A.I.Savin - Anti-Satellite Defense Complex
In the late 1940s, for the Soviet defense complex, the priority was to create new weapon systems - air-to-sea missile systems. As the head organization for their creation, in accordance with the decision of the Government of the USSR, in September 1947, Special Bureau No. 1 (SB-1) was created, headed by P.N. Kuksenko and S.L. Beria. In 1951, in order to increase the efficiency of work on the creation of new types of weapons in KB-1 (SB-1 received this name in 1950), plant director No. 92 A.S. Yelyan, chief designer A.I. Savin and a group of employees of the plant. Since then, the jet guided weapon became a new object and stage in the life of the winner of the three Stalin Prizes, designer A.I. Savina.
He was entrusted with the creation of an anti-satellite defense complex to intercept and defeat artificial military satellites of a potential enemy flying over the USSR territory, and it was then that work began on anti-space combat systems.
From the memoirs of Anatoly Ivanovich Savin: “To the beginning of my work in KB-1, the main responsibilities were distributed as follows. S.L. Beria, D.L. Tomashevich and a group of officers of the Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky was led by the Kometa, K-5, and anti-aircraft guided missiles ShB-32, P.N. Kuksenko and A.A. Raspletin - Berkut system. Soon I was appointed deputy chief designer S.L. Beria on the enterprise. "In 1953, the Deputy Chief Designer for Science A.A. Raspletin was appointed chief designer for anti-aircraft missile topics, and I - one of his deputies. At the same time, V.P. Chizhov, chief engineer - F.V. Lukin. In February 1955, SKB-31 and SKB-41 were formed as part of KB-1. A.A. was appointed the chief designer of SKB-41. Kolosov, and me - his deputy".
Anatoly Ivanovich began work at the new site as deputy head of the design department, then deputy chief designer and then chief designer of SKB-41, created during a large-scale reorganization of KB-1 in the mid-1950s. With the direct participation and under the leadership of A.I. Savina developed a number of air-to-sea missile systems (Kometa, K-10, K-22, K-22 PSI), air-to-ground (K-20), air-to-air (K- 5, K-5M, K-51, K-9), “land-sea” (“Strela”), “earth-land” (“Meteor”, “Dragon”), “sea-sea” (P-15 ).
From the memoirs of Anatoly Ivanovich Savin: "Soon for our design team came quite a hard time. On the one hand, after the statement of N.S. Khrushchev about the futility of strategic aviation began to curtail work on aircraft jet-weapon systems — our main subject. On the other hand, the excessive enthusiasm of the head of state for rocket building led to a rapid growth of rocket design bureaus."
In 1960, A.I.Savin became the head of the OKB-41. By decree of the USSR Council of Ministers it was reoriented to space issues. In 1960, A.I. Savin proposed to the team and the industry leadership to start work in the new scientific and technical direction - the development of global space information and control systems, which were to ensure strategic parity in space.
From the memoirs of Anatoly Ivanovich Savin: "G.V. Kisunko was working on an experimental missile defense system, and experts from Raspletin and Kolosov reached out to him. He accepted them willingly, especially since the staffing of his SKB-30 was constantly increasing. Alexander Andreevich Raspletin was engaged in the modernization of the air defense system of Moscow, and the country's leadership treated his activities favorably. We were threatened with closure. We had to save the team.
"While developing aviation, anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems, I drew attention to a completely new and, as it seemed to me, very close to us space theme. Our weapons were designed to combat moving targets - aircraft carriers, aircraft, tanks. Defeating a maneuvering target is a difficult task, so we paid the main attention to the development of missile control and guidance systems. Gradually formed a unique team of high-class specialists. There were no such specialists among the developers of ballistic missiles, since these missiles were designed to combat fixed targets. Thinking over the prospects of our design bureau, I understood: either we will switch to space issues, or we will cease to exist as a team. Calling V.N. To Chelomey, the head of the gaining OKB-52, I asked him to accept me. Soon we met in his KB. I prepared thoroughly for the meeting, drew charts with which I illustrated my story. Chelomey listened carefully, but did not give a final answer.
"After some time, rumors began to reach me that several leading designers had approached Chelomey with "cosmic" ideas. Will my suggestions be accepted? Finally I was informed that V.N. Chelomey called a meeting. When I arrived, Raspletin, Kisunko, and Kalmyks were already sitting in his office. They discussed the distribution of roles among themselves in the framework of future topics. And they did it, pointedly ignoring my presence. Chelomey started the meeting. Listening to him, I felt that the ground was slipping from under my feet. At the end of his speech, he announced that Kisunko was charged with the antisatellite system, and Raspletin was assigned to marine space intelligence.
"After that, I spoke and substantiated a different strategy and tactics for conducting work. V.N. Chelomey, seeing that the decision was clearly not ready, did not organize a quarrel and stopped the meeting. Soon came the decision of the policy makers, which had the effect of a bombshell. This document entrusted our SKB-41 with the task of conducting a complex of works on space reconnaissance and in the field of anti-satellite combat.”
As a result of the reorganization carried out after this, SKB-41 was transformed into OKB-41. His main line of work was the creation of an anti-satellite defense complex, capable of performing the tasks of intercepting and defeating artificial military satellites flying over the territory of the USSR. A.I. Savin became the chief designer of this complex.
A.I. Savin became the chief designer of the developed complex. He formulated and put into practice the physical foundations of the detection and identification of small-sized space objects against the background of various formations in the atmosphere, the ocean, on land, and in near-Earth space. A special place was given to research in the field of computer science and image processing.
The result of many years of work was the creation in cooperation with OKB-52 of a unique automated anti-satellite defense system. In cooperation with the OKB-52 A.I. Savin and his OKB created a unique automated space defense system (PKO), the main components of which were the ground command and computing and measuring point, a special launch pad at the Baikonur test site, a launch vehicle and an interceptor spacecraft.
Tests of the complex began in 1968. Two years later, the world's first successful defeat of an artificial satellite of the Earth took place. The the combat crew of the anti-space defense system (PKO) destroyed the artificial Earth satellite. In August 1970 the space “hunt” ended with the maximum effect: the fragmentation warhead of the interceptor apparatus smashed the target into pieces.
In 1979, the upgraded complex PKO was put on combat duty.
By 1983, at the time of the start of work on the SDI program in the USA, the Soviet PKO complex had destroyed several spacecraft in space. However, after the statement by the leadership of the USSR was made on August 18, 1983, the anti-space defense complex fell silent. He stopped, but not "died." It was still on duty, although space tests were discontinued.
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