Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

Third—invite Europe and China to participate in the Soviet space program.

"France, West Germany, Italy... all European countries with space capabilities can come, with the European Space Agency as a framework, but they don't seem to have enough funds, technology, or personnel to realize their dreams."

They can send their astronauts to work on Mir, and put their experimental equipment on Mir. After all, the only space station currently in orbit is our Soviet Union's.

Let them provide the money, technology, and personnel; in exchange, we'll give them access to space.

Europe's space capabilities are somewhat weak. At present, the US space shuttle is practically staring at its cargo hold. The Soviet Union's Buran mission has a proven track record, and that was the Soviet Union's bargaining chip!

Chapter 106 International Space Station Program

After completing new design improvements, Buran officially entered service in February 1989, while Energia, which had already proven its carrying capacity, was included in the General Machinery Manufacturing Department's manufacturing order in 1990.

The current Proton rocket has a carrying capacity of only 20 tons, which can only transport small components weighing a dozen tons for the Mir space station. Since Slava has decided to build the International Space Station, a new configuration needs to be designed.

He decided to discuss a new plan with the designer, Semenov.

February 26, 1989, General Machinery Manufacturing Department

From the outside, this office building looks no different from any other Soviet government building in Moscow. But inside, it houses everything from intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch vehicles to space shuttles and space stations—all massive machines!

Unlike the United States, the Soviet Union did not have a national space agency. Instead, various design bureaus developed their own designs based on central requirements, then competed with each other to produce the final result. The winning design was then assigned to the General Machine Building Ministry for mass production.

When Slava walked in, Semyonov was already waiting in the conference room. On the table was a large pile of blueprints and technical documents, as well as a model he had brought himself—a scaled-down model of the Mir space station made of metal and plastic, about 30 centimeters long.

Slava sat down at the table and looked at the model.

The last time he saw Mir was on the screen at Baikonur. After Buran entered orbit, orbital parameters showed that it briefly passed near Mir's orbit.

This model was the first time he had a direct view of what the space station he had talked about "expanding, making it bigger, and inviting Europe" actually looked like.

"It's so small. Ah."

The Mir was much smaller than he had imagined.

Slava pointed to the model: "Comrade Semyonov, can you tell me just how big the Mir is now?"

Semyonov picked up the model, turned it around, and pointed it out to Slava.

"Comrade General Secretary, the Mir space station currently in orbit only has two modules; it is not its complete form."

He pointed to two sections on the model with his finger.

"The first one is the core module, which was launched in April 1986 and weighs about 20 tons." He pointed to the thickest cylinder on the model. "It is the skeleton of the entire space station. At the front, there is a spherical docking module, which is used for docking with other modules. It has five docking ports: one in front, one on the top, one on the bottom, one on the left, and one on the right."

This spherical transfer module has limitations; according to the plan, its five docking ports will only connect to five compartments, and will not be extended to connect to other components outside other compartments.

He flipped the model over.

"The second module is Quantum 1. It was launched in March 1987 and docked at the tail of the core module. It weighs about 11 tons. This is our astrophysics experiment module, which contains X-ray telescopes and other equipment. It also serves as the docking channel for cargo spacecraft."

Semenov put the model back on the table.

"Okay, that's all. It's a bit smaller than the space labs in the US in the 70s." He shrugged.

“The two sections have a total mass of less than 32 tons, and can only accommodate this much stuff. How are we supposed to expand?” Slava frowned.

Thirty-two tons isn't much heavier than a fully loaded heavy truck. That's all the Soviet Union had in space.

Slava knew this wasn't because the Soviet Union couldn't build anything bigger—the Proton rocket's payload capacity limited the mass of each individual rocket that could be launched.

If your Proton can only carry 20 tons of payload, then each compartment can only carry a maximum of about 20 tons of cargo!

The Energia spacecraft may have a carrying capacity of 100 tons. Since the Energia spacecraft has already proven its excellent design when it launched Buran, why can't we design new cabins based on the Energia spacecraft's carrying capacity?

"Okay, what about the subsequent cabin sections?"

“Yes.” Semyonov produced a document. “According to the original plan, four more modules are scheduled to be launched.”

