Painting by Chesley Bonestell - the author's childhood love.

The military pilots knew the subject better. Any of us would hide a wooden leg or a glass eye, arguing according to the principle: "You prove it!" I had one in seven chance to qualify for astronaut. I didn't want anything in my surveys to raise questions. I wanted to be normal enough that when someone looked for this word in the dictionary, he would find my portrait there. So I lied. I didn’t say anything about how we wrote into the radiator, how we blew up a car engine, or how we rushed around mountain peaks in the Cessna 150.

My mouth was dry enough to salivate even one postage stamp, but I still managed to wheeze back, "Yes, sir, I'm definitely interested in working at the Johnson Center." Interested in ?! What the hell am I talking about? I might be interested in Hugh Hefner’s work, but I was ready to kill for becoming an astronaut.

Perhaps one of the best books about astronautics in general and definitely the best - about the Shuttle program (many thanks to everyone who recommended it in the original). And also - the history of people, society and country, from the release of Willie Leigh's first books about space through World War II, Sputnik, Vietnam, the Moon to the flight of Columbia (the last one). Consecutive casts of different eras. And you know - in some places it's even scary to read. And you understand how good it is when you are not a Catholic girl in the USA in the early 60s. How muchmilitary pilots with the above experience and leftists / feminists fresh from uni could be different. Moreover, both of them are candidates for space. What was the approach to technology, when it is easier to shove a live crew into the first shuttle than to test it for an extra year.
As you might guess, the author flew in shuttles. His descriptions are, hmm, specific. Jokes then soaked out as ingenious as they were obscene. And Mullein is very fond of nature (from his mother) and flying. Therefore, not only frankly, but also very touching.
Are you looking for anti-Sovietism in Time of the First? Yes, then Mullein should be shot for any dozen pages as an anti-Americanist! And he's not exaggerating. Such a project was born - figs for what is needed. No crew rescue systems. At all without. It's just one thing to see the Challenger flying in childhood, and it's another thing to fly and be friends with its crew. And to know, technically, that he personally was seconds away from the same funeral. And more than once. It just turned out differently. And the lottery of preparation and flight itself ... An encyclopedic-level book (at the same time, it is verified during translation with documents).

The clouds high above the terminator shone orange and pink under the last rays of the luminary. Discovery entered this world of shadows, and I turned to the rear windows to watch the sun sink below the horizon. Its light, up to this moment as transparent as the soul of a child, was now split by the atmosphere. A powerful color spectrum, a hundred times brighter than any earthly rainbow, formed an arc that separates the blackness of the earthly night from the eternal blackness of space. Where it touched the Earth, the colored arc was red like royal velvet, dimmer above, passing through many shades of orange, blue and purple, and finally disappearing into blackness. As Discovery hurried away from her, the arc slowly contracted along the planet's limb towards the point of entry, decreasing in extent, density, and intensity, as if liquid colors were dissolving into the sky. But now there was only a thin, like an eyelash, an arc of indigo color. Then it faded, and Discovery sank completely into the slumber of orbital night.

Judith Reznik, one of the heroines of the book.

P. S. Guess which show he remembers first? :)

There are big bikes, there are powerful bikes, and then there is the Triumph Rocket III. The appearance of this leviathan could never have been predicted. The British, who were previously distinguished by their loyalty to traditions and some restraint, absolutely unexpectedly pushed the norms of morality along with common sense and put into mass production a space-devouring monster with a 2.3-liter engine.

Model history

First Triumph Rocket III went on sale in 2004 as a kind of response to a severe fire that destroyed almost all production areas of the main plantTriumph a few years earlier. One side,Rocket is a brutal power cruiser made from scratch. On the other hand, with the naked eye, several characteristic triumph "chips" are noticeable. First, there are two round headlights. Such optics have long been successfully used onSpeed \u200b\u200bTriple and Street Triple ... Secondly, the engine.Triumph has been using three-cylinder engines for a long time. In case ofRocket iii had to tinker with the layout. Machin with a working volume of 2294 cm3 (DOHC , 12 valves, six spark plugs) you cannot put across the frame, the motorcycle will turn out to be too wide. The engineers made the only correct decision - to turn the engine so that all the exhaust ports were on the right side in the direction of the motorcycle. Inside the power unit, which is more like a car in size, the crankshaft and gearbox lie side by side along the motorcycle, and the timing chain is located behind a large cover in the immediate vicinity of the radiator of the cooling system. Dry sump lubrication system, oil tank is located on the left side of the engine. At the bottom of the crankcase there is a two-section oil pump. One section pumps for cooling and lubrication, the second pumps the system. There are two fences - in front and behind. Both are integrated into the pallet. The power supply system is injector, with two rows of throttle valves with a diameter of 52 mm, air is supplied from two spaced airboxes. The frame is tubular, duplex with a removable lower section in the area of \u200b\u200bthe power unit and a non-removable rear subframe. Torque is transmitted to the rear wheel by a propeller shaft hidden inside the swingarm.

