Message-ID: <0boocwu00WBwM-T045@andrew.cmu.edu>
Precedence: junk
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From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU
To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU
Date: Tue,  5 Mar 91 02:35:25 -0500 (EST)
Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #231

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 231

Today's Topics:
	     NASA Headline News for 02/28/91 (Forwarded)
		       Re: Numerology, theology
			       Re: Gaia
			Soviet Docking History

Administrivia:

    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  space+@andrew.cmu.edu.  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests,
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 5 Mar 91 05:11:03 GMT
From: usenet@ames.arc.nasa.gov  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 02/28/91 (Forwarded)

NASA announced today at the Johnson Space Center that the 
shuttle, Discovery, will be rolled back next week to the vehicle 
assembly building, destacked from the STS-39 package, and 
transferred to the orbiter processing facility for replacement 
and repair of the cracked hinge mechanism.

STS-39 payloads will be transferred to the payload changeout room 
at launch pad 39-A.  The payloads will undergo routine servicing 
and will remain at the launch pad until the return of the 
orbiter, Discovery.

On Atlantis, a leaking thruster on the right hand orbital 
maneuvering system pod is being tested.  The mid-body of the 
orbiter is being closed out in preparation for next Tuesday's 
scheduled roll out.

Routine systems tests are continuing on the orbiter, Columbia.

                   ***************************

As of late yesterday afternoon, the Galileo spacecraft was almost 
33.5 million miles from the Sun.  Spacecraft health and mission 
performance are excellent.

Last evening, the Magellan spacecraft and its radar system were 
performing normally.  Spacecraft controllers believed they 
already were seeing the effects of Venus' shadow, which they did 
not expect to see until this morning.  According to a project 
spokesperson, they were probably observing the effects of the 
planet's atmosphere.

                  *****************************

The United States and Canada have signed an agreement to 
participate in a 5-year RADARSAT Earth observation satellite 
mission.  The launch of the Canadian-provided satellite is 
currently manifested for June 1994, on a NASA-provided expendable 
launch vehicle.  NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration are the U.S. participants in this mission.  In 
exchange for the NASA medium class expendable launch vehicle 
services and data acquisition support for the satellite, NASA 
will have full research access.  NOAA will obtain data for itself
and facilitate research and operational access for other U.S. 
Government agencies.

                 ******************************


Thursday, 2/28/91
                        12:00       Liftoff to Learning Program

                        12:20 pm      Starfinder Program,
                                      "Gravity in Space"

                        12:35 pm      Back Space:  Apollo 14

                         1:00 pm      Black History Month Program

Replay of the above programming will be rerun between 6-8pm 
tonight.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 04 Mar 91 15:04:02 EST
From: "Paul M. Karagianis" <KARYPM%SJUVM.BITNET@BITNET.CC.CMU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Numerology, theology

On 28 Feb 91 Magnus Olson quotes an exchange between John Roberts and
someone else I'm unable to identify:
 
" >>      Will it someday happen that 2 + 2 != 4?
" >
" >Well, since you ask, yes, it could. :-)
" >A pure mathematical expression such as 2 + 2 = 4 exists by human definition,
" >and humans can change the definition any time they feel like it.
"
" This is true, but it's not quite that simple.
 
  ...followed by a lot of technical reasons why...
 
" THIS IS HIGHLY NON-TRIVIAL.
 
Huh?  He said definition.  When did base ten become so sacrosanct?
e.g.: 2 + 2 = 10, or 2 + 2 = 11 in base-4 and base-3.  To a non-
decimal oriented culture these expressions could represent truly
complex points of alien theology such as "2 quarts and 2 quarts is
a gallon" or "2 feet plus 2 feet is one and a third yards".
 
     +-------------- * standard disclaimers apply * --------------+
     |  "Let There Be Light..."     -        Bomb 22 <Dark Star>  |
     +------------  40o 43' 20" N  --  73o 47' 35" W  ------------+

------------------------------

Date: 5 Mar 91 00:36:48 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax!lwall@ucsd.edu  (Larry Wall)
Subject: Re: Gaia

In article <9103020230.AA06812@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov> roberts@CMR.NCSL.NIST.GOV (John Roberts) writes:
:  - How has the earth been protected from the potential evolution of an
:    extremely efficient predator?

