Spektr Module (Mir)

Diagram
Diagram of Spektr
Module statistics
Mission name	Mir
Launch	May 20, 1995 03:33:22 UTC Baikonur, LC 81L, USSR
Launch vehicle	Proton-K
Docked	June 1, 1995 00:56:16 UTC
Depressurized	June 25, 1997
Re-entry	March 23, 2001 05:50:00 UTC
Time in Orbit	2134 days, 2 hours [1]
Length	9. Mir (Мир which can mean both Peace and World, and was the name given to peasant communes in pre-revolutionary Russia was a Soviet (and Mir (Мир which can mean both Peace and World, and was the name given to peasant communes in pre-revolutionary Russia was a Soviet (and Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Baikonur ( Kazakh: Байқоңыр Russian: Байконур formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan The Proton rocket Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. 1 m
Diameter	4. 35 m [2]
Mass	43,290 lb (19,640 kg)[3]

For the experimental black metal/black ambient band, see Spektr (band). Spektr is an experimental Black metal duo formed in 2000 in Paris France

Spektr (Russian: Спектр; English: Spectrum) (TKM-O, 77KSO, 11F77O) was the fifth module of the Mir Space Station. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Mir (Мир which can mean both Peace and World, and was the name given to peasant communes in pre-revolutionary Russia was a Soviet (and The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment containing atmospheric and surface research equipment. Spektr also had four solar arrays which generated about half of the station's electrical power.

Development

Cut-away view of Spektr

The Spektr module was originally developed as part of a top-secret military program code-named "Oktant. " It was planned to carry experiments with space borne surveillance and test antimissile defense. The surveillance instruments were mounted on the exterior of the module opposite the docking port. Also in this location were two launchers for artificial targets. The heart of the Spektr payload was an experimental optical telescope code-named "Pion. An optical telescope is a Telescope which is used to gather and focus light mainly from the visible part of the Electromagnetic spectrum In Particle physics, pion (short for pi meson) is the collective name for three Subatomic particles, and. ”

Instrument list:

• 286K binocular radiometer
• Astra 2 - monitored atmospheric trace constituents, Mir environment
• Balkan 1 lidar - measures upper cloud altitude. Used a 5320 angstrom laser source, provided 4. 5 m resolution
• EFO 2 photometer
• KOMZA - interstellar gas detector
• MIRAS absorption spectrometer - measured neutral atmospheric composition
• Phaza spectrometer - surface studies. Examined wavelengths between 0. 340-285 micrometer, and provides 200 km resolution
• Taurus/Grif - monitored Mir's induced X/gamma ray background
• VRIZ UV spectroradiometer

These experiments would have been a continuation of the research a top-secret TKS-M module, which docked to Salyut 7 in 1985. Design The TKS spacecraft is composed of TKS SAS TKS SAS for "Sistema avariynogo spaseniya" or "Emergency escape system" Salyut 7 (Салют-7 Salute 7 was the final Space station launched into Low Earth orbit as part of the Soviet Union 's Salyut Program However, with the end of the Cold War and the shrinking of Russia’s space budget, the module was stuck on the ground. ^[2]

In the mid-1990s with the return of US-Russian cooperation in space, NASA agreed to provide funds to complete the Spektr and Priroda modules in exchange for having 600 to 700 kg of US experiments installed. The Priroda (Природа English: Nature) (TsM-I 77KSI 11F77I module was the seventh and final module of the Mir Space Station. The Oktava military component was replaced with a conical mounting area for two additional solar arrays. The airlock for the Oktava targets to be used instead to expose experiments to the vacuum of space. Since the beginning of the last century Oktava has become the biggest electro-acoustic transducer manufacturer in Russia and the former Soviet Union ^[3]

Once in orbit, Spektr served as the living quarters for American astronauts until the collision in late June 1997

Collision

On June 25, 1997, the Progress M-34 spacecraft crashed into Spektr while maneuvering for a docking with the Kvant-1 module. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Background The Kvant spacecraft represented the first use of a new kind of Soviet space station module designated 37K The collision damaged one of Spektr's solar arrays and punctured the hull, depressurizing the module. The module was sealed off from the rest of the station to prevent depressurization of the entire Mir station, but required cutting off the power cables from Spektr's solar panels, which had to be cut manually with fire axes. An internal spacewalk in the Spektr module in August 1997 by cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov, from Soyuz TM-26, succeeded in restoring those connections by modifying the hatch to allow them pass through in the closed position. Pavel Vladimirovich Vinogradov (Павел Владимирович Виноградов (born August 31, 1953 in Magadan, Russia) is a Soyuz TM-26 is a Russian spacecraft that ferried cosmonauts and supplies to the Mir, the Russian Space station. In a second internal spacewalk in October they connected two of the panels to a computer system to allow them to be controlled remotely and align with the Sun. These modifications allowed power generation to return to approximately 70% of the pre-collision generation capability. ^[4]

Spektr was left depressurized and isolated from the remainder of the Mir complex.

Gallery

Overall view of Spektr before the collision

Damaged Spektr solar array

Damaged radiator on Spektr

External links

• http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir_spektr.html Contains diagrams, pictures and background info.
• http://www.astronautix.com/craft/spektr.htm Contains design history and equipment information.
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mir/spektr.html Brief in orbit history.
• Gunter's Space Page - information on Spektr

References