What spacecraft can be used for the purpose of cosmonauts transportation

Spacecraft

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket).

On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a space vehicle enters space and then returns to the surface without having gained sufficient energy or velocity to make a full Earth orbit. For orbital spaceflights, spacecraft enter closed orbits around the Earth or around other celestial bodies. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers from start or on orbit (space stations) only, whereas those used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft used to support scientific research are space probes. Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around a planetary body are artificial satellites. To date, only a handful of interstellar probes, such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and New Horizons, are on trajectories that leave the Solar System.

Orbital spacecraft may be recoverable or not. Most are not. Recoverable spacecraft may be subdivided by a method of reentry to Earth into non-winged space capsules and winged spaceplanes. Recoverable spacecraft may be reusable (can be launched again or several times, like the SpaceX Dragon and the Space Shuttle orbiters) or expendable (like the Soyuz). In recent years, more space agencies are tending towards reusable spacecraft.

Spacecraft

Spacecraft are the space vehicles that are able to fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere in the space. They provide us a method of transportation from the Earth to space and objects in it. They are various spacecraft that are familiar to most people e.g. Apollo 11 which took Neil Armstrong and his crew on the Moon.

Types of Spacecraft

Spacecraft have various types according to their design and purpose. But, most of the spacecraft can easily fit in the following categories.

How Spacecraft Fly in Space?

Spacecraft fly differently than aircraft which rely on atmosphere and wings or propellers. Spacecraft are pushed to space from the Earth with the help of powerful rockets. When a spacecraft successfully leaves the Earth’s atmosphere behind, it is then pushed by another set of rockets to set it around an orbit of the Earth. In the orbit, the spacecraft doesn’t fall back on the Earth.

A deep-space spacecraft, which go beyond the influence of the Moon and Earth, have boosters installed in them. After the rockets have successfully pushed them beyond escape velocity of the Earth, the spacecraft than use its boosters for driving itself towards the destination.

Furthermore, the spacecraft doesn’t need a constant push of the rockets in space to maintain their speed. Because there is no air in space that can cause air friction and slows down the spacecraft like here on the Earth.

Famous Spacecraft

Here is a list of some famous spacecraft that have made history.

Vostok 1 – This spacecraft made a brilliant history because it was the first time when a human entered in space and orbited around the Earth. Vostok 1 was designed and constructed by USSR and it was launched in 1961.

Apollo 11 – Apollo 11 is the only spacecraft that has left its history on most of the people around the world. Because it took Neil Armstrong and other crew members to the Moon which set foot on the surface of the Moon in 1969.

Hubble Telescope – Hubble telescope is a space observatory for astronomers to study the universe. It is set in an orbit around the Earth since 1990 (For more about Hubble Telescope).

History of Spacecraft

After conquering the air with aircraft it became a need to reach space and conquer it. Major nations around the world began to race against each other in becoming the first to reach space. The first spacecraft to enter space was V-2. It was made by Germany and launched in 1944.

After that, the major leap was to send a satellite in an orbit around the Earth. It was accomplished by USSR with its first satellite Sputnik 1 that was launched in 1957. The launch of Sputnik 1 boosted the competition further and everyone wanted to send their own satellite. After this, the space race began between USSR and America which accelerated the development of advanced spacecraft.

What spacecraft can be used for the purpose of cosmonauts transportation

12.4 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

The International Space Station (ISS) is the most complex and ________________ structure that has ever been launched and built in space. ISS will ___________________of 36 modules and hundreds of individual elements that come from all over the world. This mission is intended to learn how to build a massive SC __________________________ 400 tons in the orbit. ISS is expected to be a permanent off-planet _________________________ of human civilization. This program is supposed to ________________________________ scientific investigations in the absence of gravity.

Assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) began with the launches of the Russian control module Zarya on November 20, 1998. (ASSEMBLE) Astronauts exercise regularly in order to minimize muscle and bone loss. Space exploration can help us to discover new knowledge about own planet. (KNOW) Sixteen nations were involved in the construction of the ISS. (CONSTRUCT) Just as on Earth, recreation and sleep are important to good health when working in space. (CREATE) The food that the astronauts eat is mostly frozen and canned.(FREEZE) Crews are not only responsible for science, but also for maintaining the station.(RESPOND)

It is necessary that you (to come) a couple of days before the others. He talks about Rome as though he (to be) there himself. After the Challenger tragedy the military experts insisted that a new Shuttle (to be) built. It is desirable that international space cooperation (to give) significant economic advantage for countries involved. If he had worked more slowly, he (not make) so many mistakes. The accuracy of the system would be improved if signals (to transmit) on two frequencies simultaneously. If all submersibles had had autonomous principle of operation (to become) much more useful.

Space food: What do cosmonauts eat?

Source: Yekaterina Chipurenko / RIR, TASS

Located 3 kilometers (1,86 miles) from Moscow, the settlement of Ismailovo appears to be a typical Moscow suburb with potholes and multi-story buildings. The only noteworthy thing about it is the neat apple garden you encounter as you enter the town.

