Polyus (spacecraft)

Soviet space weapon prototype

Not to be confused with Polyot (rocket).

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Polyus

Mission type| Military technology
Mission duration| Spacecraft failure
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass| 80,000 kilograms (180,000 lb)
Dimensions| 37 m × 4.10 m
Start of mission
Launch date| 15 May 1987 (1987-05-15)
Rocket| Energia
Launch site| Baikonur 250
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Geocentric
Regime| Low Earth
Perigee altitude| 280 km (170 mi)
Apogee altitude| 280 km (170 mi)
Inclination| 64°

Cutaway drawing of the Polyus spacecraft

The Polyus spacecraft (Russian: Полюс, pole), also known as Polus, Skif-DM, GRAU index 17F19DM, was a prototype Soviet orbital weapons platform designed to destroy Strategic Defense Initiative satellites with a megawatt carbon-dioxide laser.[1] It had a Functional Cargo Block derived from a TKS spacecraft to control its orbit and it could launch test targets to demonstrate the fire control system.

## History

[edit]

The Polyus spacecraft was launched 15 May 1987 from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 250 as part of the first flight of the Energia system,[2] but failed to reach orbit.

According to Yuri Kornilov, Chief Designer of the Salyut Design Bureau, shortly before Polyus' launch, Mikhail Gorbachev visited the Baikonur Cosmodrome and expressly forbade the in-orbit testing of its capabilities. Kornilov claims that Gorbachev was worried that it would be possible for Western governments to view this activity as an attempt to create a weapon in space and that such an attempt would contradict the country's previous statements on the USSR's peaceful intent.[3]

For technical reasons, the payload was launched upside down. It was designed to separate from the Energia, rotate 180 degrees in yaw, then 90 degrees in roll and then fire its engine to complete its boost to orbit. The Energia functioned perfectly, however, after separation from Energia, the Polyus spun a full 360 degrees instead of the planned 180 degrees. When the engine fired, it slowed the vehicle, which burned up over the south Pacific Ocean. This failure was attributed to a faulty inertial guidance system that had not been rigorously tested due to the rushed production schedule.[4]

Parts of the Polyus project's hardware were re-used in Kvant-2, Kristall, Spektr and Priroda Mir modules, as well as in the ISS modules Zarya and Nauka.

## Development

[edit]

NPO Energia received orders from the Soviet government to begin research on space-based strike weapons in the mid-1970s. Even before, the USSR had been developing maneuverable satellites for the purpose of satellite interception. By the beginning of the 1980s, Energia had proposed two programs: laser-equipped Skif and guided missiles platform Kaskad (where Skif would cover the low-orbit targets, Kaskad engaged targets in high and geosynchronous orbits). Together with NPO Astrofizika and KB Salyut, they began developing their orbital weapons platform based on the Salyut DOS-17K frame.

Later, when the objective of ICBM interception proved too difficult, the aims of the project were shifted towards anti-satellite weapons. The 1983 announcement by the US of their SDI program prompted further political and financial support for the satellite interceptor program. In the nuclear exchange scenario, the interceptors would destroy the SDI satellites, followed by a so-called "pre-emptive retaliation" large-scale Soviet ICBM launch.

The laser chosen for the Skif spacecraft was a 1-megawatt carbon dioxide laser, developed for the Beriev A-60 aircraft (an Il-76 flying laboratory with a combat laser). The introduction of the Energia, capable of launching about 95 tonnes into orbit, finally allowed the spacecraft to accommodate the massive laser. The exhaust of the carbon-dioxide laser precipitated the objective of making the laser "recoil-less". The zero-torque exhaust system (SBM) was developed to that end. Its testing in orbit meant the release of a large cloud of carbon dioxide, which would hint at the satellite's purpose. Instead, the xenon-krypton mix would be used to simultaneously test the SBM and perform an innocent experiment on Earth's ionosphere.

In 1985, the decision was made to test-launch the new Energia launch vehicle, which was still in the testbed phase. A 100-ton dummy payload was initially considered for the launch, but in a series of last-minute changes, it was decided that the almost-completed Skif spacecraft would be launched instead for a 30-day mission.

