How fast is the space station moving? International Space Station (ISS)

It began in 1957, when the first satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched in the USSR. Since then, people have managed to visit, and unmanned space probes have visited all planets, with the exception of. Satellites orbiting the Earth have entered our lives. Thanks to them, millions of people have the opportunity to watch TV (see article ““). The picture shows how part of the spacecraft returns to Earth using a parachute.

Rockets

The history of space exploration begins with rockets. The first rockets were used for bombing during the Second World War. In 1957, a rocket was created that delivered Sputnik 1 into space. Most rockets take up fuel tanks. Only reaches orbit top part rockets called payload. The Ariane 4 rocket has three separate sections with fuel tanks. They are called rocket stages. Each stage pushes the rocket a certain distance, after which, when empty, it separates. As a result, only the payload remains from the rocket. The first stage carries 226 tons of liquid fuel. Fuel and two boosters create the enormous mass required for takeoff. The second stage separates at an altitude of 135 km. The third stage of the rocket is its, running on liquid and nitrogen. The fuel here burns out in about 12 minutes. As a result, only the payload remains from the European Space Agency's Ariane 4 rocket.

In the 1950-1960s. The USSR and the USA competed in space exploration. The first manned spacecraft was Vostok. The Saturn 5 rocket took people to the moon for the first time.

Rockets 1950s-/960s:

1. "Sputnik"

2. "Vanguard"

3. Juno 1

4. "East"

5. "Mercury-Atlant"

6. Gemini Titan 2

8. "Saturn-1B"

9. Saturn 5

Cosmic speeds

To get into space, the rocket must go beyond . If its speed is insufficient, it will simply fall to the Earth due to the action of the force. The speed required to enter space is called first escape velocity. It is 40,000 km/h. In orbit, a spacecraft circles the Earth with orbital speed . The orbital speed of a ship depends on its distance from Earth. When a spaceship flies in orbit, it, in essence, simply falls, but cannot fall, since it loses altitude just as much as the earth’s surface goes down below it, rounding out.

Space probes

Probes are unmanned spacecraft, sent over long distances. They visited all the planets except Pluto. The probe can fly to its destination long years. When he flies to the right one celestial body, then goes into orbit around it and sends the obtained information to Earth. Miriner 10, the only probe to visit . Pioneer 10 became the first space probe to leave the solar system. It will reach the nearest star in more than a million years.

Some probes are designed to land on the surface of another planet, or they are equipped with landers that are dropped onto the planet. The lander can collect soil samples and deliver them to Earth for research. In 1966, a spacecraft, the Luna 9 probe, landed on the surface of the Moon for the first time. After planting, it opened like a flower and began filming.

Satellites

A satellite is an unmanned vehicle that is launched into orbit, usually Earth's. A satellite has a specific task - for example, to monitor, transmit television images, explore mineral deposits: there are even spy satellites. The satellite moves in orbit at orbital speed. In the picture you see a photograph of the mouth of the Humber River (England), taken by Landset from low-Earth orbit. Landset can “look at areas on Earth as small as 1 sq. m.

The station is the same satellite, but designed for the work of people on board. A spacecraft with a crew and cargo can dock at the station. So far, only three long-term stations have operated in space: the American Skylab and the Russian Salyut and Mir. Skylab was launched into orbit in 1973. Three crews worked sequentially on board it. The station ceased to exist in 1979.

Orbital stations play a huge role in studying the effects of weightlessness on the human body. Future stations, such as Freedom, which the Americans are now building with the participation of specialists from Europe, Japan and Canada, will be used for very long-term experiments or for industrial production in space.

When an astronaut leaves a station or spacecraft in open space, he puts on spacesuit. Inside the spacesuit, a temperature equal to atmospheric pressure is artificially created. The inner layers of the spacesuit are cooled by liquid. Devices monitor the pressure and oxygen content inside. The glass of the helmet is very durable; it can withstand impacts from small pebbles - micrometeorites.