In front of the garden stands a yellow building, housing the Biryulevsky experimental factory. This is the only enterprise in Russia that specializes in the production of food for cosmonauts.

Every stage of the process – from the preparation of the food to the packaging – takes place behind closed doors. A look from the corridor through the windows in the walls reveals women in white robes putting spaghetti and mushrooms into transparent packages with unusual forms.

The food is very fine and dry, like dried fruit. These are the meals that Russia’s cosmonauts will take on their journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

From tubes to sublimation

«From the 60s to the middle of the 80s space food was packaged in tubes,» says Viktor Dobrovolsky, Director of the Research Institute of the Food Concentrate Industry and Special Food Technology, as well as Chief Designer of Space Food. «Nine products, including soups and juice, were placed in tubes for the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin. He was the first to try food in tubes.»

Source: Tatyana Shramchenko / RIR

Today’s space food has another aspect. Since the second half of the 1980s food has been sublimated and dehydrated, which has helped to reduce its volume and mass, explains Dobrovolsky.

Sublimation is carried out with the help of special apparatus. First the products are frozen at 70 degrees below zero. Then they are dried in a vacuum and packed. In the end what you see are small transparent packages with miniature food portions. Using this method, 97 percent of the vital nutrients are preserved. Moreover, the addition of flavor enhancers, dyes and other artificial additives to the food is forbidden.

The cosmonauts also use the package as a dish. With the help of a special tube, they pour a certain amount of hot and cold water into the package in order to give it its original form. Then they knead the package with their hands, wait 7-10 minutes for the food to reconstitute itself, cut off the edge of the package with scissors and start eating. The used package is then pressed and removed from the space station by a cargo spacecraft.

The cosmonaut’s ration includes canned food: crab, salmon, sturgeon, all in aluminum cans. Black caviar has also been served in space for the last two years. Before being sent, it goes through thermal processing, after which it can stay in space for up to half a year.

All the raw material used in the space food industry is exclusively Russian: The caviar is supplied by the Volgograd Region, where fish is reared in ponds; the sturgeon comes from Astrakhan; the crab from the Far East; while the bread and cheese is produced in Moscow factories.

Each spacecraft going to the ISS brings fresh fruit and vegetables: lemons, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Before being sent, the products are treated with a secret substance, the likes of which, according to Dobrovolsky, cannot be found anywhere else in the world. After such treatment the fresh fruit and vegetables can remain on the ISS for up to 40 days without changing form.

The diet

The cosmonauts eat four times a day: Three main meals and an additional one after intensive training or complex experiments. A daily ration for one person consists of 3,000-3,100 calories.

The popularization of space food

In February, at the VDNKh general purpose trade show in Moscow, an experimental machine was set up to sell space food in tubes. A tube of borsch, marinated lamb or pork with vegetables cost 300 rubles ($5.75). There were 12 types of products. In the next year to year and a half there will be about 200 such machines set up throughout the city.

Doctors and biologists determine how many proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as macro and microelements, should go into each portion. They also check the products to see if they contain pesticides, salts from heavy metals and other harmful substances. Before appearing on the spacecraft’s menu the products are tasted by the cosmonauts and are then judged according to a nine-point system: they are accepted only with a score of six or above.

Each country supplies its cosmonauts with its own food: Russian food is given to Russian cosmonauts, American food to American cosmonauts. However, if the Russian cosmonauts wish, they can order products from the American ration, and vice versa. «The Americans love our first courses – borsch, rassolnik, kharcho – as well as our cottage cheese, canned food and caviar,» says Dobrovolsky.

For New Year’s Eve the Biryulevsky factory prepares holiday packages based on the wish lists that the cosmonauts send in advance. They usually ask for traditional holiday products, such as salted cucumbers and tangerines. Alcohol is strictly forbidden in space, and is the only restriction. «There is nothing that is not prepared for cosmonauts,» concludes Dobrovolsky. «There are few of them, so everything must be done to please them.»

Interesting facts:

— The cosmonauts have a reserve stock of food for 40 days

— One of the products that is most popular and frequently ordered among cosmonauts is cottage cheese with nuts

— «Earthly» food such as cookies, jams, fruit bars and candy can also be brought onto the ISS. These products do not go through special processing, but are placed in airtight packages.

International Space Station: Facts, History & Tracking

By Elizabeth Howell published 13 October 21

The International Space Station is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a multi-nation construction project that is the largest single structure humans ever put into space. Its main construction was completed between 1998 and 2011, although the station continually evolves to include new missions and experiments. It has been continuously occupied since Nov. 2, 2000.

The ISS is not owned by one single nation and is a “co-operative programme” between Europe, the United States, Russia, Canada and Japan, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

As of April 2021, 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the International Space Station. Top participating countries include the United States (153 people) and Russia (50 people). Astronaut time and research time on the space station is allocated to space agencies according to how much money or resources (such as modules or robotics) that they contribute. The ISS includes contributions from 15 nations. NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia) and the European Space Agency are the major partners of the space station who contribute most of the funding; the other partners are the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Current plans call for the space station to be operated through at least 2024, with the partners discussing a possible extension until 2028. Afterwards, plans for the space station are not clearly laid out. It could be deorbited, or recycled for future space stations in orbit.