A large and brutal engine is a dominant feature of the motorcycle exterior. Everything revolves around three cylinders, two round headlights and a 240 rear sneaker. The image came out very memorable! Motorcycles destined for the US market have an increased number of chrome parts.

Initially, there were two modifications - the Roadster as the basic version and the Classic as the extended one. RocketIII Classic differs from RocketIII Roadster shaped handlebars and platforms instead of footpegs. The motors at that time were painted only in silver color. As suspension elements in both cases, a powerful inverted telescopic fork with a 43 mm diameter stays and a pair of large shock absorbers connecting the frame and swingarm are used. Braking system consists of two 320 mm discs with four-piston calipersNissin on the front wheel and single disc 316 mm with two-piston caliperBrembo.

In 2005, the first factory modernization took place - the engine sump was changed. Until 2005, the drain plugs in the pallet were located horizontally, afterwards - vertically. Triumph Rocket has motors since 2006III began to paint black. The valve cover remains chrome-plated.

In the years that followed, the English manufacturer got busy working on bugs. The early "Rockets" (before 2007, you can see onVIN ) there were a number of known sores. In this regard, Triumph has released a large all-encompassing kit. A large box weighing 9 kg immediately became the subject of desire for the owners of the Rocket released before 2007III , as it made it possible to increase the reliability of the motorcycle and improve the operation of some components. The list of parts included in the kit is impressive. In particular, new, more powerful clutch springs, a second gear modified in terms of engagement cams, an upgraded tensioner and a timing chain damper (the previous design was not reliable and contributed to the uneven stretching of the timing chain), high-voltage wires, correct bearings of the final drive (which were installed from the factory) the wrong side), as well as a whole scattering of washers, spacers and O-rings. The total cost of the whale parts is about $ 2,000. However, the retail price for a long time was $ 300. The kit was massively bought and installed by all owners of the "Rockets" subject to modernization. Because it was profitable. The high-voltage wires alone, which are part of it, pulled at € 200. In 2015, the whale's price rose sharply to $ 1,500. The fight against "childhood diseases" on the engine was finally completed in 2007. From that moment on, all problems are eliminated at the plant, the "stuffing" is settled and does not change to the present.

In 2008, a special version appears... It features a dashboard and engine control unit. The mechanism of interaction between them began to resemble moreCAN -the tire. Also, a different dimension of rims (for tires 150 / 80-16 and 180 / 70-16), the shape of the steering wheel, limited by firmware to 106 liters. from. peak engine power (this is how the engineers raised the elasticity and traction at medium revs), an exhaust system with two pipes, ABS in the list of options, a more "chopper" fork outreach, flat platforms instead of round steps (driver's are adjustable), a removable windshield, a more comfortable seat , a fuel tank reduced to 22.3 liters, removable rigid side trunks, a 43 mm telescopic fork instead of a "upside down", and one large headlight instead of two. In fact due to the reduced power of the RocketIII - slightly more resourceful device in comparison with the usual oneRocket III.

In 2010, the most progressive "Rocket" of the currently produced ones appeared -Triumph rocket iii second generation. Among the improvements - ABS as standard, a sharper tilt of the steering column, a new seat (10 mm higher and closer to the steering wheel), a black front fork, an engine "pumped" by firmware to a record performance characteristics (148 hp at 5750 rpm and 221 Nm at 2750 rpm), exhaust 3-in-2.

Technical features

Triumph Rocket inline 12-valve "three"III , released later than 2007, can be considered an indestructible power unit. It makes sense to talk about the reliability of older motors only after installing the corrected parts from the whale.

