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Soyuz Kontakt 9

Date: November 1969. . (Cancelled flight). Program: Lunar L3.

The Kontakt system designed for the lunar orbit rendezvous and docking of the LOK lunar orbiter and LK lunar lander was to be mounted on two Soyuz spacecraft and tested in earth orbit. The first Kontakt crews were established in February 1969. By April 1969, two separate docking missions were to be executed after the triple Soyuz-6/7/8 mission. The first crew would have piloted the active spacecraft, simulating the LOK. The second launch would have launched a passive spacecraft, simulating the LK. These would have been 15 to 16 day missions to demonstrate both the new SZhO life support system for the L3, to conduct rendezvous and docking operations using the L3's Kontakt system, and to conduct EVA transfer of one cosmonaut.

Soyuz Kontakt 9 Chronology




1969 Apr 26 - Soyuz program review Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Soyuz Kontakt. Nation: USSR.

The commission considers plans for the rest of the Soyuz production. Spacecraft s/n 14, 15, and 16 are to fly in August 1969, 17 and 18 in November 1969, and 19 and 20 in February-March 1970. Crews selected for the August flights are: for spacecraft 14, Shonin and Kubasov; for 15, Filipchenko, Volkov, and Gorbatko; for 16, Nikolayev and Sevastyanov. Back-ups will be Kuklin, Grechko, and Kolodin. All of the spacecraft will fly 4 to 5 day missions. Spacecraft 15 and 16 will dock and remain together 2 or 3 days to form an 'orbital station'. Experiments planned for the flight are:




Visual observation of rocket launch plumes using the Svinets device

Film and photography of the spacecraft 15-16 docking from spacecraft 14

Demonstration of welding in weightless vacuum conditions using the Vulkan device

Demonstration of autonomous navigation by the cosmonauts using a sextant

Medium wave radio communications

Test of new television sensors for the Soyuz orientation system



Spacecraft 17 through 20 will fly 15 to 16 day missions to demonstrate the new SZhO life support system for the L3, and conduct rendezvous and docking operations using the L3's Kontakt system.

The results of the State Commission on the failure of the Soyuz 5 SA capsule to separate from the SO service module are presented. The SA and SO are connected with 102 clamps. Dozens of failure modes were studied and rejected as the cause of the failure to separate. The most likely reason was that one of the clamps became hung up on one of the intermodule struts after it had separated. Tests showed that the two sections would normally separate cleanly with the usual 70 kg of force generated by the separation pyrotechnics. But in some cases the force of the pyros could be greater than this, which would result in the clamp rebounding and closing again.







1969 Sep 18 - Approval is given for proceeding with the Soyuz 6-7-8 flights Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-L1. Nation: USSR.

However the board makes a big fuss over Kamanin having trained only four back-up cosmonauts to support eight prime-crew cosmonauts. A follow-up meeting is held with Smirnov and Afanasyev at 19:15, where Kamanin's training is denounced as a big failure. Nevertheless at 22:00 the word comes from the Kremlin to proceed with the missions. Kamanin points out that simultaneously with this mission he had cosmonauts in training for Soyuz s/n 17, 18, 19, 20 (Kontakt missions) and L1 circumlunar fights. Kuznetsov, Beregovoi, and several other cosmonauts are also enraged with Kamanin for bumping Nikolyaev from the Soyuz 8 crew. Kamanin maintains that in the circumstances he only had enough training resources for 8 prime + 4 back-up crew, especially for a mission scenario that would not be flown again in the future.





- 1969 November - Soyuz (Kontakt) 9 - (planned date for this cancelled manned spaceflight) Flight Crew: Khrunov, Yeliseyev, Spacecraft: Soyuz Kontakt. Nation: USSR.

The Kontakt system designed for the lunar orbit rendezvous and docking of the LOK lunar orbiter and LK lunar lander was to be mounted on two Soyuz spacecraft and tested in earth orbit. These flights were continuously delayed after the success of Apollo 11 and finally cancelled.





1970 Feb 20 - Soyuz 9 schedule; Soyuz Kontakt flights in limbo Spacecraft: Salyut 1, Soyuz Kontakt. Nation: USSR.

It was originally planned to fly two Soyuz spacecraft in August-September 1970, but at the end of December it was ordered that this be changed to a single 20 day flight in April 1970. Kamanin was given only two days to put together a training programme that had to prepare the cosmonauts for flight by 20 March. The State Commission meets and decides to move the Soyuz 9 flight to May, even though Kamanin says he can support the April schedule. It is the scientific institutes who say they cannot finish development of their experiments - even to meet the May schedule. Kamanin blames such chaos on Smirnov, Serbin, and Ustinov.





1970 Feb 25 - Soyuz 9 decision preempts Soyuz Kontakt flights Spacecraft: Soyuz Kontakt. Nation: USSR.

Meeting with Mishin. It is clear that he wanted to continue with the original plan for a dual Soyuz flight in August. It was Afanasyev and Kerimov who were pushing for a single long-duration flight in May. There is no action by the Ministry of Defence to provide rational decision making in regard to manned spaceflight.





1970 Feb 27 - DOS schedules, Soyuz Kontakt flights still in play Spacecraft: Soyuz Kontakt. Nation: USSR.

A meeting is held on the DOS project. The Central Committee and Soviet Ministers have directed that two DOS space stations be completed by the end of 1970. TsNIIMASH thinks this is impossible - the task can be accomplished in no less than 18 to 24 months. Mishin insists it can be done in ten months, as directed. Kamanin believes he won't even have it ready by the second half of 1971. It took five to seven years to just bring the Almaz, Soyuz VI, and L1 to flight status. This DOS will stop work on all other projects. Mishin still wants to fly two Soyuz spacecraft to test Bogomolov's Kontakt docking system for the L3.