It hasn't, or haven't you been paying attention the last few million years?  :-)

I feel uncomfortable calling something an organism unless I can see some
selective advantages at work, and it's unclear at this point whether
the organization of our ecosystem will help it survive as it competes
against other ecosystems.

: What part of Gaia is its appendix? :-)

Hmm, something that uses resources but doesn't contribute to the good of
the whole, and is, in fact, occasionally destructive?  I'll have to
think about that one...  :-)

Larry Wall
lwall@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov

------------------------------

Date: 5 Mar 91 01:13:27 GMT
From: brody@eos.arc.nasa.gov  (Adam R. Brody)
Subject: Soviet Docking History

In honor of the Russian Right Stuff broadcast on PBS last week,
I am reposting my Soviet Docking History.  Aerospace America was
going to publish it but I am growing impatient.  If Mark Johnson
from the Nat'l Association of Rocketry or anyone else has an interest
in publishing it, please let me know.  Otherwise, enjoy.

Soviet Docking Experience
	Any discussion of spacecraft docking operations would be incomplete 
without mention of the accomplishments that the Soviets have had in this 
area.  In 1991, the Soviets are inhabiting their eighth space station and as 
of July 1990 have had 35 successful autonomous dockings in space.  
(Friedman & Heinsheimer, 1990)  Cosmonauts inhabit the Mir space station 
for many months at a time and unmanned vehicles automatically dock for 
resupply.  Most of the information that follows was gleaned from the 
Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight, by Dennis Newkirk (1990).
	The Soviets began contemplating spacecraft docking operations when 
they realized these techniques were necessary for racing the Americans to 
the moon.  Their first plan was an Earth orbital rendezvous (EOR) leading 
to a lunar fly-by.  They were to use the same A-2 boosters and launch 
facilities being developed for the Voskhod program and other unmanned 
missions.  Each mission would involve five launches.  Soyuz V tankers 
would automatically rendezvous and dock and then fuel the Soyuz B rocket 
waiting in Earth orbit.  The manned Soyuz would dock with the fueled 
rocket then ultimately be launched around the moon.
	By 1964 they realized they were not developing the docking 
techniques fast enough to beat the Americans to the moon.  They therefore 
decided to adopt a direct ascent profile, which involves launching directly 
from Earth to the moon, thereby eliminating the need for docking.  After a 
series of failures, Zond 5B achieved the first lunar fly-by and return in 
September 1968.  The spacecraft contained plants, turtles, flies, and 
worms.  Some modifications were needed, however, as the returning 
capsule experienced between ten and sixteen g's, more than a human could 
endure.  Zond 6 performed a similar mission in November but with g forces 
reduced by one-half.  Technical difficulties delayed the December launch of 
Zond 7A (which most likely would have been manned) by one month 
allowing the US the first manned lunar fly-by with Apollo 8 in December. 
	The rush to the moon hurt both the Soviets and the Americans 
deeply.   In January 1967, during a launch pad rehearsal for Apollo 1, 
Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White, II, and Roger Chaffee died in a fire.    
Vladimir Komarov crashed to his death when the Soyuz 1 parachute 
shroud lines twisted in April 1967.  These accidents delayed both the 
Apollo and Soyuz manned launches for over a year.  "Apollo 1 and Soyuz 1 
taught the world that victories in space would be neither easy nor cheap"  
(Aldrin & McConnell, 1989, p. 172).
	In October 1967, two Soyuz vehicles, modified after the Soyuz 1 
tragedy, tested and perfected automatic docking operations.  Kosmos 
(Cosmos) 188 was launched three days after Kosmos 186 and completed a 
rendezvous on the first revolution.  Kosmos 186 became the active vehicle 
and docked with Kosmos 188, which was cooperatively maintaining a 
stable attitude.  Cosmos 186 was the first Soyuz to have maneuvered in 
orbit.  This was the first automatic docking and the first to be achieved by 
unmanned vehicles.  Six months later, in April 1968, Cosmos 212 and 
Cosmos 213 repeated this procedure.   Television cameras transmitted the 
undocking to ground control.  These vehicles were essentially stripped 
down Soyuz spacecraft and the procedure they pioneered is similar to 
