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Soyuz 9

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This article is about a 1970 spaceflight. For the mission identified by NASA as ISS Soyuz 9, seeSoyuz TMA-5.

Soyuz 9
Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov on the 1971 commemorative stamp "424 Hours On Earth's Orbit" ofSoviet Union
Mission typeTest flight
OperatorSoviet space program
COSPAR ID1970-041AEdit this at Wikidata
SATCATno.04407
Mission duration17 days, 16 hours, 58 minutes, 55 seconds
Orbits completed288
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz 7K-OK No.17[1]
Spacecraft typeSoyuz 7K-OK
ManufacturerExperimental Design Bureau(OKB-1)
Launch mass6460 kg[2]
Landing mass1200 kg
Crew
Crew size2
MembersAndriyan Nikolayev
Vitaly Sevastyanov
CallsignСокол(Sokol– "Falcon" )
Start of mission
Launch date1 June 1970, 19:00:00GMT
RocketSoyuz
Launch siteBaikonur,Site 31/6[3]
End of mission
Landing date19 June 1970, 11:58:55 GMT
Landing siteSteppesinKazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[4]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude207.0 km
Apogee altitude220.0 km
Inclination51.70°
Period88.59 minutes

Vimpel Diamond for entrainment patch

Soyuz 9(Russian:Союз 9,Union 9) was a June, 1970,Sovietcrewed space flight. The two-man crew ofAndriyan NikolayevandVitaly Sevastyanovbroke the five-year-old space endurance record held byGemini 7,with their nearly 18-day flight. The mission paved the way for theSalyutspace stationmissions, investigating the effects of long-termweightlessnesson crew, and evaluating the work that thecosmonautscould do in orbit, individually and as a team. It was also the last flight of the first-generationSoyuz 7K-OKspacecraft, as well as the first crewed space launch to be conducted at night. In 1970, Soyuz 9 marks the longest crewed flight by a solo spacecraft.

Crew

[edit]
Position[5] Cosmonaut
Commander Soviet UnionAndrian Nikolayev
Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer Soviet UnionVitaly Sevastyanov
First spaceflight

Backup crew

[edit]
Position Cosmonaut
Commander Soviet UnionAnatoly Filipchenko
Flight Engineer Soviet UnionGeorgy Grechko

Reserve crew

[edit]
Position Cosmonaut
Commander Soviet UnionVasily Lazarev
Flight Engineer Soviet UnionValeri Yazdovsky

Mission

[edit]

The flight tested, for a longer period of time than any other, the capacity of the hardware and the human crew, on the long-term exposure to space conditions and observing (both visually and photographically)geologicalandgeographicalobjects,weather formations,water surfaces,andsnowandice covers.The crew conducted observations ofcelestial bodiesand practicedastronavigation,by locking ontoVegaorCanopus,and then used asextantto measure its relation to theEarthhorizon. The orbital elements were refined to three decimal places by the crew.[2]

Commander Nikolayev and flight engineer Sevastyanov spent 18 days in space conducting variousphysiologicalandbiomedical experimentson themselves, but also investigating the social implications of prolonged spaceflight. The cosmonauts spent time in two-way TV links with their families, watched matches in the1970 FIFA World Cup,played chess with ground control, and voted in a Soviet election. The mission set a new space endurance record and marked a shift in emphasis away from spacefarers merely being able to exist in space for the duration of a long mission (such as theApolloflights to the Moon) to being able to live in space. The mission took an unexpected physical toll on the cosmonauts; in order to conserve attitude control gas during the lengthy stay in orbit, Soyuz 9 was placed in aspin-stabilisationmode that made Nikolayev and Sevastyanov dizzy and space sick.[6]

Mission parameters

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  • Mass:6,460 kg (14,240 lb)[2]
  • Perigee:207.0 km (128.6 mi)[4]
  • Apogee:220.0 km (136.7 mi)
  • Inclination:51.70°
  • Period:88.59 minutes

Chess game

[edit]
Nikolayev and Sevastyanov vs. Kamanin and Gorbatko, Space/Earth 1970
abcdefgh
8
e8 black queen
g8 black king
a7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
f6 white queen
g6 black pawn
d5 black pawn
c4 black pawn
d4 white pawn
a3 white pawn
c3 white pawn
f3 white pawn
h3 white pawn
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Final position, following 35... Kg8.
This section usesalgebraic notationto describe chess moves.

