Feb 04, 2023 14:00:00

What is 'Globus' that indicates the position of the spacecraft in the globe used in the space development of the former Soviet Union?

In the space development conducted in the former Soviet Union, an

inertial navigation device called ' Globus ' was used for the Soyuz of the manned spacecraft. When engineer Ken Shirriff repaired and reverse engineered Globus, complex internal mechanisms and parts were revealed.

Inside the Globus INK: a mechanical navigation computer for Soviet spaceflight
https://www.righto.com/2023/01/inside-globus-ink-mechanical-navigation.html

Globus is an inertial navigation system for displaying the position of the Soyuz without receiving information from the outside, and has multiple dials for astronauts to set the initial position and orbital period. Latitude, longitude, number of satellites, etc. are displayed. In addition, this device also had a mode to predict the landing position of the landing ship.

The globe placed in front of the Globus displayed terrain such as mountains, rivers, and lakes, and was used to select landing sites. In addition, the borders of the Soviet Union and the division of communist and non-communist countries were also displayed.

A metal ring was attached to the globe's equator and rotated around a horizontal axis. Since the

orbital inclination angle was fixed at 51.8 degrees, which is the standard Soyuz orbit, Globus was useless when it was necessary to change the orbit such as rendezvous and docking . Therefore, Globus was replaced entirely by a computer display during the Soyuz TMA-1 launch in 2002.

Globus was able to adjust the

orbital speed of the Soyuz by increasing or decreasing the speed at which the globe rotates around its orbital axis according to the rotation speed of the gear.

In addition, Globus has a mechanism for displaying lander candidate sites with an accuracy of about 150 km by projecting the current Soyuz trajectory and calculating the landing position based on the angle specified during landing. bottom. When setting, set the angle of landing with a dial. Then Globus rotated the globe considering the landing site and the position of the earth, etc., and automatically stopped the rotation of the globe at the specified position.

The Globus electronic board has four

relays , transistors, resistors and diodes. The relay controls the mechanism that calculates the landing position, and the diode works in a flyback fashion . The transistor also had the function of amplifying the voltage signal converted from the starting position of the Soyuz.

In addition, Globus was driven by two

ratchet solenoids for orbital rotation and earth rotation, and it was possible to move the globe by moving one gear for each cycle of the electrical signal.

The Globus was built for the 1975

Apollo-Soyuz test program , as the globe bears the markings of NASA's tracking stations and the USSNS Vanguard, which enhances the accuracy of radio communications. That's what I'm talking about.

Globus has a long history, starting in the 1960s with the simple systems used in the

Vostok and Voskhod launches. Later, a more complex Globus was built for the successful Soyuz space flight in 1967 and became part of the spacecraft's information display system, but was replaced by an all-digital display starting with the Soyuz TMA-1 launch in 2002. It is

Globus was able to calculate the orbital position of the Soyuz through a complex system of gears, cams and differentials , allowing it to accurately display the spacecraft's position.

However, it requires manual settings and cannot be remotely operated from the outside, so it is said to have low accuracy and limited functionality. ``It's true that modern digital displays are full of features, but they lack the physical appeal of Globus's actual rotating globe,'' Shirriff said.