The development of the real Skif was completed in just one year, from September 1985 to September 1986. Testing and tweaking the Energia launch vehicle, the launch pad and the Skif itself moved the launch to February, and later to May 1987. According to Boris Gubanov, the head designer of the Energia launch vehicle, the work schedule of the preceding years was exhausting, and at the point of Mikhail Gorbachev's visit on 11 May, he asked the Soviet premier to clear the launch now, because "there will be heart attacks".

The catastrophic malfunction that led to Skif entering the atmosphere in the same area as Energia's second stage was successfully investigated. It was found that 568 seconds after launch, the timing control device gave the logical block a command to discard the side modules' covers and laser exhaust covers. Unknowingly, the same command was earlier used to open the solar panels and disengage the maneuvering thrusters. This was not discovered because of the logistics of the testing process and overall haste. Main thrusters engaged while the Skif kept turning, overshooting the intended 180-degree turn. The spacecraft lost speed and reverted to a ballistic trajectory.

## Specifications

[edit]

* Length: 37.00 m (121.39 ft)
* Maximum diameter: 4.10 m (13.5 ft)
* Mass: 80,000 kg (180,000 lb)
* Associated launch vehicle: Energia
* Intended orbit: altitude 280 km (170 mi), inclination 64°
* Targeting system: optical, radar, with low-yield laser for final targeting
* Armament: 1-megawatt carbon-dioxide laser

## See also

[edit]

* Spaceflight portal

* Almaz
* Terra-3 ASAT
* Soviet space program
* Space race

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Konstantin Lantratov. "Звёздные войны, которых не было" [Star Wars that didn't happen].
2. ^ Bart Hendrickx; Bert Vis (2007). Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-73984-7.
3. ^ Yuri Kornilov. "Unknown Polyus". Earth and the Universe.
4. ^ Ed Grondine. "Polyus". Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2009-09-15.

## External links

[edit]

* Polyus page (in Russian)
* buran-energia.com Polyus page
* K26 Polyus-Energia page Archived 2004-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
* Astronautix.com Polyus page

* v
* t
* e

Space stations and settlements

* List of space stations
* List of commercial space stations

Current|

* International Space Station (ISS)
* Tiangong space station (TSS)

Past|

| Russia /
Soviet Union|

* Salyut
* Salyut 1
* DOS-2†
* Salyut 2† ‡
* Cosmos 557†
* Salyut 3‡
* Salyut 4
* Salyut 5‡
* Salyut 6
* Salyut 7
* Mir

|

United States|

* OPS 0855°
* Skylab

China|

* Tiangong program
* Tiangong-1
* Tiangong-2

Private|

* Genesis
* I°
* II°

Canceled|

| Individual projects|

* Aurora Station
* Bigelow Commercial Space Station
* Deep Space Habitat
* Excalibur Almaz
* Exploration Gateway Platform
* Galaxy
* Industrial Space Facility
* Manned Orbiting Laboratory
* Nautilus-X
* OPSEK
* Orbital Technologies Commercial Space Station
* Skylab II (FlexCraft)
* Skylab B
* Sundancer
* Tiangong-3

|

Incorporated into ISS|

* Space Station Freedom
* USOS
* Columbus MTFF
* Columbus (ISS module)
* Mir-2
* ROS

In development|

| Russia|

* Russian Orbital Service Station

|

Private|

* Axiom Station
* Haven-1
* Orbital Reef
* Starlab

International|

* Lunar Gateway

Proposed|

* Bharatiya Antariksha Station
* Japanese Space Station Module (Mitsui)
* Lunar Orbital Station
* Voyager Station

Concepts|

* Bernal sphere
* Bishop Ring
* McKendree cylinder
* O'Neill cylinder
* Rotating wheel
* Space settlement
* Stanford torus
* Wet workshop

Related|

* List of films featuring space stations
* Space stations and habitats in fiction
* Mission to Mir (1997 documentary)
* Space Station 3D (2002 documentary)
* Orphans of Apollo (2008 documentary)
* Space Tourists (2009 documentary)
* A Beautiful Planet (2016 documentary)

Notes: † Never inhabited due to launch or on-orbit failure, ‡ Part of the Almaz military program, ° Never inhabited, lacks docking mechanism.