During the mission, the two cosmonauts played a game ofchessagainst a pair of opponents on Earth: head of cosmonautsNikolai Kamaninand fellow cosmonautViktor Gorbatko.It was the first documented game played by humans while in space.[7][a]It was aconsultation game,with the two cosmonauts playing as White and jointly deciding each move, while the two players on Earth did likewise as Black. The set used aboard Soyuz 9 had pegs and grooves to keep the pieces in place and did not include magnets, which might have interfered with the spacecraft's systems.[8]

The game began as aQueen's Gambit Accepted,with both playerscastlingkingside. Material wasexchangedevenly throughout the game. Toward the end of the game WhitecheckedBlack four times, and rapid exchange of remainingpiecesensued. At 35. Qxf6+, Black responded with the final move 35... Kg8 (the only legal move), moving the king to theflight squareg8. In the final position each side had a queen and five pawns, with nopassed pawns.The game concluded as a draw.

White: A. Nikolayev and V. Sevastyanov (Low Earth orbit)Black: N. Kamanin and V. Gorbatko (Earth)
Queen's Gambit Accepted(QGA) (ECOD20),9/10[9]June 1970
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Bd6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 Bg4 10.h3 Bf5 11.Nh4 Qd7 12.Qf3 Ne7 13.g4 Bg6 14.Rae1 Kh8 15.Bg5 Neg8 16.Ng2 Rae8 17.Be3 Bb4 18.a3 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Be4 20.Qg3 c6 21.f3 Bd5 22.Bd3 b5 23.Qh4 g6 24.Nf4 Bc4 25.Bxc4 bxc4 26.Bd2 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Nd5 28.g5 Qd6 29.Nxd5 cxd5 30.Bf4 Qd8 31.Be5+ f6 32.gxf6 Nxf6 33.Bxf6+ Rxf6 34.Re8+ Qxe8 35.Qxf6+ Kg8½–½[7][10]

Sevastyanov was a chess enthusiast. Following Soyuz 9, he served as president of theSoviet Chess Federationfrom 1977-1986 and 1988-1989.[8]

Return

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The spacecraft soft landed in the steppes ofKazakhstan,and the crew was picked up immediately. Adjusting togravity of Earthseemed to present a minor problem for the two cosmonauts.[2]They required help exiting the descent module and were virtually unable to walk for a few days.[6]Nonetheless, this experience proved the importance of providing crews with exercise equipment during missions. After landing the crew spent 2 weeks in a quarantine unit originally designed for cosmonauts returning fromMoon landings.[6]At the time the Soviet press reported that this was done to protect the cosmonauts in case space travel had weakened theirimmune systems.However, the quarantine process was likely practice for theSoviet crewed lunar program,which at that point had not been abandoned.[6]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Although the Soyuz 9 game is the first documented chess game played in space, some sources have indicated that this was not the first timea chess set was flown in space.DuringExpo 2020in Dubai, a chess set was exhibited which was said to have been flown aboardSoyuz 3andSoyuz 4.[8](Dubai hosted the2021 World Chess Championshipconcurrently with Expo 2020). However, it is unclear whether the set was used on either mission. Soyuz 3 had a single crew member, and was a failed docking attempt with the uncrewedSoyuz 2.Soyuz 4 also launched with a single crew member aboard, but quickly returned to Earth with another two cosmonauts. The latter had launched aboardSoyuz 5and carried out thefirst-ever crew transferviaEVA,boarding Soyuz 4 for return to Earth.

References

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  1. ^Soyuz-9 embarks on a record-breaking missionrussianspaceweb,accessed 27 December 2022
  2. ^abcd"Display: Soyuz 9 1970-041A".NASA. 14 May 2020.Retrieved18 October2020.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  3. ^"Baikonur LC31".Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived fromthe originalon 4 September 2003.Retrieved4 March2009.
  4. ^ab"Trajectory: Soyuz 9 1970-041A".NASA. 14 May 2020.Retrieved18 October2020.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  5. ^Mir Hardware Heritage – 1.7.3 (wikisource)
  6. ^abcdHarvey, Brian (2007).Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration.Springer-Praxis. pp. 179–181.ISBN978-0387218960.
  7. ^abFox, Mike; James, Richard (1993).The Even More Complete Chess Addict.Faber and Faber. p. 97.ISBN9780571170401.
  8. ^abc"Chess in outer space".fide.FIDE.13 April 2020.
  9. ^Schipkov, Boris."Space (Soyuz-9) - Earth (Control Center) [D20], Radio Match 1970".Chess Siberia.
  10. ^"Soyuz 9 Cosmonauts vs. Ground Control".Chessgames.
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