"Quantum 2, scheduled for launch in November 1989, weighed approximately 19 tons. This was the life support and airlock compartment—providing a new extravehicular activity airlock, an additional gyroscope attitude control system, and some improvements to living facilities."

He glanced at Slava: "For example, the shower facilities. Right now, our astronauts have nowhere to shower on the station. They can only sleep, eat, and exercise in the command module. We also don't have a cargo bay, and all sorts of things often fly around, making it difficult for astronauts to find them."

"By the way, our astronauts also lost a pencil, a piece of wire, several small parts, and other items on Mir, which have not yet been found."

"what?"

"So, given our current conditions, the Mir is actually not very suitable for long-term human habitation," Semyonov shrugged.

"We also have the Crystal module. It was scheduled to launch in May 1990, and it also weighed about 19 tons. This was the technology experiment module, mainly used for materials science and semiconductor growth experiments, and it also had a special docking port—this was specifically designed for the Buran space shuttle."

Both hardware components have entered the final assembly and testing phase and are almost complete. They can be launched as planned at any time.

However, the latter two modules are planned for a more distant future. The Spectroradiometer module, scheduled for launch in 1995, is our Earth observation module; the Nature module, scheduled for launch in 1996, is an Earth remote sensing module equipped with various radars and spectrometers.

Semyonov closed the document.

"These two projects are still in the early stages of construction and are far from being completed."

Slava nodded, took the document, and glanced at it. He mentally assessed the situation—if all six modules were launched and assembled as planned, the complete Mir module would weigh approximately 130 tons, with an internal pressurized volume of 350 cubic meters, capable of housing three people permanently and accommodating six people temporarily.

He pondered for a moment: "Comrade Semyonov, could we add more cabins to the Mir? What are its limits?"

Semyonov picked up the model, turned it sideways, and traced a line along the outer wall of the core module.

"Comrade General Secretary, the Peace ship really can't have any more cabins added."

Semyonov explained his reasons.

Mir is an improved version of the Salyut space station series. The Salyut series began in the late 1960s, with each generation undergoing modifications until Mir finally became the final version. Its design philosophy was fundamentally a "makeshift" transitional solution—to first create a usable framework so that astronauts could live there, conduct experiments, and occupy a space in space.

"But precisely because it is a transitional design, its structure was never designed to be expanded in size from the beginning."

He pointed to the core module section on the model.

"Look at this core module, its diameter is only four meters!" He gestured with both hands to show the size. "It's only this wide. Two astronauts have to squeeze through it; they're almost hitting the walls on both sides. And the design of this core module has been heavily criticized by our astronauts—"

Okay, I have to admit this, because I was the chief designer of the Mir, and this was the limit of what we could do with the existing capacity.

It integrates too many functions into a tiny space. Living area, sleeping area, main control console, communication equipment, part of the life support system... all crammed into this one section.

We can certainly launch from a dedicated launch module, but the structural strength of our adapter is insufficient.

He put down the model, picked up a pen, and started drawing on a piece of white paper. He drew a long, cylindrical shape—the core module—and then a sphere at the front end—the transfer module. From the sphere, he drew lines extending in all directions to represent the modules that would dock.

He marked the force arrows on the diagram: "The structural strength of the core module and the transfer module is calculated based on the original design load. The original design allowed docking of six modules, with a total of 130 tons as the limit. But this limit was calculated under static conditions—that is, when everyone is floating there quietly without moving."

He drew a curved arrow on the diagram.

"But the space station is not static. It needs to maneuver, and it needs to periodically raise its orbit to compensate for the attenuation caused by atmospheric drag. Even when the space station is operating hundreds of kilometers in outer space, the thin atmosphere still exists. We cannot install thrusters in every module. The thrust of our orbit-raising engines acts on the core module, while the modules connected to the transfer module—their inertia will generate torque to screw them onto the docking interface of the transfer module."

"If the number and mass of the modules exceed the original design, these additional torques could cause structural rupture at the docking interface of the transfer module during maneuvering."

Slava stared at the picture for a while.

He originally wanted to save some money by expanding the existing structure of the Mir, but it now seems that this cost-saving plan has failed.

"Looks like we need to build a new space station."

“Yes.” Semyonov nodded, pulled another document from the pile of files on the table, and pushed it in front of Slava.

