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Tuesday, 26.07.2011
Soyuz space capsule: Flying in the undercarriage
Moscow. After the end of the shuttle era, American astronauts are frightened of flying on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The Russian monopoly in the cosmos makes the suspicious and the means of transport even more.
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The 'Time' offers today two news articles, of course one good and one bad one. The good one:"From now on an infinite number of Russian Soyuz spacecrafts will transport astronauts to the ISS", the bad one is nearly identical: "An infinite number of Russian Soyuz spacecraft will transport people into orbit."
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Free fall at 492 miles per hour
Comparing flying in the Shuttle to Business Class in an airplane, then a flight in a Soyuz would compare with something like flying across America in the undercarriage , according to the Time. The only advantage: In the undercarriage one is very safe.
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The magazine describes the landing of a Soyuz capsule as a dramatic process: After entering the atmosphere, the capsule is in free fall at a speed of 492 miles per hour until it reaches the height, where commercial aircraft travel, when three small brake parachutes open.
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Soon after the main parachute opens, only three feet above the ground the three small brake motors start, so that it will be a soft landing. "The landing is however not in water but and the hard ground, emphasizes the magazine." Additionally, the capsule spins the whole time to remain stable.
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Only one way into space and back
The astronauts however have not choice, continues the Time. They have to deal with the hard landing until the United States have completed their new spaceships. Until then there is only one way into space and back: with the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
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This does not please the Americans of course. At least until 2016, NASA has to rely on Russian spacecrafts to transport their astronauts to the International space station ISS. Russia is being well paid for this service - a seat in the Soyuz capsule costs up to 60 million dollar.
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Soyuz is a guantee for safety
Russia, however, is looking forward to "The beginning of the Soyuz era," an official statement by the Russian space agency Roskosmos explains its web site: Humanity recognises the role of American spaceships in the conquest of space. But why are the beautiful and comfortable "birds" disappearing while the "old Russian Soyuz ships, as the foreign media like to call them, remain?
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The answer is simple, according to Roskosmos:"It is due to reliability, not to mention profitability. The definition "old" has nothing to do with reality. The Soyuz ships are regularly upgraded.
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Shuttle and Soyuz - a comparison
A comparison between the US space shuttles and the Russian Soyuz crafts shows:"There were two disasters on both sides, however the Russian accidents were at the beginning of the Soyuz program while the American ones were however more recent.
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The very first Soyuz crashed wile landing on the 23rd April 1967, the Soviet ~Cosmos pioneer Vladimir Komarov was killed. On the 30th June 1971, during its return flight, the pressure inside the Soyuz 11 collapsed and all three astronauts died. For the last 40 years, the Soyuz flights have taken off as planned - since then the Soyuz has been the 'faithful workhorse of the Soviet and later Russian cosmonauts, admits the Time.
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On the American side, however, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after take off on the 28th April 1986 - the seven passengers did not survive the disaster. On the 1st February 2003, the Columbia exploded while landing at cape Canaveral, all seven astronauts lost their lives.
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