ApolloHoax.net
Apollo Discussions => The Reality of Apollo => Topic started by: BILLR on December 21, 2012, 07:42:16 PM
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This accident has always been a mystery to me. You guys might know more details of how such a decompression could occur. All I have ever found out is that " a valve opened". Is there any accident report now available on this incident? Granted it was Soviet era but information such as accident investigations might be available. Thanks.
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The Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11#Death_of_crew) has a description. Short form: simultaneous (instead of sequential) firing of explosive bolts damaged the vale.
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why did the pressure suits not compensate?
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That's mentioned in Reference 5 (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Mir_Hardware_Heritage/Part_1_-_Soyuz#1.7.3_Salyut_1-Type_Soyuz_Mission_Descriptions) at the end of the Wiki article:
They wore hooded flight suits which protected them against the descent module's chill, but not against depressurization.
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why did the pressure suits not compensate?
They weren't wearing spacesuits.
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why did the pressure suits not compensate?
They didn't have any.
The design of the Soyuz and the spacesuits at the time was such that three crewmen could not all wear them and fit into the cabin and be able to actually move around to do anything. Disturbingly, with the same mentality that led directly to all three of the major NASA accidents (namely: we've done it this way for a while and nothing has happened yet, so it must be safe) they routinely allowed cosmonauts to go up without wearing space suits, though they may have had them to put on for EVA and the like. Soyuz did not require all cosmonauts to have pressure suits when EVA's occurred on the missions, because, with their modular design, the re-entry cabin could be sealed off while the forward module was depressurised and opened. This is in contrast to the NASA spacecraft that only had one cabin that was opened to space when the hatch was open, so all astronauts needed pressure suits if an EVA was to be performed.
The three main cockups were:
1: No pressure suits during re-entry.
2: Simultaneous detonation of explosive bolts that should have been sequential, which created a bigger jolt than expected, jarring open a valve.
3: The valve in question being located behind one of the seats, making it impossible for the cosmonauts to find and seal it in time. Had it been on the wall in front of them, for example, one of them could have put a gloved finger over the vent hole and plugged it, allowing them to survive re-entry.
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salyut-Station-Triumph-Springer-Exploration/dp/0387735852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356218596&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salyut-Station-Triumph-Springer-Exploration/dp/0387735852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356218596&sr=8-1)
This most excellent book will tell you everything about the Soyuz 11 tragedy.
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Also, as a result of the Soyuz 11 tragedy, the Soyuz crews where limited to 2 in full space suits - 3 in full suits wouldn't fit in. It wouldn't be until 1979 when 3 full suited crew members flew in the Soyuz-T.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz-T (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz-T)
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As I understand it, the Soyuz 11 accident had a direct effect on US practice: starting on Apollo 15, astronauts suited up before jettisoning the LM. This involved firing explosives on the top of the CM that released the entire docking mechanism along with the LM, and there was the possibility of damaging cabin integrity.
Soyuz 11 also figured prominently in the planning for ASTP: NASA quite reasonably wanted assurance that the causes of the accident had been thoroughly understood and fixed.
I think about Soyuz 11 every time I see one of those ISS tour videos. Just count all the windows, hatches and module connections.
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As I understand it, the Soyuz 11 accident had a direct effect on US practice: starting on Apollo 15, astronauts suited up before jettisoning the LM. This involved firing explosives on the top of the CM that released the entire docking mechanism along with the LM, and there was the possibility of damaging cabin integrity.
Soyuz 11 also figured prominently in the planning for ASTP: NASA quite reasonably wanted assurance that the causes of the accident had been thoroughly understood and fixed.
I think about Soyuz 11 every time I see one of those ISS tour videos. Just count all the windows, hatches and module connections.
Are there any modules on ISS they can quickly close for refuge in case of a decompression accident, or is the plan to head for the Soyuz spacecraft, or both, depending where they are?
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Check out the video I posted in the Crew Vertigo thread - Commander Suni Williams talks a little about emergency procedures.
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Check out the video I posted in the Crew Vertigo thread - Commander Suni Williams talks a little about emergency procedures.
Thanks, great vids.