Tutorial:Salyut programme

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Welcome to my very first tutorial!Here, we will try to re-enact the world's first space stations.All of the designs are based on actual modules and rockets. Of course, I can't do it perfectly, but I am trying my best. Also, I am doing it without any mod parts.

The Salyut programme was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union, which consisted of a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed military reconnaissance space stations over a period of 15 years from 1971 to 1986. It was, on the one hand, designed to carry out long-term research into the problems of living in space and a variety of astronomical, biological and Earth-resources experiments, and on the other hand this civilian program was used as a cover for the highly secretive military Almaz stations, which flew as well under the Salyut designation.Welcome to my first tutorial!Here, we will try to re-enact the world's first space stations.All of the designs are based on actual modules and rockets. Of course, I can't do it perfectly, but I am trying my best. Also, I am doing it without any mod parts.Right now I could only do Salyut 1, Salyut 2, Progress unmanned vehicle and Soyuz personnel transport spacecrafts.


Launcher

Any launcher that can carry a large amount of payload into a low orbit can be used.But I recommend using the Proton-K from the ISS tutorial or any of the launchers from the spacecraft exchange in the KSP forum that could carry at least more than 10 tonnes(I don't know I haven't actually calculated the payloads' weight).


Soyuz and Progress

Soyuz is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Space Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet manned lunar programme.

Ship Design

Front to aft:

Launch

Try your best to put it on the same orbit as the orbiting Salyut station. If you have an auto-pilot, use the "Launch to rendezvous" function. If not, try to send it with the station.

Rendezvous

Check the tutorials on rendezvous and docking if you don't know how to. The goal is to attach the front end of the Soyuz or Progress to the front end of the station. You may need to switch between vessels to put them in the right directions.


Salyut 1

Salyut 1 (DOS-1) was the first space station of any kind, launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. More stations followed in the Salyut programme, and heritage of that space station program is still in use on the ISS.

Ship Design

Front to aft:



The Mission

The original Salyut 1 launch happened on April 19, 1971. The module was placed on a Low Earth Orbit, which usually corresponds to 160 to 2000 km. So, if you want to make it good, launch as usual, with a gravity turn starting at 10km. Continue until you reach a low apoapsis, then burn there to get a low periapsis and get an almost circular orbit. It is very possible to achieve this orbit with precise flying.



Salyut 2

Salyut 2 (OPS-1) was a Soviet space station which was launched in 1973 as part of the Salyut programme. It was the first Almaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of launch the station had lost attitude control and depressurised, leaving it unusable. It decayed from orbit by 28 May 1973, without any crews having visited it.


Ship Design

Front to aft:



Failure

Three days after the launch of Salyut 2, the Proton's spent third stage exploded. Thirteen days into its mission, Salyut 2 began to depressurise, and its attitude control system malfunctioned. An inquiry into the failure initially determined that a fuel line had burst, burning a hole in the station. It was later discovered that a piece of debris from the third stage had collided with the station, causing the damage. Several pieces of debris separated from the space station at around the time of its failure, including both solar panels, which removed its ability to generate power. Three pieces of debris from the station were catalogued, and had decayed from orbit by 13 May. The remainder of the station reentered the atmosphere on May 28, 1973 over the Pacific ocean.


What now

You could do the International Space Station and/or possibly your own space station, interplanetary base, etc. let your imagination run wild!