Russian Planetary Exploration

History, Development, Legacy, Prospects

By: Brian Harvey

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Paperback | 20 December 2006

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378 Pages

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24.13 x 17.15 x 1.91

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Russia's accomplishments in planetary space exploration were not achieved easily. Formerly, the USSR experienced frustration in trying to tame unreliable Molniya and Proton upper stages and in tracking spacecraft over long distances. This book will assess the scientific haul of data from the Venus and Mars missions and look at the engineering approaches. The USSR developed several generations of planetary probes: from MV and Zond to the Phobos type. The engineering techniques used and the science packages are examined, as well as the nature of the difficulties encountered which ruined several missions. The programme's scientific and engineering legacy is also addressed, as well as its role within the Soviet space programme as a whole.

Brian Harvey concludes by looking forward to future Russian planetary exploration (e.g Phobos Grunt sample return mission). Several plans have been considered and may, with a restoration of funding, come to fruition. Soviet studies of deep space and Mars missions (e.g. TMK, Aelita) have much to offer contemporary planners in Europe and the United States. Long-duration ISS and Mir missions provide a medical record of considerable value in constructing human exploration of Mars.

Illustrated with the photographs taken by Soviet Venus and Mars probes, pictures of the spacecraft, diagrams of the flight paths and landing techniques and maps of the landing sites, the book will build on the published scientific papers from the programme, archived material and memoirs and other material coming to light in recent years.

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From the reviews:

"Brian Harvey ... has produced an excellent work in this latest volume. ... Russian Planetary Exploration: History, Development, Legacy and Prospects, an equally good account of Soviet/Russian planetary exploration. ... Anyone with an interest in the history of Soviet/Russian space activities would find ... illuminating and rewarding." (Liftoff, Issue 239, 2007)

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Solar System including The Sun & Planets