"The Quantum-2 and Crystal-2 modules have been fully assembled and can be launched as planned to be installed on Mir. Mir will continue to operate in orbit with these four modules as a transitional measure."

"As for Spectrum and Nature—cancel their construction plans. We can use the money and manpower saved to build a new space station."

Slava scratched his head: "Okay, now that the new space station is assembled, what should we do with the old one?"

Semyonov said, "That's of course a transfer—a transfer to a new space station!"

"Once the core module of the new space station is launched and operational, we'll dock the old Mir space station, along with its modules, to the new station. We can't just let the old space station, which cost us over a billion rubles to launch, burn up in the atmosphere like this, can we?"

"Do you have a plan for this new space station?" Slava asked.

Semyonov shook his head.

"Not now. Comrade General Secretary, designing a space station isn't something you can just do by drawing a couple of diagrams. I need to know what the Soyuz needs first—what this station is for, how many people it needs to accommodate, who it needs to cooperate with, and how many years it needs to operate in orbit."

"I can only come up with a solution after the requirements are defined."

"Okay, then I'll tell you about the alliance's needs."

Slava took out the proposed solution from the Academy of Sciences from his bag:

"First, we need to have modules that involve vacuum manufacturing."

On Earth, even if we evacuate the air in a laboratory to its absolute minimum, we can't achieve the vacuum of space. And some specialized manufacturing processes—ultra-pure semiconductors, special alloys, optical fibers—require extremely high vacuum environments, which are impossible on Earth but possible in space!

Historically, the Soviet Union conducted extensive materials experiments aboard the Salyut, a strength of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, this module could collaborate with other countries—the advanced materials manufactured in space became a unique selling point for Soviet exports; currently, only the Soviet Union was capable of mass-producing these materials in orbit!

"Secondly, we need both agricultural and biological experiments, and it would be best to build two separate chambers."

The Soviet Union needed to conduct agricultural experiments in space, exploring how plants grow, breed, and increase yields under zero gravity conditions—data that couldn't be obtained on Earth. Furthermore, if the Soviet Union were to establish a lunar base in the future, it would first need to figure out how to "grow vegetables and feed astronauts in a closed system" on a space station.

"Third, we need a diplomatic module to accommodate astronauts from other countries. This space station won't just be used by the Soviet Union. France, West Germany, China... they might all launch their own modules to connect to our station."

He looked at Semenov.

"There's too much stuff, so the more redundant the core transfer module design, the better. Don't be like the Mir, where we were so tight on the margins—this time, we need to ensure sufficient structural strength. Even if our core module has fewer functions, it's okay, as long as the structure doesn't collapse!"

If the Energia ship were used to transport the cargo compartments, each compartment could be designed to weigh forty or fifty tons or even more! The internal space, equipment capacity, and structural strength of each compartment could be an order of magnitude larger than the small canisters on the Mir ship.

Semenov wrote down these requirements one by one in his notebook.

"General Secretary, give me a month, and we can come up with a preliminary plan."

"Is a month enough? Don't rush it. Space stations are too expensive. If there's an accident and it crashes, we can't expect to continue investing in it for a while," Slava said.

"That's enough. Designing the overall framework won't take too long—I already have some ideas in mind. What takes time is verification: structural strength calculations, orbital mechanics simulations, module interfaces... My team and I can produce a version of these in a month."

Slava stood up: "Okay, I'll be waiting for your report in a month."

...

A month later.

Semyonov's report was placed on Slava's desk.

Semyonov's plan is as follows:

The core of the new space station is a newly designed central transfer module. While the Mir spacecraft's transfer module was a sphere, the new station's central transfer module is a large, multi-node truss structure, resembling a spine. Multiple docking nodes are located at both ends and in the middle of the truss. Each node is standardized, allowing docking with modules of various sizes and functions.

The reason it wasn't made thicker was due to the size limitations of the Energia launch.

When launching non-burst-like payloads, the Energia spacecraft uses a configuration with cargo bags mounted on its sides. The maximum diameter of the cargo bag is 4.5 meters, and the maximum length is 37 meters. This means that the core module cannot be made into a bulky configuration like the American Skylab with a diameter of 6.6 meters; it can only be a relatively slender cylinder, trading length for internal space.

