Origin of the Soviet Earth
Orbit Rendezvous
Programme
In autumn 1956, i.e. as early as about
one year before the launch of the first
satellite, the Chief Designer of OKB-1,
S.P. Korolyov, prepared a bold plan
entitled 'The most immediate goals for
space exploration", where in Part 3
the following were listed (1]:
• Analysis of various ways of creating a
satellite-station and research on techni-
cal specifications for transport rockets;
. Research and development of a control
system for ensuring the rendezvous of
two satellites;
• Astrodynamic research on rendezvous
trajectories; research and development
of engine units which are necessary for
rendezvous.
On 5 July 1958, S.P. Korolyov to-
gether with M.K. Tikhonravov signed a
comprehensive plan of future space
activity [1]. Among numerous projects,
the plan included development of
heavy spacecraft which could not be
launched by the R-7 launchers; for
example, manned circumlunar space-
craft and an orbital space station.
Rather than wait for the building of
heavy lift launch vehicles, plans for
which were still on paper only,
Korolyov proposed to use Earth Orbit
Rendezvous (EOR for short) technol-
ogy, in which separate units would be
launched into orbit by available R-7-
based launchers then joined together
in LEO.
Since 1959, OKB-1 's Project Depart-
ment No. 9 headed by Tikhonravov
had been working on problems of
space rendezvous (2]. There was a
special team headed by K.S. Shustin
and called Space Assembly [3].
By early 1960, Tikhonravov's de-
partment had started in earnest and
during 1960-1961 conducted extensive
research and development on types of
hardware for building two variants of
the Orbital Assembly in LEO [4]. These
were:
• A multi-unit manned military space sta-
tion named Sever;
• A multi-stage rocket Space Tug for re-
launching payloads from LEO into es-
cape trajectories or higher orbits.
Component parts of the complex are
shown in the table below.
The MR (Multipurpose
Rocket): An 8K74-Based
Multipurpose Launcher
The Orbital Assembly Project was
based on two versions of the R-7
launcher. The lighter modules weigh-
ing about 4.6 - 4.8 t were to be or-
bited by the 8K72K (Vostok) launch
vehicle whereas heavier spacecraft
were to be orbited by a "shortened"
version of the 8K78 launcher, i.e.
whose fourth stage (Block L) was to
be replaced by the orbital payload.
In early 1960, the concept of such
a 8K74-based launcher was conceived
by Korolyov as a "multipurpose
rocket" (in Korolyov's terms) or MR for
short. Yet another MR was to be de-
signed based on the 8K77 ICBM. The
MRs were to be used as [6]:
• A fighting global (i.e. orbital) rocket with
unlimited range capability;
• An ICBM with increased power, effi-
ciency and higher pointing accuracy of
the warhead;
• A launch vehicle for the orbiting of at-
tacking and reconnaissance satellites;
• An anti-satellite missile system for destroying enemy satellites;
• A space launch vehicle for orbiting various spacecraft.
The MR version to be used as a
launch vehicle was designated 8K711.
The original specifications of early
1961 required a payload capability of
about 5.8 t for a 225 km circular
orbit with an inclination of 65 degrees.
But as the programme progressed it
became obvious that the 8K711 did
not meet this requirement The point
was that its stage 3 (Block 1) powered
by Kosberg's 30-tonne thrust engine
8D715K would be essentially different
from the Block I of the 8K78 which
was in operational service. Firstly, it
was to have its own inertial control
system, as distinct from the basic
Stage 3 of the 8K78, the control system of which was on board Stage 4.
Secondly, the trajectory tracking and
telemetry systems would have to be
moved from Stage 4 to the modified
Stage 3. A cylindrical adapter would
have to be attached to the forward
end of Stage 3 to enable new
spacecraft to be placed on it Modified in
such a way Block I would have grown
so heavy that the 8K711 would not
have been able to reach its original
specifications. So in mid-1961, the MR
rocket 8K711 project was abandoned.
