Globus IMP instruments were spacecraftnavigationinstruments used in Soviet and Russian crewed spacecraft. The IMP acronym stems from the Russian expression Indicator of position in flight, but the instrument is informally referred to as the Globus. It displays the nadir of the spacecraft on a rotating terrestrial globe. It functions as an onboard, autonomous indicator of the spacecraft's location relative to Earth coordinates.[1] An electro-mechanical device in the tradition of complex post-World War IIclocks such as master clocks, the Globus IMP instrument incorporates hundreds of mechanical components common to horology. This instrument is a mechanical computer for navigation akin to the Norden bombsight. It mechanically computes complex functions and displays its output through mechanical displacements of the globe and other indicator components. It also modulates electric signals from other instruments.
The IMP, in successively developing versions, has been used in Soviet and Russian crewed space missions ever since the world's first crewed spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin, 12 April 1961) through every crewed Vostok, Voskhod and Soyuz mission until 2002.
This article specifically covers IMP Version 3, used in Voskhod 1, since Version 3 has been more extensively documented than earlier versions used during the Vostok missions and subsequent versions for the more complex Soyuz. However all versions of the IMP were relatively similar with respect to design, purpose and operation.
Context and purpose
A IMP Globus instrument within the Voskhod navigation panel
The Voskhod spacecraft was the second generation of spacecraft designed in the crewed Soviet space program, essentially an adaptation of the earlier Vostok spacecraft. It flew two crewed missions, Voskhod 1 (world's first multi-crewed mission, launched on 12 October 1964) and Voskhod 2 (featuring the world's first Extra-vehicular activity, or EVA, commonly called a spacewalk, launched on March 18, 1965). The Voskhod spacecraft—and its Globus IMP instruments—is a close derivative of Vostok, which flew six Soviet individuals to low Earth orbit, including the world's first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, and the world's first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova. The main difference between IMP versions 1 and 2 (Vostok spacecraft) and later versions (Voskhod and Soyuz) is the addition of the disc-shaped longitude and latitude indicators.[2][3]
The design objectives for the IMP were to compute and display the geographic coordinates at the spacecraft's nadir, i.e. which point on Earth's surface it was overflying. The Globus displayed this data to the crew, and also transmitted electrical data to other systems through a variable resistance and cam-activated switching.[4][5][citation needed]
Derivatives of Vostok's and Voskhod's IMP have been flown on every Soyuz spacecraft up to the last of the Soyuz TM mission in April 2002. The main functional addition to IMP versions designed for Soyuz was the ability to manually change the orbit inclination. On Vostok and Voskhod, the inclination to the equator had been constant at 65 degrees by virtue of the booster design limitations and the geographical location of the Baikonur Cosmodrome from which every Soviet and Russian crewed mission had been launched to date, so there was no need to implement inclination modulation into versions 1 to 4 of the IMP.[citation needed]
The Soyuz TMA spacecraft and its successors now provide similar functions to the Globus using a computerized world map on a computer display.[6]
The Russian early missions were mostly automated and controlled from the mission control center (the TsUP). The spacecraft essentially controlled itself, and the cosmonauts were expected to initiate maneuvers or corrections only after approval from the MCC and according to its data and parameters. Therefore, the instrumentation available to the pilot was minimal and its operational relevance was limited to contingency scenarios as much as possible. The readings from the IMP were primarily intended to help cosmonaut pilots confirm that the automated flight sequencer was operating normally. The data would also keep the crew aware of their position when they were orbiting over the nighttime part of the Earth, or when the spacecraft's viewports and Vzor periscope couldn't be pointed toward the ground.[citation needed]
