About the Soviet space ship “Buran”, which started with a super-heavy carrier rocket “Molniya” and landed on the concrete runway on an aircraft, known to many. But its predecessor – the secret Soviet military space plane, the MiG-105 is less well known. The history of its creation and testing of electronic publishing “Military standard” said Hovhannes aircraft designer Mikoyan, the son of the General designer of the design Bureau “MiG”, twice hero of Socialist Labor, Artem Mikoyan.
In our days acting an unmanned orbital plane is only in the United States. space drone X-37B. In orbit, he spent more than 700 days. Weight – 4989.
However, the first idea of creating a space plane began to implement the Soviet designers in the 60-ies of the last century. In 1965 the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution on the programme “Spiral”. Project team designers, under the leadership of Artem Mikoyan.
“It was a very promising subject, and she almost went into space,” – said Hovhannes Petrosyan.
He said that it was a small single machine — aerospace plane. It was planned that it will be flying single pilot. To start he was on Board the aircraft responsice capable of entering the speed, 5 times the speed of sound. But this device was never developed. “Article 105” in the trials was suspended from the Tu-95. Dumped him, the MiG-105, starts the engine, he was flying in the atmosphere and then 5 km altitude was getting on an aircraft.
After the start, when you exit into space, wing MiG-105принимали the shape of the keel. When the car again appeared in the atmosphere, it is at the correct height keel again turned into a wing. It was made 6-7 flights, which met the test pilot Award Fastivets’.
the MiG-105 was equipped with a turbojet engine. He could take off and land. He had a four-post rack ski gear. “Once, there was even a case and is not a fairy tale, a true story: the plane could not take off because of the increased friction on the tarmac. It was in Astrakhan, and it is known, the country of watermelon, they’re worth a penny. And someone came up with the idea: to drive a truck of watermelons and smash them on the strip to remove any excess friction during takeoff. And so they did. Indeed, these water-melon crusts the plane took off,” – said aircraft.
as conceived By the designers, the MiG-105 in the future would, in orbit, two or three turns to intercept an enemy satellite and destroy it. Among other tasks – exploration. After completing a task – the return to earth.
Hovhannes Petrosyan told also why the MiG-105 was nicknamed “Lapot”. It turns over fOrme, which he gave a special nose cone in the shape of a rounded cone. Later, the fairing used on the “Buran”.
Aircraft reminded why the project of the MiG-105 was discontinued in the late 60-ies. The cross was put by the Soviet defense Minister Andrei Grechko. “He is an infantryman, especially in space Affairs did not understand and on the paper wrote: this is all fiction, we do not need. As a result, the project “Spiral” was given up”, – said Hovhannes Petrosyan.”The Americans-the result is a plane made. But if you look closely, their orbital X-37 — almost an exact copy of our “bast”. This is not surprising. They have closely followed our work. Then, as soon as perestroika began, followed by complete collapse, Americans bought his drawings. Maybe stolen — I don’t know. But the drawings of the “bast” disappeared,” – said aircraft.
