Аннотация: A comparative history of the MIR space station and the Mirny Antarctic station. Essay on scientific and technical history.
A comparative history of the MIR space station and the Mirny Antarctic station. An essay on scientific and technical history.
After reports of an increase in the concentration of benzene in the ISS atmosphere (discovered around May 20, 2020) and a fire at the Mirny Antarctic station (June 21, 2020), an idea came up to describe the comparative history of the Mir Space Station and the Mirny Antarctic Station.
It is not so simple to fulfill this intention.
For example, in the Russian-language Wikipedia article about the Mirny Antarctic station, there is no mention of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), under whose control the station is located.
But such a link is in the English-language article.
We read about the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. Initially, you are not very surprised that this institute is subordinate to the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring.
Consequently, the Russian Academy of Sciences has no direct relation to this institute. It's interesting in itself ...
But then the reader meets the phrase: 'AARI includes 21 scientific divisions, the High Latitude Arctic Expedition, the Russian Antarctic Expedition, the Center for Ice and Hydrometeorological Information, the Center for Polar Medicine, the Environmental Engineering Center, and the scientific and expeditionary fleet (including the unique academic icebreaker 'Akademik Fedorov' ["Academician Fedorov"]), the ship "Professor Multanovsky", a unique specialized ice pool, research and experimental bases - stations "Ladozhskaya" and "Gorkovskaya" (in the Leningrad region), the World Data Center (WDC) for sea ice." (Wikipedia). ("This is a bonanza !!!" "This is the country of gold!!!")
And suddenly he, the reader, realizes that the 'weather service' with it's curious speakers roaming through the media channels is a very difficult institution with very interesting financial flows.
It seemed that the whole 'weather service' was a set of persistent and not very wealthy people who are sitting at their observation posts at distant lands and take readings from necessary instruments three times a day - what humidity, temperature, where the wind comes from blowing?
And we, weather information users, in a sense, live off these heroic people, who, one might say, are spending their lives, live remotely and alone (seperatly) and on a meager salary to provide us with weather reports.
Of course, there are heroes in the "weather service". And their activities are complex and responsible. But reality, as it suddenly became clear, turned out to be much more complex and interesting.
But if there are financial flows, then there must be effective managers.
If there are effective managers, then there should be a staff update. If there is a staff update, then there are results ...
It is difficult to blame Wikipedia for this, but there is almost no information about managerial, financial schemes, or about staff movements.
However, we have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the materials about the Mir space station.
This station was the result of the Salyut program, and the Salyut program incorporated developments under the Almaz space program. The Almaz program was launched around the mid-60s of the 20th century.
If the Mirny Antarctic station was founded in 1956, then the MIR space station was based on developments that began in the mid-60s of the 20th century.
Thus, we find the historical roots of both stations in the late 50s - early 60s of the 20th century.
It was a time when the staff, traditions, and intellectual potential of the scientific and technical civilization team existed.
[MDXVII. A scientific and technical civilization team, a feudal scientific and technical community, a scientific and technical prankers. A brief history of the Russial (Soviet) scientific and technical sphere.].
The MIR orbital station operated from February 20, 1986 to March 23, 2001
In January 2001, the government of the Russian Federation decided to flood the MIR station. Among the reasons were officially named: a running out of a station resource [resource exhaustion], accidents at the station, expensive maintenance (approx. $ 200 million per year).
At this point, you come across a set of standard 'justifications': high maintenance costs, expensive maintenance.
The modular structure of the station a priori casts doubt on such a thesis as "resource exhaustion" ['depletion of the station's life'].
If there are accidents and incidents, then measures must be taken.
But which ones?
If we focus on the Wikipedia text, then in the foreground we see the figure of Roskosmos director Yuri Koptev, who was promoting the proposal to flood the MIR station. To think seriously and to believe seriously that Koptev was a main motor of this process - not every person has enough naivety for this. Every action has a plan, the creation of intermediates [intermediate links] that obscure the main leaders.
'In 1998, the construction of the ISS began. The Russian Space Agency began financing the construction and maintenance of the ISS Russian segment, and budget funding for the Mir station ceased due to a large debt to RSC Energia... ' (Wikipedia).
'According to statements by proponents of the MIR flooding, the transport ships used to support the station were actually borrowed from the ISS program, and Russia already had clear obligations to its Western partners. Russia could start the work on the ISS only after the flooding of the MIR station. ' (Wikipedia).
Here an interesting a short-circuit information effect.
So after all, and at the Mirny Antarctic station, as it turned out, a serious accident occurred. And its maintenance costs not a little money. Although we did not see a specific amount.
So what will happen next?
Proponents of conspiracy theory would take as a basis the history of the orbital space station MIR, adjusted for modern reality.
For a number of reasons, western partners are now often replaced by eastern (southeast) partners.
Firstly, the 'Eastern partners' have no moral obligations to Russia. Even after the Brest Peace (1918) and all that the Soviet Union did in Africa, Asia and other regions in the 60-70s of the 20th century (we may to remember the flight of the Portuguese population (born there) from overseas territories after the 'carnation revolution' ; but there is a possibility to remember a lot of another information...) in the West, a positive and respectful attitude towards Russia prevails. Who has done more than Russia, for China - remember the history with the border...
Secondly, many of the 'Eastern partners' do not have such high standards in relation to the fight against corruption - therefore, there are additional opportunities ...
So, what could the proponents of conspiracy theories say, taking as a basis the history of the MIR space station? They could suggest the creation of some structures with the participation of (but not western, but) southeast partners ...
We put forward a historical hypothesis - in the history of the Antarctic station Mirny and the space station MIR, there is something in common ...
June 26, 2020 08:17
Translation from Russian into English: June 26, 2020 21:47.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Сравнительная история космической станции 'МИР' и антарктической станции 'Мирный'. Очерк научно-технической истории'.