The United States is considered the “land of opportunity,” yet some innovations that may appear American were actually invented elsewhere.
The fact that they first appeared in the United States is nothing more than a myth. Here are a few items that are absolutely not an American invention, although it often seems so.
Apple pie
Despite the fact that in America there is even a phrase “American as an apple pie”, in reality this most popular dessert in the States was invented outside the country. The first pie recipes appeared in Ancient Greece. Pies were most widespread in medieval Britain, where they were usually prepared with meat filling. Apple pie was introduced to North America by Danish and British settlers and has since spread throughout the states, becoming a beloved national dessert.
National anthem
Even such a thing as National anthem, may appear outside the country. When the hymn-writer wrote these lines, he had in mind the melody of a not-too-sublime song - he was thinking of the melody to which drunkards used to sing their songs in British pubs. Nevertheless, Americans still fell in love with their anthem and always use it on public holidays and at sports competitions. About not the most solemn story now, few people remember.
Airplane
Contrary to stereotype, the Wright brothers did not invent the airplane. The first was a New Zealand farmer, Richard Pierce, who was able to fly several tens of meters in his plane as early as March 1902, before the appearance of the Wright brothers' aircraft. However, it should be noted that their aircraft was more successful.
sausages
The popular American hot dog dish is impossible to imagine without sausage, but this meat product appeared in Europe. The first sausages already existed in Ancient Rome when the cook of the Roman emperor Nero used the casing of the intestines of a pig to fill. The most traditional sausages familiar to modern people appeared, according to different versions, either in German Frankfurt or in Austrian Vienna. One way or another, it was European immigrants who brought sausages to New York and made the dish so popular, and already in 1916 a hot dog appeared, which an immigrant from Poland began to sell. The first hot dog shop still operates today.
October 11, 1881 resident american state North Dakota David Houston patented photographic film. This event became significant in the history of photography. On this occasion, we decided to choose five of the most useful inventions made by Americans.
zipper
American Whitcomb Leo Judson invented the zipper. It happened in 1891. The new product was presented to the public in 1893. The first "zipper" proved to be unreliable in design and difficult to manufacture. Only after almost 30 years it was improved. This option has become popular. This type of fastener has been used on trousers since 1937.
Air conditioner
In 1902, American engineer-inventor Willis Carrier assembled a prototype air conditioner. This unit was an industrial refrigeration machine. It was created for the Brooklyn Printing House in New York. The first air conditioner was not designed to keep workers pleasantly cool, but to combat humidity, which severely degraded print quality.
Safety razor
In 1901, King Camp Gillette, together with William Nickerson, developed a razor that held a razor blade. Since then, there was no need to sharpen the shaving knife, but you could simply replace the old blades with new ones.
electric traffic light
The inventor of the first electric traffic light is Lester Wire from Salt Lake City (Utah, USA). In 1912, he developed (but did not patent) a traffic light with two round electrical signals (red and green).
Inventors made the US a superpower
The United States has become a superpower primarily due to the success of its economy. According to historian Joseph Adler\Joseph Adler, in many ways the success of the United States was due to American inventors and innovators. A number of inventions made back in the 19th century provided the United States with many years of leadership in the technological and military fields. Some of these discoveries were made in other countries, but there they turned out to be unclaimed.
For example, in 1807, the American Robert Fulton made the first voyage on a steamer in the United States. However, his first steamship was built and tested in France in 1803, but Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte refused the inventor further funding (Fulton had previously built a submarine for Napoleon, which was also successfully tested, but the emperor considered it an expensive trinket). As early as 1819, the first American steamship crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and from the 1830s, steam-powered ships finally buried the hegemony of the sailing fleet.
Vladimir Zworykin, an emigrant from Russia, created the first television set in the United States in 1933. Together with another native of Russia - David Sarnov, president of RCA (Radio Corporation of America), he created the first television station, and RCA factories began production of the first televisions. Zworykin later invented a night vision device, and RCA Stadl is still one of the world's largest manufacturers of television equipment. Another emigrant from Russia, Igor Sikorsky, an aircraft designer (on one of his planes the first transatlantic flight was made), built the first helicopter (helicopter) in the United States in 1939. In 2001, the armed forces of the world used about 18 thousand helicopters, the total helicopter fleet reaches 30 thousand machines. Approximately 40% of the global helicopter market is controlled by American manufacturers, and Sikorsky Aviation Corporation remains one of the world leaders.
