1872) "Salyut", the First Orbital Space Station, 50th Anniversary milestone (1971-2021), Kyrgyzstan (50 лет запуску первой орбитальной станции "Салют"): Kyrgyz Express Post (KEP) has issued a Stamp of 175 KGS commemorating the milestone: Dtae of Stamp issue: 08.06.2021:
On 08.06.2021, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic will put into circulation a Kyrgyz Express Post postage stamp titled: "Salyut", the First Orbital Space Station, 50th Anniversary".
About the Salyut Space Station:
On 19.04.1971, the Soviet Union placed into orbit Salyut, the world’s first space station.
Designed for a 6-month on orbit operational lifetime, Salyut hosted the crew of Georgi T. Dobrovolski, Vladislav N. Volkov, and Viktor I. Patsayev for a then record-setting 24-day mission, conducting several experiments. This was an absolute record of man being in space. During this period, the Cosmonauts conducted important astrophysical observations, comprehensive scientific research and technical tests.
The "Salyut" operated in Earth orbit for 176 days.
The space flight ended tragically when the crew died due to the sudden depressurization of their Soyuz 11 spacecraft shortly before re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Over the succeeding decades, Soviet, and later Russian, engineers continually improved on the original Salyut design, launching ever more capable generations of space stations in the Salyut series and the Mir station’s Base Block.
The Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station’s Russian segment traces its heritage back to the world’s first space station of 50 years ago.
The Soviet Union began development of a secret military space station project called "Almaz" in 1966 with the first launch planned for the early 1970s.
As envisioned, Almaz consisted of a 20-ton module periodically visited by crews of 2 to 3 cosmonauts using Soyuz crew transport spacecraft. The Soviet government decided to develop the world’s first civilian Earth orbital space station.
In February 1970, they approved a crash program to use an Almaz shell and add Soyuz components such as orbital maneuvering engines and solar arrays to prepare a space station for launch in less than 18 months, or about two years sooner than the more complex Almaz would be ready to fly.
Work began that same month on two flight units at the facility now known as RKK Energia in Kaliningrad, now Korolev, outside of Moscow.
Once in orbit, the 66-foot-long space station weighed 40,620 pounds and provided 3,500 cubic feet of habitable volume. This is roughly the size of a larger in-ground swimming pool.
Soviet engineers outfitted the station with 2,600 pounds of scientific equipment – including experiments to study human adaptation to long-duration spaceflight, a variety of telescopes for solar and astronomical observations, and instruments to observe the Earth.
To counteract the effects of long-duration weightlessness, crews used a treadmill and elastic bands to maintain muscle tone and wore special garments called Penguin suits with sewn-in elastic bands that provided a constant load on major muscle groups.
A device called "Veter," later renamed "Chibis", used lower body negative pressure to stress the crew members’ cardiovascular systems.
A large refrigerator and a food warmer enabled crews to have a larger selection of menu items than on previous spacecraft.
Soviet engineers designed a new probe and drogue docking system with a pressurized tunnel that allowed cosmonauts to internally transfer between the Soyuz spacecraft and the space station.
Soviet officials originally named the station "Zarya", meaning "Dawn" in Russian, to symbolize the beginning of a new era in human spaceflight.
From 1974 to 1982, five more orbital stations called "Salyut" were launched. On these Space stations cosmonauts of USSR and other countries conducted important space experiments/observations.
The Commemorative Stamp:
The Stamp of 175 KGS depicts the Salyut Station deployed in Space.
The First Day Cover (FDC) is titled - "Salyut - the First Orbital Space Station - 50th Anniversary", at left and shows the Salyut being launched from its base on Earth.
At top right is affixed the Stamp of 175 KGS cancelled with a special Cancellation Handstamp/Postmark depcting the Salyut Space Station in the centre. The Cancellation is of Kyrgyz Express Post (KEP) Bishkek Post Office and the cancellation is dated - "08.06.2021".
A se-tenant Stamp
A First Day Cover (FDC) with a Sheetlet of five stamps and a coupon/label cancelled with the special Handstamp/Postmark.
The Sheetlet of five stamps and a coupon/label.
Technical specifications:
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks Rajeev for sharing this information. Keep it up."
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
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