Semyonov faithfully carried out Slava's orders and provided a solution that truly pushed the Energia rocket to its limits!

The core module weighs 92 tons, has a maximum outer diameter of 4.5 meters, and a total length of 33.8 meters including the docking mechanism. The pressurized chamber is 29 meters long, and there are 2-meter non-pressurized sections at each end for installing the docking mechanism, external equipment, and pipelines.

Its walls are approximately 14 centimeters thick, comprising a special alloy load-bearing shell, a protective layer, multiple layers of thermal insulation materials, and interior panels. Its inner diameter is approximately 4.2 meters, and its total pressurized volume is approximately 340 cubic meters—this is already the total volume of the fully constructed Mir space station!

What an ambitious plan!

At the docking node, the 33-meter length allows for the arrangement of a large number of docking interfaces along the axial and radial directions.

The front end has an axial main docking interface, plus four radial docking interfaces around it (one each on the top, bottom, left, and right), forming a structure similar to the spherical node compartment of the old Mir frigate, but with a larger diameter.

These five ports are used for docking specialized modules.

There is also an axial docking interface at the rear, which will be used to dock with the core module of the old Mir 2 in the future, and two radial docking interfaces as reserved expansion slots.

On the side, in the middle of the cabin, there are two radial docking ports. In the early days, these ports were used for the routine docking of Soyuz manned spacecraft or Progress cargo spacecraft. After the cargo capsule was launched, these two docking ports were used for other scientific payloads.

In terms of internal functions, the core compartment sacrificed some functions for structural strength, and it no longer serves as a residence or bulk cargo storage function.

Approximately 9 meters from the front node area, this is the space station's main control center. The main control console, communication equipment, station management computer, and the main operating interface of the space station's attitude control system are located on both sides of the central aisle. Command and coordination for the entire station take place here in emergencies.

This area needs to have an open view, so no partitions were installed to maintain transparency.

The central section, approximately 12 meters long, is the core area of ​​the life support system. It includes an atmospheric regeneration system (electrolysis of water to produce oxygen, carbon dioxide absorption, and removal of trace harmful gases), a temperature and humidity control center, a water recycling and treatment system (including urine recovery, an essential technology for long-term stays), and a central power distribution panel...

These devices occupy a significant amount of wall space, while the central passageway remains unobstructed for pedestrian traffic.

Noise is a problem in space, and these devices are quite noisy when they are running, so there is soundproofing between the middle section and the front and rear sections.

The rear section, approximately 8 meters long, serves as a transition area and storage space for system redundancy. Redundancy is essential for any critical system; this area houses backup systems for the most critical life support systems, as well as a main cable and pipeline hub and reserved space for future equipment installation.

This section will become a transition corridor between the old and new stations after the old Peace train docks.

Attitude control thruster groups are installed on the outer surface of the core module and distributed around the module for attitude maintenance and attitude adjustment maneuvers throughout the station; external lighting and camera systems are used to monitor docking operations and extravehicular activities; mounting bases for large solar cell arrays, with power modules fixed to the core module shell; external radiator mounting points for the cooling system; and handrails and anchor points for astronauts to climb and move during extravehicular activities.

Outside the core module, five other modules have been decided upon: a living quarters, a cargo bay, a power module, an agricultural module, and a materials processing module. Last month, the Soviet Union also extended cooperation invitations to Europe and China. According to future plans, a medical and pharmaceutical module and more scientific payloads are also scheduled for launch.

Launched by Energia, the habitation module, weighing approximately 40 tons, serves as the living area for all crew members. Semyonov designed eight individual sleeping pods, each a small, soundproof, and light-proof compartment, far more comfortable than the sleeping bag pods in the core module of the old Mir. The habitation module also includes a communal dining and rest area, as well as personal toilets and enclosed negative pressure showers that spray water mist and immediately extract it to prevent water droplets from scattering under microgravity.

At the rear of the living quarters are personal storage lockers and a sports area, equipped with a bicycle power meter and resistance training equipment. These are necessities for long-term stays to prevent astronauts from experiencing muscle atrophy and bone loss.

There's also a small generator underneath the bicycle power meter, which astronauts can use to charge their spacesuits while exercising.