However, the IMP would become crucial if manual retrorocket activation became compromised by failure of either the flight sequencer or communications with mission control, as did happen on Voskhod 2. Furthermore, given the scarcity of Soviet communication stations on Earth, the cosmonauts spent most of their time out of range with ground control and needed instruments to assess their position relative to the ground.[1][7][8]
By contrast, the US crewed space programs used a similar, mechanical positional indicator only during two of its early Mercury missions before discarding it. By 1961 under project Project Gemini the US crewed space program changed to fully autonomous digital computerized systems. These systems consisted of gyro platform, digital computer and fly-by-wire systems.[9] The first being the Gemini Guidance Computer. The computer was architecturally similar to the Saturn Launch Vehicle Digital Computer, in particular in the instruction set; however its circuit integration was less advanced.[9][10] Later, for the Apollo program NASA, under the lead of MIT's Instrument Laboratory will use the first digital computer using integrated circuits, the Apollo Guidance Computer.[11][12]
Structure and materials
IMP Globus, inside view
Two main instrument panels were used for Vostok and Voskhod: a control panel with switches and rotary controllers, and an instrument display panel (IDS, for Instrument Display System).[2] On Vostok and Soyuz spacecraft, the IDS Panel sits in front of the cosmonauts, above the Vzor periscope screen. As for Voskhod 1 and Voskhod 2 however, mission design compromises forced upon the designers for propaganda motivations[1] had the cosmonauts' seats rotated 90 degrees clockwise, making the reading and setting of the IDS panel less convenient.[citation needed]
Designed to be integrated into a niche in the instrument display panel, the IMP instrument's volume was about that of a big toaster [Width: 24.8cm(9+3⁄4 in), H:22.2cm (8+3⁄4 in), D:14.6cm(5+3⁄4 in)]. It was the prominent feature of the IDS panel. The front panel of the IMP instrument served as the structural support for all other components; it was made of thick, machined aluminum alloy with structural protrusions.[citation needed] The mechanical components were made of brass, steel and aluminum; the globe itself was made of aluminum covered with printed paper, a typical technique for the manufacture of terrestrial globes. The enclosing cover was made of a sheet of aluminum alloy cut and soldered to shape.[citation needed]
Like most of early spacecraft's cockpit instruments, the IMP Globus was designed and tested to remain operative in a complete vacuum, in case of an accidental depressurisation of the cabin.
Displays and settings
Displays and settings
Displays
A terrestrial globe, with a diameter of 12.7cm (5inches),[citation needed] which approximate a 1:100,000,000 scale, moving in two degrees of freedom (rotation and inclination);
Two disc-shaped indicators, one each for longitude and latitude, with markings in degrees on their edges;
An orbit counter labelled ЧИСЛО ВИТКОВ (Number of revolutions) with three digits: two white digits for orbits and one red digit for fraction of an orbit;
A backlit indicator below the globe that, when illuminated, displayed the text МЕСТО ПОСАДКИ (Landing Place).
Pilot settings
One switch (on the separate Control panel) activates the instrument;[5]
One switch (on the separate Control panel) activates a motor which displaces the indicators from the actual position relative to the Earth to the projected point of landing position, or vice versa[5]
Two concentric knobs conjointly labelled КОРРЕКЦИЯ (Correction). The inner knob is simply labelled С, П and Л (Center, Right and Left). Selecting one of these three positions mechanically assigns the outer knob, labelled НАПРАВЛЕНИЕ ВРАЩЕНИЯ, МЕНЬШЕ and БОЛЬШЕ (Direction of rotation, Less and More) to preset one of three orbital parameters; and three corresponding one-digit indicators;[5]
One knob marked Э presets or resets the indicators longitude position, i.e. in the equatorial plane;[5]
One knob marked О presets or resets the indicators' position along the orbit;[5]
One knob (missing in the picture) presets or resets the orbit counter.
