The 'Baykonur' cosmodrome, its functions, operations, and services are described in considerable detail. The launch complex, launching pads, launch structures, launchers with cable masts and propellant loading towers, are included. The sequence of all phases of rocket assembly and preparations for launch are depicted. Prelaunch procedures and the launch itself are described

Vladimirov, B. P.

English

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NASA TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NASA TM 75109
BAYKONUR
B. P. Vladimirov
(NASA-TM-75109) BAYKONDR (National
Aeronautics and Space Administration) 16 P
HC A02/MF A01 CSCL 22B
N78-27158
Onclas
261U3
Translation of "Baykonur", Zemlya i Vselennaya,
No. 1, January-February 19?8, pp. 6U-T1
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, D . C . 205^6 June, 1978
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19780019215 2020-03-22T02:42:29+00:00Z
STANDARD TITLE PACE
]. Repor t No.
• •NASA TM 75109
2. Government Accession No. 3. R e c i p i e n t ' s Cotolog No.
4. Tin. .nd Subiiii. Baykonur 5. Report Dote June, 1978
6. Performing Orgoniiotion Code
7. Aulhor(s)
B. P. Vladimirov
8. Performing Orgoniiolion Report No.
10. Work Unit No.
9. P e r f o r m i n g O 'gani ic f ion Nam* and Addrcts
. S C I T R A N
Box 5456
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
1). Contract or Grant No.
N A S w - ? 7 Q l
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Transla tion
12. Sponsoring Agency Nome ond Address
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, D.C. 20546
14. Sponsor ing Ay«ncy Coda
15. SuppUm«ntory Notts
Translation of "Baykonur", Zemlya 1 Vselennaya, No. 1,
January-February 1978, pp. 64-71-
16. Abstroct
Author B. P. Vladimirov describes the "Baykonur" cosmodrome,
its functions,, operations, and services in considerable detail
The description includes the launch complex, launching pads,
launch structures, launcfrers with cable masts and propellant-
loading towers, and pre-launch laboratory, including service
trusses and towers. , The paper is illustrated with 7 photographs
and a diagram, which describes the sequence of all phases of
rocket assembly and preparations for launch. The paper con-
cludes with a description.of all pre-launch procedures and-the
launch itself. '
17. Key Word* (Selected by Author(») 18. Distribution Sta tement This Copyrighted
Soviet work is reproduced and sold
by NTTS under license from VAAP, the
Soviet copyright agency. No further
copying is permitted "Without per-
mission from VAAP.
19. Security Clossif. (of ihis report)
Unclassified
20. Security C lo is i f . (of Ihis page)
Unclassified
21. No. of Poges
16
22.
NASA-IIQ
rFigure 1: View looking towards the launch site.
765
Figure 2
rocket. Below it there is the gas-efflux channel, to carry away the
combustion products of the rocket engines. On the baffle plate the
launch system is concentrated around the aperture. In the launch and
other structures there are systems for charging and temperature con-
trol of fuel, compressors, and storage vessels for compressed gases,
containers for storing fuel, and the control system equipment for pre-
paring the rocket for launch and for the launch itself.
Behind the inclined gas-efflux channel, there is the command
point bunker. It is connected by cables with all the cosmodrome opera-
tional services, the observational and command and measurement points.
A short distance away there is the assembly and test structure. A
railway track connects the assembly and test structure with the launch
area. Along this track the space vehicles move to their final point,
from which to begin their journey into the universe.
The main structure of the launch complex is the launch system.
In appearance it is quite original because of the unusual shape of the
launch vehicle. The construction of a rocket, which takes the form of
a package with transverse division into stages, is reminiscent of the
famous Russian troika. A group of five units is in "harness" as the
first and second stages. The central unit, the core, is the first and
simultaneously the second stage, and on two sides symmetrically attached
there are four lateral units of the first stage.
These lateral units are cone-shaped and are attached to the cen-
tral unit roughly at a distance of 20 m from the base of the rocket (the
total length of the launch vehicle with the spacecraft is about 50 m).