It is not uncommon to run more than 100,000 km without major repairs. At the same time, from replacement to replacement, the oil level does not change at all. CPG problems are extremely unlikely. It takes a lot of work to crush ceramic coated casings or monstrous pistons. For example, forget to pour oil. Seizures on the liners, mainly on the main ones, are found only at very high mileage. The cooling system effortlessly copes with any traffic jams. No tendencies to boil were noticed. Fuel consumption on the highway is 6–6.5 liters per 100 km of track at a cruising speed of 120–140 km / h. In the city - 8-9 liters per 100 km on the standard firmware of the control unit and 12 liters on non-standard.

Since 2015 Triumph sharply decided to deprive the support of the owners of silver engines. Many parts for him have ceased to be produced. Certain difficulties arise mainly in the case of ordering from England parts that are painted in the color of the engine. For example, external pump, thermostat, final drive housing covers. New silver parts are no longer found during the day with fire. Only black!

Failure of the gearboxRocket iii in most cases it is associated with a human factor. Plugging gears with a wide open throttle can cause the torque motor to break the gears. But no matter how the gears grind, nothing ever happens to the crankcase. The fragments are simply poured into a pallet and lie there. The shafts do not bend. It happens that the bolt that fixes the cam shaft drive is unscrewed. The bolt falls into the crankcase, the rocker stops holding on to the shaft, the box, for obvious reasons, sticks in the gear that was turned on (it can only be treated through a complete analysis of the gearbox with the removal / installation of the internal combustion engine). Sometimes the spring of the follower shaft retainer bursts. The box does not stop working, but the gears are turned on extremely indistinctly (it is treated without removing / installing the internal combustion engine, removing / installing the front engine cover is required). Almost always, in case of problems with the gearbox, the motorcycle retains the ability to move under its own power. The high-torque motor is capable of propelling a huge motorcycle from a standstill even in fourth and fifth gears. There are cases whenRocket iii with only one fifth gear, as if nothing had happened, overcame up to 1500 km. Any repair of the checkpoint at the "Rockets" is associated with almost complete dismantling of the motorcycle and the removal / installation of the internal combustion engine. Until 2014, in first, second and third gears, power is limited to 7% using the second row of throttle valves. The restriction is removed programmatically.

Rocket owners usually don't complain about the clutch. It is extremely reliable. With the installed springs of a new sample and the correct setting of the mechanical drive, it is unrealistic to kill him. The package contains nine metal and 10 friction discs.

There are usually no problems with a starter, but there are problems with the ignition switch on early "Rockets" (up to 2010 inclusive). There the power "plus" to the starter is taken through the ignition lock. Over time, the lock begins to melt from a heavy load. At one point, he stops working altogether. The problem is eliminated by unloading the ignition switch. An additional relay is installed, which picks up the start signal from the starter button, the power cable is pulled directly from the battery. It is not necessary to change the ignition switch. This workaround works for years.

The lubrication system is reliable. In rare cases, the valve in the oil tank may lose its tightness, causing the oil to drain completely into the sump. There have also been cases of oil leakage through the nozzle that cools the clutch. The result is the same - the oil flows into the sump. Cold starting the engine with such a malfunction is quite problematic at near-zero outboard temperatures. The starter simply does not have enough effort to turn the crankshaft and gearbox gears completely filled with oil. This is treated by replacing what has failed. Removal / installation of the internal combustion engine is not required.

A noticeably weak point in the electrical is the throttle position sensor (TPS sensor). The first sign of his demise is the disappearance or overstatement of idle speed. It is treated by calibration. If the problem occurs again, replace it. In the heat, the sensors fail more often. With such a breakdown, it is, in principle, possible to continue driving, but only after certain manipulations. In a specific version, the throttle position sensor simply reads the throttle position, and the stepper motor, in turn, sets the idle position in steps. When the sensor dies, you need to pull off the chip from the idle motor and turn the required speed with the nut on the rod.Check on the dashboard, of course, will light up, but idle will be restored. These manipulations only work on motorcycles before 2010.

If the motorcycle is used infrequently, problems with the rear gear drive may occur. Corrosion may occur on the splines of the cardan-gearbox connection due to dry lubricant. As a result, the connection is worn out, which threatens to replace the bridge and cardan. It is treated with timely lubrication of the unit.

Early (up to 2007) Triumph RocketIII due to an assembly error, the axle drive support bearing was pressed in on the wrong side. Hence the difficulty with lubrication. The specially provided oil channel remains out of work. It so happens that an oil seal is in its way by mistake. Bearing resource is a lottery. It is saved from instant failure by the presence of oil mist in the crankcase.

