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Further Reading

Spiral

The Molniya Scientific Production Association and the Zhukovskiy Central Aerohydro-dynamics Research Institute conducted a variety of programs focused on developing reusable winged spacecraft under the Spiral, EPOS, and BOR programs. MiG was to build the Spiral craft, which measured 8 meters long, 7.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters high and eventually weighed 10,300 kg. Different booster configurations were considered including a Soyuz booster. Work began in 1967 to build the EPOS test vehicles. The 105.11 prototype, which is on display at the Air Force museum in Monino, was used for sub-sonic atmospheric tests. It was equipped with a RD-36K jet engine for take-off and landing tests, and was air-dropped from a Tu-95K bomber. Article 105 (1965-1971 yr.) - the analog of the aerospace vehicle of the system "spiral", which consists of the booster aircraft with the maximum speed of flight, which corresponds to the number Of m=shch, and the second step in the form of aerospace vehicle with rocket booster (105).      

In 1965 the association of our plant was connected to the execution of space programs. Our country's first reusable two-step aerospace system "spiral", developed in OKB Of a. i. Mikoyan under the management of chief designer Gleb yevgen'evich Of lozino-Lozinskogo, was powerful supersonic booster aircraft and starting from his "back" at the height of 20-30 km with the aid of the rocket booster orbital ship- boost-glide vehicle. After the completion of works in orbit the boost-glide vehicle had to return to the earth, planning in the atmosphere, and to land to the unpaved airfield. This most interesting development so remained to the end of that not completed.

In the plan of the solution of the first stages of program "spiral" to plant was charged the production of the analogs of orbital glider. Analog for the flight investigation at subsonic speed obtained code designation Y0SHCH..II. It was the wide-body apparatus, designed according to diagram "lifting body - bobtailed aircraft" with the pivoting wings to 45(from the vertical plane. The takeoff weight of aircraft - about 10 tons, length - 8 is meter, spread wing - 7,4 meters. The lower part of the fuselage was made from the niobium alloy. Wing leading edge, ailerons and keel - from the titanium alloy OTYA-Y, the wings made of steel VNS-2, cab - made of steels VNS-2 and VNS-YA, upper fuselage section - from the aluminum alloy D -19.

The branch OF OKB Of a. i. Mikoyan, whom Peter Abramovich Schuster headed was created. Yu. d. Blokhin was appointed the chief of the branch OF OKB, and by his deputy - D. A. reshetnikova. Chief designer was G. ye. lozino-Lozinskiy.

For operational resolution of technological-design questions concerning article 105 was formed the all-round team, into composition of which they entered: A. I. Pushkin, A. A. shuvikov, N. i. koshkin, Yu. isakov, In. V. skrylev, P. v. Hares, A. n. belyakov. Article 105, the analog of the aerospace vehicle of system "spiral".

With the control of technical documentation on the farm of article 105 the rough economic and temporary errors of project originators were revealed, from the point of view of all-round team. Farm consisted of several ten it was main, each of which assumed from four to seven directions of efforts from it was sectional farm. On the documentation these most complex knots it was provided for to make from the new they became VKL -3 by the chill casting. Brigade calculated this by that by economically not substantiated and proposed to perform knots according to the version of assembly construction. Developers did not agree. They decided to discuss this question with the colleagues VIAM - ALL-UNION SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AVIATION MATERIALS and NIAT, which proposed the production of complex it was main by the chill casting. Much for long argued, but in the final analysis Dubna version was accepted.

Similar disputes there was much: both on reduction in the labor expense of article and on an increase in its technological effectiveness. And in the majority of the cases chief designers would support the proposals of our specialists, 4 it would say - the specialists of high class.

The specific complexity in the production of farm composed also technical specifications requirement with respect to the guarantee of minimum angular and linear deformation with welding of the connections of farm with the knots. For fulfilling of this requirement was prepared original adaptation for the assembling, the welding and the control of three-dimensional it was main farm (authors A. Pushkin, Yu. isakov, V. skrylev). For this purpose takes root the installation for the automatic welding it is joint pipes directly at the farm in any attitude of joint.

In addition to this, for guaranteeing the manual argon-arc welding of the elements of cab and farm was prepared original rotary assembly jig of entire fuselage of article (according to the type of stock for the aircraft MIG-25).

They introduced the large contribution to the mastery of this article in the preparation stage for production: A. i. Pushkin, A. p. artemenko, M. i. slepnev, N. i. koshkin, N. A. Romanov, V. n. mal'kov, P. v. Semenov and in the stage of production - p. v. Suvorin, Ye. i. sinitsyn, G. m. gareyev, V. f. polyakov, A. V. vysokov, A. n. belyakov, I. i. dendeberya, G. A. khrustova.

The association of the branch OF OKB and plant with the enthusiasm worked at this most interesting theme, but in 1971, in connection with the beginning of the development of system "Energy- snow-storm", it was stopped. But nevertheless at the plant they were prepared: the complete set of the component parts of the glider (head part of the fuselage, the outer plane of wing with the ailerons, keel with the rudder, the fold of air duct, speed brakes) for the heat tests, the glider of analog for the static tests and flying copy. During the tests in the gliding condition it showed good lift-drag ratios and reliability of all its systems.

After the stoppage of theme the analog of aircraft they placed in the museum of aviation g. monino.

At present NPO "Molniya" continues the development of two-step system on the base of the aircraft Of "mriya" for the schematic of system "spiral", considering that a similar system possesses the best tactical-technical characteristics and is considerably more economical than the system Buran ["snow-storm"] and "shuttle".