The most famous American patents
1836. Patent number 1. Engineer John Ruggles patented locomotive wheels. Since that time, their form has changed little. The first steam locomotive in the United States was built by John Stevens in 1825, and the first railroad appeared in 1830. Ruggles' wheels allowed trains to stay on the rails more steadily and reach significantly faster speeds. The development of rail transport was a necessary condition for the industrial revolution in all countries of the world. Network density railways is still considered one of the main indicators of the economic potential of the state.
1840. Samuel Morse (it is curious that he, like Fulton, were artists by profession) patents the telegraph and the concept of "Morse code" enters the world. In 1844, the first telegram was transmitted from Washington to the neighboring city of Baltimore. The telegram was sent personally by Morse. In 1858, the first transatlantic cable was laid (this was done by the American entrepreneur Cyrus Field). Morse is rightfully considered one of the founders of the telecommunications industry, which is now one of the fastest growing and knowledge-intensive sectors of the world economy.
1844. Charles Goodyear patents his invention of artificial rubber technology. For the first time in the world there is a universal artificial material - rubber. This invention gave impetus to numerous innovations in industrial production. In particular, Goodyear proposed the use of rubber for food packaging - a plastic made from rubber is now used for this purpose. Goodyear died in dire poverty. The well-known company Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, one of the largest manufacturers of automobile tires, is named after him, uses many of the inventor's patents, but has nothing to do with him or his family.
1856. Henry Bessemer patents "Bessemer steel" - high-strength steel. Steel is becoming a universal material for the construction of engineering structures. Thanks to Bessemer, new technologies in the field of high-rise construction provided the US leadership in this field for a long time - in fact, Bessemer made the US "the country of skyscrapers".
1869. Henry Westinghouse patents an air brake for railroad cars, dramatically improving rail safety. The Westinghouse Electric Company he founded is now one of the world leaders in the electrical industry. Approximately 50% of nuclear power plants in the world use the technologies and products of this company.
1876. Alexander Bell patents the telephone. It is curious that he applied for a patent on February 14, and literally an hour later, another American inventor, Isaiah Gray, who disputed Bell's primacy for a long time, filed an application for a similar invention. In addition, it is popularly believed that Bell borrowed a number of ideas from the Italian scientist Antonio Meucci, who worked in Cuba and filed a patent application for the telephone he invented as early as 1871. Meucci sent information about his invention to the American company Western Union, with which Bell collaborated. The company informed Meucci that it had lost the documents he had sent. In 1887, a New York court recognized Meucci's primacy, but thanks to a timely and correctly executed patent, all rights to the invention remained with Bell. In 1915, Bell makes the first transcontinental telephone call, from New York to San Francisco. The Bell company (created by the inventor in 1879) is still one of the leaders in the field of telecommunications, and the total time of all international telephone conversations in 2002 in the world amounted to 10 billion minutes.
1878. Thomas Edison patents the electric light bulb. Earlier, the Russian inventor Alexander Lodygin achieved success in this, who already in 1873 demonstrated electric lighting in St. Petersburg and Odessa. However, Edison decided main problem- he found the material needed for the filament of a light bulb. The Edison light bulb is practically no different from modern ones. The General Electric Company, founded by Edison, is still successfully operating today and is one of the largest firms in the world. She still produces electric light bulbs.
1888. George Eastman patents a camera that wound film on a reel. Eastman improved the film - it became light and flexible. This invention is still used in all modern film cameras and film cameras. Eastman's first camera was called the Kodak. Created by the inventor, the Eastman Kodak Company is one of the 25 largest companies in the United States.
1904. King Gillette patents a safety razor with replaceable blades. A new ideology is coming into the world - disposability. The revolutionary idea of Gillette was that things should be cheap and by no means have to serve for a long time. In 1926, Gillette founded his company Gillett. In 2001, Gillett's March3 razor brand alone reached $1 billion in sales.
1906. The pioneers of aeronautics brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright patent the aircraft (their first successful flight was made in 1903 and lasted 12 seconds). Today, the US aviation industry is the most powerful industry in the world. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies\International Institute for Strategic Studies, about 34 thousand aircraft are used in the armies of the world (the United States uses more than 9 thousand, Russia - more than 6 thousand). According to the US Aerospace Industries Association, in 2001 alone, sales of US aerospace companies amounted to $151 billion. In the first quarter of 2002, the US exported 447 fighters and bombers, 58 passenger aircraft, 4 transport aircraft, excluding spare parts. The research organization Forecast International predicts that the global aviation industry is expecting a boom in orders for passenger airliners. In 2002-2011, almost 7,000 of these aircraft will be produced for $550 billion. Production will decrease in 2002 and 2003, but will rise sharply in 2004. The largest aircraft manufacturer in the world will be the American company Boeing, which will account for more than 57% of the world market.
