kilometers, dived into the atmosphere of the planet just above Moscow. The officer of Soviet air defense, who observed the flight of the shuttle, fell in a stupor…
– Really? -Ustinov asked in surprise when he was told about the capabilities of the American shuttle.
“Yes,” his assistant confirmed without emotion.
“That’s how it can throw off on our heads a nuclear bomb”, the minister suggested.
“Maybe Dmitry Fedorovich,” the assistant confirmed.
– Maybe. And not one of our interceptor aircraft can not do anything to prevent him. In addition, the shuttle has a long manipulator with which it directly in orbit can disassemble any desired satellite in pieces and, without asking permission from anybody, take away the the equipment with a total weight of up to 14.5 tons home in America.
Ustinov turned white, his glasses slid down his nose.
“Call Maximov to me.” How can I report this to Brezhnev, I do not know.
Then occurred the categorical reaction of Leonid Breznev, who did not have the habit of standing on ceremony, if speech was about the security of the country: to prevent Americans from superiority, although they have recently become more compliant in negotiations to reduce the degree of international tension. Words in words, but in practice you cannot give the Americans such superiority. For sub keeping the peace always were needed strong arguments. Аfter meetings in the Politburo, consultations with military strategists and industry, in February 1976, the government issued a decree on the creation of the national reusable space system Energia-Buran” Aftera reusable space system – “Energy – Buran”. All leading space organizations were attracted to this work: more than a thousand scientific research institutes, design bureaus, enterprises of industry and about 1.5 million people. According to press, the Soviet people singled out the program “Buran” more than $ 17 billion. But what happened futher? Someone, knowing that nothing to do with the program, found a weak place in this program – to remove people from list of the detachment, which was soon to take off in space. They were the most persistent and experienced Soviet pilots full of confidence and patriotism – eight people, for the professional and spiritual qualities of five hundred candidates for the seat. In the first eight secret-special detachment included Oleg Kononen, Anatoly Levchenko, Rimantas Stankevičius, Alexander Shukin, Nikolay Sadovnikov, Victor Bukreev and Alexander Lysenko and, of course, Igor Volk himself, who was elected a commander, because he was the best.
Soon began inexplicable things: the list of the detachment for somebody became available and hunting began on them: one after another began to crash, and began to melt detachment of Wolf. The commission did not find out anything, recognizing that it was human factor, and attributed this to inevitable losses. The State Security Committee also also spread their hands-a strange coincidence of events.” – Yura did the pauseand raised his head: first he looked at Magomed, then on Victor. – Correctly written?
Yura missed another glass, purely in Russian, sniffed a piece of bread and, looking around in oder not overhear a secret monolog, returned to the conversation:
“The first victim was a young test pilot Victor Bukreev, full of vitality and energy. He was born in April 5, 1949 in the city of Kamensk-Uralsky Sverdlov-of the RSFSR. Before serving in the Soviet Army worked as an electrician at the factory. In 1972 he graduated from Higher Military Aviation School of. In 1976 he graduated from the School of test pilots of the Flight Research Institute in the Ministry of Aviation Industry. Since June 1976 – on flight test work in the LII named after M.M. Gromov. On may 17, 1977, on a sunny spring day, when everything is so beautiful and so want to enjoy life, he performed at the airfield in Zhukovsky training on the MiG-25PU. Not yet taking off, right on the runway the airplane has a nose landing gear. As a result, of friction of iron on concrete a fire broke out. Bukreev, who was in the first cabin, received severel burns and died on the way to the hospital, and, strangely enough, commander E. Lebedinsky remained and unharmed.”
Yura raised his head.
“How are you?” – It’s strange, – Victor answered, put the pen on the table and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Next,” Yura read out. – Alexander Lysenko.-“Literally a month later, death overtook him, an experienced and desperate test pilot. Together with his partner Genenadiy Mamontov he on the MiG-23UB conducted a test of a new flying device. They broke into a tailspin in a nonright moment and an unnecessary place – under them was the city, but he can not jump. After a while, when the plane lowered its nose and, accelerating with a largle angle of dive, fell to the ground outside the outskirts of the old Yegoryevsk family. The plane fell on a wasteland near the brick plant on the edge of the quarry, from where the plant extracted clay. Not far from than place grew russian birches, which he loved and sang as Esenin A partner who did not have any wearing to ‘Buran’, survived. Another mystical countries-ness”. – Yuri paused, looking at Magomed, who again became tense.
The next one is Oleg Kononenko, “Yuri added. – I want to stop to think more and add a little lyrics, because I knew him well. Oleg, a pupil of the fifth grade of Rostov school together with his younger brother Peter was sitting on the roof of the house and counting the bombers, with a certain interval betwin them/over their heads.
“Peter, how do you think, where do they fly from? "– Oleg askedbrother, consumed by the desire to get to the airfield and touch by hand the plane. This gave him no rest day or night. When they calculated that it was very far away, they realized that it will take more than one day of walking. They postponed hike on the first day of summer vacation.
A few days later, the brothers reached the airfield, not asking anyone how to go, because they were afraid to reveal their secret to others. The mechanic was cleaning the plane with a rag in his hand. and when he saw the boys next to him was surprised. “Well, get out of here!”, – The mechanic went on the offensive, lifting both hands into the air. Oleg begged: “Uncle, please let us help to clean the plane. “That’s how Oleg first touched an iron, cold body of plane, which finally decided the future of the boy. In 1952 he entered the technical school and simultaneously went to the flying club, where he began to learn the basics of flying. At twenty nearly a year he worked as an aeroclub instructor, but the desire the fly was sickening him. There is no choice, and he begins to fly on the the Mi-2, Mi-4, on an airplane u-2 maize harvester for agricultural so it took seven years. He, feeling in himself the talent of the pilot wanted to get rid of routine, but does not know how. He soon learnt from his friend Shevchenko about the existence of school of test pilots. Oleg managed to get through qualification competition and enroll in this school. But here again, the school turned out to be a helicopter. But he was lucky in that the instructor in the flight case turned out to be a well-known tester Karnaev, a specialist in vertical take-off, and next were tests of a vertical plane take-off by Yak-36. Ten years later, when the design bureau Yakovleft released first sample of deck attack aircraftYak-38, there was a problem – none of the pilots could not squeeze the plane in the air. Long thought and decided to invite a helicopter pilot for testing. In 1972, for the first time he test driver of this type of aircraft was Oleg: a tall, slightly stooped, in a demi-season coat and a rabbit hat with pubescent ears named “student”. On that momen he was 34 years old. Looking at him, no one could have thought that in this person, nicknamed “student”, sits an ace of flying art. From the first time he hung in the air like a helicopter- the designers were happy that their calculations came true. That’s how they met: the plane, not like airplane, and the pilot, unlike the pilot. They noticed inhim a talent as a tester, who is well versed in the aero-dynamics, dynamics and control of the