The braking system is very mediocre. With all the efforts of engineers, it does not differ in any special efficiency. The discs are, of course, large, but the calipers are no good. Similar mechanisms are commonly used on mid-size road builders. Replacing calipers with more productive ones does not give a special effect. Physics cannot be fooled! The more the calipers bite into the discs, the earlier the tires will give up. Emergency braking usually results in either the squeal of rubber or the crackle of the anti-lock system.

The "Rockets" running system is largely designed for quiet movement on relatively flat asphalt. Tuning in the form of progressive coil springs for the front fork and thicker oil may be required only in cases where the motorcycle is used not as a cruiser, but as a large sports bike. Rear shocks on early Triumph RocketIII very tough, owners often replace them with similar parts from more recent motorcycles or tuning.

At first, there were big problems with the diagnostic equipment for the Triumph Rocket 3. Hardware and software had to be ordered from England under the VIN number of a particular motorcycle. Some time later, the German techie enthusiast Tom Hamburg managed to make free diagnostics for the Triumphs without being tied to anything. He laid out his developments to the Americans, they immediately riveted all kinds of firmware and dumped them in the public domain. If there is a cable (suitable from the usual VAZ diagnostics) with a chipFTDI diagnostic device forRocket iii going elementary.

In the context of serviceTriumph rocket iii not as difficult as it might seem. All nodes are large and have relatively good accessibility. If there is a service manual in front of your eyes, even a novice mechanic can handle all the routine maintenance operations. For a deeper intervention, experience and special tools are needed.

The coolant changes elementarily, as does the oil filter. You have to tinker with oil. There are three drain plugs, in the pallet they are very unobvious. Oil is poured in no less cleverly. It is necessary to fill the oil tank (four liters), start the motorcycle, run the system. Then muffle and top up. The fuel filter is located inside the fuel tank. It should be taken out very carefully. There is a risk of bending the float, which can cause the fuel gauge to malfunction. The air filter is located directly under the seat and is easy to replace.

Removing the engine only at first glance may seem like an impossible task. In fact, this procedure can be done alone. It is not the motor that is removed from the frame, but the frame from the motor.

Crash tests

Triumph rocket iii a truly indestructible device, if you do not consider the slight cosmetic damage that absolutely any motorcycle receives as a result of accidents. It is important to install the original protective arches from the list of accessories immediately after purchase. They almost completely eliminate engine damage. Without these, the radiator, footrests and motor covers become consumable items. Often, during falls and accidents of moderate severity, the steering wheel bends and the exhaust wrinkles, but the motorcycle still retains the ability to move under its own power.

Rocket iii almost always leaves the accident scene himself. Even if it tumbled around its own axis. A very sturdy motorcycle! They say about such people: "there is no scratch on the motorcycle, the asphalt is in patches." No one has ever been able to bend or damage the frame. The rims can withstand even jumping on a high curb with a good ride. Skillful riding on the rear wheel (aRocket iii it can!), contrary to popular belief, does not harm anything. On landings, the engine does not hit the asphalt, the oil seals from the plug do not fly out.

The geometry can only go away in the event of a strong frontal impact. There is a risk of bending the fork, but traverses are deformed much more often.

Conclusion

Briefly about the article: Riding a rocket In modern science fiction literature, there are many directions: science fiction, fantasy, cyberpunk, humorous fiction ... Critics, singling out more or less "serious" from these genres, often dismiss one of the most widely read - combat fiction, or " space opera ", as it is called for" seriality ", by analogy with television series -" soap operas ". However, the reader, for some reason unknown to critics, is more interested in the content of the new book of his favorite cycle than their subjective reviews ...

Riding a rocket

Space opera genre

There are many directions in modern science fiction literature: science fiction (often abbreviated to "SF"), fantasy, cyberpunk, humorous fiction ... Critics, singling out more or less serious genres from these genres, often dismiss one of the most widely read - science fiction a military or space opera, as it is called for its seriality, by analogy with television series - "soap operas". However, the reader, for some reason unknown to critics, is more interested in the content of the new book of his favorite cycle than in their subjective reviews ... Before scolding the entire genre as a whole, you should figure out what it is.

