New Space Venture By Soviet Union

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32117, 13 October 1969, Page 13

New Space Venture By Soviet Union

(N.ZJ'M-Kettter—CgpvritntJ MOSCOW, October 12. The two Russian cosmonauts now orbiting the earth may be joined by others today to begin work on building a laboratory in space. Official sources in Moscow would say nothing last night about the mission, but there have been reports from several unofficial and semi-official sources that another spacecraft with cosmonauts aboard would be blasted aloft today.

The unofficial sources say that today’s space voyagers would link with Lieutenant-Colonel Georgy Shanin of the Russian Air Force, and Dr Valery Kubasov, a civilian engineer, and begin putting the space laboratory together. These two cosmonauts, both aged 34, are the first in space since America landed two men on the moon. The likelihood that the mission is an important one was indicated by the treatment the Government newspaper, “Izvestia,” gave to the launching last night, and by the official announcement, which said that the Soyuz 6 programme included “experiments in welding in condi-

! tions of weightlessness and , deep vacuum.” Today’s Moscow news- - papers gave great prominence I to the launching of the , spaceship, carrying pictures I and biographies of the cosmo--1 nauts. ‘New Step’ A space engineer, Mr P. Lyubomirov, says in “Sovietskaya Rossiya”: “The i programme for the Soyuz 6 ■ flight is not a repetition of the past, but a new step in space exploration, a big and appreciable step, worthy of the gigantic strides of our great people." The theory is advanced that one or more craft may be launched in the next few days to carry component parts of the space laboratory or platform. Mr Lyubomirov says that

the January linking of the two manned craft, Soyuz 4 and 5, proved that it was possible to build a two-craft space station. Two Methods There are, he says, two basic methods of building orbiting space stations: one by using the used-up stages of rocket carriers: the other.

by assembling specially-pre-pared parts in orbit “But in both methods you cannot do without a cosmic ship that is capable of putting into orbit space constructors, or the inhabitants of a future space settlement; of changing the inhabitants or taking them off tte station in the case of mishaps; of supplying them with food and equipment for scientific observations: and, finally, of bringing the results of their experiments back to earth,” tte engineer writes. “Such a ship, which can be automatically or manually controlled, to capable of mooring itself to the station or docking with it Moreover, it can be used either with a pilot or be unmanned. “Soyuz 6, which is now in orbit, answers all these requirements.” The Soviet Union has been working towards the construction of a permanent orbiting manned space laboratory for several years, and appears to have devoted its major effort in manned space research in this direction. However, Russia suffered a serious blow to her prestige when -the United States landed men on tte moon in July, especially as a simultaneous unmanned Soviet lunar probe crashed on the moon without, apparently, performing any unusual feat For this reason, the Soviet leadership must be hoping for a complete and spectacular success to help polish Russia’s deeply-tarnished image as the original pacemaker in the space race with the United States. Slept Soundly Moscow television commentators today reported that Colonel Shonin and Dr Kubasov slept soundly for eight hours last night and, after doing physical exercises and giving each other medical exi aminations, had breakfast and i began their special tasks. They spoke to ground con- ■ trailers as Soyuz 6 passed over the far eastern region of the ■ Soviet Union on its thirteenth orbit

According to a statement issued by the Soviet Legation in Wellington, Soyuz-6 can be used either as a space station or as a transport ship between stations and the earth. ■