TRIBOLOGICAL ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM OF SPACECRAFT RELIABILITY

The founder of practical astronautics Sergei P. Korolev was the first to formulate the problems of the development of the methods and means for guaranteeing the reliability and durability of friction units operating in open space. Interest in the problem was stimulated by a tribotechnological failure of the orientation system of a spacecraft. An analysis of the reliability of space technical systems has shown that much attention must be paid to the problems of the friction, seizure, and wear of rubbing joints. Detailed studies of the problems of the static strength, stiffness, leakproofness, vibroimpact strength, and heat-resistance of aerospace systems must be supplemented with tribological studies. The experimental, theoretical, and computational aspects of tribological studies and the estimation of the reliability and durability of systems with the aid of tribological criteria form the basis for the understanding and optimal design of spacecraft friction units. Some data on the practical operation of spacecraft are presented.