[FPSPACE] Re: Russia TV: Secret Control Room "Saves ISS"

[Keith Cowing]

I don't know about secret control rooms - but I posted this on NASA Watch
last week

28  July 2000:
http://www.nasawatch.com/iss/07.28.2000.iss.schedule.pdf
Felicity Vol 021 ISS Integrated Program Schedule (2.2 MB Adobe Acrobat file)


ISS MER On Orbit Status Report

1.  FGB Battery 1 was brought back on line in support of SM docking. All
FGB/SM battery
performance is nominal.

2. One of 3 SM central computers (#2) was voted off- line prior to docking.
MCC-M reported
that it got overloaded, slowed down, and lost synch with the other two.
After successful
FGB/SM docking, MCC-M reported that a second central computer (#1) had also
lost sync
and had been removed from voting. As of now the SM is still operating on
one central
computer. The central computers are not required to maintain SM attitude
control. If the
remaining computer fails, all three central computers will reboot
automatically. MCC-M is
discussing manually rebooting the Central Computers prior to FGB/ SM system
unification
on Saturday.

 3. SM GIVUS (rotation rate sensor) #1 was twice removed from the control
loop by the
onboard software. Both times, MCC-M reset the GIVUS channel. MCC-M later
inhibited
the software from removing a GIVUS from the control loop. The software is
designed to
remove a GIVUS if it reports a body rate of 0 for a certain amount of time.
MCC-M believes
the particular GIVUS was sensing a body rotation rate of 0 due to the
current XPOP
attitude.



