Spektr
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| Diagram | |
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 Diagram of Spektr |
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| Module statistics | |
| Mission name | Mir |
| Launch | May 20, 1995 03:33:22 UTC Baikonur, LC 81L, USSR |
| Launch vehicle | Proton-K |
| Docked | June 1, 1995 00:56:16 UTC |
| Depressurized | June 25, 1997 |
| Re-entry | March 23, 2001 05:50:00 UTC |
| Time in Orbit | 2134 days, 2 hours [1] |
| Length | 9.1 m |
| Diameter | 4.35 m [2] |
| Mass | 43,290 lb (19,640 kg)[3] |
Spektr (Russian: Спектр; lit. Spectrum) was the fifth module of the Mir Space Station. The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment containing atmospheric and surface research equipment. Spektr also had four solar arrays which generated about half of the station's electrical power.
[edit] Development
The Spektr module was originally developed as part of a top-secret military program code-named "Oktant." It was planned to carry a experiments with space borne surveillance and test antimissile defense. The surveillance instruments were mounted on the exterior of the module opposite the docking port. Also in this location were to launchers for artificial targets. The heart of the Spektr payload was an experimental optical telescope code-named "Pion.”
These experiments would have been a continuation of the research a top-secret TKS-M module, which docked to Salyut 7 in 1985. However, with the end of the Cold War and the shrinking of Russia’s space budget, the module was stuck on the ground.[4]
In the mid-1990s with the return of US-Russian cooperation in space, NASA agreed to provide funds to complete the Spektr and Priroda modules in exchange for having 600 to 700 kg of US experiments installed. The Oktava military component was replaced with a conical mounting area for two additional solar arrays. The airlock for the Oktava targets to be used instead to expose experiments to the vacuum of space.[5]
Once in orbit, Spektr served as the living quarters for American astronauts until the collision in late June 1997
[edit] Collision
On June 25, 1997, the Progress M-34 spacecraft crashed into Spektr while maneuvering for a docking with the Kvant-1 module. The collision damaged one of Spektr's solar arrays and punctured the hull, depressurizing the module. The module was sealed off from the rest of the station to prevent depressurization of the entire Mir station, but required cutting off the power cables from Spektr's solar panels. An internal spacewalk in the Spektr module in August 1997 by cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov succeeded in restoring those connections by modifying the hatch to allow them pass through in the closed position. In a second internal spacewalk in October they connected two of the panels to a computer system to allow them to be controlled remotely and align with the Sun. These modifications allowed power generation to return to approximately 70% of the pre-collision generation capability. [6]
Spektr was left depressurized and isolated from the remainder of the Mir complex.
[edit] External links
- http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mir_spektr.html Contains diagrams, pictures and background info.
- http://www.astronautix.com/craft/spektr.htm Contains design history and equipment information.
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mir/spektr.html Brief in orbit history.
- Gunter's Space Page
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| Soviet modules | Core Module · Kvant-1 · Kvant-2 · Kristall |  |
| American-financed modules | Spektr · Docking Module · Priroda | |
| Ships | Soyuz · Progress · Space Shuttle (during Shuttle-Mir Program) | |
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|---|---|---|
| Active: | Soyuz - ISS (joint) |  |
| In Development: | Kliper | |
| Past | Vostok, Voskhod, Salyut, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (joint), Mir, Shuttle-Mir Program (joint) | |
| Cancelled | Zond (lunar Soyuz 7K-L1) - N1-L3 (Moon landing program) - Spiral - Almaz (incorporated into Salyut program) / TKS spacecraft - Energia / Buran | |
