Russian Planetary Exploration: History, Development, Legacy and Prospects Book

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