With the division of literature into genera and types, there has always been, as they say, trouble. In order not to contribute to the confusion and confusion, we will immediately agree not to give clear definitions. "They are all, bespectacled, like that. They have to come up with the main name. Until I came up with it, it's a pity to look at him, a fool, a fool. But when he came up with a gravity concentrator, then everything becomes clear to him, and it's easier for him to live immediately," the Strugatsky brothers sarcastically at the Roadside Picnic. We will not be like - we will work with the term that we have. We have the concept of "space opera", to which science fiction scientists have already managed (not always neatly) a rather large number of literary works. We are not going to talk about the artistic level of this literature, not wanting to take away the bread from the aforementioned critics. And we will talk about the history of occurrence and the distinctive features of the phenomenon.

Martians on the warpath

I tend to view space opera as a genre of adventure novel adapted to modern times. Our opera among the immediate ancestors had the adventurous and historical views of the novel (which are often the same, thanks to the mixture of the types themselves). Added to the autoclave, a fantastic ingredient in the form of a couple of alien monsters, a spaceship and the latest tools for survival in aggressive atmospheres (from a spacesuit to a modernized Smith and Wesson) has led to a new genre, quite viable, judging by the shelves of bookstores.

The genre has long appeared its classics, its subgenres and subspecies. It is not without reason that Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edmond Hamilton and Edward Elmar "Doc" Smith are considered specialists and even the founding fathers of space opera. Moreover, the first two got down to business on such a large scale that E. Hamilton even reached a conscious self-parody, ridiculing the stamps of the genre in the story "The Incredible World", the formation of the cliches of which he himself devoted a lot of time and effort.

It was they, the founding fathers, who realized that on planet Earth, the writers of adventure books have nothing and no one to catch. A real hero without fear and reproach, but with a big noble heart, has nowhere to turn around. That is why the authors sent him for happiness, eternal life, big money, love of beauties, in a word, for dizzying adventures in outer space.

For a start - within the solar system. The moon, Venus and Mars simply demanded that the imagination of the writers place various peoples on the endless expanses of the planets visible through telescopes. These peoples either languished under the yoke of usurpers, tyrants and tyrants, or implemented cruel plans of aggression on the defenseless Earth, where they wanted, again, to usurp power and tyrannize the earthly population. Later, the same fantasy of the authors transferred the action of the multivolume tomes to other suns and planets. The genre blossomed and spun in cycles - about the Martians, about the Lancemen, about the star kings and Captain Futcher, finally.

An old hero of modern times

Already the first novels, published in the best traditions of detective stories in parts (in several volumes), aroused considerable interest of the reading public. The heroes of these works have changed externally (in comparison with the adventurous prototypes), without undergoing significant internal changes. These were again the long-loved, but slightly annoying noble robbers of chivalrous novels and westerns. From medieval cities, from oceans and prairies, they burst into space. And they found a second wind in the cosmic vacuum and the atmosphere of other planets, which is not always healthy for humans.

However, the scientific subtleties of the writers were of little interest. The entourage, the exoticism of the surroundings, external trinkets and tricky names that were not used hitherto were important. Armed with new materials with tricky, but almost earthly ("ultraliddit", "kelimit") names, new weapons (modifications "Destroyer") and even a new type of hero. Spacesuits and starships are made of materials, weapons can destroy entire armies and star systems, and the character himself is no longer an adventurer or a gentleman of fortune. Now he is a retired regular army officer, or a journalist, or, less often, a young scientist. Regardless of the profession, the hero is handsome with a harsh male beauty, a muscular man, pays attention to sports, preferring boxing, shooting and fencing to chess. It is unclear when, in addition to training, a character has time to read smart books, do science (for general development), hang out in bars, and, in fact, work - in a newspaper, laboratory or military unit.

And the reader is not obliged to understand this! He should admire the amount of the hero's talents and feel himself somewhere akin to him. It is not difficult to imagine yourself in the skin of a character, because the author writes not about another overseas prince, but about a simple guy from Fifth Avenue who had the dubious luck to fight for the honor of an alien princess or decide the fate of unnecessary star empires.

Flying on dry age

The fictional worlds of the space opera have a unique thing in common. High technologies coexist with a completely archaic social structure of the described society. It turns out a kind of space Camelot, in which the knights go in search of the Grail not in the saddle of a faithful horse, but in the comfortable seat of the pilot of an interstellar cruiser. Imagine a western hero aboard a pirate galleon, with a lightsaber on his side and a quantum physics textbook under his arm. However, the textbook is not required, but it is strictly necessary that the galleon can fly between the stars at superluminal speeds, and its passengers would always remain alive. This is, in fact, the most common and, I would say, canonical (and slightly conanical) idea of \u200b\u200bthe genre of space opera. It suits both the works of foreign founders of the genre and the classics of Soviet literature - "Aelita" by Alexei Tolstoy.

