Kwant

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Mission dates
Mission: TKS-5 / Kwant
Crew: unmanned
Target: Me
Start vehicle: proton
Start on: March 31, 1987 / Baikonur
Coupling on: April 9, 1987
Decoupling on: -
Re-entry on: March 23, 2001
Flight duration: 5,106 days
burns up over: Pacific
Earth orbits: ?
previous DCS mission :

Cosmos 1686

following DCS mission :

Poljus

Kwant ( Russian Квант ' Quant ') is the name of a scientific module that was docked at the Soviet Mir space station with the help of the TKS-5 spacecraft . (The still common name Kwant-1 is not official.)

development

After it was decided that the TKS spaceship would not be used for manned missions, tasks were sought for the remaining units that were already under construction. At about the same time, a new type of module for expanding space stations called the 37K was developed in the Soviet Union . One of the requirements for the module was the possibility of transport in the payload bay of the planned space shuttle Buran . Therefore, in contrast to those based on TKS, the new modules did not have their own drive system and were smaller and lighter. Originally eight 37K units were planned.

The module 37KE (E for experimental), later named Kwant, was the first component of the new type and was intended for the expansion of the Salyut 7 space station . However, technical problems with the new design delayed development, so it was decided to no longer use Kwant on the aging station, but on the new Mir space station. The modifications required for use at the Mir and the equipping of the module with new scientific instruments also delayed production. However, since the development of the Buran space shuttle was also delayed, there was no way of maneuvering the unpowered module in space and docking it with the space station.

Kwant (left) with TKS-5 (right) and transport cover (middle)

Due to the previous experience and the high flexibility of the TKS ships, the ferry TKS-5 was then used to carry Kwant into space. For this purpose, the complete return capsule and associated systems previously intended for the crew were removed from TKS-5 and only the remaining part with the navigation system, solar cells, tanks and engines were installed on the stern of Kwant. Due to the enormous weight of the combination, the fuel tanks of the TKS-5 could only be filled to around 60% at the start, even after removing various unneeded devices. The technical circumstances of the Proton launcher meant that the combination had to be launched "backwards". Since the Kwant with the docking nozzle for the Mir was pointing downwards during take-off, a rotation of 180 ° was carried out after separation from the launch vehicle in orbit.

The mission

Kwant 1 after separating TKS 5 and transport cover

The launch took place on March 31, 1987. Despite all the weight reduction, the Kwant / TKS-5 combination, with a total weight of almost 23 tons, was the heaviest payload that a Proton rocket had ever carried into space. The docking maneuver originally planned for April 5, 1987, failed due to an error on board TKS-5. After another docking maneuver did not lead to success either, the Mir crew, Juri Romanenko and Alexander Lawejkin , undertook an external mission to investigate the cause. She discovered a piece of plastic left behind by a Progress freighter that had caught in the Mir's docking nozzle. After removal, the docking maneuver at the rear, axial docking port finally succeeded on April 9, making Kwant the first module to expand the Mir space station. TKS-5 was then separated from Kwant, but could no longer be controlled in space, as the unsuccessful docking maneuvers almost completely consumed the fuel that was carried. It was not until August 25 that the damaged TKS-5 entered the atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner and burned up.

Kwant (right) on the base module of the Mir space station (left)
Structure of the Kwant module

Kwant himself remained in space for the entire service life of the Mir space station and was used continuously for experiments until autumn 1989. The module added about 40 cubic meters of living and working space to the station and still had non-pressurized storage space on the outer wall to accommodate experiments and materials for spacecraft operations. Kwant's equipment included scientific equipment, mostly for astrophysical research. The module also contained three gyroscopes for fuel-free position control of the space station as well as life support systems and quarters for a crew member. At the stern of Kwant there was a passive docking nozzle for docking Soyuz ferries and Progress transporters, as well as devices for directing fuel from the transporters into the central module of the Mir. After Kwant was shut down in 1989 and the Mir systems were extensively modified, Kwant was restarted in October 1990 without any problems. In 1992 two lattice masts were attached to the outer wall to carry out experiments in a vacuum and to accommodate attitude control engines. Due to the leverage effect , the fuel consumption of the Mir could also be reduced. Furthermore, in 1992 a large solar cell system was moved from the Kristall module to Kwant, until finally in 1995 Kwant was equipped with two completely new solar systems that were delivered with the shuttle docking module . Around this time, however, the scientific instruments in the interior gradually failed, so that in the following years it was mainly used as a warehouse.

Conclusions

The fully developed Mir (1996): Kwant (foreground) with docked Progress, solar cells and lattice masts.

Experience with Kwant showed that a coupled combination of a 37K module with a TKS ferry had an unfavorable ratio of take-off weight to usable working space, since the TKS ferry in this combination could not be used by a crew and would be repelled had to. The 37K modules were then only further developed for use with the Buran shuttle, which, however, was never used. For the future, it was decided to develop TKS-based modules again (similar to Kosmos 1686 ), in which the usable space and the scientific equipment were permanently connected to the TKS ferry. In addition to increasing the interior space, this also has the advantage that the engines of the TKS part can be used to control the position of the space station. On the basis of the TKS ferry, further modules were developed for permanent residence at the Mir space stations (e.g. Kwant 2 ) and ISS (e.g. Sarja ).

See also

swell

  • David M. Harland: The story of Space Station Mir. Springer-Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 2005, ISBN 0-387-23011-4 .

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