At the apex of the lateral units the rocket is suspended on the launch
system, and penetrates roughly 7 m into the aperture in the launch
structure. Its entire weight is supported on four support points.
This rocket shape is radically different from the traditional
idea of a rocket launch. Usually, a rocket is supported on its base
on the launch structure and, in ascending, immediately leaves all ele-
ments of the launch structure on the pad. In this arrangement, the
launch system must support the rocket until its engines come up to the
basic thrust condition and as soon as the rocket tries to ascend, it is
set free in a few seconds.
As a rule, in the first period of motion the rocket does not ac-
quire sufficient stability and a strong wind or a nonuniform motor thrust
manufacture at the
factory
dispatch of the rocket
to the cosmodrome
I
the assembly and test
structure
I
transportation to the
launch pad
lifting and*inclusion of
the rocket into the launch
system
I
attachment of the cable
and fueling masts
raising of the service truss
and placement of the service
cabin
attachment of the fueling
systems and cables1
fueling of the rocket
launch
Figure 3: Schematic diagram showing the movement and preparation of
a rocket for launch, from the moment of manufacture to
launch.
can deflect it from a strictly vertical ascent. Therefore, for each
type of rocket there are safety limits for the launch area. The rocket
must have a "corridor" through which it can be safely launched. This /67
means that all elements of the launch equipment can only be located
outside this corridor, and the supports on which the rocket is sus-
pended prior to launch must be withdrawn, when the rocket base passes
by. Similar limits determine the diameter of the aperture in the
launch structure for the base of the rocket and the internal diameter
of the annular base of the launch system.
sectors of the
tension ring sector of the
tension ring
3OSI
Figure 4: Mounting of a rocket in a vertical position. The support
elements of the launch system, the mast, and the service
trusses are withdrawn.
The support structure of the support system may be described in
this way: in the plane of the suspension supports, the body of the
rocket is freely contained by the tension ring, consisting of four
support trusses, attached via hinges to the base of the launch system.
When the tension ring is closed, these separate four parts form a rigid
structure which holds the multi-ton rocket safely. Outwardly, the
structure looks like a truncated pyramid, within which the rocket
hangs. The structure holds the pyramid in the closed position, be-
cause of its own weight. The rocket, which hangs freely in the launch
system, can sway, like a mast, under the influence of the wind or non-
uniform thrust of the engine. Therefore, inadmissible loads may rise
in the support element of the rocket, and its initial orientation in
space may be disturbed. To avoid this, the rocket is fixed externally
by stabilizers at four points of the base. Hinged attachments, to which
the rocket is fastened, like the support elements of a pyramid, are se-
parated from the rocket as it starts to move, and fall away to the side
under the action of their own weight. The pyramid supports the rocket
until its engines generate sufficient thrust, capable of raising the
rocket and imparting the correct initial motion to it. As soon as the
rocket begins to move, the pyramid opens and the four support trusses
of which it is comprised fall away in a few seconds beyond the launch
corridor, free of the rocket path.
At the launch of space rockets, one can easily see how the sup-
port trusses fall away firom the rocket, and how it slowly leaves the
ground in a cloud of flame and smoke. When first tests were made on
the opening of the pyramid at the cosmodrome, the pyramid received the
name "tulip".
There is a saying that the simpler a structure is, the more re- /68
liable it is. The launch system has exactly these qualities. In the
two decades of the space age, many different space vehicles and space
craft have been built, but the "tulip" has functioned reliably and has
set them all initially on the. correct start to their space journey.
The launch system is equipped with cable and fueling masts.
Their names define their purpose. Along one of these pass the cables
for supplying electrical energy to the launch vehicle prior to launch,
and the other carries lines for supplying fuel and telemetry cables to
items on the spacecraft. When movie frames of a rocket launch were
shown, the viewers observed how the masts fall away to the side from the
body of the rocket, a few seconds prior to launch.