1914. Robert Goddard patents the rocket. He made the first successful launch of a rocket with an oxygen-hydrocarbon engine in 1926. The rocket rose to a height of 12.5 meters. During his lifetime, Goddard received 83 patents for inventions in the field of rocket science, another 131 patents were received after his death. The first Soviet rocket was launched in 1933. Its creator was Sergei Korolev, the future "father" of the Soviet space program. It is curious that in post-war years The USA and the USSR used the inventions of the German engineer Wernher von Braun to develop their missile programs, who created the first cruise missile (V-1) and the first ballistic missile (V-2), which were actively used by Nazi Germany to bomb England and Belgium. After the war, Brown worked in the United States, and part of the German V arsenal was transferred to the USSR, where it was carefully studied. It is curious that military rockets in both the USA and the USSR were used for space programs. To do this, von Braun developed the first Redstown space rocket, and Korolev modified the Soviet R-7 ballistic missile - as a result, Soviet and American satellites and spacecraft appeared in orbit.
From 1957 to 2000, 4,982 launches were carried out in the world spacecraft. According to the US National Aerospace Administration \ NASA, the largest number of launches falls on Russia (Russia appears here as the assignee of the USSR space program) - 3,142. The USA is in second place - 1,399. Next on the list: Japan (67), European Space Agency (88), China (62), France (39), India (21), UK (18), Germany (16), Canada (13).
Missiles have become the basis of the strategic and tactical arsenals of many armies in the world. As of 2001, the US possessed approximately 900 ballistic missiles and approximately 3,300 tactical missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Russia's arsenal was approximately 1,100 ballistic missiles and about 4,000 tactical missiles. Great Britain - 48 ballistic, France - 64 ballistic and about 80 tactical, China - 20 ballistic and about 400 tactical. Israel (about 200), India (according to experts, about 60), Pakistan - about 30, North Korea (2 - 5) also have tactical missiles with nuclear warheads. In addition, according to various estimates, the world has accumulated from 6,000 to 8,000 tactical missiles. In 2001, US missile sales reached $10.8 billion.
1917. Clarence Sanders patents the supermarket. The beginning of a retail revolution.
1930. Clarence Birdsey patents frozen food. Thanks to the widespread use of refrigerators, a new industry is emerging Food Industry specializing in the manufacture of semi-finished products.
1935. Charles Darrow patents Monopoly, the most popular board game in the world today. Many modern computer games use the ideology laid down in Monopoly.
1937. Wallace Carothers patents nylon. Synthetic clothing appears in the world. This invention had a tremendous impact on the development of the chemical and light industry.
1950. Physicists John Bardeen and William Bratten patent the transistor. The beginning of another revolution: transistors allowed the creation of the UNIVAC computer (1951), which marked the beginning of the modern era of computerization. Already in 1957, the first programming language Fortran was created. In 1971, Intel made new step- created a microprocessor (2250 microtransistors were placed on a crystal the size of a human fingernail). In 1977 Apple company began mass production of the first personal computers (PCs). In 1981, Satya Asij, an Indian mathematician working in the United States, patented the first computer program. The discovery of Bardeen and Bratton (the famous physicist William Shockley also worked with them) provided the United States with leadership in the global computer market. Intel microprocessors are installed on approximately 80% of all computers in the world. The top ten world's largest PC manufacturers include American companies Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Gateway, Apple, IBM. American software companies - Microsoft, Simantec, Adobe - control most of the global software market.
1955. worldwide famous physicists Enrico Fermi and Otto Szilard patent nuclear reactor. The first nuclear reactor was launched by them in 1942, its power was 0.5 W. The first nuclear power plant appeared in 1954. In 2001, there were 438 nuclear reactors operating in the world (104 of them in the USA). Nuclear energy provides the production of 19.8% of electricity consumed in the US, Russia - 14.9%, Ukraine - 47.3%, Armenia - 30%, Lithuania - 73.7%. In 1955, the United States built the first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus, and in 1957, the USSR built the first nuclear-powered mine ship, the Lenin icebreaker.
Peaceful nuclear power for a long time was only a kind of "appendage" to military programs. According to the US Center for Defense Information \\ Center for Defense Information, in February 2002, the countries of the world possessed the following nuclear arsenals: China - 400 nuclear charges (strategic - 250, tactical - 120), France - 350 (all strategic), India - 60 ( all strategic), Israel - 100-200 (all strategic), Pakistan - 24-48 (all strategic), Russia - about 10 thousand (about 6 thousand - strategic, approximately 4 thousand - tactical), Great Britain - 185 ( 180 - strategic, 5 - tactical), USA - 10.656 thousand (8.646 thousand strategic, 2.010 thousand - tactical).
