.jpg) VA capsule on display at the Collections of Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics | |
| Designer | Vladimir Chelomei |
|---|---|
| Specifications | |
| Launch mass | 7,300 kg (16,100 lb) |
| Payload capacity | 2,135 kg (4,707 lb) |
| Crew capacity | 3 |
| Volume | 8.37 m3 (296 cu ft) |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Design life |
|
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) |
| Diameter | 2.79 m (9 ft 2 in) |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Flown with | Functional Cargo Block |
| Launch vehicle | Proton-K |
| Configuration | |
 A drawing of aVA spacecraft: TheVA capsule is on the lower right, while the braking engines are located on top of the long "nose section".[1][2] Thelaunch escape system (not shown) would have been attached on top of the nose section.[3] | |
TheVozvraschaemyi Apparat (VA,Russian:Возвращаемый Аппарат,lit. 'Return Vehicle',GRAU index11F74) was a Sovietcrew capsule, intended to serve as a crewedlaunch and reentry vehicle. Initially designed for theLK-1 human lunar flyby spacecraft for one of theSoviet crewed lunar programs, then theLK-700 redesign, it was later repurposed for theAlmaz military space station program.[4][1]
The VA capsule on display at theSmithsonianNational Air and Space Museum was labeled asMerkur, following a mistranslation of the original documentation – while incorrect, the name is being used in the West for the VA spacecraft and capsule.[5][6][7]
The VA spacecraft was capable of independent flight – up to 31 hours in its last incarnation – it needed however to be combined with additional hardware (containing propulsion and storage) to achieve a longer flight duration.[1]
Different usage scenarios for the VA spacecraft were planned:
VA was the first spacecraft to be launched into orbit twice, asKosmos 929 was recovered and launched again asKosmos 998.Gemini 2 was launched into space twice, but both launches were suborbital.[9]
While the VA spacecraft performed successful uncrewed test flights, both with and without a Functional Cargo Block, it never served in its intended role as a lunar vehicle due to cancellation of the soviet crewed lunar program, and it was never launched together with an Almaz space station.
First work on the VA spacecraft began on 13 May 1961 byVladimir Chelomey'sOKB-52 design bureau, in response to theUSApollo program.[4]The VA spacecraft consisted of three main parts:
CosmonautAlexei Leonov called the Almaz VA return capsule "our Apollo".[3]The shape of the VA capsule was vaguely like that of the Apollo Command Module (CM), however some of the VA's support hardware was housed on top of the capsule in the nose compartment – unlike Apollo with the Apollo Service Module (SM) below the Apollo CM.
While the VA spacecraft was capable of independent flight of about one day,[1] it needed to be mated to additional hardware for a longer flight duration.For a lunar mission, the LK-1 spacecraft would have been formed by mating the VA spacecraft with two components:[4]
After the cancellation of the LK-1 crewed lunar spacecraft effort, the VA spacecraft was repurposed by Chelomey as support craft for his military Almaz space station program – again a response to a US program, theUSAF's militaryManned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) andGemini B effort.
The initial plans called for crew and station to be launched together with oneProton rocket launch, just like the US MOL/Gemini combination.For this a VA spacecraft would have been mated on top of an Almaz OPS space station core (11F71) – this was known as Almaz APOS. The crew would have ridden into space in the VA capsule; Once in orbit, the crew would have entered the Almaz station through a hatch in the heat shield – just like MOL/Gemini.The VA capsule would then remain unoccupied until the end of the mission, when it would serve as the reentry vehicle for the crew. The Almaz APOS concept evolved into the Almaz-OPS stations of theSalyut programme, which were however never launched together with their crew, nor together with a VA capsule.[8]
For the flights of the subsequent crews of an Almaz space station, the VA spacecraft would have been mated with aFunctional Cargo Block (FGB, 11F77) instead. Together the VA and the FGB would form the crewedTKS spacecraft (11F72) for crew and resupply flights to Almaz space stations – the VA would serve in its role as launch and reentry vehicle for the crew, while the FGB would serve as a propulsion system, pressurized cargo carrier and contain the docking hardware.
A few TKS spacecraft flew uncrewed missions, but never to an Almaz-OPS station. The FGB would however continue to find use and form the basis for several space station modules – the FGB concept is as of 2012[update] still in use for theZarya FGB, albeit in modified form.[1]
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Although the VA was never launched crewed, never together with an Almaz-OPS station, and never to an Almaz-OPS station, it saw several flights, some in the intended TKS spacecraft configuration.