Functions displayed
Globe with numbered bullets indicating Earth communication stations
The moving terrestrial globe was protected by a hemispherical transparent plastic dome, on which was engraved and printed a cross-shaped sight. Under normal operations, the point visible under the cross was the point on Earth which was directly under the spacecraft at any given time. A second mode of operation, activated by the cosmonauts, advanced the globe to a position where the spacecraft would land should the retrorockets be fired at that moment to effect the reentry sequence, which also lit the место посадки indicator. The latitude and longitude indicators followed these two modes of operation as well.[2]
At least one Voskhod IMP's globe was customized with white paper bullets numbered from 1 to 8, along with unnumbered bullets.[13] Those relate to radio communication centers linked with Mission Control in Moscow. The unnumbered bullets refer to space control-monitoring ships.[13][14]
Operation
Prior to launch, latitude and longitude were adjusted to the precalculated coordinates of entering orbit. Right after the launch phase, once the orbit was established, its parameters were precisely measured by radar and radio telemetry from the ground. Revised settings for the IMP were then computed on the ground and communicated to the crew, which reset the instrument's three orbital Correction parameters, the equatorial longitude and the present point in the orbit using the two КОРРЕКЦИЯ knobs, the Э knob and the О knob. After this, the cosmonauts toggled the activation switch on the left-side Control panel. This last action connected the flight sequencer system's impulses to the instrument's solenoid actuator. These impulses were then converted into a slow, regular mechanical advance which cascaded through the mechanical components, effecting the computations needed to move the globe and other indicators.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, the instrument's variable resistor and cam-activated electric blade contacts modulated electrical signals from other electrical instruments through the spacecraft and its control systems, feeding them with an analog representation of the spacecraft's displacement relative to Earth coordinates. From a systems design perspective, it is remarkable, even in the early 1960s, that a mechanical system generated crucial, primary data to electrical and electronic control and telemetry systems through the spacecraft.[13]
During orbital operations, the crew periodically resynchronized the instrument's readings with ground-generated data during communication passes. On a Soyuz mission, the spacecraft has the added capability to do orbital maneuvers, and the orbital parameters on the IMP instrument had to be changed accordingly for each maneuver.[citation needed]
When the critical operation of deorbit retrorockets burn was approaching in preparation for atmospheric entry, the crew monitored the automatic orientation of the spacecraft (a function of the attitude control system), then toggled the proper switch on the Control panel to "fast-forward" the IMP instrument in order to display the projected point of landing. The crew then stood ready to effect a manual deorbit burn if the automatic systems failed to work.[citation needed]
The IMP was a genuine mechanical computer. From the sole solenoid actuator's incremental motion, the horological mechanism derived irregular oscillating functions which in turn rotated the globe and varied its axis, and also moved its two cylindrical indicators for longitude and latitude. Some uncommon, intricate horological devices found in the IMP include cardioid-shaped cam discs, a cone-shaped cam cylinder with a cardioid cross-section and "mechanical rectifiers" which transformed an alternating motion into an analogous, but unidirectional motion (see illustrations).
The only other electric actuator used in the IMP instrument was the motor used to fast-forward the mechanism from the actual point-to-nadir to the expected landing point, some 120 degrees further east.[3]
A few dozen specimens at most of the Voskhod Globus instrument Versions 3 and 4 were built, including the two flown during the Voskhod 1 and Voskhod 2 missions, test articles and units flown in unmanned missions. Many of them are exhibited in various Russian aerospace museums (sometimes mislabelled as Vostok IMP instruments), while a few are known to be in individuals' space-related artifact collections. Furthermore, an unknown number of units may still belong to former Soviet space workers' and officials' estates. The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC (US) exhibits several Soyuz spacecraft whose Globus are still in place, but their instrument panels are not visible to visitors. The museum also displays a TKS spacecraft with a Soyuz-version of the IMP instrument, whose panels and the Globus can be glimpsed through the porthole.
Space-related artifacts are available for purchase on online auction sites, on specialized auctions and through specialized dealers. However, items such as Globus instruments rarely come on the market.[13]
One specimen of a Voskhod Globus IMP instrument have been the property of Canadian space-related artifact collector François Guay. It is now (2020) owned by one of the premier space hardware collectors in the world, based in the United States.[15] It has been exhibited in temporary exhibitions, notably the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania, US,[16] and at the Space Science Center of the Cosmodome in Laval, Quebec, Canada.
The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft was originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok (1961–1963) and Voskhod (1964–1965) programmes.
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, and cosmonaut. In October 1964, he commanded Voskhod 1, the first spaceflight to carry more than one crew member. He became the first Soviet cosmonaut to fly in space twice when he was selected as the solo pilot of Soyuz 1, its first crewed test flight. A parachute failure caused his Soyuz capsule to crash into the ground after re-entry on 24 April 1967, making him the first human to die in a space flight.
Soyuz is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet crewed lunar programs. It is launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Between the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle and the 2020 demo flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, the Soyuz served as the only means to ferry crew to or from the International Space Station, for which it remains heavily used. Although China did launch crewed Shenzhou flights during this time, none of them docked with the ISS.
PAO S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, also known as RSC Energia, is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. The company is the prime developer and contractor of the Russian crewed spaceflight program; it also owns a majority of Sea Launch. Its name is derived from Sergei Korolev, the first chief of its design bureau, and the Russian word for energy.
Soyuz 5 was a Soyuz mission using the Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union on 15 January 1969, which docked with Soyuz 4 in orbit. It was the first docking of two crewed spacecraft of any nation, and the first transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another of any nation, the only time a transfer was accomplished with a space walk – two months before the United States Apollo 9 mission performed the first internal crew transfer.