what is used today.  A brief description follows.
	Radar contact between the two spacecraft is established in the 
capture phase.  Both vehicles align themselves to a common axis.  The 
chaser vehicle closes with a range rate of about 2 m/s at 350 m.  This is 
about six times faster than suggested by NASA's "0.1 % rule," which limits 
approach velocity to no greater than 0.1% of the range per second (Sedej & 
Clarke, 1985; Oberg, 1988).
	The target vehicle such as a space station then uses attitude control 
rockets to maintain orientation in the mooring phase.  The chaser craft 
extends a probe to effect a soft docking.  "The extended probe prevents the 
airtight seals of the two spacecraft docking collars from being damaged if 
the initial contact is hard or off center"  (Newkirk, 1990, p. 65).  The 
vehicles complete soft docking when small latches on top of the probe 
catch the center of the drogue.
	"In the docking phase, the active ship reels its probe in and the ship's 
butt docking collars make an airtight connection" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 66).  
Latches in both collars hold the spacecraft together so electrical 
connections for communication and power may then be made.  With 
Progress spacecraft, refueling connections also are consummated.  Springs 
are used for disengaging.
	In October 1968, Colonel Georgiy Beregovoy attempted docking 
maneuvers in Soyuz 3.  This was the first time the Soviets launched the 
passive target vehicle, Soyuz 2, first as the U.S. did in the Gemini program.  
An automatic system guided Soyuz 3 from direct ascent to a range within 
180 meters.  Television cameras transmitted the image of the approaching 
target to the Soviets.  This flight was intended to accomplish the first 
Soviet manned docking but all docking attempts failed (Newkirk, 1990).  
In one instance, ground control directed a maneuver calculated from data 
transmitted by the rendezvous antennae on each vehicle (Baker, 1982).
	"Only 10 weeks after Soyuz 3, . . . the shortest gap between non-
related manned space missions to that time," (Clark, 1988, p. 50) the 
Soviets launched Soyuz 4.  "The launch of Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 in January 
1969 marked the first winter launch in the Soviet manned space 
programme, suggesting that the flights had to be urgently completed" 
(Clark, p. 51).  Another descendent of the lunar fly-by mission was the 
first manned docking in January 1969 with Soyuz 5.  After practicing 
almost 800 dockings in the simulator at Star City, Vladimir Shatalov 
accomplished an objective of the failed Soyuz 1 mission, i.e., the first Soviet 
manned docking.  In Soyuz 4 he flew a manual approach to within a few 
kilometers of Soyuz 5.  He then activated the automatic system, which 
reduced the range to 100 meters.  Shatalov then regained control and 
docked during a live Soviet television broadcast.  This docking set a 
precedent in that it did not occur during the first orbit.  The Soviets 
announced the combined spacecraft "as the world's 'First Experimental 
Space Station'" (Clark, p. 51).  Yevgeniy Khrunov and Aleksey Yeliseyev 
used the opportunity to perform the first transfer from one spacecraft to 
another.
	The Soyuz was then modified for use as a space station ferry.  Soyuz 
10 and Soyuz 11 were the only flights with the original Salyut ferry.  The 
most important change was the introduction of a crew transfer system, 
which precluded the necessity to go EVA to board the station.
	The Soviets used Volga trainers to prepare for the docking 
operations.  The Volga consisted of movable mockups of both Soyuz and 
Salyut mounted on rails.  They would respond to commands made by the 
cosmonauts.  A television view of the Salyut was presented to the Soyuz 
model's periscope system to give the crew a simulation of an actual 
approach (Clark, 1988).
	While manual control has been relegated to a back-up position for 
unmanned supply vehicles, the Soviets have utilized manual control for 
manned dockings to space stations.  This began with Soyuz 10, in April 
1971, which brought the first crew of Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksey 
Yeliseyev, and Nikolay Rukavishnikov to Salyut 1.  Salyut 1, mankind's 
first space station, was launched in April 1971 aboard the Soviet Union's 
most powerful space launcher, the D-1, and reentered the atmosphere in 
October.  The Salyut assisted in the docking maneuver not only by 
