Alpha program: problems of constructing a large on-orbit station

摘要

The present report deals with the problems of constructing large on-orbit stations. The report materials are based on the 25 year experience of RSC Energia in constructing and operation of the Salyut and Mir on-orbit stations. Moreover, for two years RSC Energia as the loading organization has been designing the International station Alpha cooperatively with NASA. Section 1 gives a brief review of on-orbit stations design problems. Section 2 is dedicated to problems typical for international stations involving several participants of the project. Section 3 gives a brief description of the Alpha station project.