Author's preface	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xi
List of figures	p. xiii
List of abbreviations and acronyms	p. xix
Aelita	p. 1
The long school summer of 1883	p. 1
Aelita and the role of science fiction in Russia	p. 2
Perelman, Tsander and Shargei	p. 4
After suppression, revival	p. 7
Venus at the time of the space age	p. 8
Mars at the time of the space age	p. 13
Prelude to the interplanetary age	p. 15
References	p. 16
First plans	p. 17
Soviet rocketry	p. 17
Germany's progress	p. 18
R-7 rocket	p. 19
The idea of an Earth satellite	p. 21
The idea of an interplanetary probe	p. 23
The First Cosmic Ship	p. 26
Planning the first Venus and Mars missions	p. 26
The rocket for the Mars, Venus probes	p. 29
Tracking system	p. 31
The man-to-Mars programme in the 1950s	p. 35
Korabl Mars Venera and the Tizhuly Mezhplanetny Korabl (TMK)	p. 36
Another way to go: Kosmoplan	p. 39
Ready for Mars and Venus	p. 41
References	p. 42
The first Mars, Venus probes	p. 43
1M and 1V series, 1960	p. 43
Hiding in plain view: Tyzhuli sputnik	p. 49
The first automatic interplanetary station to Venus	p. 51
'Sabotage is not excluded'	p. 54
Re-design	p. 56
The 2MV series in 1962	p. 60
Mars 1	p. 64
3MV series: 1964 Venus missions	p. 68
Improving the launcher: the 8K78M	p. 72
3MV: 1964 Mars missions	p. 73
Zond 2 postscript	p. 76
End of the first series	p. 78
References	p. 79
OKB Lavochkin	p. 81
OKB-301 Lavochkin	p. 81
Three-part reorganization: Lavochkin, ministry, institute	p. 84
Lavochkin's redesign	p. 87
New spacecraft: new rocket - the UR-500 (8K82)	p. 89
Russia reaches the evening star	p. 93
First descent	p. 98
Venera 5, 6	p. 102
New tracking systems	p. 106
Under new management	p. 108
References	p. 109
First landfall on Venus, Mars	p. 111
First landfall on Venus	p. 111
Baseline Venus: Venera 8	p. 115
Babakin's first design: Mars 69	p. 120
Design challenges of Mars 69	p. 123
Broken windows, broken hopes	p. 127
Mars 71S: an orbiter to fly ahead of the landing fleet	p. 128
How to reach and soft-land?	p. 130
Mini-rovers	p. 134
The loss of Mars 71S and its consequences	p. 138
On the way at last	p. 139
Georgi Babakin, 1914-1971	p. 140
First to reach the surface of Mars	p. 142
Mars 3: first to soft-land	p. 144
The orbital missions	p. 146
The great Mars fleet: the problem of 2T-212	p. 154
On their way	p. 157
Mars 6 reaches Mare Erythraeum	p. 158
The short success of Mars 5	p. 161
Mars fleet aftermath	p. 165
References	p. 168
The high summer of Soviet planetary exploration, 1975-1986	p. 171
New generation	p. 171
Venera 9 lands on a mountainside	p. 174
Venera 10	p. 176
Venera 11, 12: the first sounds of another world	p. 184
Venera 13, 14: drilling the rocks	p. 191
Venera 13 and 14 outcomes	p. 196
Venera 15 and 16: the plan	p. 199
Venera 15, 16: the mission	p. 202
Venera 15, 16: outcomes	p. 205
Toward VEGA: the balloon project	p. 211
VEGA: the mission	p. 213
VEGA: spacecraft and instruments	p. 215
VEGA at Venus	p. 218
The balloon journeys	p. 223
Breaking the curse of Suslov: VEGA at Comet Halley	p. 227
The interception of Halley: scientific results	p. 229
High summer	p. 232
References	p. 235
Phobos, crisis and decline	p. 239
The Martians strike back: Projects 5NM, 5M	p. 239
New chief designer: Vyacheslav Kovtunenko; new spacecraft: UMVL	p. 243
Phobos: last of the Soviet Mars probes	p. 246
'We can shoot them all later'	p. 251
Precarious arrival at Mars	p. 252
Manoeuvring to the moon	p. 254
'The last message from the dying Phobos 2'	p. 257
Science results from Phobos	p. 261
Putting it back together again	p. 266
The Soviet Union becomes Russia	p. 269
Completed by candlelight	p. 270
After Mars 96?	p. 273
Mars 96: last of the heavyweights	p. 275
Instead of Mars, the Andes: the short, sorry flight of Mars 96	p. 281
Hard times	p. 284
Planetary spacecraft leave from Baikonour again	p. 286
References	p. 287
Returning to the planets?	p. 291
Critical paths to Mars	p. 291
Biosphere	p. 292
Manovtsev, Ulybyshev and Bozhko fly to Mars	p. 293
The Mir experience	p. 296
Critical nuclear, electric paths	p. 298
Aelita - not the film, but the real thing	p. 299
Aelita: the new TMK-MEK	p. 300
Aelita: Chelomei's UR-700M	p. 302
End of Aelita	p. 302
Following Aelita: Energiya's new designs	p. 303
DZh VS: long-duration Venus lander	p. 308
Final Soviet period plans	p. 310
Vesta mission	p. 310
Putting Mars back together again	p. 314
Return to Phobos? Phobos Grunt	p. 314
Fire and ice	p. 318
Keeping the dream alive	p. 321
References	p. 322
The legacy	p. 325
References	p. 331
Soviet and Russian planetary missions	p. 333
Where are they now?	p. 335
Bibliography	p. 339
Books	p. 339
Journal articles, articles, reports, papers, brochures and similar publications	p. 340
Booklets	p. 344
Internet	p. 344
Periodicals and journals consulted	p. 345
Index	p. 347
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Russian Planetary Exploration

History, Development, Legacy, Prospects

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

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How to return your order

Defective items

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