maintaining attitude control, but "also made four orbit changes to match 
orbit with the approaching Soyuz" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 99).  At a range of 
180 meters, Shatalov took over control from the automatic system and 
performed a manual docking.  Problems, most likely with the Soyuz, 
prevented the crew from boarding.
	The Soviets and the Americans both advocate manual back-up for 
automatic docking maneuvers.  However the Soviets only resort to the 
manual system upon failure of the automatic one, while the Americans 
tend to use manual control whenever it is available, not just as a back-up 
control mode.  Such is the case with shuttle (and other advanced aircraft) 
landings where the mere existence of a manual control capability is cited 
as a justification for using pilot control instead of the automated system.
	In an October 1970 meeting in Moscow, the Americans and the 
Soviets started formulating plans for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP).  
During a June 1971 meeting in Houston, "[Boris] Petrov expressed the 
preference of the Soviet Academy of Sciences for a joint docking flight 
employing the androgynous docking system" (Baker, 1982, p. 408).  This 
could be accomplished either with a Soyuz docking with a Skylab/Apollo or 
an Apollo docking with a Salyut/Soyuz.  The latter was established as the 
baseline mission.
	In June 1971, Soyuz 11 was the next (and last) vehicle to dock with 
Salyut 1.  The automated system reduced the range from 6 km to 100 
meters.  Georgi Dobrovolsky then took over control at a range of 100 
meters and a velocity of 0.9 m/s.  (This is nine times faster than suggested 
by the 0.1 % rule.)  By 60 meters, he reduced the range rate to 0.3 m/s.  
Dobrovolsky then completed the docking maneuver.  The crew became the 
first to inhabit the first space station.  After a record 24-day mission, the 
mission ended in disaster as the air escaped through an open valve 11 
minutes before the craft reentered the atmosphere.  Twelve pyrotechnic 
devices, used for separation, fired simultaneously rather than sequentially, 
releasing a seal on the spacecraft's pressure equalization valve.  The 
atmosphere escaped in approximately 30 seconds while the cosmonauts 
were in the middle of a 60 second procedure to close the valve manually.
	Shatalov consequently replaced General Nikolai Kamanin as head of 
the cosmonaut corp.  A redesign of the station was necessary but since this 
would take longer than the Salyut's lifetime to complete, the station was 
deorbited.  More than two years passed before the next manned mission.
	The Soyuz Ferry was created to bring crews to Salyut space stations.  
It contained an automatic rendezvous and docking system known as Igla 
or "needle".  As in earlier Soyuz docking missions, both spacecraft 
maneuvered actively.  The Soyuz Ferry had its first manned flight, Soyuz 
12, in September 1973.  Since both Salyuts 1 and 2 failed in the previous 
year, this flight was able to only simulate transport to a space station.  
(Salyut 2 most likely had an attitude control thruster stuck on and broke 
up in orbit before it was manned.)
	Soyuz 13, launched in December 1973, was an independent mission 
and did not dock with a station.  Soyuz 14 was the first operational use of 
the ferry and took the only Salyut 3 crew to orbit in July 1974.  
Automated rendezvous was used to reduce the range from 1000 meters to 
within 100 meters.  Pavel Popovich then performed manual docking.
	This procedure of manual control takeover at approximately 100 
meters continued with Alesksei Gubarev on Soyuz 17, January 1975.  Pyotr 
Klimuk performed similarly in May 1975 with Soyuz 18B.
	Soyuz 19, better know as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, "was the 
first Soviet manned launch ever whose time was announced in advance 
and was the first to be televised live" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 140).  Apollo was 
the active vehicle because of its greater fuel supply.  The Soyuz merely 
had to maintain a fixed attitude toward the approaching Apollo, and match 
roll rates.
	Soyuz 20 tested the Progress automated unmanned cargo transport 
systems in November 1975.  Progress 1, however, did not fly until January 
1978.  The Progress, based on the Soyuz, carried twice as much rendezvous 
and docking instrumentation as the Soyuz Ferry.  Also, a second video 