There is one more interesting genre feature. The character of the epoch-making novel by E. R. Burroughs "Princess of Mars" gets to the Red Planet rather unintelligibly. Either he died and rose again in a new place, or fell into a trance and was transported in space, as in his time one well-known Yankee from Connecticut was already transported (albeit in time) straight to the court of King Arthur. The hero of the novel Star Kings, which is no less important for the genre of space opera, is transported to the world of the distant future and galactic empires as a result of an almost scientific experiment that also smacks of mysticism and author's arbitrariness. And only A. Tolstoy's supermen flew to the Red Planet on a completely material spaceship, using the latest developments of a scientific genius, while a little-known engineer with an elk surname. Is the materialistic worldview really influencing, without which it is impossible to imagine a Soviet book? only if? The heroes of their American colleagues selflessly give themselves up to adventure, for them only the surroundings have changed.

The main character of "Star Kings" is generally glad (albeit scared at first) to be a prince - after all, after working as an insurance agent on Mother Earth! This is the dream of a little man, perfectly expressed in the famous painting by Boris Vallejo. It depicts a narrow-shouldered balding gentleman in glasses, sitting in an easy chair, under which a small-caliber fluffy pet dog is curled up, reading something from a sheet of paper, presents himself as an athlete with a powerful muscular naked torso, a large ax in large muscular arms, standing firmly on strong muscular legs. in which a large shaggy beast of a dog breed is threateningly froze.

But Burroughs' character continues the same military service (he was a soldier on Earth), only on a different planet, and, by the will of circumstances, has risen to great rank. There are no more changes in the character, worldview and moral character of the heroes, but we are shown career growth and a change of duty. This means that the heroes practically do not change, falling into fantastic circumstances. It's the same with the Red Army soldier Gusev: he starts a form revolution on Mars. He would have started it anywhere, even with bees in a hive, even with ants in an anthill.

From a comparison of these, at first glance, different works, it turns out that accessories are important in them first of all - that is, a combination of fantastic weapons and the old canon from Alexandre Dumas, Raphael Sabatini and Karl May. There is no qualitative, significant change in the life of the characters. On the other hand, quantitative transformations should be breathtaking. If an empire is not a country, but a whole planet, or a system of planets, or even a Galaxy. The speeds of the spaceships and the distances they fly match the size of the Empire. Weapons, if not always - of mass destruction, then necessarily - of terrible destructive power.

By the way, Tolstoy's novel, despite its fascination and cosmo-operatic surroundings, is much closer to science fiction and its nascent variety - space fiction. Let the author pay little attention to the intricacies of organizing a flight to Mars, but he does it colorfully and scientifically. Sparse mentions of scientific data are intended to make the picture real, alive, to create the illusion of the importance not of adventures as such, but of the importance of a unique scientific experiment.

But for colleagues from overseas, of course, adventure is more important. Hence the non-obligatory scientific substantiation of movements in space ether, the principle of operation of devices and weapons. The author needs the incomprehensible emitters installed on the nose of the star cruiser to destroy space, so that the Martians use the cold energy of plants, so that two races unlikely resemble each other live on Mars ... If it is necessary, then it is necessary. But minor differences in the subtext of the works are only an exception to the rule. In both foreign and Soviet science fiction of the 1920s and 1930s, we see common features. It is in them that the signs of the genre appear.

The fabulous element has previously been important in describing the adventures of the Star Knights. Kings and queens with princesses appeared in the space opera not so much from an adventure-historical novel as from fairy tales. And the beetle-eyed monsters, intending to either eat the princesses, or enter into unnatural (from the point of view of the princesses) relations with them, are relatives of the Black Sorcerers, Koshchei Immortals and, of course, Dragons. A knight in a shining spacesuit is no different from a similar grailer in shining armor.

And then there was also the cinema offered its own version of the cosmic fairy tale, moreover - very successful. In "Star Wars" the mythological background is so overt that you don't have to worry about the collective unconscious of the audience: everyone will get what he expects. The space opera, as a modern fairy tale, unfolding not in the scenery of the past (for which another term was invented - fantasy), but in the scenery of the future, reflected changes in the spiritual life of society. If Australia and Great Britain are already talking about the possibility of registering a new religion - the Jedi Order, then such a popularity of the old plot in new clothes speaks of great potential.

