Ustinov. The earliest Soviet lunar landing cannot occur earlier than the Tenth Five Year Plan (e.g. 1980). Kamanin learns that Soyuz 15 was supposed to be a thirty-day flight, but the Igla automatic docking system failed yet again.

• Vulkan Lunar Base rejected - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Glushko, Keldysh. Spacecraft: LEK, Lunokhod LEK, LZhM, LZM.

  An expert commission led by Keldysh examines the plan for a lunar base launched by the Vulkan booster. The plan is completely rejected. NPO Energia was told to quit dreaming and devote itself only to projects with national economic importance, like Buran. This put a definitive end to Glushko's lunar base projects studied in 1976-1978. But he just waited and started design work again on a lunar base using the Energia launch vehicle after the first Buran launch in 1988.

• Death of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Keldysh. Chief Theoretician of the Soviet missile and space programmes, 1946-1978. Played a key role in virtually every space project decision until his death. He was President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR from 1961 to 1975..