camera was mounted on the outside to give ground controllers a stereo 
view of the automatic docking.  "Simultaneous transmissions of telemetry 
from Progress to Salyut and the ground enabled both the control center 
and the cosmonauts to assist with docking if necessary" (Baker, 1982, p. 
524).
	Progress 1 took two days approaching Salyut 6 as Soyuz 20 had done 
approaching Salyut 4.  Manned spacecraft typically perform the approach 
in one day.  "Since the Progress was unmanned, the crew did not retreat to 
the Soyuz during the docking as when the Soyuz 27 docked, they instead 
manned the station's controls ready to maneuver away from the 
approaching Progress in case of a malfunction" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 179).  
Since the Progress was expendable, plume impingement upon it caused by 
an emergency Salyut separation maneuver was not a concern.  None of the 
Progress missions through May 1988 had any docking problems although 
there were occasional problems with manned missions.
	The Soyuz-T then replaced the Soyuz Ferry.  It "included a new 
computer system and was claimed to be more automated than the earlier 
Soyuz variants; however, in flight the cosmonauts often had to take over 
manual control when the automatic systems apparently malfunctioned 
during docking manoeuvres" (Clark, 1988, p. 98).  Soyuz T-1 flew in an 
unmanned configuration in December 1979.
	In June 1980, the Argon docking computer flew its maiden launch on 
the first manned Soyuz T flight, Soyuz T-2.  Argon selects which of several 
possible approaches to fly to a space station and then flies it with manual 
override capability.  It similarly controls descent.  Its operation required 
that the crew study computer programming.  This training may have saved 
the mission as the automated docking system failed at a range of 180 
meters from Salyut 6.  "This was a problem which would be regularly 
repeated during Soyuz-T missions" (Clark, 1988, p. 120).  Yuri Malyshev, a 
rookie, took over control and completed a successful manual docking.  
Aleksey Yeliseyev explained that the crew and flight controllers had not 
practiced the approach the computer selected so the crew decided to take 
over control to be better prepared in the event of an emergency.  The crew 
claimed the automated system would have been successful if given the 
opportunity (Newkirk, 1990).
	Soyuz 38, the seventh international crew, was launched in September 
1980 with the first black cosmonaut.  The automated system controlled not 
only the rendezvous but also the docking.  The next manned flight, Soyuz 
T-3, was launched in November 1980.  Its Argon automatic docking system 
performed the docking maneuver from a range of 5 km.
	The Soviets' Mir "Peace" space station evolved from earlier Salyut 
designs and was launched in February 1986.  The station contains five 
docking drogues with a manipulator system that moves incoming modules 
from the forward port where they have docked to a side port.  The Kurs 
"course" docking system was incorporated into the forward port.  This 
eliminated the need for attitude control by the station during the docking 
maneuver (Newkirk, 1990).  Clark (1988) claims the rear port also was 
outfitted with the Kurs system in addition to the old Igla system which 
would accommodate Progress freighters.
	Mir's first crew was launched March 1986 on Soyuz T-15 with live 
Soviet television coverage.  The Igla system controlled the approach to 
within 200 meters of Mir's aft docking port, which was compatible with 
Soyuz T and Progress.  Leonid Kizim then flew around to the forward port, 
which was instrumented with the new Kurs system to be used with Soyuz 
TM and Star modules.  The Soyuz was incapable of automatic docking at 
the forward port but the laser range finder that was first used on the 
Soyuz T-13 flight in June 1985 aided Kizim.  Kizim completed a manual 
docking from an initial range of 60 meters.  In May, the crew performed 
the first station-to-station transfer by flying over to Salyut 7 to reactivate 
it.  Again, the hand-held laser range finder was used to generate range 
data.  The automatic system was used from 5 km until Kizim took over 
manual control and docked.  The crew returned to Mir at the end of June.  
After the crew used the Igla rendezvous system to reduce the range from 
200 meters, Kizim took over control at a range of 50 meters from the rear 
docking port and maneuvered to dock at the forward port.