..WG1WALOF POOR QUAUTY
Figure 5: A rocket is set up on the launch system. The cable and
, fueling masts are withdrawn. The service masts are with-
drawn. In the lower part of the photograph one can see
the deflection plate of the launch structure.
The Cosmodrome Pre-Launeh Laboratory
The service facilities are particularly important in the launch
complex. These provide access for the service personnel to locations
close to the fueling systems, the electrical and pneumatic joints, to
the rocket, and are also used to bring in equipment and instruments /69
to different heights. The service facilities (the service trusses and
the service cabins) are used to make the last checkout of the rocket
prior to launch.
The Service Truss: This takes the form of two columns of height
almost as great as the rocket, which are attached via hinges to the
base of the launch system. In the operating position, these form a
distinctive gantry with floors at various levels, within which the rocket
is located. These floors freely span the rocket, and make it possible
to service it from all sides. Some of the floors are closed in, where
micro-climate zones can be set up for operation with large temperature
drops. The cosmonauts embark from the topmost floor. Before launch,
the gantry is opened and each half of the truss falls away to a hori-
zontal position, one on each side.
The Service Cabin: This is a huge platform which covers the
entire aperture in the launch structure beneath the rocket. It forms
a suspended working area below the rocket for servicing. Multi-level
extensible floors of the cabin provide free access to numerous service
locations at the base of the rocket.
Final Preparations
Preparation of the rocket for launch begins with the transpor-
tation of its units and parts of the space vehicle and spacecraft in
special railway wagons from the manufacturing factories. At the
cosmodrome, they are set up in the test and assembly building. Here,
cleanliness rules. This is underlined by the white clothing of the
workers.
The assembly and test building of the cosmodrome, where the
rocket takes its final shape, is well known to us from our television
screens, photographs, and movie-news pictures, and is furnished with
various equipment, monitoring and testing apparatus and instruments,
to provide a last-minute check of the life-activity of the rocket and
the space vehicle in the forthcoming flight.
Finally, all the units of the rocket are assembled. The final
operations are conducted; the space vehicle is mated to the rocket.
Thereafter, the rocket-spacecraft system is tested as a whole, and the
rocket and space vehicle are made ready for their journey to the launch
pad.
Powerful bridge cranes lift them onto the transport-assembly
complex, the transporter. The aperture in the assembly and test struc-
ture is opened, and the transporter slowly moves to the launch pad. It
seems to the onlooker that a fantastic ship is floating in wide-open
space. On the launch pad, everything is ready to receive the rocket
and spacecraft. The launch system is in its original configuration,
the support trusses swing open, the cable and fueling masts are with-
drawn, and the columns of the service trusses are withdrawn.
Over the last few meters, the transporter proceeds on a calibrated
track. Self-propelled carriages pull it with millimeter accuracy. The
frame, the base of the transporter, is suspended on jacks and rigidly
attached to bedrock. Then the ascent begins. At the transporter con-
trol desk they press a button to bring on the pumping station for the
hydraulic system. And the huge silver-white body of the rocket floats
upwards. In a period of a few minutes it reaches the vertical position /?0
in the aperture of the launch installation. The transporter requires
very great structural strength to hold its load in this position with
an accuracy of a millimeter. The enormous bulk of the transporter
carries out this operation with precision accuracy.
The voltages are supplied to the launch system. The pumping fa-
cilities for raising the support trusses are switched on. And the
four trusses ascend simultaneously, each bringing its sectors up to the
rocket. The tracking systems accurately synchronize their motion. The
tension ring envelops the rocket body, and the "tulip petals" close.
Now, one can transfer the rocket and the space vehicle from the transpor-
ter to the launch system. The links from the rocket to the transporter
boom are opened. The boom is withdrawn to its original position, and
the transporter returns to the assembly and test building.
After the rocket is finally fastened to the launch system, the
columns of the service trusses are raised. The cable and fueling masts
are brought up alongside the rocket, and the hoses for the fueling sys-
tem, the pneumatic fixtures of the gas communication lines, and the cable
circuit plug joints are hooked up.