To accelerate the man-rating of the TKS and VA spacecraft, eight uncrewed VA spacecraft (without FGBs) were launched in pairs, testing two VA spacecraft per test flight. One of these flights was aborted due to the carrier rocket failure, and the VA capsule was successfully carried away from the exploding rocket by thelaunch escape system.
Another four uncrewed VA spacecraft were mated together with an FGB and launched as TKS spacecraft: the solo flight ofKosmos 929, theKosmos 1267 flight toSalyut 6 and the flights ofKosmos 1443 andKosmos 1686 toSalyut 7 (the VA spacecraft on the TKS flight of Kosmos 1686 was modified as a no-reentry laboratory segment).
The TKS program would, after these test flights, evolve into theFunctional Cargo Block based space station modules, and the VA capsules would no longer be of service in the Soviet Union.[1]
VA 009A/1 (#009P) andVA 009/1 (#009L): Orbital test of a pair of two VA spacecraftKosmos 881 andKosmos 882 in 1976-12-15 that started jointly and reentered separately.
VA 009A/2 test flight on 1977-07-17. The reentry module was refurbished and launched again on 1978-03-30 as Kosmos 998 .[9]
VA 009A/P (#009P) andVA 009P/2(#009L): Launched on 1977-08-05. Launch vehicle failure forty seconds into the flight on a suborbital test of two VA spacecraft. VA #009L is destroyed in the resulting booster explosion, VA #009P is rescued by the Proton SAS abort system and is recovered safely.
VA 009A/P2 andVA 009P/2 (009A/2): On 1978-03-30 pair of two VA spacecraftKosmos 997 andKosmos 998 that started jointly and reentered separately
VA #103 andVA #008: On 1979-04-20 the Proton carrier rocket suffered an on pad abort and did not lift off. Capsule VA #103 was lost.
VA 102A (#102P) andVA 102 (#102L): On 1979-05-22 pair of two VA spacecraftKosmos 1100 andKosmos 1101 that started jointly and reentered separately
Source:[15]
Kosmos 929 was the first flight of a "complete" TKS spacecraft (VA 009A/2 spacecraft with FGB) on July 17, 1977.
Kosmos 1267 flight of TKS spacecraft (VA 0103/3 spacecraft with FGB) toSalyut 6 on April 25, 1981.
Kosmos 1443 was the first "complete" TKS craft (VA 0103/1 spacecraft and FGB) that docked to a Salyut station –Salyut 7 on March 2, 1983.
Kosmos 1686 was on Sept. 27, 1985 the last flight of an TKS spacecraft – its target was theSalyut 7 space station. The VA capsule was modified to house remote sensing instruments.
Some VA capsules are on display in museums or in storage. Known articles include:[16][15]
The VA spacecraft included the VA capsule (see below) and the "nose section";[2] All data excluding TKS-FGB or Almaz-OPS.[1]
All data for TKS version, unless otherwise stated.[3][1]
A TKS spacecraft consisted of a VA spacecraft mated to a Functional Cargo Block (FGB). The specifications of the TKS spacecraft were as follows:[3]
The company Excalibur Almaz acquired four VA return capsule hulls and twoAlmaz space station hulls. The company planned to outfit and launch both the VA capsules and the Almaz station hulls; One VA capsule was planned to be used in support ofspace tourism while the other three VA capsules were reserved for scientific and commercial payloads. The needed development of propulsion systems for the VA capsule was reportedly delegated to an unnamed European organization as early as 2009.[17] As of 2016 Excalibur Almaz is defunct. Three of its four VA spacecraft, none of which were ever launched by the company, were resold at auction, while the fourth was placed on permanent display at the Isle of Man Motor Museum in 2021.[18]
The other spacecraft; The 25th anniversary of the first TKS flight
| Launch vehicles and ascent/upper stages |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Spacecraft | ||
| Other hardware | ||
| Soyuzdocking tests | ||
| Zond (7K-L1/L1S) lunar flyby missions | ||
| LOK (7K-LOK/L1E) test missions | ||
| LK Lander (T2K) test missions | ||
The † sign designates failed missions.Italics designates cancelled missions. | ||
Crewed lunar spacecraft | ||
|---|---|---|
| Orbiters |  | |
| Landers | ||
| Proposed | ||
| Related | ||
| TKS spacecraft test missions |
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA spacecraft test flights | |||
| Functional Cargo Block (FGB) derived hardware | |||
| Salyut stations (DOS) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Almaz stations (OPS) | ||
| Successors | ||
| TKS spacecraft | ||
| Support craft | ||
| Lists |
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| Related |
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