Scientific payload: At the very top of the satellite, a package of science instruments designed to register ultraviolet and x-ray radiation was mounted. ( 2) Unlike the first satellite, whose transmitters pulsed at 0.3-second intervals, Sputnik-2's radios sent a continuous tone. It held two radio transmitters ( 227) with the frequencies 20.005 and 40.002 MHz and power batteries. Spherical systems container: Above the dog's cabin, engineers mounted metal truss holding a spherical container that was developed as a backup for Sputnik-1. It would ultimately become an "Achilles' heel" of Sputnik-2 during the mission. The main challenge for the developers was to quickly build a telemetry system, which would transmit scientific data back to Earth.Ī rudimentary thermal control system for the cabin was borrowed from the first satellite. A special restraints attached to the corset were designed to allow dog to stand up, sit down, lay down and slightly move back and forth inside its cabin. Each tray contained a day worth of food, with the total supply for 20 days.ĭuring the mission, the dog would be fitted with a special corset, holding a urine and solid waste receptacle. The feeding system for a dog resembled an ammunition belt of a machine gun, carrying small trays of jelly-like high-calorie food and periodically opening cover. Due to luck of gravity and convection, the cabin was equipped with a ventilation system. The life-support system was designed to automatically maintain proper levels and intensity of the atmosphere regeneration. Flat panels containing chemicals designed to regenerate the atmosphere of the cabin were located on both sides from the dog. Inside the dog cabin, high-active alkaline compounds had been used to generate oxygen and consume carbon dioxide and excessive water vapors. There were reports that the cabin also carried TV camera, however more reliable sources do not list it among onboard hardware. A small window was cut in the forward bulkhead of the cabin. These instruments allowed ground controllers to monitor how the dog functioned and died in space. ( 84) The aluminum cabin was equipped with sensors to measure ambient pressure and temperature, as well as the canine passenger's blood pressure, breath frequency and heartbeat. Measuring 0.8 meters in length and 0.64 meters in diameter, ( 2) it derived from the retrievable container, used to launch dogs on the ballistic trajectory onboard the R-2A rocket. Just a day after the note was delivered to the Central Committee, its presidium formally approved the plan on October 17.ĭog cabin: The core of the second satellite would be a Hermetic Animal Cabin or GKZh, from Germetichnaya Kabina Zhivotnogo in Russian. At the same time, the official mass of the satellite would only represent a total for the payload (300 kilograms) in order not to disclose true size of the R-7 ballistic missile. Likely reflecting a discussion about the amount of details in the public announcement about the mission, the note proposed to acknowledge the fact that the satellite would remain attached to the rocket (likely to prevent reports about the separation failure between the rocket and a spacecraft). The note confirmed that the goal of the experiment with the dog had been preparing for manned space flight, however it also warned that the deployment of ground receiving stations to downlink scientific data from the spacecraft had presented serious difficulties due to limited time left before the launch then scheduled between November 3 and 5, 1957. Also onboard, would be two transmitters (working at frequencies of 20 an 40 megahertz) for determining coordinates of the satellite, telemetry hardware for downlinking scientific data and a pair of angular reflectors for facilitating the radar tracking. The note confirmed that the satellite mounted on the second stage of the R-7 rocket would have a mass of 7.5 tons and carry equipment for studies of short-wave portion of Sun's spectrum, sensors to measure temperature on the surface of the satellite and a cabin with a single dog. Typically for documents of this sort, all key industry officials including Ryabikov, Rudnev and the commander of Strategic missile forces Nedelin endorsed the document. On October 16, Korolev sent a note to the Central Committee describing highlights of the second satellite mission and outlining challenges to launch on time. Piro-pneumatic lock (for fairing separation?)
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