1957 Robert Bauman patents an artificial Earth satellite (launched into orbit in 1958). At the same time, the first satellite was launched in the USSR in 1957. However, if in the USSR and Russia this industry was and remains unprofitable, in the USA the use of outer space has become profitable. In 2001, US space technology sales totaled $31 billion. In the first quarter of 2002 alone, the US exported three satellites.
According to the Goddard Space Flight Center (information as of 1997), over the years, a total of about 2.5 thousand satellites were launched into orbit (USA owned 714, USSR / Russia - 1361). However, the state of the Russian space constellation in currently very deplorable. For example, according to the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research\Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, out of 21 satellites that previously tracked US strategic nuclear forces, only three remain in orbit.
The Congressional Research Service has calculated that over 40 years (from 1961 to October 2001) 422 people have been in space. Of which: 267 Americans, 97 nationals former USSR, 11 Germans, 9 Canadians, 8 French, 5 Japanese, 3 Italians, two each from Bulgaria and Spain and one each from 17 states.
August 8, 2018 Kostya Bozhko, Yulia Sokolovskaya 14242Why running has become so popular (it turns out that Americans invented everything to save money!)
Running culture originated in the United States and then spread throughout the world. We tell you what made 25 million Americans get hooked on jogging together.
But there was another important factor, which is rarely mentioned - the state was behind the "promotion" of the mass run.
In 1972, Frank Shorter won the marathon at the Olympic Games. The previous American victory was already in 1908. Photo: nyrr.org
In the early 1970s, things were not going well in the United States: there was not enough money in the budget, and they depreciated due to inflation.
One of the main "eaters" of the budget was health care, the costs of which have grown 19 times over the past 30 years (from 12 to 229 billion dollars). It got to the point that health began to cost the state almost one and a half times more than defense (according to US News and World Report of March 5, 1979).
But billions of dollars did not help: people continued to get sick and die - mainly from diseases of the cardiovascular system, cancer and diabetes. This is not only sad, but also unprofitable: labor productivity was declining, followed by the profits of private and state enterprises.
From the end of the 50s physical culture and sports in the United States were in charge of a special Presidential Council, which, as often happens, worked very badly. In 1977, Jimmy Carter became president and pretty quickly disbanded the Council - by democratic re-election, of course.
The new Council includes well-known medical luminaries and consultants in physical education and sports. Carter set the task for them in a businesslike way: to improve the situation with the physical training of the population, but strictly within the framework of the available federal resources. Or to put it more simply: there is no money for your sores, everyone should run.
They sat down and calculated and it became clear that treating diseases is too expensive, but prevention is a much more profitable way. Especially if the population is healed cheaply and cheerfully: with all kinds of physical education, running, cycling, etc.
They called it all "natural methods of healing" and adopted the corresponding state program. The motto of the movement was the words of US Chief Surgeon J. Richmond:
“What we are looking for is best health at the lowest cost."
The most effective in this matter was (surprise!) Running: the maximum positive impact on health at a minimum cost (at this point, those who laid out $ 358 for participating in, cried).
Cover of the cult bestseller by James Fix, published in 1977 Thematic "days" and "weeks" were held in different states. For example, in Connecticut they held a "Week physical training and the Mayor of New York declared September 13th "America's Walking Tour Day".
Launched a nationwide program, "Running for Life", which opened the country's first 12-week course for beginner runners.
Runner's World magazine, founded in 1966, began publishing monthly in 1973 They began to build stadiums in schools, in parks - Treadmills, and even at churches they managed to "create conditions for athletics." They filmed TV programs about the benefits of physical education, printed brochures, held conversations with doctors and other specialists - even the most staunch fans of the sofa could not resist such an informational pressure.
It got to the point where best-selling books about running outpaced books about sex in circulation.
Carter himself had to work hard too. Smart people it was suggested that if, in his busy schedule, the President found time for jogging and tennis, this fact would definitely have an impact on the lives of other Americans.
Jimmy Carter jogging near the White House, 1979 Photo: digitalcommons.chapman.edu In general, it got to the point that best-selling books about running were ahead of books about sex in circulation. Everyone came to the races - children, parents, housewives, Olympic champions, pensioners and even the organizers of the starts themselves.
US News and World Report wrote: “Never in American history has athletics been so popular among high school students. Over 4 million students high school involved in athletics during extracurricular time.
Start of the New York Marathon in 1975. This Last year when the marathon route passed only through Central Park: the participants simply no longer fit there. Photo: New York Daily News According to Surgeon General J. Richmond, in the 70s, mortality from cardiovascular diseases, the main "killer" in the country, decreased by 22%, and sudden death from heart attacks - by 30%.
