TsSKB Sapphir / Strelets
The international situation sharply complicated in the late 1970s forced the leadership of the USSR to seek effective ways to counteract the projects of "hawks". According to the now declassified plans of the leadership of the Soviet Union of those years, one of the main counterbalances to the program of "Star Wars" was to be the development of specialists of the closed Kuibyshev enterprise TsSKB.
According to declassified plans, one of the main counterbalances to the American program of "star wars" was to become several promising space complexes (QC) of a new generation: Yantar-4K2 (Zirkon), Yantar-4KS2 (Berill) Yantar-K1FKT "(Silhouette), Yantar-5K (Orlets).
One of the departments of the TsSKB, starting from 1979, was working on creating a constructive layout system and hardware base of a fundamentally new space complex, in the documentation called Sapphire. Its distinctive features were to be the modularity of the construction, a much larger resource of operation, a wide range of providing characteristics, a high operational efficiency of control and the solution of target tasks, a significantly increased on-board power engineering. The need to switch to a new base was caused by limited capabilities of the design and hardware base of the spacecraft type "Yantar" in terms of implementing new tasks of conducting all-weather surveillance around the clock in all periods of the military and political situation, as well as the inability to significantly increase the life of the spacecraft.
According to this program, the Sapphir-K multipurpose reconnaissance satellite system was to be an effective counterweight to the US SDI project, while ensuring the solution of four target groups. The first of these was planned periodic observation of the earth's surface, systematic collection of special information about the stationary objects of the probable enemy and about areas of concentration of military equipment. The same group of satellites was to study the Earth's natural resources. The second task is operational global observation, including the control of the dynamics of the functioning of stationary military installations in vast areas of the globe, depending on the military-political situation that is developing here, as well as control over mobile carriers of nuclear weapons. The third task was operational control over local areas of crisis situations, and the fourth was global mapping.
In this space system it was supposed to include a complex of multipurpose reconnaissance "Sapphire-B". The actions of these facilities were supplemented by the Sapphir-Ts comprehensive surveillance unit (at least six vehicles) and a squadron of multi-purpose spacecraft "Strelets" [Sagitarius], which, depending on the international situation, were to have 5 to 10 units. According to some accounts, they "were to become real "space tanks" with a crew of three, equipped with impenetrable armor and armed with various types of weapons, including laser weapons". Most editions of this story omit this sentence, but neglect to explain the function of these provocatiely named spacecraft, or to explain how the elaborate Sapphir constellation was to constitute a response to SDI [a program that began a couple of years after Sapphir].
The "Sapphire-K" system by the late 1980s was to become constantly operational, with a variable composition, quickly reacting to the changing military-political situation in the world. This work was possible in a manned version, in a semi-autonomous mode (with the participation of temporary visiting expeditions), as well as in a completely autonomous state according to a pre-planned program, which, if necessary, could be corrected by commands from the Earth. The delivery of information from the board of satellites was supposed to be carried out through a radio channel through a repeater or in the mode of its direct transfer to the information collection point.
As for space surveillance vehicles, they could operate in three modes: with their passive storage in orbit, in normal operating condition or in the mode of repelling an attack. It was assumed that with their regular work, satellites of the Sapphire system will operate on elliptical, highly elongated orbits, allowing to combine a high resolution level in low areas (less than 300 kilometers) with wide-coverage high-performance surveillance in high areas (over 1000 kilometers).
To launch the objects into orbit, the Sapphire program provided for the use of two types of vehicles: the unified 11K77 launch vehicle and the Buran space shuttle. The latter was supposed to not only deliver observation satellites to orbit, but also, if necessary, carry out operations to restore their efficiency, refuel satellites with fuel, transfer spacecraft to other orbits, and perform many other tasks.
First of all, the Sapphir-V multipurpose reconnaissance complex was supposed to be included in this space system, which should consist of at least three orbital observation devices. The actions of these facilities were supplemented by the Sapphir-Ts comprehensive surveillance unit (at least six vehicles) and a squadron of multi-purpose spacecraft "Strelets", which, depending on the international situation, were to have 5 to 10 units. The activities of the entire group were supposed to be provided by communication satellites, transport spacecraft, as well as ground-based means of collecting and processing information.
The Sapphire-K space complex in 1981 became one of the main activities for TsSKB. To familiarize himself with the latest developments of the TsSKB, and first of all - with the Sapphire CC, on August 11, 1981, Kuibyshev was visited by a large party and government delegation. It included a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union DF. Ustinov, Minister of General Mechanical Engineering of the USSR Afanasyev, his first deputy B.V. Balmont, the head of the 3rd Main Directorate of this ministry, Yu.N. Koptev, representative of the customer, Colonel-General A.A. Maksimov, a number of other responsible workers. Those present highly appreciated the work of the enterprise over the Sapphire-K space complex, which in 1981 became one of the main activities for TsSKB. It was assumed that on the basis of these developments, a long-term program for the development of the enterprise until the year 2000 will be formed.