	The Kurs rendezvous system was demonstrated in May 1986 with an 
unmanned Soyuz TM-1.  This system does not require target vehicle 
transponders and can dock with a station at any relative attitude.  It 
"makes contact with the station at a range of 200 km and docking lock-on 
begins at 20 to 30 km distance" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 313).  Kurs presents 
closing rate data from the docking radar to the cosmonauts.
	On March 31, 1987, the Kvant "quantum" module, the first to be sent 
to Mir, was launched 1 degree out of plane with Mir in an approach similar 
to that of Star modules.  During its approach to Mir on April 5, the 
cosmonauts were suited upin the Soyuz TM in case of a collision.  The 
spacecraft started its approach at 17 km distance using the old Igla 
docking system.  At 500 meters distance, the Kvant's forward docking 
camera was activated and the docking probe extended.  When Kvant was 
only 200 meters from the station and preparing for final docking 
maneuvers, Flight Director Ryumin radioed to the cosmonauts that Kvant 
had lost its lock-on to Mir's docking transponders. . . . [Kvant drifted 
slightly and] was rotating slightly as it passed within 10 meters of Mir."  
(Newkirk, 1990, pp. 321-322)"The Kvant thrusters failed to slow down the 
module and it flew past Mir" (Clark, 1988, p. 155).  Mission controllers 
spent several days analyzing the problem during which time the Kvant 
drifted to a range of 400 km.  Ground controllers brought Kvant back to 
the vicinity of Mir.  The Igla automatic docking system was activated at a 
range of 22 km.  Lock-on to Mir's docking transponder signal was 
achieved; at a range of 1000 meters, the approach velocity was 2.5 meters 
per second.  (This is 2.5 times the rate suggested by NASA's 0.1% rule.)  
The relative velocity was decreased to .32 meters per second at 26 meters 
(12.3 times the 0.1% rule rate of .026 meters per second).  Soft docking 
was achieved within 21 minutes of Igla lock-on.
 	During the docking of Progress 33 in November 1987, the Soviets 
experimented with new station orienting procedures since the Igla system, 
used by the Progress, required active maneuvering by the target vehicle.  
Typical fuel expenditures for docking a Progress to Mir were 
approximately 192 kg using the old system.  "The new Igla procedure 
reduced this amount to about 82 kg" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 322).
 	The first launch of the Progress M, a modified Progress, occurred in 
August 1989.  It has an increased on-orbit stay time, "has an improved 
automated docking system and also is able to transfer unused fuel to the 
space station" (Rains, 1990b, p. 8).  The Progress M also possesses a return 
capsule, which was successfully tested on mission Progress M5, in 
November 1990 (Kiernan, 1990).Docking Failures
	Despite their great experience with docking both manned and 
unmanned spacecraft, the Soviets have had several failures during docking 
maneuvers.  Failures occurred with Soyuz 15 in August 1974, Soyuz 23 in 
October 1976, Soyuz 25 in October 1977, Soyuz 33 in April 1979, and 
Soyuz T-8 in April 1983.
	The failure of Soyuz 15 to dock with Salyut 3 was due either to a 
repeated system failure to initiate the manual control phase at a range of 
100 meters (Clark, 1988), or, "the automatic system malfunctioned twice, 
pushing the ship out of control with excessive engine burns while only 30 
to 50 meters from the station" (Newkirk, 1990, p. 128).  With a limited 
battery and fuel supply, the vehicle had to de-orbit when the docking 
failed.
	In October 1976, Soyuz 23 was aborted because of a malfunction in 
the automatic docking system.  This occurred before the range of the Soyuz 
to the Salyut 5 station was reduced to 100 meters.  Since the crew of 
Vyacheslav Zudov and Veleri Rozhdestvenski were trained to take over 
from 100 meters, but not before, the crew were forced to land as soon as 
possible.  The manual back-up mode was not extensive enough to save this 
mission.  As Tass reported, "the spaceship Soyuz 23 was put into the 
automatic regime for the approach to Salyut 5.  Docking with the Salyut 5 
station was cancelled because of an unplanned operation of the approach 
control system of the ship" (Clark, 1988, p. 74).
	Viktor Grobatko flew a successful docking of Soyuz 24 in February 
1977 after taking over control at a range of 80 meters.  The Soviets' 