At 11:17 AM -0400 8/3/00, JamesOberg@aol.com wrote:
>JimO: Any word from NASA's side on how this secret Russian control center
>"saved" the docking last week??
>
>
>RUSSIAN TV FEATURES SPACE CONTROL CENTER
>MOSCOW TV 6 IN RUSSIAN 1600 GMT 1 AUG 00
>
>     THE RUSSIAN MILITARY PEOPLE WHO PROTECT THE COUNTRY'S SECURITY
>HAVE TO RELY ON THEMSELVES. DESPITE THE MULTIBILLION [DOLLAR] COST OF THE
>EQUIPMENT MANAGED BY RUSSIAN MILITARY ROCKET EXPERTS THEY ARE FAR FROM BEING
>SELFISH.
>    [CORRESPONDENT] THESE PEOPLE ARE VERY RICH. THEY ARE TRANSFERRING BILLIONS
>OF DOLLARS FROM ONE ORBIT TO ANOTHER ON THEIR COMPUTER SCREENS. THESE BILLIONS
>OF DOLLARS ARE LOCATED ABOUT 300 KM ABOVE THE GROUND AND ARE CALLED THE
>RUSSIAN
>SATELLITE FLEET - BOTH MILITARY AND CIVILIAN.
>    THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL ITEM THAT EVERY STRONG STATE SHOULD POSSESS. IF THE
>WELL-KNOWN MISSION CONTROL CENTRE IN KOROLEV [TSUP] COULD BE COMPARED TO A
>COMPUTER DISPLAY, THEN THIS CENTRE IS THE ACTUAL COMPUTER. THE DECISIONS ON
>WHEN, WHERE AND HOW OUR SATELLITES SHOULD FLY ARE ADOPTED HERE.
>    EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE IN THE GARRISON. WAGES ARE BEING PAID, SOLDIERS ARE
>WELL-FED AND A CHILDREN'S CLUB IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. BUT GIVEN THE CURRENT
>FINANCIAL SITUATION THE ROCKET EXPERTS WILL SOON HAVE NOTHING TO CONTROL.
>    [ANATOLIY ZAPADINSKIY, CAPTIONED AS THE COMMANDER OF THE SATELLITE FLEET
>MISSION CONTROL CENTRE] THE RUSSIAN SHARE OF WORLD SPACE FACILITIES HAS
>DROPPED
>FROM 35 TO 8 PER CENT SINCE 1992. RUSSIA OWNS ONLY 8 PER CENT OF ALL SPACE
>FACILITIES. THIS IS LESS THAN INDONESIA.
>    [CORRESPONDENT] THERE IS NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT MILITARY SATELLITES. THE
>FLEET
>HAS BEEN REDUCED BY SEVERAL TIMES. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH SATELLITES EVEN TO
>COVER THE TERRITORY OF REBELLIOUS CHECHNYA.
>    CIVILIAN EXPERTS PROVIDE SOME WORK FROM TIME TO TIME. THE FIRST RUSSIAN
>MODULE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - ZARYA - WAS LAUNCHED 18 MONTHS
>AGO.
>EVERYTHING WAS QUIET IN THE TSUP. ABOUT 50 KM AWAY - IN THIS HALL - WORK WAS
>IN
>FULL SWING. ZARYA DID NOT FOLLOW THE ORDERS AND FAILED TO UNDERSTAND A SPECIAL
>CODE. IT COULD HAVE LED TO THE MODULE SIMPLY DROPPING OUT OF ORBIT.
>    [ZAPADINSKIY] IN THE COURSE OF THREE CIRCUITS LT-COL NAZAROV IDENTIFIED
>THE CODE
>AND CORRECTED ALL [WORDS INDISTINCT] SEQUENCES. THE STATION  AND THE ALPHA
>INTERNATIONAL SPACE PROGRAMME WERE RESCUED.
>    [CORRESPONDENT] DID NAZAROV RECEIVE ANY AWARD FOR THIS?
>    [ZAPADINSKIY] YES, HE RECEIVED THE MILITARY SERVICE ORDER AND A PREMIUM
>FROM
>THE SUPREME COMMANDER, AND I PAID OFF ALL THE DEBTS WE OWED HIM IN  FOOD
>ALLOWANCES FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. HE WAS SATISFIED AND HAPPY.
>    [CORRESPONDENT] MANY OF THEM HAVE TO LOOK FOR JOBS ON THE SIDE. THERE IS
>NO
>WAY TO SURVIVE WITHOUT THIS. BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE VERY RICH. VERY FEW PEOPLE
>CAN PART WITH THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ORBIT AND R300 OF [MONTHLY] FOOD
>ALLOWANCE.
>    [VIDEO SHOWS THE MAIN ROOM AT THE MISSION CONTROL CENTRE AND SPACECRAFT]
>    [DESCRIPTION OF SOURCE: MOSCOW TV 6 IN RUSSIAN -- INDEPENDENT,
>ENTERTAINMENT-ORIENTED TV NETWORK FOUNDED BY EDUARD SAGALAYEV BUT
>NOW CONTROLLED BY BORIS BEREZOVSKIY; BROADCASTS REACH OVER 60
>PERCENT OF RUSSIA'S VIEWING AUDIENCE AND ALSO PARTS OF THE CIS]
>
>FORMERLY SECRET MILITARY MISSION CONTROL CENTER   SHOWN
>MOSCOW RUSSIAN PUBLIC TELEVISION ORT1 IN RUSSIAN 1925 GMT   1 AUG 00
>     [PRESENTER IGOR VYKHUKHOLEV] ON TUESDAY [1ST AUGUST], OFFICERS ON DUTY
>AT THE