And here is how the possible savings due to the improvement of the population look in figures, data for 1975 (source - Journal of Preventive Medicine, second edition of 1977):
High blood pressure. The number of patients in the USA is 20 million people. The general annual losses - 16 billion dollars. The expected annual savings from prevention is $8 billion. The cost of prevention is from 2 to 4 billion dollars.
colon cancer(second place among cancers in the US, annual mortality - 100 thousand people). As a result of switching to an appropriate diet, the life of 17 thousand people can be extended, the annual savings from direct losses would amount to $280 million, from indirect losses - $950 million.
Smoking. Financial losses - 20 billion dollars a year. Potential annual savings of $5 billion with $2.75 billion in prevention spending.
Alcoholism. 9% of the US population are alcoholics. According to statistics, in almost 5 million families, someone in the family was a drinker. Of all the diseases, alcoholism cost the United States the most, with a total annual loss of $33 billion. Annual benefits from alcoholism prevention were estimated at $20 billion, of which $6 billion was for prevention and $14 billion should be net income.
Conclusion?
Runner, remember that when you go out for a run, you are not only doing it for your own benefit, but also contributing to the prosperity of the economy.
Take an example from them! Seriously though, this story... good example how a well-thought-out and implemented state policy on health prevention helped to reduce the budget for health care.
100 great secrets of astronautics Slavin Stanislav Nikolaevich
What did the Americans think?
What did the Americans think?
Perhaps the space has shown its difficult nature most clearly in the case of the American space station "Skylab" ("Heavenly Laboratory").
American space station"Skylab"
Two years after the creation of the first Salyut space laboratory in the Soviet Union, the Americans launched their station into orbit. It was a suitably redesigned third stage of the huge Saturn launch vehicle that US astronauts used to land on the lunar surface. Well, after " lunar program”was completed, the same rocket found another use.
Despite the fact that the American station had a slightly shorter length than ours (14.6 m), thanks to the larger diameter (6.6 m versus 4.15 m), the astronauts were able to accommodate with greater comfort - each was entitled to his own personal sleeping cabin.
In each such booth there were 6 lockers for personal belongings and a sleeping bag. True, because of the tightness, this bag simply hung on the wall, so that the astronaut had to sleep as if "standing", but in zero gravity this did not matter much.
The room for personal hygiene had an area of 2.8 square meters. m, which is quite comparable in size to the toilets and bathrooms in our apartments. It was equipped with a washbasin and waste bins. It is interesting that the washbasin was a closed sphere, having two holes for the hands, equipped with rubber dampers, so that the water could not get out from the inside and was sucked out by a special pump.
All this was mounted at one of the walls of the room. At the other wall are individual cabinets for toiletries. The astronauts washed themselves with sponges and shaved with safety razors.
The wardroom, where the astronauts spent their leisure time, cooked and ate, had an area of 9.3 square meters. m (usually the kitchen in many of our apartments has only 6 sq. m). There was a stove with burners for heating food, a small table, cabinets and refrigerators.
The table was equipped with three individual taps for drinking water on three sides. In addition, there are also taps for cold and hot water used in cooking.
There were also four armchairs - three by the table, one by the window through which one could observe and, if desired, photograph the Earth, as well as a library and a tape recorder with a supply of cassettes.
The compartment for training and experiments (area 16.7 sq. m) was equipped with a number of instruments and devices, in particular, systems for creating negative pressure in the lower half of the cosmonaut's body - the Americans borrowed them from us; for the first time, such costumes were tested on the Salyut. Nearby was a bicycle ergometer, on the axis of which there were small electric generators - so that, while pedaling, the astronaut during training at the same time generated electricity. And on the control panel with a recording device and indicators of blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature and metabolic rate, all the parameters of the trainee's body were shown.
The laboratory compartment was about twice as large as the domestic one and was used mainly for experiments related to the movements of astronauts. Its inner diameter was 6.4 m, and the height from the floor to the passage hatch to the lock chamber was 6 m.
For the convenience of moving people inside the station, handrails and brackets were provided, and in addition, astronauts could fasten safety belts at their workplaces.
So that the crew, if necessary, could move from spaceship to the station block or, on the contrary, exit to outer space, there was a lock chamber. It also housed equipment for storing and supplying gases that made up the artificial atmosphere of the station, and for monitoring the parameters of its atmosphere. Devices were also installed here that provide thermal control in the compartments of the station and power supply to it before the deployment of solar panels and during the flight in the shadow of the Earth.
The mooring structure served for docking the station with the Apollo space transport vehicle. It had two docking nodes. One - the main one - was located in the end part of the structure, the second - the reserve one - was located on the side wall.