Here we again face the difficulties of classification. As Kirill Yeskov rightly noted, “the author resolutely does not understand why the cosmic adventures of the Commander-flint-man, the Trainee-idiot and the Xenosociologist-beauty-judoka, blowing out cyborg-killers from blasters, so as not to let the Totalitarian Empire of the Iron Star launch the Great Schlop Spaces are "SF", while the quest of the Knight-Flint-Man, the Pauper-Prince and the White-and-Fluffy Witch, chopping slanting goblins of the Black-Brown Lord into goulash, should be attributed to a fundamentally different genre, fantasy. "

The modern cosmoopera is practically alien to racism and xenophobia. Of course, in it, as in fantasy, as in any fairy tale, there is a place for creatures, evil by definition, who see the purpose of their lives in spoiling the lives of others. But most often we are talking about the struggle between Good and Evil within a people or an individual, in choosing their own Path. We will not find such influence of Far Eastern philosophy among the creators of cosmoopers of the 20-40s. Now the focus has shifted. In the first place are not adventures, although without them and nowhere, and not even technical means. In the first place is the individual with his own suffering, which, of course, inevitably causes adventure. The new superman, if he looks like a muscular bronze-skinned handsome man without a king in his head, is only at first. Very quickly he will be hit on this head physically or mentally: with the butt of a heavy blaster, the hilt of a lightsaber, or a firm argument in a philosophical and everyday dispute, and the hero will have to go through the initiation rite with all the necessary rituals ... That is, in front of us, though a superman, and the savior of the World, but ... in the future, when he realizes his Path. The old heroes of the 20s did not differ in reflection, without hesitation they used the available arsenal and rushed headlong to save the princesses from violence, and the empires from destruction. The current superman, on the other hand, strives to destroy the empire as an apparatus for suppressing individual freedom. So, to start a career ...

Wait for us, stars!

Now let's move to our native land and take a look at the domestic representatives of the genre. Let us first mention the novel "Faetes" by A. Kazantsev. Although they prescribed a book on the department of space science, there are too many in it from "Aelita" and pseudoscientific adventure novels of the 20-30s of the twentieth century. Favorite red planet, beautiful Martians, cruel villains, high-profile scientific hypotheses and an espionage-adventurous plot, with the same "ours won!" in the end they give the right to interpret the adventures of earthlings and Faetians as a terry cosmooper. Which is a compliment to the novel.

The character, who later received the title of Lord, was distinguished by intelligence, quick-wittedness, strong muscles and, in general, good physical fitness in his native land. But when he finds himself in a situation similar to that in which the aforementioned heroes of E. Hamilton or E. R. Burroughs find themselves, he behaves differently and looks like a much bigger mug. In this connection, he is forced to improvise, develop, simultaneously using his barbarism for the benefit of himself and the cause of Good (as he was told). This superman is romantic, ironic (including self-ironic, which was unthinkable for his previous incarnations!), Is able to hesitate when making decisions, experiences self-doubt and turns out to be quite scrupulous in choosing the means to achieve the goal. However, in a critical situation, he is no different from Burroughs' Eric John Stark and, for example, Howard's Conan (a barbarian!). Those who dare to stand in his way become corpses. If a little from another opera, not a space one - "It was visible where he was going" ...

For all that, the hero often sneers at his position, at the fact that he got into a space opera! The pathos demanded by the genre is constantly reduced by the author's comments and non-standard, turned upside down options for resolving canonical genre problems.

It becomes important not only the personality of the protagonist, his mental anguish and enriched inner world, but also the idea (sometimes not even one), which stay on the pages of purely entertainment literature was ordered for a long time. There can be many ideas (albeit in embryonic form): tolerance, applied humanism, responsibility ...

Roman Zlotnikov did not escape such a deepening in his trilogy, which opens with the novel "Swords over the Stars", written not only according to the canons, but almost according to the patterns of traditional space opera; however, in his version there are more borrowings from the novels of R. Sabatini. At least, at first, and then in all its glory, a multi-figured canvas in the spirit of "Star Kings" will unfold, but not in an example larger and more colorful. The literary universes expanded considerably by the beginning of the 21st century compared to the first half of the 20th century.

