Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ƒ/4
15 mm
1/30
2000

This space portal looks like it comes from the brutalist school of design. I find myself staring in there and wondering what it must have felt to seal oneself in this block of steel lathered with a veneer of control…

From the Chabot team: “it is thought to be the oldest and most complete Soyuz descent capsule outside the former Soviet Union. It was common during the Cold War for spent capsules to be stripped and destroyed to prevent the technology from being stolen or captured.

The 7K-OK Soyuz was designed in 1963 by the USSR to carry three cosmonauts to Earth orbit. The model flew 13 successful manned and unmanned missions but also lead to the death of Vladimir Komarov on its fourth flight. A later revised configuration with a space station docking tunnel killed three cosmonauts upon reentry in 1971. As a result, the 7K-OK Soyuz was retired.”

11 responses to “Soyuz Descent Module”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Looking in from the window from the left at the other side of the open hatch…
    IMG_3130
    At the bottom of this photo, you can see a placeholder for the periscope window.

    instrument panel (the top photo has about the same level of detail at full size):
    P1000482

    For orientation, this is the crew module, the central third of the launch stack. This diagram comes from Astronautix

    It’s like staring into an alien dreadnought. The last one I saw, struck me as uncanny as well…

    Reply
  2. scleroplex Avatar
    scleroplex

    takes tremendous faith….

    Reply
  3. solerena Avatar
    solerena

    wow!

    Reply
  4. -fCh- Avatar
    -fCh-

    I would look at it as our complement, or indication of how far we could go the other way.

    Reply
  5. mgw_wgw Avatar
    mgw_wgw

    Fascinating to see such a famous satellite 🙂
    —
    Seen on your photo stream. ( ?² )

    Reply
  6. bike-R Avatar
    bike-R

    Looks like the VW of it’s era..simple but reliable

    Reply
  7. seatonsnet Avatar
    seatonsnet

    Russian stuff is designed to be sturdy, reliable and easy to maintain. The AK-47, Kalashnikov is the most famous example. This philosophy goes way back. In WWII the Germans had very sophisticated equipment for every specific task, with an infinite variety of spare parts and huge logistical problems. The USSR had one tank, the T-34, considered the best in that era, which also served to carry the soldiers into battle and one 90mm gun for the tank, anti-tank and antiaircraft. The infantry were all equipped with a 45caliber tommygun. All the armament factories behind the Ural mountains concentrated on producing an infinite quantity of these few items. I understand that planning all this is what made Nikita Khrushchev’s career take off.

    For a brief time back in the 70s (I’m speaking from memory) the USA allowed the importing of Soviet tractors, which were very popular with the American farmers who bought them, because they could be serviced right in the fields with little mechanical skill and simple tools at great saving. Again, a different and interesting philosophy, which might be useful if times get even tougher than they are today.

    Reply
  8. jhagerty52 Avatar
    jhagerty52

    You mention the "Chabot Team." Is this at the Chabot Science Center in Oakland? I saw the Liberty Bell there when it made it’s tour before retiring to Kansas. If so, and it’s still there, I’ll have to make a pilgrimage (it’s only 30 miles).

    – Jack

    Reply
  9. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/31160766@N02] – yes, but the U.S. capsule is not still there. Here are some more photos I took there.

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/48331433@N05] – very interesting.

    Reply
  10. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    My buddy Victor just pointed me to a cool photo essay on the Russian Cosmodrome in The Atlantic. If looks so foreign… almost alien.

    And you can see how crowded it gets in there…

    Reply
  11. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    I recently obtained the navigation window from Soyuz TMA-6 and in researching the uses, I found a description of the little globe of the Earth that you see on the panels above. It was used for manual timing of the reentry burn, and the periscope could be used for manual orientation.

    Reply

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