However, in space everything is different, some phenomena are simply inexplicable and cannot be subject to any laws in principle. For example, a satellite launched several years ago, or other objects will rotate in their orbit and will never fall. Why is this happening, At what speed does a rocket fly into space?? Physicists suggest that there is a centrifugal force that neutralizes the effect of gravity.

Having done a small experiment, we can understand and feel this ourselves, without leaving home. To do this, you need to take a thread and tie a small weight to one end, then unwind the thread in a circle. We will feel that the higher the speed, the clearer the trajectory of the load, and the more tension the thread will have; if we weaken the force, the speed of rotation of the object will decrease and the risk that the load will fall increases several times. With this little experience we will begin to develop our topic - speed in space.

It becomes clear that high speed allows any object to overcome the force of gravity. Concerning space objects, any of them each have their own speed, it is different. There are four main types of such speed and the smallest of them is the first. It is at this speed that the ship flies into Earth orbit.

In order to fly beyond its limits you need a second speed in space. At the third speed, gravity is completely overcome and you can fly beyond the limits. solar system. Fourth rocket speed in space will allow you to leave the galaxy itself, this is approximately 550 km/s. We have always been interested rocket speed in space km h, when entering orbit it is equal to 8 km/s, beyond it - 11 km/s, that is, developing its capabilities to 33,000 km/h. The rocket gradually increases speed, full acceleration begins from an altitude of 35 km. Speedspacewalk is 40,000 km/h.

Speed ​​in space: record

Maximum speed in space- the record, set 46 years ago, still stands, it was achieved by astronauts who took part in the Apollo 10 mission. Having flown around the Moon, they returned back when speed of a spaceship in space was 39,897 km/h. In the near future, it is planned to send the Orion spacecraft into zero-gravity space, which will launch astronauts into low Earth orbit. Perhaps then it will be possible to break the 46-year-old record. Speed ​​of light in space- 1 billion km/h. I wonder if we can cover such a distance with our maximum available speed of 40,000 km/h. Here what is the speed in space develops in the light, but we don’t feel it here.

Theoretically, a person can move at a speed slightly less than the speed of light. However, this will entail colossal harm, especially for an unprepared organism. After all, first you need to develop such a speed, make an effort to safely reduce it. Because rapid acceleration and deceleration can be fatal to a person.

In ancient times, it was believed that the Earth was motionless; no one was interested in the question of the speed of its rotation in orbit, because such concepts did not exist in principle. But even now it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question, because the value is not the same in different geographical points. Closer to the equator, the speed will be higher, in the region of southern Europe it is 1200 km/h, this is the average Earth's speed in space.

This article will present the reader with such most interesting topic, like a space rocket, launch vehicle and all that useful experience, which this invention brought to humanity. It will also talk about payloads delivered into outer space. Space exploration began not so long ago. In the USSR it was the middle of the third five-year plan, when the Second World War. The space rocket was developed in many countries, but even the United States failed to overtake us at that stage.

First

The first successful launch to leave the USSR was a space launch vehicle with an artificial satellite on board on October 4, 1957. The PS-1 satellite was successfully launched into low-Earth orbit. It should be noted that this required the creation of six generations, and only the seventh generation of Russian space rockets were able to develop the speed required to enter near-Earth space - eight kilometers per second. Otherwise, it is impossible to overcome the gravity of the Earth.

This became possible in the process of developing long-range ballistic weapons, where engine boost was used. It should not be confused: a space rocket and a spaceship are two different things. The rocket is a delivery vehicle, and the ship is attached to it. Instead, there can be anything there - a space rocket can carry a satellite, equipment, and nuclear warhead, which has always served and still serves as a deterrent for nuclear powers and an incentive to maintain peace.

Story

The first to theoretically substantiate the launch of a space rocket were Russian scientists Meshchersky and Tsiolkovsky, who already in 1897 described the theory of its flight. Much later, this idea was picked up by Oberth and von Braun from Germany and Goddard from the USA. It is in these three countries work began on the problems of jet propulsion, the creation of solid fuel and liquid jet engines. These issues were best resolved in Russia; at least solid fuel engines were already widely used in World War II (Katyusha engines). Liquid jet engines were better developed in Germany, which created the first ballistic missile, the V-2.

