Much like its MOL/ Gemini counterpart, the initial Almaz APOS space station design called for the launch of an Almaz-OPS space station and a VA return capsule containing its initial three man crew, mated together as OPS/VA atop Chelomei's UR-500 Proton rocket. The OPS would have a maximum diameter of 4.15 metres (13.6 ft), a mass of roughly 20 tonnes (20 long tons 22 short tons), and an internal habitable volume of 47.5 cubic metres (1,680 cu ft). VA spacecraft (11F74, known in the West as the Merkur spacecraft), intended as launch and return vehicle for the crews, and reusable for up to 10 flights.Functional Cargo Block (FGB, 11F77), intended as resupply craft for the stations, and.Orbital Piloted Station (OPS, 11F71) module, forming the space station itself,.
The Almaz space station programme involved three major hardware components: MOL had been widely publicized in the US press in the early 1960s, which provided Chelomei plenty of material to use to lobby for a Soviet response. Vladimir Chelomei at the OKB-52 design bureau promoted Almaz as a response to the US Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) project.
The heritage of the Almaz program continues, with the ISS module Zarya being one example. As part of the Almaz program, the Soviets developed several spacecraft for support roles-the VA spacecraft, the Functional Cargo Block and the TKS spacecraft-which they planned to use in several combinations. The space stations' cores were known internally as OPS ( Russian: ОПС, GRAU index 11F71 and 11F71B), from "Orbital Piloted Station" ( Russian: Орбитальная Пилотируемая Станция). Salyut 2 failed shortly after achieving orbit, but Salyut 3 and Salyut 5 both conducted successful crewed testing.įollowing Salyut 5, the Soviet Ministry of Defense judged in 1978 that the time and resources consumed by station maintenance outweighed the benefits relative to automatic reconnaissance satellites. To cover the military nature of the program, the three launched Almaz stations were designated as civilian Salyut space stations. Three crewed military reconnaissance stations were launched between 19: Salyut 2, Salyut 3 and Salyut 5. The Almaz ( Russian: Алмаз, lit.'Diamond') program was a highly secret Soviet military space station program, begun in the early 1960s.
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