The station also had a set of astronomical instruments and other equipment for research purposes.
The Americans seem to have foreseen everything to the smallest detail. On Earth, before the launch, multi-ton reserves of not only oxygen, nitrogen, water and food were loaded into the storage stations, but also a lot of clothes, shoes, linen and household items. Among them were 60 shirts, jackets and pants, 210 sets of underwear, 15 pairs of shoes and gloves, 30 overalls, 95 kg of towels and rags for wiping, 25 kg of paper napkins, 55 bars of soap, 1800 sewage bags, a set of repair tools. , 13 cameras, 104 film cassettes, a first aid kit weighing 34 kg, 108 pens and pencils, etc.
However, despite the fact that the total mass of all this goodness reached 5 tons, the reserves were still not enough, and then they had to be renewed when changing crews.
According to the program, the launch of the station was scheduled for May 14, 1973. Three expeditions were supposed to visit it, and the first one, consisting of Charles Conrad, Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin, was supposed to start a day after the station went into orbit.
However, before the start, everything went awry. First, the cosmodrome electricians went on strike. Then the maintenance farm was struck by lightning. Then, when the launch vehicle was refueling, the liquid oxygen supply pump failed, and it had to be urgently replaced ...
So when the Saturn-5 rocket nevertheless took off, to the great delight of half a million spectators gathered around the cosmodrome, he breathed a sigh of relief and service staff. But, as it turned out, they rejoiced too early.
When the booster did its job and Scalab was in orbit, it turned out that the pyrotechnic locks had not worked and the solar panels had not opened. According to telemetric measurements, they produced only 25 watts of energy instead of the prescribed 12,400 watts. It was a serious malfunction, and the engineers on Earth were alarmed.
The mood in the Control Center finally deteriorated when an analysis of the situation showed that the malfunction was serious, and even if astronauts were sent, they were unlikely to be able to eliminate the accident - they simply could not get to the batteries, since there were no steps and handrails in this area on the outside of the station.
Trouble rarely comes alone; at the same time it turned out that the anti-meteorite screen was also torn off during launch. The loss, perhaps, would not have been very terrible - as practice shows, there are not so many micrometeorites in near-Earth space - if this screen did not also serve as a kind of solar umbrella that protected the station from overheating. As a result, during the day the temperature inside the station rose to 38°C and continued to rise. A day later, already existing hell reigned inside the station - 55 ° C!
Of course, one could spit on everything and prepare a spare station for launch. However, every US citizen was aware that the station cost $294 million, plus $160 million for the booster and launch services. And zealous Americans are not accustomed to throwing so much money down the drain.
They began to think about how to save the station. And then a saving thought came to someone’s head: “What if the astronauts take a white heat-reflecting blanket with them and cover the station with it? ..”
Calculations have shown that in this case the temperature inside the station can drop to a quite acceptable value.
The start of the first expedition was postponed until May 25. And while the experts were thinking about what size the bedspread should be, what to sew it from, the astronauts began to train, trying to figure out how best to complete the unexpected task while still on Earth.
A few days later, the "umbrella", which was a folding panel measuring approximately 3.5? 4 m of two layers of nylon and mylar fabric was ready. It was sewn by two seamstresses, who, together with their machines, were delivered by a special plane to the spaceport from Houston. They worked 12-14 hours a day and did everything to the conscience. At the same time, the design of the rods was also developed, which facilitated the opening of a multi-meter "umbrella".
All this was immediately taken away by the astronauts. They put on spacesuits and climbed into a pool of water, at the bottom of which was a model station and it was possible to conduct the last training in conditions close to reality.
And while they were training, the seamstresses sewed two more spare panels - just in case, as they say.
Meanwhile, disturbing news continued to arrive from the station. The heat was doing its job: the heated insulation began to release harmful gases into the atmosphere of the station. In addition, in refrigerators that did not work well due to heat and lack of electricity, food began to deteriorate ...
The astronauts hurried to the spaceport, where their rocket was already waiting. But the launch had to be postponed again - again, for the second time (!), lightning struck the maintenance farms, and all the systems had to be rechecked again and again - did a huge electric discharge break their serviceability? ..
The brave and resolute are sometimes lucky - lightning did not do any special disgrace this time either. The launch went without any complications, and soon the Apollo with the crew on board moored to the station.
An external examination confirmed the initial assumptions: one of the solar panels was torn off, and the other did not open because a piece of an anti-meteorite screen got into the mechanism.
