Soyuz 6 (russian: Союз 6, ''Union 6'') was part of a joint October, 1969, mission with
Soyuz 7 and
Soyuz 8 that saw the three
Soyuz spacecraft
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 (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...
in orbit together at the same time, carrying a total of seven
cosmonauts. The crew of
Georgy Shonin and
Valeri Kubasov were meant to take high-quality movie photography of the
Soyuz 7 and
Soyuz 8 docking, but the
rendezvous systems on all three spacecraft failed.
It is still not known exactly what the actual problem was, but it is often quoted as being a
helium pressurisation integrity test.
[M. Sharpe, ''Space: The Ultimate Frontier''] The version of
Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft used for the missions carried a
torus-shaped docking electronics equipment housing surrounding the motor assembly on the back of the service module, which is thought to have been pressurised with helium to provide an inert environment for the electronics. It was then jettisoned after docking to lower the mass of the spacecraft for reentry. Due to unstable temperature, disparity between the frequencies of the transmitters and receivers, which were stabilised by special
quartz resonators, occurred. The piezocrystals were supposed to be in
thermostat
A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.
Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...
s at a strictly constant
temperature.
[B. Chertok, ''Rockets and People'', Vol. IV]
The crew was made up of Shonin and Kubasov, who carried out experiments in
space welding. They tested three methods: using an
electron beam
Cathode rays or electron beam (e-beam) are streams of electrons observed in discharge tubes. If an evacuated glass tube is equipped with two electrodes and a voltage is applied, glass behind the positive electrode is observed to glow, due to ele ...
, a low-pressure
plasma arc
A plasma torch (also known as a plasma arc, plasma gun, plasma cutter, or plasmatron) is a device for generating a directed flow of plasma.
The plasma jet can be used for applications including plasma cutting, plasma arc welding, plasma spraying ...
and a consumable
electrode. While welding, Kubasov almost burned through the hull of the vehicle's Living Compartment, which in the absence of spacesuits could have resulted in a catastrophic situation.
The apparatus was designed at the
Paton Institute of Electric Welding,
Kyiv,
Ukraine. The weld quality was said to be in no way inferior to that of Earth-based welds.
After eighty orbits of the Earth, they landed on 16 October 1969, northwest of
Karaganda,
Kazakhstan.
The radio call sign of the spacecraft was , referring to the Greek hero ''
Antaeus'', but at the time of the flight, however, it was also the name of the largest practicable aircraft, the Soviet
Antonov An-22, made in
Ukraine. But unlike the call signs of
Soyuz 7 and
Soyuz 8, it was not the name of a squadron in Soviet military training, of uncertain role, for the one that begins with the letter 'a' is , meaning "active".
Crew
Backup crew
Reserve crew
Mission parameters
* Mass:
* Perigee:
[ ]
* Apogee:
* Inclination: 51.68°
* Period: 88.67 minutes
Mission
The mission objectives included:
[ ]
* checkout and flight test of spaceborne systems and the modified structure of the
Soyuz craft,
* further improvement of the control, orientation, and orbital stabilisation systems and navigation aids,
* debugging the piloting systems by orbital maneuvering of the spaceships in relation to one another,
* testing of a system for control of the simultaneous flight of three spacecraft,
* scientific observations and photographing of geological-geographical subjects and exploration of the
Earth's atmosphere,
* studying circumterrestrial space,
* conducting experiments of
engineering research
Engineering research seeks improvements in theory and practice in fields such as (for example) high-speed computation, bioengineering, earthquake prediction, power systems, nanotechnology and construction.
Major contributors to engineering resea ...
and
biomedical engineering importance.
Return
Stable two-way radio communications was maintained between the spaceships and the ground stations, and TV coverage was broadcast from the ships during flight. The most significant objective was testing alternate methods for welding using remote handling equipment in the high vacuum and weightless conditions of outer space. In Soyuz 6, the welding unit had the name Vulcan and was controlled remotely by electric cable. Of the three types of welding tried (low pressure compressed arc, electron beam, and arc with a consumable electrode), electron beam was the most successful. Soyuz 6 also performed group flight with Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 8, but it did not dock with either spacecraft.
References
External links
Astronautix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz 06
Crewed Soyuz missions
Spacecraft launched in 1969
1969 in the Soviet Union
Spacecraft which reentered in 1969