After the war, Wernher von Braun's team, taking the drawings and developments, found shelter in the USA, and the USSR was forced to be content with a small number of individual rocket components without any accompanying documentation. The rest we came up with ourselves. Rocket technology developed rapidly, increasingly increasing the range and weight of the load carried. In 1954, work began on the project, thanks to which the USSR was able to be the first to fly a space rocket. It was an R-7 intercontinental two-stage ballistic missile, which was soon upgraded for space. It turned out to be a great success - extremely reliable, providing many records in mastering outer space. It is still used in its modernized form.

"Sputnik" and "Moon"

In 1957, the first space rocket - the same R-7 - launched the artificial Sputnik 1 into orbit. The United States decided to repeat such a launch a little later. However, in the first attempt, their space rocket did not go into space; it exploded at the start - even at live. "Vanguard" was designed by a purely American team, and it did not live up to expectations. Then Wernher von Braun took up the project, and in February 1958 the launch of the space rocket was a success. Meanwhile, in the USSR the R-7 was modernized - a third stage was added to it. As a result, the speed of the space rocket became completely different - a second cosmic speed was achieved, thanks to which it became possible to leave the Earth's orbit. For several more years, the R-7 series was modernized and improved. The engines of space rockets were changed, and a lot of experiments were done with the third stage. The next attempts were successful. The speed of the space rocket made it possible not only to leave the Earth’s orbit, but also to think about studying other planets in the solar system.

But at first, mankind's attention was almost completely focused on the Earth's natural satellite - the Moon. In 1959, the Soviet space station Luna 1, which was supposed to make a hard landing on lunar surface. However, due to insufficiently accurate calculations, the device passed a little past (six thousand kilometers) and rushed towards the Sun, where it settled into orbit. This is how our star got its first artificial satellite - an accidental gift. But our natural satellite was not alone for long, and in the same 1959, Luna-2 flew to it, completing its task absolutely correctly. A month later, Luna-3 delivered us photographs reverse side our night luminary. And in 1966, Luna 9 softly landed right in the Ocean of Storms, and we received panoramic views of the lunar surface. Lunar program continued for a long time, until the time when the American astronauts landed on it.

Yuri Gagarin

April 12 has become one of the most significant days in our country. It is impossible to convey the power of the people's jubilation, pride, and truly happiness when the world's first human flight into space was announced. Yuri Gagarin became not only a national hero, he was applauded by the whole world. And therefore, April 12, 1961, a day that triumphantly went down in history, became Cosmonautics Day. The Americans urgently tried to respond to this unprecedented step in order to share space glory with us. A month later, Alan Shepard took off, but the ship did not go into orbit; it was a suborbital flight in an arc, and the United States succeeded in orbital flight only in 1962.

Gagarin flew into space on the Vostok spacecraft. This is a special machine in which Korolev created an extremely successful space platform that solves many different practical problems. At the same time, at the very beginning of the sixties, not only a manned version was being developed space flight, but the photo reconnaissance project was also completed. "Vostok" generally had many modifications - more than forty. And today satellites from the Bion series are in operation - these are direct descendants of the ship on which the first manned flight into space was made. In the same 1961, German Titov had a much more complex expedition, who spent the whole day in space. The United States was able to repeat this achievement only in 1963.

"East"

An ejection seat was provided for cosmonauts on all Vostok spacecraft. This was a wise decision, since a single device performed tasks both at the launch (emergency rescue of the crew) and the soft landing of the descent module. Designers focused their efforts on developing one device rather than two. This reduced the technical risk; in aviation, the catapult system at that time was already well developed. On the other hand, there is a huge gain in time than if you design a completely new device. After all, the space race continued, and the USSR won it by a fairly large margin.

