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Kvant 1 (37KE, 11F37)

Kvant 1

Kvant 1 with TKM-E (FGB tug attached)

Kvant 1 was a 37KE type station module for the Mir space station complex launched with a FGB-type Experimental Modular Transport Ship (TKM-E) space tug.

Kvant 1, a specialized space module, linked up with the space station Mir. With the advent of the Mir space station in 1986, a new requirement for permanent expansion of the orbital complex was set. In 1987 Kvant 1, a specialized module left over from the Salyut 7 program, was attached to Mir not only to provide a complex set of scientific equipment (the international Roentgen X-ray Observatory consisting of the HEXE, Pulsar X-1, Sirene-2, and TTM instruments; the Glasar UV telescope; and the Svetlana electrophoresis unit) but also to enhance space station support systems, in particular attitude control via six large gyrodynes. When attached to the aft docking port of Mir Kvant 1 measured 5.8 m in length and 4.2 m in diameter with an initial mass of 11 metric tons.

The 37KE-type modules were designed for delivery with the Buran orbiter, so no propulsion system was included. For delivery with the Proton-K rocket, a TKS-type space tug (TKM-E) was included, which handled the free-flight phase and the docking. The TKM-E was discarded after docking with the Mir station.

The international Roentgen X-ray Observatory payload consisted of four instruments. All four experiments pointed toward the same source at the same time:

  • HEXE (High Energy X-ray Experiment) - (Four detectors, 15-200 keV.energy range, 1.6 x1.6° field of view, max. time resolution 0.3-25 ms) Provided by West Germany.
  • Sirene 2 Gas Scintillation Proportional Spectrometer - (2-100 keV.energy range, 3 × 3° field of view, max. time resolution of 1.25-2.5 ms) Provided by ESA
  • TTM Coded Mask Imaging Spectrometer - a wide-angle camera that used a coded aperture mask to determine source location. (energy range 2-30 keV. 7.8 deg × 7.8° field of view, 2 arcminutes angular resolution, 1 sec time resolution) Provided by the Netherlands/UK.
  • Pulsar X-1 - 4 phoswich detectors (20-1300 keV.energy range, 3 × 3° field of view, max. time resolution of 10 s) Provided by the USSR.

Additional experiments included:

  • Glazar UV Spectrometer - covered wavelengths between 1150-1350 angstrom. The instrument could provide up to 1-2 angstrom resolution and had a 1.3 deg FOV.
  • Mariya magnetic spectrometer - measured high-energy electron and positron fluxes in near-Earth space.
  • Arfa-E - installed on the exterior of the module in January 1990 to investigate the Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere by injecting electron beams perpendicular to the geomagnetic field.
Nation: USSR
Type / Application: Space station
Operator: MOM → RKA
Contractors: Chelomei
Equipment: see above
Configuration: 37K type module with jettisonable TKS-E type propulsion module
Propulsion:
Power: 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries (tug); via Mir (module)
Lifetime:
Mass: 22797 kg (launch incl. TKS-E); 10600 kg (Kvant-1 docked without TKS-E)
Orbit: 221 km × 335 km, 51.6° (typical)
Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
Kvant 1 (37KE #1) 1987-030A 31.03.1987 Ba LC-200/39 Proton-K

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