The crew put on space suits, the commander opened the hatch in the command compartment of the ship, and Paul Weitz, leaning out, tried to pull a piece of the screen out of the panel opening mechanism with a special hook on a long handle. But all his efforts were in vain - the damned piece sat down firmly.
On Earth, they decided that the attempt could be repeated sometime later, but for now the crew should have a good rest, because the astronauts had not slept for more than 20 hours.
The crew closed the hatch, filled the cabin with an oxygen-nitrogen mixture, and took off their spacesuits. It remained harder to dock with the station and you can sleep peacefully.
It wasn't there! Neither the first nor the second attempt was successful - docking locks stubbornly did not want to work. Why? To find out, it was necessary to put on the suits again, get out and repair the locks. The exhausted people put on protective armor again, but then a saving thought came to the experts on Earth. It is not necessary to climb outside, you must first check whether power is supplied to the lock drive.
The bug was found and fixed. The castles were closed. The crew took off their spacesuits and finally got the opportunity to rest after 27 hours of wakefulness and hard work.
While the crew was sleeping, specialists on Earth analyzed the situation again and again, looking for the best ways to save the station. The results of the reflections were not very comforting. Most experts agreed that the astronauts are unlikely to be able to knock out the fragment and open the solar panel with the available tools - this operation will have to be left to the second shift of astronauts, if there is one.
It was possible to resolve doubts - to prepare or not to prepare for flights the next two shifts - after the astronauts inspect the station from the inside, and then go outside and try to throw a saving umbrella cover over it.
On May 26, the sleeping crew again set to work. First of all, the astronauts went to explore the station. This was a rather dangerous undertaking, since, as already mentioned, due to the high temperature, toxic gases could accumulate inside. After conferring, the astronauts nevertheless decided not to wear spacesuits - you can’t turn around inside the station in them - but to limit yourself to only respirators and protective gloves.
Weitz was the first to go on reconnaissance, "armed" with a gas analyzer. He did not find any poisons in the atmosphere of the station, he found only a rag floating in weightlessness and some nuts - evidence of the hasty work of earthly installers. The temperature inside the station reached 45 °C. “It's like in the desert - it's hot to live, but you can,” he commented on the results of the inspection.
On Earth, they breathed a sigh of relief - there was hope that the station could be saved.
Returning after the excursion to their ship, the crew had breakfast. The astronauts then unpacked the heat shield and set about installing it. The team split up. Konrad and Weitz again dived into the inferno of the station, and Kerwin remained on the ship to follow the progress of the operation through the porthole and give advice.
To install and open the "umbrella", the astronauts used a special gateway designed to extend scientific instruments into outer space, and a mechanical manipulator arm.
I had to tinker with the deployment of the cloth quite a bit. At about 4 a.m., the astronauts, drenched in sweat, methodically straightened the cloth, from time to time hiding from the heat in a cooler lock chamber. Nevertheless, it was not possible to completely straighten the umbrella - three large folds remained. But the operators on Earth were happy and done; they hoped that, having warmed up in the sun, the cloth would straighten itself out (and then, by the way, it happened).
The main thing was done: the station, covered from the scorching rays, ceased to resemble a sauna. The temperature inside the cabin began to decrease at a rate of one degree per hour, and soon the thermometer stopped at 37 ° C. Subsequently, when the station was able to deploy so that the Sun attacked it no longer in the forehead, the temperature dropped by another 7 °. It was already possible to live in Skylab.
After moving to the station, the crew tried to conduct at least some of the planned scientific experiments. Some things worked out, some things didn't. So, due to the heat, Weitz was unable to develop the planned power on the bicycle ergonometer, the film in the movie camera jammed, the pendulum scales failed ... Nevertheless, the astronauts were able to prepare experiments on exploration of minerals on Earth from space, conducted several sessions of photographing both the earth's surface, and space, spotted a solar flare ...
The temperature on board the station, meanwhile, dropped to 25 ° C, and the life of the astronauts became almost normal. They even took up acrobatics - they began to run along the cylindrical surface of the station, making full turns. At first, the runner kept falling off the wall, “floating up” to the center of the station, but in the end everyone got used to it and even showed this “attraction” on television, to the great pleasure of journalists and viewers.
Ground services tried to extract practical benefits from this unplanned experiment. They measured the amount of vibrations and shaking of the station from intense movements inside it and came to the conclusion that they are insignificant and quite acceptable.
Then, for the first time in the history of astronautics, Konrad cut Weitz's hair, carefully collecting all the hair with a vacuum cleaner. And then all the astronauts took turns bathing in the space shower.