Titov landed in the same way. He was lucky to parachute around railway, along which the train was traveling, and journalists immediately photographed it. The landing system, which has become the most reliable and softest, was developed in 1965 and uses a gamma altimeter. She still serves today. The USA did not have this technology, which is why all of their descent vehicles, even the new SpaceX Dragons, do not land, but splash down. Only shuttles are an exception. And in 1962, the USSR already began group flights on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft. In 1963, the first woman joined the corps of Soviet cosmonauts - Valentina Tereshkova went into space, becoming the first in the world. At the same time, Valery Bykovsky set a record for the duration of a single flight that has not yet been broken - he stayed in space for five days. In 1964, the multi-seat Voskhod ship appeared, and the United States was a whole year behind. And in 1965, Alexey Leonov went into outer space!

"Venus"

In 1966, the USSR began interplanetary flights. The Venera 3 spacecraft made a hard landing on a neighboring planet and delivered there the Earth's globe and the USSR pennant. In 1975, Venera 9 managed to make a soft landing and transmit an image of the planet's surface. And "Venera-13" took color panoramic photographs and sound recordings. The AMS series (automatic interplanetary stations) for studying Venus, as well as the surrounding outer space, continues to be improved even now. The conditions on Venus are harsh, and there was practically no reliable information about them; the developers knew nothing about the pressure or temperature on the surface of the planet, all this, naturally, complicated the research.

The first series of descent vehicles even knew how to swim - just in case. Nevertheless, at first the flights were not successful, but later the USSR was so successful in Venusian wanderings that this planet began to be called Russian. "Venera-1" is the first spacecraft in human history designed to fly to other planets and explore them. It was launched in 1961, but a week later the connection was lost due to sensor overheating. The station became uncontrollable and was only able to make the world's first flyby near Venus (at a distance of about one hundred thousand kilometers).

In the footsteps

"Venera-4" helped us find out that on this planet there are two hundred and seventy-one degrees in the shadow (the night side of Venus), the pressure is up to twenty atmospheres, and the atmosphere itself is ninety percent carbon dioxide. This spacecraft also discovered a hydrogen corona. "Venera-5" and "Venera-6" told us a lot about the solar wind (plasma flows) and its structure near the planet. "Venera-7" clarified data on temperature and pressure in the atmosphere. Everything turned out to be even more complicated: the temperature closer to the surface was 475 ± 20°C, and the pressure was an order of magnitude higher. On the next spacecraft, literally everything was redone, and after one hundred and seventeen days, Venera-8 gently landed on the day side of the planet. This station had a photometer and many additional instruments. The main thing was the connection.

It turned out that the lighting on the nearest neighbor is almost no different from that on Earth - just like ours on a cloudy day. It’s not just cloudy there, the weather has really cleared up. The pictures of what the equipment saw simply stunned the earthlings. In addition, the soil and the amount of ammonia in the atmosphere were examined, and wind speed was measured. And “Venera-9” and “Venera-10” were able to show us the “neighbor” on TV. These are the world's first recordings transmitted from another planet. And these stations themselves are now artificial satellites of Venus. The last to fly to this planet were “Venera-15” and “Venera-16”, which also became satellites, having previously provided humanity with absolutely new and necessary knowledge. In 1985, the program was continued by Vega-1 and Vega-2, which studied not only Venus, but also Halley's Comet. The next flight is planned for 2024.

Something about a space rocket

Since the parameters and specifications All rockets are different from each other; consider a new generation launch vehicle, for example Soyuz-2.1A. It is a three-stage medium-class rocket, a modified version of the Soyuz-U, which has been in operation very successfully since 1973.

This launch vehicle is designed to launch spacecraft. The latter may have military, economic and social purposes. This missile can take them to different types orbits - geostationary, geotransition, sun-synchronous, highly elliptical, medium, low.

Modernization

The missile is extremely modernized, a fundamentally different digital control system has been created here, developed on a new domestic element base, with high-speed on-board digital computer with much larger volume random access memory. The digital control system provides the rocket with high-precision launch of payloads.