Moreover, the development of the
Orbital Complex, its launchers and
payloads began before official
government approval was given. After
serious discussions in the end of 1961 all
these projects were cancelled in
favour of a redesigned manned
circumlunar programme, although the
Sever programme even got as far as
the full-scale wooden mock-up of the
habitation module being built [3].
The Early Soyuz
Circumlunar Programme
In December 1961 yet another OKB-1
department. No. 3, headed by Y.P.
Kolyako, was involved in the lunar
programme. They proposed a concept of
fuelling rocket units in LEO [2].
In early 1962, the orbital assembly
project was revised radically - it then
envisaged an all-automated
rendezvous and docking.
Spacecraft-assembler Vostok-7 became unnecessary
and was abandoned. Its designation,
7K, was inherited by manned
circumlunar spacecraft [7]. Instead of two,
three or more 9K rocket units, only
one would be orbited but unloaded. In
April 1962 the manned circumlunar
complex was called Soyuz [8].
On 16 April 1962 by a decree of the
Central Committee and Council of
Ministers entitled "On the development of
the Soyuz complex for manned flight
around the Moon", the go-ahead was
given to OKB-1 to begin development
and construction of spacecraft for the
circumlunar programme [9].
The Soyuz complex took shape in
mid-1962 and was to consist of three
spacecraft as shown in the table opposite.
The outline design of the 7K-9K-11K
Soyuz complex was signed by
Korolyov on 24 December 1962 [11].
According to the original schedule, the
first flight tests of the 7K spacecraft in
LEO were to take place in 1964 and
the lunar complex 7K-9K-11K as a
Launchers for the Early
Soyuz Programme, 11A55
and 11A56
When it became obvious that the
"shortened" 8K78 would not reach the
specified payload capability, a study
was conducted in the latter half of
1961 which showed that if the central
sustainer of Block A's engine were to
be uprated by 5 per cent of thrust
with an increase of specific impulse,
the estimated orbiting mass would go
up to 5.8 or even 6.0 L
In December 1961, the decision was
taken to develop two uprated versions
of three-stage R-7A-based launch ve-
hicle which were designated 11A55
and 11A56*.
Launch vehicle 11A56 was intended
to orbit the unmanned spacecraft
Objects 9K and 11K. The 11A55 was to
be the launcher for orbiting the
manned spacecraft Object 7K and it
was to become the first launch vehicle
which would be developed and
produced according to the requirements
of a document entitled "3KA
Regulations" ("Polozheniye 3KA" in Russian
terms). These rules were issued in
early 1960 [13] and, at first, they did
establish requirements on
constructing, check-out and factory testing of
all units and systems of the manned
spacecraft Vostok (Object 3KA, which
gave rise to the title "3KA Regula-
tions"). But after 1962 the scope of
the rules established by this document
was enlarged to cover all hardware
intended for manned missions in order
to ensure a high level of reliability**.
The 11A55 and 11A56 launchers
differed from each other in their engine
units, control and telemetry systems,
and nose fairing design. Of course,
the 11A55 also had to meet the
requirements of the 3KA Regulations.
Glushko's OKB-456 was asked to
develop two uprated version of the
RD-108 motor for the Block A (Stage
2) central sustainers. The first engine
designated 8D727K was intended for
the unmanned launch vehicle 11A56
and the second, 8D727P, for the
manned 11A55 launcher. During 1962
both versions were developed. The
operating pressure in the main com-
bustion chambers was uprated by 5
per cent in comparison with the pre-
vious versions 8D75/75K. Sea-level
thrust had increased from 75.8 to
79.3 t and specific impulse rose by
3 s. The duration of burning in the
final thrust stage was cut down to 7
seconds.
Engine RD-107 of the strap-on
boosters Blocks B, V, G and D (Stage
1) was also improved to bring its
performance up to the requirements of
Notes:
* A re-designed single-stage Space Tug, which kept the former designator 9K and was to have
more bulky tanks than its predecessor but was to be orbited unfuelled.