* v
* t
* e

TKS spacecraft

| TKS spacecraft test missions|

* Kosmos 929 (TKS-1)
* Kosmos 1267 (TKS-2)
* Kosmos 1443 (TKS-3)
* Kosmos 1686 (TKS-4)

VA spacecraft test flights|

* Kosmos 881 & 882
* VA #009
* Kosmos 997 & 998
* Kosmos 1100 & 1101

Functional Cargo Block (FGB)
derived hardware|

* Mir: Kvant-1
* Kvant-2
* Kristall
* Spektr
* Priroda
* ISS: Zarya
* Nauka
* Free flying: Polyus

* v
* t
* e

← 1986

Orbital launches in 1987

1988 →

January|

* Meteor-2 No.17
* Kosmos 1811
* Kosmos 1812
* Kosmos 1813
* Progress 27
* Kosmos 1814
* Kosmos 1815
* Molniya-3 No.42
* Kosmos 1816
* Kosmos 1817

February|

* Kosmos 1818
* Ginga
* Soyuz TM-2
* Kosmos 1819
* USA-21
* Kosmos 1820
* Kosmos 1821
* Momo 1
* Kosmos 1822
* Kosmos 1823
* Kosmos 1824
* GOES 7

March|

* Progress 28
* Kosmos 1825
* Kosmos 1826
* Kosmos 1827, Kosmos 1828, Kosmos 1829, Kosmos 1830, Kosmos 1831, Kosmos 1832
* Kosmos 1833
* Gran' No.31L
* Palapa B2P
* SROSS-A
* FLTSATCOM-6
* Kvant-1

April|

* Kosmos 1834
* Kosmos 1835
* Kosmos 1836
* Progress 29
* Kosmos 1837
* Kosmos 1838, Kosmos 1839, Kosmos 1840
* Kosmos 1841
* Kosmos 1842

May|

* Kosmos 1843
* Gorizont No.23L
* Kosmos 1844
* Kosmos 1845
* USA-22, LIPS-3, USA-23, USA-24, USA-25
* Polyus
* Progress 30
* Kosmos 1846
* Kosmos 1847
* Kosmos 1848

June|

* Kosmos 1849
* Kosmos 1850
* Kosmos 1851
* Kosmos 1852, Kosmos 1853, Kosmos 1854, Kosmos 1855, Kosmos 1856, Kosmos 1857, Kosmos 1858, Kosmos 1859
* Resurs-F1 No.105
* Kosmos 1860
* USA-26
* Kosmos 1861

July|

* Kosmos 1862
* Kosmos 1863
* Kosmos 1864
* Kosmos 1865
* Kosmos 1866
* Kosmos 1867
* Kosmos 1868
* Kosmos 1869
* Soyuz TM-3
* Kosmos 1870

August|

* Kosmos 1871
* Progress 31
* Fanhui Shi Weixing 10
* Meteor-2 No.21
* Kosmos 1872
* Kiku No.5
* Kosmos 1873

September|

* Kosmos 1874
* Ekran No.29L
* Kosmos 1875, Kosmos 1876, Kosmos 1877, Kosmos 1878, Kosmos 1879, Kosmos 1880
* Fanhui Shi Weixing I-01
* Kosmos 1881
* Kosmos 1882
* Aussat A3, ECS-4
* Kosmos 1883, Kosmos 1884, Kosmos 1885
* Transit-O 27, Transit-O 29
* Kosmos 1886
* Progress 32
* Kosmos 1887

October|

* Kosmos 1888
* Kosmos 1889
* Kosmos 1890
* Kosmos 1891
* Kosmos 1892
* Kosmos 1893
* USA-27
* Kosmos 1894

November|

* Kosmos 1895
* Kosmos 1896
* Progress 33
* TV-SAT 1
* Kosmos 1897
* USA-28

December|

* Kosmos 1898
* Kosmos 1899
* Gran' No.32L
* Kosmos 1900
* Kosmos 1901
* Kosmos 1902
* Soyuz TM-4
* Kosmos 1903
* Kosmos 1904
* Kosmos 1905
* Kosmos 1906
* Ekran-M No.13L
* Kosmos 1907

Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ).
Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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