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Almaz
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Chelomei's Almaz space station was designed to conduct orbital research into the usefulness of manned observation of the earth. It was to be dedicated to detailed high-resolution study of specific targets. Accordingly it was equipped with a very high resolution optical camera, infrared sensor, and optical sight for use by the cosmonauts aboard.
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KLE Complex Lunar Expedition
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Chelomei's design for a lunar base, studied in 1964 to 1974 as a UR-700-launched predecessor or alternative to Barmin's DLB.
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Lunar Orbit OPS
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In Chelomei's draft project for the UR-700, he proposed that lunar versions of the Almaz OPS be placed in lunar orbit to conduct detailed reconnaissance of the surface using manned assistance.
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Almaz APOS
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The initial Almaz program planned in 1965 consisted of two phases. In the first phase, 20 metric ton Almaz APOS space stations, complete with crew and re-entry capsule, would be put in orbit by a single launch of a Proton rocket. In this phase the value of manned space reconnaissance and targeting would be evaluated. The Almaz APOS concept was cancelled at the end of 1966 and replaced with Almaz-1 OPS.
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Almaz OPS
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Vladimir Chelomei's Almaz OPS was the only manned military space station ever actually flown. The stations were equipped with an unprecedented array of sensors for 'man-in-the-loop' observation and targeting of mobile ground targets. One was equipped with a space-to-space gun. In the end the station officially proved that manned systems were not a cost-effective method for space reconnaissance and targeting. But the Almaz station provided the basis for the Russian Salyut, Mir, and the International Space Station space station modules.
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Salyut 1
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Salyut 1 was the first DOS long duration orbital station. The 'civilian' DOS station was built on basis of the military Almaz stations with the mission of beating the American Skylab in the space station race and to determine the usefulness of manned observation of the earth by 1974. DOS-1 was launched as Salyut 1 on 19 April 1971. The triumph turned to tragedy when the Soyuz-11 crew died due to de-pressurization of their re-entry capsule during return to the earth.
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OPS + TKS
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Designation give to combined TKS+OPS Almaz station.
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Salyut 4
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Four of the initial DOS-1 versions of a civilian Soviet space station were built using converted Almaz military stations. DOS-1 was launched as Salyut 1 on 19 April 1971. The triumph turned to tragedy when the Soyuz-11 crew died due to de-pressurization of their re-entry capsule during return to the earth. Launches of the first series DOS stations continued in a desperate effort to beat Skylab into orbit with a fully successful Soviet space station mission. DOS-2, s/n 122, was destroyed in a launch vehicle explosion en route to orbit in July 1972. DOS-3, s/n 123, reached orbit as Cosmos 557 in 1973 but control was lost before a crew could be sent to the station. DOS-4, the last of the first series, finally flew successfully as Salyut 4 in 1974. Salyut 4 differed from Salyut 1 in having three sets or rotatable solar panels, more electrical power, and a more complete equipment suite.
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Salyut 6
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The Salyut 6 space station was the most successful of the DOS series prior to Mir. It was aloft for four years and ten months, completing 27,785 orbits of the earth. Five main expeditions and 11 short duration expeditions visited the station, of which nine had international crews. A total of 676 days of piloted operations were conducted by 27 cosmonauts with steadily increasing flight duration: 18, 75, 96, 140, and 185 days. 35 automatic dockings were conducted with the station by 20 Soyuz, 12 Progress, and 1 TKS spacecraft.
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Almaz OPS-2
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The initial Almaz military space station program planned in 1965 consisted of two phases. In the second phase sustained operations would be conducted with Almaz dual-docking port stations serviced by TKS manned resupply vehicles.
Almaz flights were delayed in 1970 when resources were diverted in a crash program to modify Almaz into the civilian Salyut space station in order to upstage the American Skylab. Almaz first phase flights finally took place in 1973-1977. Four Soyuz crews successfully visited two Almaz stations. Second phase flights of Almaz-2 stations and TKS were to be flown in 1981-1982. Unmanned flight tests of the TKS, its VA re-entry capsule, and construction of dual-port Almaz stations were completed, but Phase 2 was cancelled in 1979.
The nearly-complete second phase Almaz stations were converted into automated Almaz-T reconnaissance platforms.
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Salyut 7
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Salyut 7 was the back-up article for Salyut 6 and very similar in equipment and capabilities. It was in use for four years and two months, during which time it was visited by 10 crews constituting 6 main expeditions and 4 secondary flights (including French and Indian cosmonauts). A total of 22 cosmonauts visited the station, five of them twice and one three times. From two to six crew were aboard at any one time. 11 Soyuz T and 15 Progress spacecraft made a total of 25 dockings and 3 redockings. Mission durations of 211 and then 237 days were achieved, during which 13 EVA's were conducted during 861 total days of piloted flight.
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Mir
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Improved model of the Salyut DOS-17K space station with one aft docking port and five ports in a spherical compartment at the forward end of the station. Mir lasted 15 years, the complex in the end consisting of 7 modules with 11.5 metric tons of scientific equipment. It cost $220 to $240 million per year to keep in operation.
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Almaz-T
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The results of the manned Almaz flights showed that manned reconnaissance from space was not worth the expense. There was minimal time to operate the equipment after the crew took the necessary time for maintenance of station housekeeping and environmental control systems.
The experiments themselves showed good results and especially the value of reconnaissance of the same location in many different spectral bands and parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Therefore the program was not cancelled, but to be followed by the Almaz-T system, which was to be a multi-satellite multi-spectral system for sustained reconnaissance.
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Mir-2
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The Mir-2 space station was originally authorized in the February 1976 resolution setting forth plans for development of third generation Soviet space systems. It would undergo many changes over the year, with only one thing remaining constant: the starting point was always the DOS-8 base block space station core module, built as a back-up to the DOS-7 base block used in the Mir station. Eventually Mir-2 would be merged with the International Space Station, and DOS-8 was finally scheduled to be launched by the end of 2000 as the Service Module of the ISS.
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Mir-2 KB Salyut
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Alternative design for the Mir-2 space station by KB Salyut. If Polyus had successfully made it to orbit, it might have been the core for such a station.
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Almaz-1B
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Civilian derivative of the Almaz-1V military radarsat, developed for international earth resources missions, including a 3 band sounder with 5 to 7 m resolution and a high-resolution scanning infrared system.
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Almaz-2
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Plans for an even more sophisticated and capable civilian Almaz 2 spacecraft were made in the early 1990's. Almaz 2's payload mass of 6.5 metric tons would be powered by solar arrays with a maximum beginning-of-life average power rating of 3.8 kW. More than three metric tons of propellants would be available for a mission duration of up to five years at an altitude of 600 km.
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ISS Zvezda
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The Zvezda service module of the International Space Station had its origins a quarter century before it was launched. The Mir-2 space station was originally authorized in the February 1976 resolution setting forth plans for development of third generation Soviet space systems. It would undergo many changes over the years, with only one thing remaining constant: the starting point was always the DOS-8 base block space station core module, built as a back-up to the DOS-7 base block used in the Mir station. When the International Space Station was agreed to, the $3-billion DOS-8 became the first Russian segment of the station, originally known as the Service Module.
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