Soyuz 9
Mission type | Test flight |
---|---|
Operator | Soviet space program |
COSPAR ID | 1970-041A |
SATCAT no. | 04407 |
Mission duration | 17 days, 16 hours, 58 minutes, 55 seconds |
Orbits completed | 288 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K-OK No.17[1] |
Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-OK |
Manufacturer | Experimental Design Bureau (OKB-1) |
Launch mass | 6460 kg [2] |
Landing mass | 1200 kg |
Crew | |
Crew size | 2 |
Members | Andriyan Nikolayev Vitaly Sevastyanov |
Callsign | Сокол (Sokol – "Falcon") |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 1 June 1970, 19:00:00 GMT |
Rocket | Soyuz |
Launch site | Baikonur, Site 31/6[3] |
End of mission | |
Landing date | 19 June 1970, 11:58:55 GMT |
Landing site | Steppes in Kazakhstan |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit[4] |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 207.0 km |
Apogee altitude | 220.0 km |
Inclination | 51.70° |
Period | 88.59 minutes |
Vimpel Diamond for entrainment patch |
Soyuz 9 (
Crew
Position[5] | Cosmonaut | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Andrian Nikolayev Second and last spaceflight | |
Flight Engineer | Vitaly Sevastyanov First spaceflight |
Backup crew
Position | Cosmonaut | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Anatoly Filipchenko | |
Flight Engineer | Georgy Grechko |
Reserve crew
Position | Cosmonaut | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Vasily Lazarev | |
Flight Engineer | Valeri Yazdovsky |
Mission
The flight tested, for a longer period of time than any other, the capacity of the hardware and the human crew, on the long-term exposure to space conditions and observing (both visually and photographically) geological and geographical objects, weather formations, water surfaces, and snow and ice covers. The crew conducted observations of celestial bodies and practiced astronavigation, by locking onto Vega or Canopus, and then used a sextant to measure its relation to the Earth horizon. The orbital elements were refined to three decimal places by the crew.[2]
Commander Nikolayev and flight engineer Sevastyanov spent 18 days in space conducting various
Mission parameters
- Mass: 6,460 kg (14,240 lb) [2]
- Perigee: 207.0 km (128.6 mi) [4]
- Apogee: 220.0 km (136.7 mi)
- Inclination: 51.70°
- Period: 88.59 minutes
Chess game
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
8 | 8 | ||||||||
7 | 7 | ||||||||
6 | 6 | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4 | 4 | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
During the mission, the two cosmonauts played a game of chess against a pair of opponents on Earth: head of cosmonauts Nikolai Kamanin and fellow cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko. It was the first documented game played by humans while in space.[7][a] It was a consultation game, with the two cosmonauts playing as White and jointly deciding each move, while the two players on Earth did likewise as Black. The set used aboard Soyuz 9 had pegs and grooves to keep the pieces in place and did not include magnets, which might have interfered with the spacecraft's systems.[8]
The game began as a Queen's Gambit Accepted, with both players castling kingside. Material was exchanged evenly throughout the game. Toward the end of the game White checked Black four times, and rapid exchange of remaining pieces ensued. At 35. Qxf6+, Black responded with the final move 35... Kg8 (the only legal move), moving the king to the flight square g8. In the final position each side had a queen and five pawns, with no passed pawns. The game concluded as a draw.
Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA) (ECO D20), 9/10[9] June 1970
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Bd6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 Bg4 10.h3 Bf5 11.Nh4 Qd7 12.Qf3 Ne7 13.g4 Bg6 14.Rae1 Kh8 15.Bg5 Neg8 16.Ng2 Rae8 17.Be3 Bb4 18.a3 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Be4 20.Qg3 c6 21.f3 Bd5 22.Bd3 b5 23.Qh4 g6 24.Nf4 Bc4 25.Bxc4 bxc4 26.Bd2 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Nd5 28.g5 Qd6 29.Nxd5 cxd5 30.Bf4 Qd8 31.Be5+ f6 32.gxf6 Nxf6 33.Bxf6+ Rxf6 34.Re8+ Qxe8 35.Qxf6+ Kg8 ½–½[7][10]
Sevastyanov was a chess enthusiast. Following Soyuz 9, he served as president of the
Return
The spacecraft soft landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan, and the crew was picked up immediately. Adjusting to gravity of Earth seemed to present a minor problem for the two cosmonauts.[2] They required help exiting the descent module and were virtually unable to walk for a few days.[6] Nonetheless, this experience proved the importance of providing crews with exercise equipment during missions. After landing the crew spent 2 weeks in a quarantine unit originally designed for cosmonauts returning from Moon landings.[6] At the time the Soviet press reported that this was done to protect the cosmonauts in case space travel had weakened their immune systems. However, the quarantine process was likely practice for the Soviet crewed lunar program, which at that point had not been abandoned.[6]
See also
Notes
- 2021 World Chess Championship concurrently with Expo 2020). However, it is unclear whether the set was used on either mission. Soyuz 3 had a single crew member, and was a failed docking attempt with the uncrewed Soyuz 2. Soyuz 4 also launched with a single crew member aboard, but quickly returned to Earth with another two cosmonauts. The latter had launched aboard Soyuz 5 and carried out the first-ever crew transfer via EVA, boarding Soyuz 4 for return to Earth.
References
- ^ Soyuz-9 embarks on a record-breaking mission www.russianspaceweb.com, accessed 27 December 2022
- ^ a b c d "Display: Soyuz 9 1970-041A". NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Baikonur LC31". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 September 2003. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Trajectory: Soyuz 9 1970-041A". NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Mir Hardware Heritage – 1.7.3 (wikisource)
- ^ ISBN 978-0387218960.
- ^ ISBN 9780571170401.
- ^ a b c "Chess in outer space". fide.com. FIDE. 13 April 2020.
- ^ Schipkov, Boris. "Space (Soyuz-9) - Earth (Control Center) [D20], Radio Match 1970". Chess Siberia.
- ^ "Soyuz 9 Cosmonauts vs. Ground Control". Chessgames.com.