A check is made that the rocket is vertical. If deviations are
observed, the stabilization system is switched on, and holds the almost
1000-ton load in the required position to an accuracy of several seconds
of arc. This is made easier by the fact that the launch system floats
10
on a hydraulic suspension.
A very important stage in the launch preparation of the rocket
is charging it with fuel and compressed gases. From this moment, all
Figure 6: Rocket in the last period of launch preparation. One can
see the deflector plate of the launch structure and the be-
ginning of the gas-efflux channel.
is accomplished in a strict engineering sequence. The main role is
played by a logic scheme on which the fueling control system is based.
Its function is to check that each machine, unit, mechanism, and instru-
ment accurately fulfills its function.
The fueling control center is concentrated in the bunker, which
holds the panels for control, monitoring, and signalling. The blinking
11
control lights signal that the fueling systems are operating correctly.
The fueling process is mapped in a lighted mnemonic scheme. The high-
power pumping facilities supply fuel along the trunk lines at high
speed from storage to the launch facility. From here, the fuel goes
to the tanks via individual hoses attached to the side of the rocket.
Simultaneously, the rocket is furnished with compressed gases.
Measuring devices, located at different places in the fuel lines,
rigorously monitor parameters of the components supplied: the tempera-
ture and pressure at various points of the fuel lines, the supply rate,
the level, and the volume.
Before the Launch
The rocket fueling is complete. The final operations to prepare
the rocket for launch are being conducted on the launch pad. The
fuel lines are separated from the rocket, the service cabin is with-
drawn into a recess, and the columns of the service truss are dropped
down to a horizontal position.
We are now fifteen minutes from readiness. The service personnel
leave the launch pad. Approximately five minutes prior to launch, the
first command is given, which is repeated on the public address system
throughout the cosmodrome, like an echo:
"Switch to launch!"
In the bunker at the central control desk, the control switch is
set to the launch position. An automatic cycle of pre-launch and launch
operations begins. The second command is given:
"One minute!"
The telemetry system interrogates thousands of sensors located
in all corners of the rocket.
"Purge!"
The channels of the fuel supply system and the motors are purged
with nitrogen. Approximately one minute prior to launch the command
is given:
"Switch to drain!"
All the drain facilities onboard the rocket are opened. The
supply to the fuel tanks from the ground fuel system is stopped.
"Launch!"
But still this is not blast-off of the rocket, but only total
readiness for that. Prom this instant, the onboard rocket control systems
12
are switched on.
"Withdraw the towers!"
The state of all the onboard systems is recorded in the autonomous
mode, the last monitoring.
"Ground to rocket contact!"
On the screens of the television sets one can see that the fueling
and then the cable masts are withdrawn. The onboard system of the space-
craft and rocket are transferred to autonomous control and onboard sup-
ply. In the microphones and reproduction systems, signals counting down
the time are heard. The final seconds before launch!
The time mechanism of the control desk is switched on. From this /71
moment the launch time corresponds to the design value with an accuracy
up to hundredths of a second.
"Ignition!" is given over the intercom.
A huge flame flares up at the base of the rocket. An avalanche
of fire fills the aperture of the launch structure. With a roar it falls
back into the gas efflux channel. The noise level grows to an incredible
level; the engines have begun to function.
And finally the most nerve-wracking command: "Blastoff!" The
instant has come, and the launch system, which senses that the rocket
has acquired enough thrust to leave on its journey, smoothly opens its
embrace, freeing the rocket.
Blanketed by clouds of smoke, the rocket departs from Earth.
Its twenty-million horsepower thrust carries it into space. It moves
faster and faster. The rumble of the engines dies down. The glowing
spot vanishes in the sky.
COPYRIGHT: Izdatel'stvo Nauka, DOKLADY AKADEMII NAUK SSSR 1977
13
Figure 7: Blast-off and commencement of the rocket flight.


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