Translated material
Successor in "cosmo" style
Sergei Ivanov celebrated Cosmonautics Day in a politically intelligent manner
Contrary to his rules, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov devoted yesterday not to numerous matters, but to a protocol trip to Star City and the Mission Control Center (MCC). At the Cosmonaut Training Center, Mr. Ivanov, as the curator of the space industry in the government, congratulated those present on Cosmonautics Day, and together with the head of Roscosmos Anatoly Perminov and the cosmonauts of the first cohort, he laid flowers at the monument to Yuri Gagarin. In other words, he fulfilled a pleasant mission, which by definition provided for a beautiful television picture, and what else is needed for one of the president’s potential successors.Then the guest visited a complex simulator where cosmonauts launching on Soyuz spacecraft undergo training. Including the current crew of the International Space Station, which Sergei Ivanov himself recently saw off at Baikonur. Today, a member of the cosmonaut corps, Colonel Maxim Suraev, who was included in the backup crew of the 17th expedition to the ISS, is training here. Its launch is scheduled for spring next year.
The guest, as expected, sat in the cosmonaut's chair on another simulator, where the cosmonauts practice the actions of docking the Soyuz spacecraft and the ISS. Just at this moment, Mr. Perminov reported to the First Deputy Prime Minister that the Cosmonaut Training Center was being transferred from the Ministry of Defense to the subordination of Roscosmos. The reassignment will be completed by the end of this year.
Sergei Ivanov did not miss the opportunity to visit the life-size modules of the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Mr. Ivanov was interested in the third seat in the Soyuz TMA spacecraft, which turned out to be free during cosmonaut training. “The third place for tourists, we’ll invest money here,” the crew reported jokingly. Judging by the fact that the First Deputy Prime Minister liked the joke, we can count on the appearance of another tourist chair.
The cosmonauts, answering questions from the distinguished guest, explained that the volume of the spacecraft for three people is 3.6 cubic meters. m, overload during normal start-up - 4.5 times. The first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, recalled: in her time, the volume of the spacecraft was larger, but there was less space for the cosmonauts themselves.
From the Mission Control Center in Korolev, Moscow Region, Sergei Ivanov conducted a communication session with the ISS crew. Six cosmonauts (crew changes were in progress), including a tourist, American billionaire of Hungarian origin Charles Simonyi, appeared on the screen wearing T-shirts and caps with the Sochi 2014 Olympic emblem. “After such pictures, Sochi’s chances of winning have increased sharply,” the First Deputy Prime Minister considered.
The crew reported “intelligence information” to the First Deputy Prime Minister: we were passing through California, it was dark here, but the lights of houses and highways were clearly visible. Crew commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, as in a Soviet joke about contrasts, exclaimed: “And in the Northern Hemisphere the northern lights are still visible. Beauty!" “Unearthly beauty,” said Sergei Ivanov.
Sergei Ivanov exchanged several phrases in English with the American tourist Mr. Simoni. He assured the Russian cosmonauts: “We will expand the station.” How exactly, however, he did not specify. Perhaps at the expense of one more tourist seat.
Mr. Ivanov then promised the cosmonauts “a warm welcome on Earth” upon their return. In addition, he informed the crew that he had fulfilled the request of their commander - he presented the Russian President with the state flag, which had already been in space, and conveyed congratulations on the holiday from Vladimir Putin.
The leadership of the Mission Control Center told Mr. Ivanov about the differences in the launch of our ships and the American shuttles. Ours are certainly better, although not reusable. It turned out that shuttles are “very susceptible to weather conditions at launch,” which is why launching as planned is a rare occurrence. “Both space, the navy, and aviation begin on earth, where conditions must be created for them,” the First Deputy Prime Minister thoughtfully summed up the trip.