>MAIN TESTS AND SPACE EQUIPMENT CONTROL CENTRE OF THE MILITARY CENTRAL MISSION
>CONTROL CENTRE CONDUCTED A 10,000,000TH COMMUNICATION SESSION WITH ONE OF THE
>PIECES OF SPACE APPARATUS IN ORBIT.   THE MILITARY CENTRAL MISSION CONTROL
>CENTRE IS
>SITUATED 41 KM FROM MOSCOW ALONG MINSK HIGHWAY, IN A TOWN WHICH, IN THE PAST,
>COULD NOT BE FOUND ON ANY CIVILIAN MAP.   IN THE 60S, IT FEATURED AS FACILITY
>NUMBER
>413 AND LATER AS GALITSINO-2.   IT IS NOW KRASNOZNAMENSK.
>        OUR CORRESPONDENT VLADIMIR POLOZHENTSEV VISITED THE SECRET FACILITY ON
>TUESDAY.
>         [BEGIN RECORDING] [POLOZHENTSEV] THE 10,000,000TH COMMUNICATION
>SESSION WAS
>HELD AT APPROXIMATELY 1400 [1000 GMT] WITH THE RUSSIAN  MODULE, ZARYA, WHICH
>HAS
>RECENTLY DOCKED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.   SCREENS DO NOT SHOW
>VIDEO IMAGES FROM SPACE LIKE AT KOROLEV'S MISSION CONTROL CENTRE:   JUST
>RUNNING
>NUMBERS ON  MONITORS AND SHORT COMMANDS OF OFFICERS ON DUTY.   THEY TOLD US
>THAT
>ALL THE EQUIPMENT OF ZVEZDA [AS HEARD] WAS WORKING WITHOUT FAIL.
>        THE MILITARY CALL KRASNOZNAMENSK THE MAIN SPACE CITY.   THE COMMAND
>POST OF
>THE MISSION CONTROL CENTRE RECEIVES INFORMATION  FROM ALL THE 120 RUSSIAN
>SPACE
>FACILITIES.   THE POST ADJUSTS THEIR ORBITS AND ASSIGNS PROGRAMS.   OFFICERS
>ON DUTY
>CONTROL NOT JUST MILITARY SATELLITES BUT ALSO THOSE WHICH ARE TRANSMITTING
>RUSSIAN  PUBLIC TV PROGRAMMES RIGHT NOW.   IN 20 MINUTES, THE CENTRE'S
>COMPUTER
>RECEIVES AND ANALYSES AS MUCH INFORMATION AS THE FIRST TV CHANNEL BROADCASTS
>IN
>SIX MONTHS.
>         TODAY, WE WERE TOLD THAT AFTER THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST RUSSIAN
>MODULE,
>ZARYA, TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE CENTRE, BAYKONUR WAS ALREADY CELEBRATING THE
>LAUNCH WITH CHAMPAGNE.   HOWEVER, IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT ZARYA WAS NOT
>RESPONDING TO SIGNALS FROM EARTH.   WITHOUT ADJUSTING ITS ORBIT, THE MODULE
>WOULD
>BEGIN TO LOSE ALTITUDE AND BURN IN THE ATMOSPHERE.   IN 90 MINUTES, CHIEF TEST
>ENGINEER NAZAROV CREATED A PROGRAM, WHICH WOULD TAKE AN ORDINARY SPECIALIST 10
>YEARS TO WRITE.   ZARYA RESPONDED TO ITS PROGRAM KEY AND THE CONTROL OF THE
>BLOCK
>WAS RESTORED.
>         [ANATOLIY ZAPADINSKIY, CAPTIONED AS COMMANDER OF THE MAIN TEST AND
>SPACE
>EQUIPMENT CONTROL CENTRE] HE WAS AWARDED AN ORDER FOR MILITARY ACHIEVEMENTS, A
>BONUS FROM THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND I PAID HIM ALL THE RATION ARREARS FOR
>FOUR
>YEARS.   HE WAS CONTENT AND HAPPY.
>         [CORRESPONDENT] IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT THE SAVED ZARYA MODULE COSTS
>260M
>DOLLARS, WHILE AN AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE OF THE CENTRE'S OFFICER IS R2,000.
>         ALL THE OPERATIONS WITH SATELLITES ARE PERFORMED HERE IN  COMPLIANCE
>WITH THE
>MILITARY TIME STANDARD.   IT IS ALSO KEPT IN  KRASNOZNAMENSK.   THE ERROR IS
>ONE
>SECOND EVERY 300 BILLION YEARS.
>         SPACE INFORMATION FROM THE CENTRE IS SENT TO THE DEFENCE MINISTRY,
>THE MAIN
>INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE AND THE CIVILIAN  MISSION CONTROL CENTRE.
>         ALTHOUGH OUR SATELLITE GROUPING IS GETTING OLDER, GEN  ZAPADINSKIY
>BELIEVES
>THAT IT IS COPING WITH ALL THE INTELLIGENCE FUNCTIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN
>CHECHNYA.   IN
>CASE OF A GLOBAL WAR, MOBILE COMMAND POSTS OF THE CONTROL CENTRE WILL BE
>DEPLOYED.   THEY WERE SHOWN TO JOURNALISTS FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY.
>SCHEDULED
>EXERCISES OF THESE MOBILE COMPLEXES WILL BEGIN IN AUGUST.   [END RECORDING]
>[VIDEO
>SHOWS CONTROL ROOM AT THE CENTRE, OFFICERS AT WORK, VIEWS OF THE TOWN, VARIOUS
>GRAPHS AND MAPS, AN INTERVIEW WITH ZAPADINSKIY, MOBILE COMMAND POSTS]