** After Space Tug 9K had been placed in LEO, four space tankers -11K were to be successively
orbited to join together with the former, one after the other, and to pour their propellant into
the tug's tanks. After the 7K spacecraft had been docked to the fuelled Space Tug, the latter
was to be fired for translunar injection.
*lt is known that the designation 11A52 was
given to the Moon rocket N-1. Its derivative
launchers N-11 and N-111 were designated
as 11A53 and 11A54 [7]. So, launch vehi-
cles of the Soyuz complex arrived on the
scene later than launchers of the N-family
and received the next numbers for their
designations, i.e. 11A55 and 11A56.
** The 3KA Regulations were in force up to
1968 when new Regulations were introduced.
the 3KA Regulations. This version re-
ceived the designation 8D728.
As the Stage 3 engine 8D715K for
unmanned missions (its conventional
designation is RD-0107) was then in
operational service, Kosberg's 0KB-
154 was asked to develop its new
version for the manned launcher
11 ASS. In 1963 this motor was devel-
oped. It did not have a final thrust
stage, so the automatic mechanism
was simplified. It met the requirements
of the 3KA Regulations although its
performance characteristics remained
the same. This engine received the
designation 8D71SP (its modem con-
ventional designation is RD-0108).
In 1961 OKB-l's Department No. 11
started work on an escape emer-
gency system for the manned launch
vehicle [14]. In mid-1962 the decision
was taken to use an escape system
powered by a solid rocket motor with
a few angled nozzles [14]. The design
of the IIASS's nose fairing with the
escape tower atop had been prepared
in 1963 by OKB-l's Departments Nos.
3 and 11 together with designers of
the Kuibyshev's Branch No. 3 of 0KB-
1 [15].
In mid-1963, during the design of
the 7K spacecraft, its theoretical
weight came to more than 6 tonnes
and then continued to grow. It be-
came obvious that it was necessary to
design an improved launch vehicle
which could place a payload of no
less than 6.5 t in LEO. Project 11A55/
56 was cancelled and development of
an improved launcher, designated
11A511, began in 1963. (This launcher
will be described in a forthcoming Part
14.)
Meanwhile in the latter half of 1963,
manufacture of portions of the Soyuz
spacecraft and their launchers was
begun by Experimental Plant No. 88 at
Podlipki (near Moscow) and by the
Progress Machine Building Plant at
Kuibyshev. But during the first half of
1964 the programme proceeded too
slowly. In mid-1964, work on the 7K-
9K-11K complex was in fact termi-
nated [16], and shortly afterwards the
circumlunar programme Soyuz was
radically revised once again. There
were a number of reasons for this
decision. Firstly, OKB-1 was very busy
with the Voskhod programme. Sec-
ondly, as a response to the progress
being made with Apollo-Saturn, the
full-scale N1-L3 programme was de-
veloped on a broad front according to
a decree of the Soviet government
dated 3 August 1964. In the end, a
multi-launch scheme for such a mis-
sion turned out to be too complicated
to be realised at that time.
Although the 11A55 and 11A56
launchers were never flown, many
units designed for them were used in
other R-7A-based launch vehicles and
were put into operational service. Mo-
tor 8D727K had its first flight test on
25 August 1962 as an engine unit of
Stage 2 (Block A) of the 8K78 vehicle,
after which the 8D727K motor was in
operational service during 1962-1964.
The 8D728 and 8D727P motors
were first flown on 16 November 1963
as engine units of the unified launcher
11A57 which carried the photo-recon-
naissance satellite Zenit-4.
The first flight-ready copy of the
8D715P motor was first used on 11
November 1963 as the Stage 3 engine
unit of the 8K78 launcher carrying the
Zond probe 3MV-1A. This engine was
in operational service during 1963-
1965 as the power-plant of Block I of
the early versions of the 11A57 and
8K78M launch vehicles.
During development of the 11A55/56
launchers, designers of the
Kuibyshev's Branch No. 3 of OKB-1
were involved in this work. They
gained significant experience in rocket
technology, which they used in con-
structing their first launch vehicle,
11A57, which will be described in Part
10.