The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR Resolution of February 17, 1976, No. 132-51

Moscow, Kremlin

On the development of a reusable space system and future space complexes

The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, attaching particular importance to increasing the country’s defense capability and intensifying work on creating advanced space complexes for solving military, national economic and scientific problems, RESOLVED:

  1. To accept the proposals of the Ministry of General Machine Building, the USSR Ministry of Defense and the USSR Academy of Sciences:

a) on the creation of a reusable space system (MKS) consisting of a rocket booster stage, an orbital aircraft, an interorbital tug, a system control complex, a launch and landing and repair and recovery complexes and other ground-based facilities, providing for the insertion of payloads weighing up to 30 into northeastern orbits at an altitude of 200 kilometers and the return to launch and landing complex of payloads weighing up to 20 tons intended for:

  • comprehensive counteraction to the activities of a potential enemy to expand the use of outer space for military purposes;
  • solving target tasks in the interests of the USSR Ministry of Defense, the national economy and science;
  • conducting military-applied research and experiments in space - to ensure the creation of combat space systems using weapons based on known and new physical principles;
  • launching into near-earth orbits, servicing in these orbits and returning to Earth spacecraft for various purposes, delivering astronauts and cargo to orbital stations and returning them to Earth.

Set the date for the start of flight tests of the MKS as a whole - 1983.

Determine the creation of the MKS - a qualitatively new promising direction for the development and improvement of rocket, space and aviation technology - as work of special national importance;

b) on the creation of a global space command and relay system (GKKRS), ensuring increased operational efficiency of surveillance of military and industrial facilities and the actions of a potential enemy by relaying strategic intelligence and other special information from spacecraft in real time to ground stations, as well as intended for the operational control of existing space systems.

Set the start date for flight tests of the GKKRS as 1981.

c) in development of the work envisaged by the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 9, 1970 No. 105-41, on the creation in the period 1976-1984 of three improved long-term orbital stations of the DOS-7K type to carry out an expanded range of scientific and technical research on the use of outer space in the interests of the national economy, the USSR Academy of Sciences and the further development of work on international cooperation, as well as on the creation of ships of the 7K-S type to service these stations.

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  1. To oblige the Ministry of General Machine Building to ensure the development in 1976-1978 by the scientific and production association “Energia” together with other organizations in the existing cooperation of a preliminary design for a lunar rocket and space expeditionary complex and, based on the results of the review of this design, to submit the necessary proposals.

  2. To determine the customers: — a reusable space system, a global space command and relay system — the USSR Ministry of Defense; — a long-term orbital station of the DOS-7K type with a system of servicing ships of the 7K-S type — the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of General Machine Building.

  3. To determine: — the Ministry of General Machine Building as the lead agency for the creation of the MKS, the GKKRS, long-term orbital stations of the DOS-7K type with a system of servicing ships of the 7K-S type, as well as for carrying out work to find ways to create combat space systems with weapons based on known and new physical principles; — The Ministry of Aviation Industry is the lead agency for the creation of the MKS orbital aircraft airframe, its air transportation means to the launch and landing complex, as well as the landing complex with the necessary equipment.

  4. To oblige the USSR Ministry of Defense and the USSR Academy of Sciences to develop within two months and, in agreement with the Ministry of General Machine Building, the Ministry of Aviation Industry and other interested ministries and departments, approve in 1976 the tactical and technical requirements for the MKS and the GKKRS, provided for by this resolution.

  5. To instruct the Ministry of General Machine Building and the Ministry of Aviation Industry to prepare within three months, together with the interested ministries and departments, a list of the main contractors for the work on the creation of the MKS, GKKRS, DOS-7K, provided for by this resolution, and submit it to the Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues for approval.

  6. To oblige the Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering, the Ministry of Aviation Industry, the Ministry of Defense Industry, Ministry of Radio Industry, Ministry of Electronic Industry, Ministry of Electrical Industry, Ministry of Mechanical Engineering, Ministry of Medium Mechanical Engineering, Ministry of Instrument Making, Automation Equipment and Control Systems, Ministry of Chemical Industry, Ministry of Chemical and Oil Engineering, Ministry of Oil Refining and Petrochemical Industry of the USSR, Ministry of Defense of the USSR, Ministry of Heavy and Transport Engineering, Ministry of Power Engineering, Ministry of Automobile Industry, Ministry of Tractor and Agricultural Engineering, Ministry of Construction, Road and Municipal Engineering, Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry, Ministry of Mechanical Engineering for Light and Food Industry and Household Appliances, Ministry of Assembly and Specialized Construction Works of the USSR, Ministry of Health of the USSR, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the USSR, Ministry of Machine-Tool and Tool Industry, Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the USSR, Ministry of Communications of the USSR, State Standards Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education RSFSR:

a) ensure that, using the existing cooperation and on a priority basis, subordinate enterprises and organizations carry out work on the creation of rocket and space systems (complexes), as well as their components and accessory equipment, within the timeframes established by this resolution;

b) ensure that, using the existing cooperation, subordinate enterprises and organizations develop in 1976 preliminary designs for a reusable space system and a global space command and relay system in order to determine the optimal tactical, technical and economic characteristics of these systems, including the optimal reusability of the MKS and its components, the stages and timing of the creation of the said systems, based on the need to primarily solve the target tasks of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