The Voskhod programme was the second Soviet human spaceflight project. Two one-day crewed missions were flown using the Voskhod spacecraft and rocket, one in 1964 and one in 1965, and two dogs flew on a 22-day mission in 1966.
Voskhod 1 was the seventh crewed Soviet space flight. Flown by cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov, Konstantin Feoktistov, and Boris Yegorov, it launched 12 October 1964, and returned on the 13th. Voskhod 1 was the first human spaceflight to carry more than one crewman into orbit, the first flight without the use of spacesuits, and the first to carry either an engineer or a physician into outer space. It also set a crewed spacecraft altitude record of 336 km (209 mi).
Voskhod 2 was a Soviet crewed space mission in March 1965. The Vostok-based Voskhod 3KD spacecraft with two crew members on board, Pavel Belyayev and Alexei Leonov, was equipped with an inflatable airlock. It established another milestone in space exploration when Alexei Leonov became the first person to leave the spacecraft in a specialised spacesuit to conduct a 12-minute spacewalk.
Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov, was Russian engineer and a cosmonaut in the former Soviet space program.
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. The second mission terminated fatally. Volkov and the two other crew members were asphyxiated on reentry, the only three people to have died in outer space.
Soyuz 12 was a September, 1973, crewed test flight by the Soviet Union of the newly redesigned Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft that was intended to provide greater crew safety in the wake of the Soyuz 11 tragedy. The flight marked the return of the Soviets to crewed space operations after the 1971 accident. The crew capacity of the capsule had been decreased from three to two cosmonauts to allow for pressure suits to be worn during launch, re-entry and docking. It was the first time pressure suits were used for reentry since the Voskhod 2 flight.
Vostok was a class of single-pilot crewed spacecraft built by the Soviet Union. The first human spaceflight was accomplished with Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
Kosmos is a designation given to many satellites operated by the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia. Kosmos 1, the first spacecraft to be given a Kosmos designation, was launched on 16 March 1962.
The Vostok programme was a Soviet human spaceflight project to put the first Soviet cosmonauts into low Earth orbit and return them safely. Competing with the United States Project Mercury, it succeeded in placing the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, in a single orbit in Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961. The Vostok capsule was developed from the Zenit spy satellite project, and its launch vehicle was adapted from the existing R-7 Semyorka intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) design. The name "Vostok" was treated as classified information until Gagarin's flight was first publicly disclosed to the world press.
The Voskhod was a spacecraft built by the Soviet Union's space program for human spaceflight as part of the Voskhod programme. It was a development of and a follow-on to the Vostok spacecraft. Voskhod 1 was used for a three-man flight whereas Voskhod 2 had a crew of two. They consisted of a spherical descent module, which housed the cosmonauts, and instruments, and a conical equipment module, which contained propellant and the engine system. Voskhod was superseded by the Soyuz spacecraft in 1967.
A service module is a component of a crewed space capsule containing a variety of support systems used for spacecraft operations. Usually located in the uninhabited area of the spacecraft, the service module serves a storehouse of critical subsystems and supplies for the mission such as electrical systems, environmental control, and propellant tanks. The service module is jettisoned upon the completion of the mission, and usually burns up during atmospheric reentry.
A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other spacecraft by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surface from orbit or sub-orbit, and are distinguished from other types of recoverable spacecraft by their blunt shape, not having wings and often containing little fuel other than what is necessary for a safe return. Capsule-based crewed spacecraft such as Soyuz or Orion are often supported by a service or adapter module, and sometimes augmented with an extra module for extended space operations. Capsules make up the majority of crewed spacecraft designs, although one crewed spaceplane, the Space Shuttle, has flown in orbit.
The LK was a lunar module developed in the 1960s as a part of several Soviet crewed lunar programs. Its role was analogous to the American Apollo Lunar Module (LM). Three LK modules, of the T2K variant, were flown without crew in Earth orbit, but no LK ever reached the Moon. The development of the N1 launch vehicle required for the lunar flight suffered setbacks, and the first Moon landings were achieved by US astronauts on Apollo 11. As a result, having lost the Space Race, both the N1 and the LK programs were cancelled without any further development.
Valentina Leonidovna Ponomaryova, née Kovalevskaya was a Soviet cosmonaut, pilot and scientist.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