The project for the creation of the Sapphire space system was approved on 20 November 1981 at a joint meeting of the six allied ministers (defense, general engineering, defense industry, electronics, industrial and chemical industries). At the meeting, the ministers decided to translate the theme of the Sapphire-V space system from the category of scientific research into a particularly important state development, with submission to the mentioned ministries of all technical proposals for the program in 1982. At the same time, the main developer for the Sapphire-V space system was the Kuibyshev enterprise of the TsSKB of the Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering of the USSR.
The "Sapphire-K" system by the late 1980s was to become constantly operational. Here's how D.I.Kozlov recalled his work on space objects designed to neutralize the US program of SDI: "In April 1986, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee visited our enterprise to get acquainted with the progress of work on space systems. Gorbachev. However, at the Progress plant and at TsSKB, he stayed literally half an hour. During this time, the head of the country managed only to pass through the shops, talk a little with workers and employees - and then he was taken to other industrial enterprises of Kuibyshev. However, in that year TsSKB and the Progress plant had not yet experienced difficulties in financing advanced defense programs, although some difficulties arose in their implementation.
"But in the spring of 1987, shortly before the launch of the Energia rocket with the Polyus facility at the Baikonur cosmodrome, I communicated much more with Mikhail Sergeyevich. Between May 11 and 13, an exhibition of space technology achievements was organized here, at the direction of the USSR Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering of the USSR, in which, along with other enterprises, the Progress plant and TsSKB participated.
"The day after the opening of the exhibition, on May 12, in the city of Leninsk for a few hours, a meeting of the party-economic activists and heads of the space industry enterprises took place, in which M.S.Gorbachev arrived on the eve of the meeting. For half an hour I spoke before the present and before the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee with a report on the current situation in the TsSKB and the future developments of the enterprise. My report was mainly concerned with the difficulties that arose in the preparation of the Sapphire project. In particular, I reported that its funding in recent years has been severely curtailed due to the fact that all previously allocated funds went to the preparation of the flight of the Energia-Buran complex.
"Gorbachev actively participated in the discussion of the problems raised, asked questions, made suggestions. After the report, I was able to talk with Gorbachev for another one and a half hours. In our conversation, it was mainly about the current strengthening of the military grouping of observation satellites, although the topic of additional funding for programs to create new objects was also raised. "During the conversation Gorbachev asked us to speed up work on the topic "Sapphire", promising to restore the previous amount of funding for this. However, in the end, this promise was not fulfilled, as a result of which the work on Sapphire remained at the design stage. In the standard version, this project to counter the SDI program was never implemented, although it was not formally closed until the very end of the Soviet Union.... Officially, the project "Sapphire" was liquidated only with BN. Yeltsin, the next head of our state after Gorbachev. With him, the affairs of the space industry in Russia finally deteriorated, and primarily because of a sharp reduction in state orders and chronic underfunding."
In the works on the creation of spacecraft "Sapphire", G.E. Fomin, permanent deputy of D.I. Kozlov on project development, recalls this as follows: "Of course, the general economic recession that struck our country in the late 1980s and early 1990s of the 20th century and caused a sharp decline in funding for space programs could not help but play a negative role in the fate of the Sapphire project. Nevertheless, when preparing these facilities for mass production, we did not stop at the stage of design development. At the end of the 1980s, full-scale spacecraft were ready for static, dynamic and thermal tests. Large telescopes for technological and flight space vehicles were manufactured and delivered to our factory, as well as a lot of components and equipment. True, the work on the creation of a high-speed radio link, an on-board computer and power gyroscopes went with some lag, but it was not difficult to catch up.
"Therefore, I believe that even in those conditions, TsSKB could quite finish the work on the Sapphire project. However, in the conditions of the period of that time, preference was given to "Orlets" and "Zirkons", for the creation of which all material resources and financial resources previously allocated for work on Sapphire were thrown, and as a result, this project in the late 1980s absolutely undeservedly was put aside." Further D.I. Kozlov continued his story on this topic: "In general, the financing of the Progress plant and the TsSKB under Gorbachev still remained at the level of the Soviet time, although, as I said, certain topics also suffered because of the transfer of funds to other enterprises of our ministry. Officially, the project "Sapphire" was liquidated only with BN. Yeltsin, the next head of our state after Gorbachev. With him, the affairs of the space industry in Russia finally deteriorated, and primarily because of a sharp reduction in state orders and chronic underfunding.
Unfortunately, the events of the subsequent years, primarily the perestroika processes and the collapse of the Soviet Union, did not allow completing this grandiose work.
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