In 1992 I traveled to Russia with Aerospace Ambassadors to see the
manned launch of Soyuz TM-15. I saw an ad in Aviation Week and Space
technology for a tour to see this launch. I did not think I could afford
this trip but Joan Winstead told me: "Ron you can not afford to not take
this trip". The wisdom of her words are so true. We can not
afford "to not" invest in ourselves! These pictures and web site
are the results of these experiences. Let's see how much we can get enjoy
life by investing in our dreams!  Launch
of Soyuz TM-15 July 27th 1992 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Baikonur is in
the country of Kazakhstan just east of the Aral Sea. It is about a 3 hour
jet ride from Moscow. Soyuz is Russia's manned rocket that will take
Cosmonauts to the International Space Station.
 Baikonur
welcoming committee passing out free kisses! The cosmodrome is located truly in
a harsh desert far from cities. It was 56° Celsius the day we
arrived. That is almost 120°F! In winter it gets very cold there too. Russian rockets are built for these conditions.
 Soyuz
suit up room. The families of the cosmonauts get to spend about 20 minutes
on launch day with the cosmonauts as they prepare for space flight. The
families only get to be on this side of the glass while the space suit test
equipment can be seen on the cosmonaut side of the room.
 July
27th, 1992the crew of Soyuz TM15 reports to state officials they are ready for
space flight. Left to right: French cosmonaut Michel Tognini (has flown on
the Space Shuttle recently), Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov, and Sergei Avdeyev. Launch was right on time and like all manned space flights-
beautiful!
 Cosmonaut
Musa Manarov and me. Cosmonauts Maranov and Vladimar Titov were the first persons to
spend over 1 consecutive year in space. Strong men, smart men,
representing the best of us. Over my left shoulder is Soyuz TM15 rocket
about 15 minutes before launch. We were 1/2 mile from the launch
pad. From that close distance, you either get a great view - or it does
not matter!
 Soyuz
TM15 in flight. Soyuz rockets burn Kerosene and liquid Oxygen. This
is a typical rocket fuel mixture. Rocket engine efficiency is measured as
"Specific Impulse" and measured in Seconds. Specific Impulse is
how many seconds one pound of fuel can sustain one pound of thrust. Kerosene/
Oxygen mix has a good impulse rating and is an easy fuel to handle.
 Pad
#1. Sputnik, the worlds first man made satellite, was launched from this
pad. Lika the dog, the first animal in space, launched from this pad. Yuri
Gargarian, the first man in space, launched from this pad too. I believe
all cosmonauts have launch from this pad including American astronaut Norman
Thagard. Pad #1 is still active and strong today. It was truly
exciting to visit such a historic and active site!
 Proton
Launch pad. The proton is the heavy lift work horse of the Russian
Space Program. This rocket was erected on the pad the morning of this
picture and flew successfully 3 days later. The Mir Space Station was
launched on Protons and the International Space Station Service module will
launch on a Proton.
 Buran
(Snowstorm in Russian) launched November 15th, 1988 for two unmanned orbits of
Earth. The Buran program is now canceled. The Russians have the
Soyuz, Proton and Zenit rockets to fulfill their space missions. Russian Space
agency picture.
 Mission
Control Moscow. This is where the Soyuz, Mir, and the Russian side of the
International Space station are controlled from. The Russian
flight control center is called the TsUP (pronounced Soup).
 Picture
of the Mir / Soyuz TM15 ground track display inside TsUP. The black circles
shows the range of each of the Russian Ground Stations. When the space
craft is within one of the circles, it can communicate with that ground
station. All dockings with the International Space Station will take place
over the the Russian ground stations for TsUP communication and Russian space
craft system status.
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