In addition, engines have been installed on which the injector heads of the first and second stages have been improved. A different telemetry system is in effect. Thus, the accuracy of the missile launch, its stability and, of course, controllability have increased. The mass of the space rocket did not increase, but the useful payload increased by three hundred kilograms.

Specifications

The first and second stages of the launch vehicle are equipped with liquid rocket engines RD-107A and RD-108A from NPO Energomash named after Academician Glushko, and the third stage is equipped with a four-chamber RD-0110 from the Khimavtomatika Design Bureau. Rocket fuel liquid oxygen, which is an environmentally friendly oxidizing agent, as well as low-toxic fuel - kerosene. The length of the rocket is 46.3 meters, the weight at launch is 311.7 tons, and without the warhead - 303.2 tons. The mass of the launch vehicle structure is 24.4 tons. The fuel components weigh 278.8 tons. Flight tests of Soyuz-2.1A began in 2004 at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, and they were successful. In 2006, the launch vehicle made its first commercial flight - it launched the European meteorological spacecraft Metop into orbit.

It must be said that rockets have different payload launch capabilities. There are light, medium and heavy carriers. The Rokot launch vehicle, for example, launches spacecraft into low-Earth orbits - up to two hundred kilometers, and therefore can carry a load of 1.95 tons. But the Proton is a heavy class, it can launch 22.4 tons into a low orbit, 6.15 tons into a geostationary orbit, and 3.3 tons into a geostationary orbit. The launch vehicle we are considering is intended for all sites used by Roscosmos: Kourou, Baikonur, Plesetsk, Vostochny, and operates within the framework of joint Russian-European projects.

Korznikov cites calculations that at a speed of more than 0.1 C, the spacecraft will not have time to change the flight path and avoid a collision. He believes that at sub-light speeds the spacecraft will collapse before reaching its target. In his opinion, interstellar travel is possible only at significantly lower speeds (up to 0.01 C). From 1950-60 In the USA, a spacecraft with a nuclear pulse rocket engine was being developed to explore interplanetary space, Orion.

Interstellar flight is travel between stars by manned vehicles or automatic stations. According to the director of the Ames Research Center (NASA), Simon P. Worden, the engine design for flights in deep space can be developed within 15-20 years.

Let the flight there and the flight back consist of three phases: uniformly accelerated acceleration, flight at constant speed and uniformly accelerated deceleration. Let the spacecraft move half the way with unit acceleration, and let it slow down the second half with the same acceleration (). The ship then turns around and repeats the acceleration and deceleration stages.

Not all types of engines are suitable for interstellar flight. Calculations show that using the space system considered in this work, it is possible to reach the star Alpha Centauri... in about 10 years." As one of the options for solving the problem, it is proposed to use a rocket as a working substance elementary particles, moving at light or near-light speed.

What is the speed of modern spacecraft?

Exhaust particle speed is from 15 to 35 kilometers per second. Therefore, ideas arose to supply interstellar ships with energy from an external source. On this moment this project is not feasible: the engine must have an exhaust speed of 0.073 s (specific impulse 2 million seconds), while its thrust must reach 1570 N (that is, 350 pounds).

The collision with interstellar dust will occur at near-light speeds and the physical impact will resemble micro-explosions. Science fiction works often mention methods of interstellar travel based on moving faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. The largest crew consisted of 8 astronauts (including 1 woman), who launched on October 30, 1985 on the Challenger reusable spacecraft.

The distance to the nearest star (Proxima Centauri) is about 4,243 light years, that is, about 268 thousand times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Spaceship flights occupy a significant place in science fiction.

In this situation, the flight time in the earth's reference frame will be approximately 12 years, while according to the clock on the ship, 7.3 years will pass. Suitability various types engines for interstellar flights in particular was considered at a meeting of the British Interplanetary Society in 1973 by Dr. Tony Martin.

In the course of the work, projects were proposed for large and small starships (“generation ships”) capable of reaching the star Alpha Centauri in 1800 and 130 years, respectively. In 1971, in a report by G. Marx at a symposium in Byurakan, it was proposed to use X-ray lasers for interstellar flights. In 1985, R. Forward proposed the design of an interstellar probe accelerated by microwave energy.

