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Author
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Topic: Baikonur Cosmodrome: Soyuz "White Room"
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jasonelam
Member Posts: 691
From: Monticello, KY USA
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 10-05-2010 05:17 PM
   
I have watched many a Soyuz launch, but does anyone know has there been any footage taken from the "white room" at the top of the gantry or footage of crews getting into the Soyuz on launch day? It seems like the footage ends at the base of the pad. |
Lasv3
Member Posts: 410
From: Bratislava, Slovakia
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted 10-05-2010 10:58 PM
You are absolutely right, this kind of footage seems to be completely "forgotten".The only Soyuz entry I saw was in the movie "Kosmicheskiy ispytatel" or "Space explorer" on the flight of Soyuz 2 and 3, where you can actually see cosmonaut Beregovoy's ingress into the ship. There also exists a sequence of cosmonaut Komarov ingressing his ill-fated Soyuz 1 capsule, however, I can't remember where I saw it. It was some documentary not directly related to the flight of Soyuz 1. Both above mentioned sequences are rather short, several seconds only. |
Lasv3
Member Posts: 410
From: Bratislava, Slovakia
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted 10-06-2010 06:17 AM
After torturing my memory a bit I think (and still may be wrong) the Soyuz 1 ingress footage is in the German documentary "Unter Sichel und Hammer" or "Under Sickle and Hammer" covering the history of the early Soviet spaceflight achievements. |
Tonyq
Member Posts: 199
From: UK
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 10-06-2010 07:17 AM
There is gantry footage from at least some of the earliest Vostok missions.I have a copy of quite a lengthy sequence showing Tereshkova arriving at the top gantry by lift, waiting around for several minutes and then entering the Vostok in a rather un-ladylike fashion! There is similar coverage of Gagarin out there too. However, I don't recall seeing any similar shots from the Soyuz era, and it certainly doesn't appear to be part of the generic coverage that has accompanied every Soyuz launch of the last 20 years or so.
Based in conversations I've had with people who have actually flown on Soyuz, I suspect one of the reasons may simply be the lack of room on the gantry for any non-key personnel.
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jasonelam
Member Posts: 691
From: Monticello, KY USA
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 10-06-2010 10:21 AM
I saw the video of Soyuz 3 on YouTube, and found it interesting that there was no "white room". It looked like he simply climbed into the vehicle from the gantry!After seeing video of the Shenzhou 7 crew getting into their craft before launch, I guess it would be a similar experience for a Soyuz crew. Thanks for the replies! |
jasonelam
Member Posts: 691
From: Monticello, KY USA
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 07-29-2013 06:52 AM
I finally found some footage from recent of a crew climbing into the Soyuz on the launch pad. There is a documentary on YouTube called "9 minutes to space". It shows the "White Room" area (actually it's brown) and how cramped the space is. Even more interesting is when a technician asks the commander if he would like to call his wife inside the Soyuz before climbing into the DM, and does so with what appears to be a cell phone! |
David C
Member Posts: 1015
From: Lausanne
Registered: Apr 2012
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posted 07-30-2013 12:21 AM
Very interesting thanks. "Alcohol shower"? |
tnperri
Member Posts: 452
From: Malvern, Ohio
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 07-30-2013 10:08 AM
I always wanted to go into space but after watching the video and seeing how much room they have, I think I will have to wait until they invent the 'beam me up, Scotty' method. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 08-01-2013 11:46 PM
Believe me, climbing into a Soyuz is not as glamorous as American spacecraft, so I am not surprised there isn't much footage. Things are rather cramped in that room from what I understand, so the last thing the closeout crew needs to worry about is a camera. They have enough to worry about, concentrating on getting their jobs done as it is.It was explained to me that the cosmonauts entered the spacecraft through the open side door on the orbital module (the one used for EVAs in the early days). They shimmy down into the DM one at a time and a technician already in there straps the first two men in. Then the technician climbs out and the commander gets into the center seat. Then the same technician gets suspended upside-down as he straps the Soyuz commander in. It is hot, cramped and a lot of hard work and I am told those technicians "earn their pay". Once the crew is strapped in, the hatch between the DM and OM is closed and the technicians next secure the side hatch to the OM and finally bolt on the rocket covering. |
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