success was short-lived, however, as failure plagued Soyuz 25 in October 
that year.  Vladimir Kovalyonok began the docking maneuver from 120 
meters but five docking attempts to the Salyut 6 station failed due to a 
faulty docking fixture on the Soyuz.  As the news release stated, At 07.09 
[sic] Moscow time today [10 October] the automatic rendezvous of the 
Soyuz 25 ship and the Salyut 6 station was begun.  From a distance of 120 
metres, the vehicles performed a docking manoeuvre.  Due to deviations 
from the planned procedure for docking, the link-up was called off.  The 
crew has begun making preparations for a return to Earth.  (Clark, 1988, 
pp. 104-5)While soft docking was achieved, hard docking enabling 
electrical connections to be made was not.  This failure resulted in the 
prohibition of all-rookie crews; Romanenko and Ivanchenkov from the all-
rookie back-up crew were each paired with veteran cosmonauts.
	Soyuz 33, with the fourth international crewPBulgaria, was launched 
in April 1979.  The Igla system was implemented at a range of 9 km.  
While approaching a range of 1 km from Salyut 6, the Soyuz automatically 
fired its main engine for only three of its scheduled six seconds and caused 
tremendous shaking.  The second attempt with Igla also failed when it 
immediately shut down the engine.  As Tass reported, "During the process 
of approach there occurred deviations from the regular mode of operation 
of the approach correcting propulsion unit of the Soyuz 33 spacecraft, and 
the docking of the craft with the Salyut 6 was aborted" (Clark, 1988, p. 
114).  The Soviets determined the problem to reside in the Soyuz main 
engine which was terminating thrust upon a failure to attain normal 
combustion pressure.  This was the first on-orbit failure of the Soyuz 
propulsion system.  The crew returned to Earth without docking.  This 
amounted to the second failed visit to a Salyut for Nikolay Rukavishnikov, 
the Soviet's first civilian commander.  The Soyuz 32 crew in Salyut 6 did 
not receive supplies until Progress 6 brought them in May.
	Another failure occurred in April 1983 with the aborted Soyuz T-8 
mission.  Although the launch shroud accidentally removed the rendezvous 
radar antenna, mission controllers decided to violate their own rules and 
let Vladimir Titov attempt an optical rendezvous from 10 km.  This had 
never been done before by the Soviets and was particularly risky since 
Titov later claimed he had not previously trained for manual approach and 
docking.  Flight directors assisted Titov by computing the range rate after 
Titov reported Salyut size estimates.  After a range of 330 meters was 
passed, the Soyuz slipped out of contact with the ground.  Without his 
range rate source, Titov was not sure of his closing rate.  Although he was 
able to reduce his range to 75 meters with the aid of the Soyuz's floodlight, 
he approached at too high a velocity and fearing a collision, fired thrusters 
to change orbits and abort the docking  (Newkirk, 1990).
	There had been ten manned launches to Salyut 1, Salyut 3, Salyut 4 
and Salyut 5.  Of these one had failed to reach orbit (Soyuz 18-1), two had 
failed to dock with their Salyuts (Soyuz 15, Soyuz 23), one had docked but 
the crew had been unable to transfer to their Salyut (Soyuz 10) and one 
crew had perished during their return to Earth (Soyuz 11).  This left the 
Soviets with a 50 per cent success rate, if we deem Soyuz 21 as a 
successful mission even though it was terminated earlier than planned. . . . 
During 1977-1981 there were 16 Soyuz spacecraft launched towards 
Salyut 6 and of these only one failed to dock (Soyuz 33) and one docked 
but the crew could not transfer (Soyuz 25); additionally, there were 4 
launches of Soyuz-T craft, 12 launches of Progress craft and the Cosmos 
1267 mission P all of which successfully docked with Salyut 6.  For Salyut 6 
the success rate was 94 per cent.  (Clark, 1988, pp. 126-7)
Docking Recoveries
	Not all failures resulted in the loss of the mission.  During the Soyuz 
T-6 mission in June 1982, Vladimir Dzhanibekov rescued the docking with 
a manual maneuver after the automatic system failed.  After turning the 
spacecraft around to perform the braking maneuver, at 900 meters from 
Salyut 7, the Argon computer failed and would not realign with the station.  
Dzhanibekov disconnected the computer and maneuvered the Soyuz along 
all three axes to resume pointing at the station.  His successful docking 