Space speed limit

The main component of the mass of modern rockets is the mass of fuel required by the rocket for acceleration. If we can somehow use the environment surrounding the rocket as a working fluid and fuel, we can significantly reduce the mass of the rocket and thereby achieve high speeds.

In the 1960s, Bussard proposed the design of an interstellar direct-flow jet engine(MPRD). The interstellar medium consists mainly of hydrogen. In 1994, Geoffrey Landis proposed a design for an interstellar ion probe that would receive energy from a laser beam at the station.

The rocket ship of the Daedalus project turned out to be so huge that it would have to be built in outer space. One of the disadvantages of interstellar ships is the need to carry a power grid with them, which increases mass and consequently reduces speed. So an electric rocket engine has a characteristic speed of 100 km/s, which is too slow to fly to distant stars in an acceptable time.

One of humanity's greatest assets is the International Space Station, or ISS. Several states united to create it and operate it in orbit: Russia, some European countries, Canada, Japan and the USA. This apparatus shows that much can be achieved if countries constantly cooperate. Everyone on the planet knows about this station and many people ask questions about at what altitude the ISS flies and in what orbit. How many astronauts have been there? Is it true that tourists are allowed there? And this is not all that is interesting to humanity.

Station structure

The ISS consists of fourteen modules, which house laboratories, warehouses, rest rooms, bedrooms, and utility rooms. The station even has a gym with exercise equipment. This entire complex runs on solar panels. They are huge, the size of a stadium.

Facts about the ISS

During its operation, the station aroused a lot of admiration. This apparatus is the greatest achievement of human minds. In its design, purpose and features, it can be called perfection. Of course, maybe in 100 years they will start building on Earth spaceships of a different plan, but for now, today, this device is the property of humanity. This is evidenced by the following facts about the ISS:

1. During its existence, about two hundred astronauts visited the ISS. There were also tourists here who simply came to look at the Universe from orbital heights.
2. The station is visible from Earth with the naked eye. This design is the largest among artificial satellites, and can be easily seen from the surface of the planet without any magnifying device. There are maps on which you can see what time and when the device flies over cities. Using them you can easily find information about your locality: see the flight schedule over the region.
3. To assemble the station and maintain it in working order, the astronauts went into outer space more than 150 times, spending about a thousand hours there.
4. The device is controlled by six astronauts. The life support system ensures the continuous presence of people at the station from the moment it was first launched.
5. The International Space Station is a unique place where a variety of laboratory experiments. Scientists make unique discoveries in the fields of medicine, biology, chemistry and physics, physiology and meteorological observations, as well as in other fields of science.
6. The device uses giant solar panels, the size of which reaches the area of ​​​​the territory of a football field with its end zones. Their weight is almost three hundred thousand kilograms.
7. The batteries are capable of fully ensuring the operation of the station. Their work is carefully monitored.
8. The station has a mini-house equipped with two bathrooms and a gym.
9. The flight is monitored from Earth. Programs consisting of millions of lines of code have been developed for control.

Astronauts

Since December 2017, the ISS crew consists of the following astronomers and cosmonauts:

• Anton Shkaplerov - commander of ISS-55. He visited the station twice - in 2011-2012 and in 2014-2015. During 2 flights he lived at the station for 364 days.
• Skeet Tingle - flight engineer, NASA astronaut. This astronaut has no space flight experience.
• Norishige Kanai - flight engineer, Japanese astronaut.
• Alexander Misurkin. Its first flight was made in 2013, lasting 166 days.
• Macr Vande Hai has no flying experience.
• Joseph Akaba. The first flight was made in 2009 as part of Discovery, and the second flight was carried out in 2012.

Earth from space

From space to Earth open unique species. This is evidenced by photographs and videos of astronauts and cosmonauts. You can see the work of the station and space landscapes if you watch online broadcasts from the ISS station. However, some cameras are turned off due to maintenance work.