Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ƒ/1.8
50 mm
1/40
500

Update: curious to look inside? Curious Marc did just that and here is the awesome video.

This design pre-dates the digital clocks of the later Soyuz designs. It flew on one of the early Soyuz T spacecraft, which started as a military design in 1967 and went through a complete redesign in the late 70’s with a launch escape system and solar cells. This was the first spacecraft to ferry three astronauts in space suits (unlike the slapdash Voskhod space race entrant). Flight 10 of Soyuz T was the first manned pad abort as the rocket blew up on the pad; the launch escape tower pulled the astronauts away to safety at 20 G’s.

The clock module provides current Moscow time, preset announcement time, and a stopwatch. The stopwatch is used for the propulsion system engine burn timing, to make sure it burns for the calculated time to reach the mission trajectory. It also flew in the Buran space shuttle and Almaz military space station (below).

I could use some help with the translation notes above. Спасибо большое!

15 responses to “The Original Soviet Space Clock”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Soyuz T console, with clock on top left
    soytmpnlHere is the side view of this flown clock: IMG_0629

    Reply
  2. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    I have a complete Soyuz T console (with digital clock upgrade), hereFlown Soyuz artifacts, as sen in Gravity: instrument deck, visor, and fire extinguisherIt started with the analog clockess-tiap4-2But then they swapped a digital clock for the analog one in the tiop left corner; all else remained the same:New Digital Clock in my panel New Digital Clock DiagramThe БЧК onboard electronic digital clock provides time reference information:
    − current Moscow Time counting by seconds – “ЧТВ (Clock of Current Time);
    − preset time coming announcement – “ОПî (Announcement);
    − “Announcement” time;
    − Τiming, time interval measurements by means of Stop-Watch.
    On the БЧК Clock front panel there are:
    − “ВКЛ” (ON) switch to switch on the БЧК power;
    − РАБОТА-КОРРЕКЦИЯ Run/Correction) switch to select the БЧК run or correction mode;
    − ЧТВ-ОП (Clock of Current Time/Announcement) switch to select either ЧТВ (current time) or ОП
    (preset time) data to be displayed on the upper indicators;
    − ПУСК.ОСТАНОВ.СБРОС (Start/Stop/Reset) button for the Stop-Watch manual control;
    − ЧАС.МИН.СЕК (Hours, Minutes, Seconds) digital indicators to display current or preset time data;
    − МИН.СЕК (Minutes, Seconds) digital indicators to display Stop-Watch data
    − ВВОД (Enter) button to enter current or preset time data;
    − The БЧК is switched on by placing “ВКЛ” (ON) switch in the upper position while the ПК СА power is
    on.
    The Clock is equipped with both built-in autonomous pulse generator and external high stability pulse in- put. The external pulses may come from either the АПВУ (Program-Timing Control Equipment) or KЛ110 TV unit.
    During launch/injection and autonomous orbital flight phases the БЧК is time synchronized with the АПВУ (Program-Timing Control Equipment).
    When the БЧК is time synchronized with the built-in generator the error is no more than 30 sec. a day. The external pulse time synchronized БЧК maximal error is 4.5 sec.
    The Stop-Watch can operate both in manual and automatic modes. The Stop-Watch automatic control is used for the propulsion system engine burn timing and has a higher priority level than that of the manual control.
    When OK-29 “Включение СКД” (Engine Fire) command is issued the Stop-Watch is stopped, reset and started. When OK-30 “Отключение СКД ” (Engine Cut Off) command is generated, provided the “МАНЕВР” (Maneuver) flag is present the Stop-Watch is stopped.
    During descent phase (provided “СПУСК” (Descent) flag is present, the Stop-Watch is stopped on СП-7 “Касание” (Contact) automatic command.
    The Stop-Watch is manually controlled by means of “ПУСК.ОСТАНОВ.СБРОС” (Start/Stop/Reset) but-
    ton:
    − pushing the button once makes the Stop -W atch start;
    − pushing the button twice makes it stop;
    − pushing it thrice resets the Stop-Watch, the indicators coming off.

    Reply
  3. BWJones Avatar
    BWJones

    A complete console… Whoa. Nice.

    Reply
  4. BWJones Avatar
    BWJones

    The global orbit position indicator is amazingly cool on that console.

    Reply
  5. scleroplex Avatar
    scleroplex

    the analog clock is very lovely!

    Reply
  6. js.brain Avatar
    js.brain

    Congrats on this amazing Panel with Mission Clock .. 🙂
    Perfect timing for the countdown to New Year 2013…

    Reply
  7. CoryMarchand Avatar
    CoryMarchand

    These are great!

    Reply
  8. seatonsnet Avatar
    seatonsnet

    I make my usual comment. I really find this Kalashnikov aesthetic fascinating as an alternative to our over-precious "Applism". I began to get interested in it when I studied the Soviet war effort and how much of it depended on having only one cannon for tanks, anti-tanks and anti-aircraft. One tank the T-34, (the best tank in WWII) that also served for carrying the infantry into battle and one automatic rifle and only one caliber of bullet for all that infantry, while the Germans had a gun to fire left and a gun to fire right and endless spare parts for an endless variety of weapons, all at the end of endless supply lines…. Contrary to many, I think there is still much to learned from the Russians. I assume you feel the same way, although perhaps there is some Estonian revanchism in all these trophies :^).

    Reply
  9. complex dog Avatar
    complex dog

    Great series Steve!

    Reply
  10. linux-works Avatar
    linux-works

    hey, is that wired for positive or negative ground?

    (yeah, I make joke. I know there is no ground in space!)

    Reply
  11. sbove Avatar
    sbove

    Any idea what the clock’s resonator was? Quartz?

    Reply
  12. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    I’m guessing mechanical if it’s like the clock I have from a Russian MIG. They wanted to survive an EMP, even if the pilot only had a few hours to live.

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works] — I think it’s a floating input. =)

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifl] — Thanks! Perhaps the "siren" is synonymous with the "announcement" described above for the digital version. This would be the signal that the burn-time for the engine was done and needed to be shut off.

    And regarding that lower left switch, Alex on fB wrote:

    "Actually it looks more like a timer/detonator for a nuclear explosive device. Maybe it’s some kind of a ‘reuse’ of a clock originally built for other purposes. "Изделие" has THE ONLY meaning in the Russian ‘military tech speak’.
    I can imagine how this could happen, – they probably had it in the command and control facilities on the ground at some point, then moved it inside the rocket itself. Then it’s understandable – the button in the lower left corner was originally for ‘cocking’ of the warhead."

    This clock has been reused in other contexts. It is a modular block. It was used on the Almaz military space station:alpanel3alpanel5alpanel2And for the Soyuz use, you can see this clock design in the first two photos here, from the early military days of Soyuz.

    Reply
  13. ComputerHotline Avatar
    ComputerHotline

    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Original_Soviet_Space…

    Reply
  14. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    this just in, a cool disassembly analysis of the digital successor to this clock.

    Reply
  15. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    And that same crew just revived my analog clock for comparison! hereReviving my Soyuz spacecraft clock from 1967

    Reply

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