from such a far range under manual control was a major achievement 
(Newkirk, 1990).  The regular failure of the Soyuz-T system during final 
approach was usually followed by manual recovery and presumably led to 
computer improvements in Soyuz-TM (Clark, 1988).
	Vladimir Dzhanibekov was no stranger to docking operations as this 
was his third.  After five flights (he is the first, and as of 1986 still the 
only, cosmonaut to fly more than three missions), he is the Soviet Union's 
most experienced cosmonaut.  Dzhanibekov served as back-up commander 
to Alexei Leonov for ASTP but did not fly until January 1978 with Soyuz 
27 when he achieved the first double docking with a manned space station.  
In March 1981 he flew his second flight in Soyuz 39 with Jugerdemidiin 
Gurragcha.  In July 1984, on Soyuz T-12, he accompanied Svetlana 
Savitskaya in the first extra-vehicular activity (EVA) by a female (Hillyer, 
1986).
	As prime commander of the Soyuz T-13 mission, Dzhanibekov had 
the privilege of testing a new manual docking system in June 1985.  The 
primary purpose of this flight was to rescue Salyut-7 after it had lost all 
power and was rolling aimlessly in space.  As Dzhanibekov says, There 
were great difficulties with preparation for docking with this object.  The 
station seemed to us as a dead space object and nothing more.  And 
specialists were afraid that it would rotate in space at too high a speed in 
three axes.  So we had to train and to find out this optimum way to 
maneuver around the station to find the best light conditions of the Sun.  
And of course to train our hand . . . everything had to be done manually.  
(Hillyer, 1986, p. 17)
	Equipped with a laser rangefinder, Dzhanibekov compared the 
measured range to Salyut-7 with the range computed by his spacecraft.  At 
10 km, Dzhanibekov interrupted the automated approach to input Salyut 7 
attitude data into the Soyuz docking computer.  The automatic approach 
resumed until "3 km distance, at a rate of 12, and later 6 meters/second 
when Dzhanibekov took control"  (Newkirk, 1990, p. 270).  At three km, 
"there started to be a difference between our measurements and the 
radar-calculated data.  So I had to take the handles and step in to direct 
manually" (Hillyer, 1986, p. 17).  "At 2 km, the crew used a new optical 
guidance system, hand-held laser range finder and a night vision 
instrument, to see and measure distance to the station"  (Newkirk, p. 270).  
At a range of 200 meters, Dzhanibekov nulled the approach velocity 
because the sun was behind the station making visibility poor.  For 10 
minutes he circled the station on damage patrol.  Then, in a roll-matching 
maneuver, he docked with the station.  "(Later Dzhanibekov would say, 
'Docking is like driving a seven-ton truck with fragile freight on an icy 
road into a narrow gate at the end of this road')" (Kramer, 1990, p. 57).  
The docking was successful and Dzhanibekov has similar opinions about 
manual control as Buzz Aldrin: he shares Aldrin's skepticism about 
automated systems and claims that manual control gives the ability to 
"operate in [a] wider range" (Hillyer, p. 18).
	According to U.S., British, and Soviet sources, Salyut 7 will reenter in 
late January or early February 1991 ("Salyut 7," 1990, p. 2).  The Salyut 7-
Cosmos 1686 will be the largest object to reenter since Skylab on July 11, 
1979.  The Salyut's demise was accelerated by a peak in solar flare activity 
in 1989.
	Admittedly, one of the main reasons for manual control is emotional 
or political, namely, pilots would rather fly than watch.  However, the 
successful rescues mentioned previously would not have been possible 
without human intervention.
	Another recovery was made with Soyuz TM-5 (the thirteenth 
international crew-Bulgaria), in June 1988.  Although the Kurs system 
malfunctioned during the final approach, flight controllers diagnosed the 
problem and a successful docking was completed within two days of the 
launch.
 	In June 1990, a docking recovery was achieved with an unmanned 
vehicle.  Docking of the Kristall module with the Mir space station was 
automatically aborted when a Kristall computer discovered a malfunction 
in one of its attitude control thrusters.  Ground controllers used a backup 
set of thrusters to complete the docking operation successfully (Rains, 
1990a).

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End of SPACE Digest V13 #231
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