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| TMK - onto Mars! TMK in Trans-Mars injection maneuver. Credit: Gleb Aleksushin. 59,392 bytes. 456 x 385 pixels. |
| astronautix.com | TMK-1 |
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| TMK - onto Mars! TMK in Trans-Mars injection maneuver. Credit: Gleb Aleksushin. 59,392 bytes. 456 x 385 pixels. |
In 1959 a group of enthusiasts in OKB-1 Section 3 under the management of G U Maksimov started engineering design of this first fantastic project for manned interplanetary travel. The requirements for executing this project would shape the specifications for the N1 launch vehicle. The 75 tonne TMK-1 spacecraft would take a crew of three on a Mars flyby mission. After a 10.5 month flight the crew would race past Mars, dropping remote controlled landers, and then be flung into an earth-return trajectory. The first flight to Mars of the TMK-1 was planned to begin on June 8, 1971, with the crew returning to the earth on July 10, 1974, after a voyage of three years, one month, and two days.
There seemed no prospect of the gigantic MPK Mars expedition project being approved or accomplished within a reasonable time span. So a more realistic initial Mars or Venus flyby mission became the basis of the next study. The concept was for a manned spacecraft, the 'Heavy Piloted Interplanetary Spacecraft (TMK, retrospectively called TMK-1), to be launched by a single N1. In 1959 a group of enthusiasts in OKB-1 Section 3 under the management of G U Maksimov started engineering design of this first fantastic project for manned interplanetary travel. The requirements for executing this project would shape the specifications for the N1 launch vehicle. One reason the Soviet Union did not beat America in the moon race was that the N1 was sized to launch the TMK-1 rather than a direct-landing moon mission.
 | Mavr Mars Spacecraft - A model of the Mars flyby spacecraft 'Mavr' at the Tsniimash museum. Mavr was a revision of the TMK in the mid-1960's to incorporate a flyby of Venus on the return leg of the voyage. This would reduce propulsion requirements and total time for the primary Mars flyby mission. Credit: © Mark Wade. 54,072 bytes. 640 x 441 pixels. |
After 10.5 months it would fly by Mars, dropping remote controlled landers, and then be flung by the gravity of Mars into an earth-return trajectory. Only minor midcourse manoeuvres would be required. The first flight to Mars of the TMK-1 was planned to begin on June 8, 1971, with the crew returning in a re-entry capsule to the earth on July 10, 1974, after a voyage of three years, one month, and two days. A variation of this scenario developed by Maksimov�s group involved flybys of Venus on the return voyage, and was given the code name "Mavr" ('Moor' or MArs - VeneRa).
During boost the crew re-entry capsule was mounted ahead of the pilot section. After beginning the coast to Mars, the crew section telescoped out from the protective shroud, the capsule was moved to the other end of the TMK by external mechanisms, the antennae and solar collectors unfurled, and the entire spacecraft began rotating around its centre of mass to provide artificial gravity. The crew section had a mass of 15 tonnes, a diameter of 6 m, and a length of 12 m.
 | Mavr Spacecraft - MAVR Mars-Venus flyby spacecraft. The original TMK was similar. Credit: © Mark Wade. 20,167 bytes. 640 x 311 pixels. |
A critical item for the TMK-1 project was development of the SOZh closed-cycle environmental control system. The system used biological processes, assisted by some physical-chemical processes, to mimic the ecosystem of the earth. Blue-green algae were used to transform the crew's exhaled carbon dioxide back into oxygen and to provide near-complete recovery of water and body wastes. Water exhaled by the crew was recovered and run over ion exchange resins before being returned to the chlorophyll tanks. 20% to 50% of the crew's food would be grown in hydroponic greenhouses. How to accomplish all of this in the close confines of the TMK-1 was a major challenge. It would require the use of a large labyrinthine solar concentrator to provide intense sunshine in a limited area.
 | Mavr - Mavr spacecraft model at TsNIIMASH. The TMK-1 was similar Credit: © Mark Wade. 19,062 bytes. 369 x 238 pixels. |
A special problem of interplanetary flight was protection of the crew from radiation from the solar wind and cosmic rays. Readings from unmanned satellites indicated that the normal cumulative radiation dose over a Mars mission would be within acceptable levels. But the crew would need special protection during periods of maximum solar activity. At such times they would take refuge in a radiation shelter. The shelter consisted of a shielded tunnel, equipped with a simplified spacecraft control station, located in the equipment module.
Another biological problem of which nothing was known during the design of the TMK was the effect of prolonged weightlessness on the crew. Rotation of the TMK about its axis was studied as a means of producing artificial gravity, but the small diameter meant that coriolis forces would produce nausea and probably be worse for the crew than the weightlessness. It was decided that the TMK would be revolved only periodically during the flight to keep the crew adjusted to Earth gravity forces.
To allow operation of the complex spacecraft with a limited crew, automatic devices monitored the operation of its systems. The status of each system was flagged on the main control panel as either 'Normal', 'Deviation from Normal' or 'Malfunction'. Cosmonauts could access and repair the craft's electronic and electric systems which were mounted on a light cantilever structure.
The TMK-1 draft project was completed on 12 October 1961 and had involved nearly all sections of Korolev's OKB-1. Those who worked on the TMK included A I Dylnev, A K Algypov, A A Kochkin, A A Dashkov, V N Kubasov, V E Bugrov, and N N Protacov. Kubasov would be selected as a cosmonaut in 1966.
Craft.Crew Size: 3. Design Life: 1095 days. Total Length: 12.0 m. Maximum Diameter: 6.0 m. Total Mass: 75,000 kg. Main Engine Propellants: Lox/Kerosene. Main Engine Isp: 350 sec. Electrical System: Solar panels, solar thermal.
In 1959 a group of enthusiasts in OKB-1 Section 3 under the management of G U Maksimov started engineering design of this first fantastic project for manned interplanetary travel. The requirements for executing this project would shape the specifications for the N1 launch vehicle.
The TMK-1 would then be put on a free flight trajectory towards Mars. After 10.5 months it would fly by Mars, dropping remote controlled landers, and then be flung by the gravity of Mars into an earth-return trajectory. Only minor midcourse manoeuvres would be required. The first flight to Mars of the TMK-1 was planned to begin on June 8, 1971, with the crew returning in a re-entry capsule to the earth on July 10, 1974, after a voyage of three years, one month, and two days. A variation of this scenario involved flybys of Venus on the return voyage, and may have been the project given the code name 'Mavr' ('Moor' or MArs - VeneRa).
Design of the manned Mars flyby spacecraft had involved nearly all sections of Korolev's OKB-1. Those who worked on the TMK included A I Dylnev, A K Algypov, A A Kochkin, A A Dashkov, V N Kubasov, V E Bugrov, and N N Protacov. Kubasov would be selected as a cosmonaut in 1966.
The Institute of Medical-Biological Problems (IMBP) and the Zvezda design bureau (designer of the ejection seat, space suits, and environmental control system for the Vostok spacecraft) became partners with OKB-1 in developing the SOZh closed-loop environemental control system. An earth-based simulator - the Earth Experimental Complex (NEK) was built. V Ulibishev, G Manovtsev, and A Bozhko spent an entire year in this closed-environment test unit beginning on 5 March 1967. An analogous US experiment was conducted for only 90 days in July-September 1970.