As we have already said, water in zero gravity is collected in large bubbles. Therefore, so that it does not scatter throughout the station, the shower stall is surrounded by a plastic film so that it looks like a barrel. The astronaut climbed inside through the top hatch, closed it behind him, and only then turned on the water, which was then sucked out by a special pump. Well, the last drops had to be collected with the same vacuum cleaner, which went on strike from unusual work.
The astronauts pointed this out to the terrestrial designers, and they promised to prepare a new modification of the dust and water pump for the next flight to the station.
At the same time, all together - both ground experts and astronauts - were looking for ways to repair at least one solar panel so that they would not have to save electricity so hard. Finally, it was decided that on July 7 the astronauts would go into outer space, armed with a pole and ... surgical scissors. At first, it was supposed to take a saw with them, but then they refused it - God forbid an astronaut cuts a glove or a spacesuit with it. And a leak in space can be even more troublesome than a hole in a diving suit.
The day before leaving the Earth, the final recommendations for repairs were handed over to the station. One of the astronauts, using a pre-installed homemade handrail, must get to the solar panel, tie a cable to it, "sail" to a safe distance and pull the end of the cable.
Konrad listened to the instructions and quipped gloomily: “I will pull, and the panel will slap me like a fly ...” But he was reassured, saying that the spring there is not very strong and the corresponding experiments on Earth have already been carried out.
And so on July 7, 1973, Conrad and Kerwin put on spacesuits and climbed out. An 8-meter pole was quickly assembled from tubes. Scissors were tied to its end, and, getting closer to the accident site, Kerwin tried to chop up a piece of metal with them, which had jammed the opening mechanism. Konrad helped him, holding his comrade so that he would not “float up”.
How difficult such seemingly simple work in space turned out to be can be judged at least by this fact: the heart rate of trained people soon jumped to 150 beats per minute. Astronauts were greatly hindered from working by spacesuits swollen in a vacuum, like soccer balls - after all, air pressure was maintained inside them, and you can’t reset it - after all, people must breathe something ...
In the end, they got tired of such a useless task, and Konrad climbed, turning over the pole with his hands, to the place of the accident. When he got there, he saw that the panel was jammed with a small strip of aluminum with a bolt. The astronaut put the scissors in the right place, pressed one of the rings. Puffing Kerwin pulled the rope tied to another ring - and in the end the strip was cut.
Hooray! Victory?! But it turned out that the joy is premature - the panel moved a little, but did not fully open. The astronauts tied the end of the rope to it and harnessed themselves to the strap, like barge haulers on the Volga. The panel moved further, but did not fully open ...
Discouraged, the repairmen returned to the station and reported everything to Earth in detail. There was a painful silence for several minutes as the experts on Earth figured out what the problem was. Finally, the operator from the Control Center reported that the reason for the failure might be that the hydraulic actuator for opening the panel, which was in the shade, froze. It is necessary to turn the station so that the Sun shines on it, and then, probably, the panel will open.
And so they did. And - oh, a miracle! - after a few hours the panel started working.
Having received an additional supply of electricity, the astronauts breathed a sigh of relief and were already able to really do scientific work.
Interestingly, among other things, they also performed experiments invented by American schoolchildren. So, for example, one boy suggested photographing volcanoes from space on infrared film, which captures thermal radiation. And then, according to the temperature difference between the volcano and the surrounding area, in his opinion, one can judge how soon the eruption will occur. Another was interested in whether a radish would grow in zero gravity and how its roots would be located ...
When the crew completed their mission and landed on June 22, experts calculated that the astronauts had completed scientific program by 80-90%, despite the fact that a lot of time and effort was taken from them by the repair work.
The next two crews also got it - people suffered from both heat and space motion sickness (yes, this happens not only on sea ships, but also on space ones), and from diseases ... The program of experiments was very rich - sometimes I had to work 12 hours a day. But the astronauts did not lose heart, they found time not only for serious matters, but also for jokes.
So, once in the Mission Control Center they suddenly heard a pleasant female voice coming from the station. Where is the woman from? And everyone laughed to tears when they figured out that one of the astronauts smuggled a tape recording of his wife’s voice to the station ...
In general, everyone turned out to be great and deserves that, in addition to the already named astronauts, we also mention the names of the commander of the second crew, Alan Bean, the pilot who previously flew the Apollo 12 to the Moon, as well as his colleagues, Owen Garriott, PhD, ionospheric physicist, and aeronautical engineer Jack Lusma.
In the third crew, the commander was J. Carr, and his colleagues were W. Pogue and E. Gibson. All the newcomers who flew into space for the first time, they nevertheless set a national record for the duration of their stay in space - 84 days.
The Skylab station itself also performed well. Having flown off her own, she fell into the Indian Ocean in 1978, without harming anyone living on Earth.
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