The Ministry of General Machine Building and the Ministry of Aviation Industry, when developing the preliminary design for the MKS, shall ensure the elaboration of various options for the orbital stage, review the said preliminary design together with interested ministries and departments, and, based on the results of the review, submit proposals for further work on this system in the first quarter of 1977.

c) develop, coordinate and submit in the established manner in 1976 to the Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues plans and schedules for the creation of rocket and space systems, component units and equipment, as well as for the creation and reconstruction of existing technical and launch positions, a test base, launch and landing repair and restoration, command and measurement and search and rescue complexes.

The Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues shall consider and approve the said plans and schedules.

  1. To instruct the Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering and the Ministry of Aviation Industry, jointly with the Ministry of Defense Industry, the Ministry of Medium Mechanical Engineering, the Ministry of Radio Industry, the Ministry of Communications Industry, the Ministry of Oil Refining and Petrochemical Industry of the USSR, the Ministry of Instrument Making, Automation Equipment and Control Systems, the Ministry of Chemical Industry, the Ministry of Construction, Road and Municipal Engineering, the Ministry of Assembly and Specialized Construction Works of the USSR, the State Standards Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Ministry of Machine-Tool and Tool Industry, the Ministry of Heavy and Transport Engineering, the Ministry of Power Engineering, the Ministry of Electrical Industry, the Ministry of Chemical and Oil Engineering, the Ministry of Automobile Industry, the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, the Moscow City Executive Committee, the Moscow Regional Executive Committee, and the Leningrad Regional Executive Committee to develop and submit within three months draft resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, providing for:

a) the development of technical documentation and the manufacture of special non-standard technological equipment necessary for the creation and testing of launch vehicles, booster rocket stages and blocks, spacecraft, ships and orbital stations provided for by this resolution;

b) the creation of a production and testing and test facility, a launch and landing complex, technical and launch positions and other ground support facilities for rocket and space systems (complexes) provided for by this resolution, with the development, manufacture and delivery of the necessary technological o and special technical equipment;

c) development of technical documentation and implementation in 1976-1983 of reconstruction of existing and construction of new production and testing facilities of the Ministry of General Machine Building, the Ministry of Aviation Industry and some other ministries and departments participating in the implementation of the work specified by this resolution.

  1. Establish that funding for research and development work provided for by this resolution shall be carried out by ministries and departments on a priority basis at the expense of budgetary appropriations allocated to them for the implementation of the said work.

  2. To instruct the Ministry of General Machine Building, the Ministry of Aviation Industry, the USSR Ministry of Defense, the USSR State Planning Committee, together with the ministries and departments participating in the work on the creation of the MKS and the State Committee for Space Research and Development, to develop and submit within three months in the established manner measures to ensure the implementation of the said work,

  3. To accept the proposals of the Ministry of General Machine Building, the Ministry of Aviation Industry, the USSR Ministry of Defense, the USSR Academy of Sciences and the State Expert Commission for the N1-L3 complex to terminate work on the N1-L3 rocket and space complex, as set out in Resolution No. 1022-439 of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers of September 24, 1962 and No. 115-46 of February 4, 1967.

The ministries and departments involved in the work on the N1-L3 complex shall make maximum use of the scientific and technical groundwork, production capacities, test facilities, technical and launch sites for the creation of the MKS and the GKKRS.

Write off expenses on the N1-L3 topic in accordance with the established procedure.

  1. Grant the right to the Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues, upon the submission of the ministries for the defense industries and the USSR Ministry of Defense, to clarify the composition of the contractors for the work, the list of the means being developed, as well as the volume and deadlines for completing the intermediate stages of the work provided for by this resolution.

  2. Instruct the USSR State Planning Committee and the USSR Ministry of Finance to consider proposals from the Ministry of General Machine Building, the USSR Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Aviation Industry on additional allocations for the work provided for by this resolution after the design studies have been completed and, if necessary, submit the relevant proposals to the CPSU Central Committee in the 4th quarter of 1978.

Machine translation.

Crafted with love by Maks Skiendzielewski.