Crews aboard the ISS are assisted by mission control centers in Houston and Moscow and a payload control center in Huntsville, Ala. Other international mission control centers support the space station from Japan, Canada and Europe. The ISS can also be controlled from mission control centers in Houston or Moscow.

How to see the International Space Station

The Space Station flies at an average altitude of 248 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. It circles the globe every 90 minutes at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h). In one day, the station travels about the distance it would take to go from Earth to the moon and back.

The space station can rival the brilliant planet Venus in brightness and appears as a bright moving light across the night sky. It can be seen from Earth without the use of a telescope by night sky observers who know when and where to look.

For more information on how to see and track the ISS check out our guide.

What work do astronauts do aboard the ISS?

There is typically an international crew of 7 people that live and work on the ISS. However, during the changeover of crew members this number can vary, for example in 2009, 13 crew members visited the ISS. This is also the record for the most people in space at one time.

Typically, astronauts travel to the space station via a Russian Soyuz capsule (first launched in 1967), which has long been the only spacecraft that ferries people to the ISS, since NASA’s space shuttle programme retired in 2011. However, on Mar. 3, 2020, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule became the first privately-owned spacecraft to transport people to the ISS.

Once at the station, astronauts will typically spend a mission period of around 6 months conducting various science experiments and maintaining and repairing the ISS. Outside of work, astronauts will spend at least 2 hours on exercise and personal care. They also occasionally perform spacewalks, conduct media/school events for outreach, and post updates to social media. The first astronaut to tweet from space was Mike Massimino, who did it from a space shuttle in May 2009.

The ISS is a platform for long-term research for human health, which NASA bills as a key stepping stone to letting humans explore other solar system destinations such as the moon or Mars.

Human bodies change in microgravity, including alterations to muscles, bones, the cardiovascular system and the eyes; many scientific investigations are trying to characterize how severe the changes are and whether they can be reversed. Astronauts also participate in testing out products – such as an espresso machine or 3D printers – or doing biological experiments, such as on rodents or plants, which the astronauts can grow and sometimes eat in space. As the only microgravity laboratory in existence, the ISS has facilitated more than 3,600 researchers to conduct more than 2,500 experiments to date.

In 2019, NASA executives announced that the space station would open its airlocks to commercial businesses and private astronauts. This allows the private sector to test out new technologies and train astronauts under microgravity. There are also plans for Houston-based company Axiom Space to build a new commercial module on the space station to spur the growth of an off-Earth economy.

Crews are not only responsible for science, but also for maintaining the station. Sometimes, this requires that they venture on spacewalks to perform repairs. From time to time, these repairs can be urgent — such as when a part of the ammonia system fails, which has happened a couple of times. Spacewalk safety procedures were changed after a potentially deadly 2013 incident when astronaut Luca Parmitano’s helmet filled with water while he was working outside the station. NASA now responds quickly to «water incursion» incidents. It also has added pads to the spacesuits to soak up the liquid, and a tube to provide an alternate breathing location should the helmet fill with water.

What are the parts of the ISS?

The space station, including its large solar arrays, spans the area of a U.S. football field, including the end zones, and has a mass of 925,335 lbs. (419,725 kilograms), not including visiting vehicles. The complex now has more livable room than a conventional 6-bedroom house, and has 2 bathrooms, gym facilities and a 360-degree bay window. Astronauts have also compared the space station’s living space to the cabin of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

The International Space Station was taken into space piece-by-piece and gradually built in orbit using spacewalking astronauts and robotics. Most missions used NASA’s space shuttle to carry up the heavier pieces, although some individual modules were launched on single-use rockets. The ISS includes modules and connecting nodes that contain living quarters and laboratories, as well as exterior trusses that provide structural support, and solar panels that provide power.

The first module, the Russia Zarya, launched on Nov. 20, 1998, on a Proton rocket. Two weeks later, space shuttle flight STS-88 launched the NASA Unity/Node 1 module. Astronauts performed spacewalks during STS-88 to connect the two parts of the station together; later, other pieces of the station were launched on rockets or in the space shuttle cargo bay. [Rare Photos: Space Shuttle at Space Station]. Some of the other major modules and components include:

What else visits the ISS?

Besides the space shuttle and Soyuz, the space station has been visited by many other kinds of spacecraft. Uncrewed Progress (Russia) vehicles make regular visits to the station. Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle and Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle used to do visits to the ISS as well, until their programs were retired.

NASA began developing commercial cargo spacecraft to the space station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, which lasted from 2006 to 2013. Starting in 2012, the first commercial spacecraft, SpaceX’s Dragon, made a visit to the space station. Visits continue today with Dragon and Orbital ATK’s Antares spacecraft under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program.

Records in space

The ISS has had several notable milestones over the years, when it comes to crews: