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''USSR-1'' ((ロシア語:СССР-1)) was a record-setting, hydrogen-filled Soviet Air Forces high-altitude balloon designed to seat a crew of three and perform scientific studies of the Earth's stratosphere. September 30, 1933, ''USSR-1'' under Georgy Prokofiev's command set an unofficial〔Soviet Union did not participate in FAI, thus Soviet records were not recognized by FAI.〕 world altitude record of 19,000 meters (60,698 feet).〔Shayler, 2000, p. 20〕 After the crash of ''Osoaviakhim-1'' in January 1934 ''USSR-1'' was retrofitted with a gondola parachute and a new gas envelope. June 26, 1935 it flew again as ''USSR-1 Bis''. The balloon reached 16,000 meters where an accidental release of hydrogen, probably caused by a faulty valve, forced it into an unexpected descent. After expending all available ballast, two crewmembers bailed out on personal parachutes at low altitudes; flight commander stayed on board and managed to perform a soft landing on a crippled aircraft. == Design == Auguste Piccard's high-altitude flights of 1930–1932 aroused interest of Soviet Air Forces and Osoaviakhim, the Soviet paramilitary training organization, as well as individual pilots, designers and flight enthusiasts. Civilian projects by Osoaviakhim and the national Meteorology Committee were delayed by lack of finance, and in the first half 1933 the military stratospheric program had a solid lead in time. Air Forces project was led by commander of the First Airship Division Georgy Prokofiev, the future captain of ''USSR-1''. Prokofiev coordinated a close Moscow-based group of designers, notably TsAGI professor Vladimir Chizhevsky (gondola) and rubber technologist Konstantin Godunov (gas envelope) who were supported by the staff of Air Forces Institute, Zhukovsky Airforce Academy and Rubber Industry Institute. Consolidation of practically all available expertise and military project management eventually resulted in a sound and safe design. It was, as a joke, called a ''Prokofier'' (a pun on Prokofiev's surname and Montgolfier).〔 Gas envelope of ''USSR-1'' was of conventional design, differing from low-altitude balloons only in its size (24,500 cubic meters at stratospheric altitudes). It employed around 5 thousand meters of thin fabric made in Noginsk that what impregnated with 25 layers of latex-based sealant〔 and sewn into desired shape at a rubber factory in Khamovniki.〔Druzhinin〕 Spherical gondola was made by riveting 3 millimeter thick duralumin sheets with internal reinforcement bars; the latter passed through the skin through airtight flanges and were connected to two external structural rings, the upper for attaching suspension cables and the lower for attaching bumper basket and ballast weights. This setup unlinked the gondola from the dynamic forces exerted by suspension cables; gondola skin was subjected only to static air pressure. Landing basket, like the crumple zones of modern automobiles, was designed and tested to collapse at impact speeds exceeding 5 meters per second. There were two cast aluminum escape hatches, each with a submarine-style fast-opening lock. Lead ballast was stowed outside the landing basket in forty small bags; by pulling a cable through an airtight driveshaft, operators tumbled the bag upside down, dropping the small lead pellets. In case of emergency, a whole metric ton of ballast could be released in less than two minutes.〔 Crew lives depended on the integrity of the gondola skin: pressure suits, developed by Evgeniy Chertovsky since 1931, were not operational yet. Life support consisted of pressurized oxygen tanks and chemical carbon dioxide absorption packages; all crewmembers carried personal parachutes.〔 Radio transceiver was carried within the gondola; most scientific instruments externally. The latter included sets of ingeniously designed bottles for taking samples of air; their sealed necks were broken open by an electromagnetic actuator and re-sealed by heating the neck with an electric current running through an exposed platinum wire. New pyranometers designed for ''USSR-1'' were not used on its first mission.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USSR-1」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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