About the wanderings of the eternal and about the Earth

According to V. Revich, the genre of space opera is not capable of making us happy with anything new. However, as is the case with many significant cultural phenomena, this offspring of fantastic literature is not going to disappear into the past. He has something to remember and something to learn from others. This article does not say a word about the work of Francis Karsak, Robert Asprin, Lois McMaster Bujold, Stephen Donaldson, Orson Scott Card, Barry Longyear, Mike Resnick, Jack Vance (who without hesitation called one of the novels "The Space Opera"), Frank Herbert , Olga Larionova, Genrikh Altov, Ivan Efremov. Without owning the fourth dimension, one cannot grasp the immensity. Of the Russian authors who have turned their gaze from the pseudo-Middle Ages and dense forests to the stellar distances, I will also single out Sergei Sinyakin, Vladimir Vasiliev, Alexei Baron, Alexander Gromov.

Considering that every author is able to write not one, not two, but lots of books about the same hero or world, it is reasonable to assume two things. Firstly, in one article, no matter how hard you try, you cannot tell about all of them. Secondly, the abundance of authors plowing the field of space opera and cultivating adjacent gardens indicates a new birth of the old genre. And the appearance of frankly humorous works of a parody-philosophical and simply hooligan character (Boris Stern's stories about Bel Amor and, for example, "Alien Among His Own" by G. L. Oldie, which have already become classics) testifies that a crisis is not far off, since parodies appeared ...

I will not dwell on the book novelties that have appeared recently, and quite legitimately meet the cosmooper requirements defined in this article. The reader can easily find new items in paper and print (see, by the way, their announcements in our magazine) or electronic version. As you can see, the story has taken another turn and reckless (at first glance) heroes are back in fashion. Why? Maybe we agree with BN Strugatsky, whose words are included in the epigraph? Or with S. Lukyanenko, who declares: “All directions of science fiction - space opera, cyberpunk, and galactic detective - are only forms. And the question is not what shape the vessel is, but what you put in it - water, wine or vinegar "? Have you gotten better writing? Or has the reader become less discerning? Questions that, in my humble opinion, are worth considering.

One gentleman, entering fantastic circles, approximately answered the question of whether he believes in flying saucers: "In the twelfth century they saw the City of Heaven and the shining angels, in the twentieth century - alien spaceships and aliens" ...

Although the tradition of space opera was formed in the Wild West, in the era of the genre's inception, works that fit into it appeared. Coming out in the 20-30s of the twentieth century, they did not go down in history due to the active intervention of censorship and other pressure from ideological values. Who now remembers and knows the names of the authors and the names of Russian space operas of that time, except for specialists? Apart from Alexei Tolstoy with "Aelita" there is no one to name, and there were science fiction writers, there were their books.

I think that the names of Bogdanov, Goncharov, Mukhanov hardly say anything not only to the current twenty-year-olds, but also to their fathers and mothers - all these are Tolstoy's contemporaries. Alexander Bogdanov's novel "Red Star" (written in 1908) is closer to the genre of utopia, but try to prove to me that there is no place for utopia in the cosmooper. The novels by Viktor Goncharov (The Interplanetary Traveler) and Nikolai Mukhanov (The Burning Abyss), imbued with a revolutionary spirit, of course, cannot be classified as literary masterpieces, but it is useful for true fans of science fiction to know the history of the Soviet space opera. If Bogdanov's works can still be found in relatively fresh editions (although he will have to run around the libraries), and his works are studied in humanitarian universities, then it is difficult to get acquainted with the creative heritage of Goncharov and Mukhanov. Even using the Internet. And in the terrible 1940s, when the epic about John Gordon came out of print, Soviet Russia, to put it mildly, had no time for the fantasy of starry expanses ...

From the very beginning, the space program not only aroused interest around the world, but for many years was another of the clearest examples of the race between superpowers during the Cold War. The difference between "there" and "here" was practically in everything, starting even with the words that were used to describe those who conquered space. We built heavy rockets, while the Americans chose a different path - and developed a shuttle. Now this program has already been phased out, but over the thirty years of its existence, it has caused a lot of attention to itself, and even more criticism. This is what this space shuttle is like, how the astronauts lived and worked, why the Challenger and Columbia disasters eventually happened, and Mike Mullein tells. Tells pathologically honest.

I'll tell you right away: the narrator is unlikely to please you. If you remember the excellent book by Chris Hadfield about working on the ISS, then the narrator conquered you almost from the first pages. This is unlikely to happen here. Mullein is a chauvinist, a careerist and often makes very dirty jokes, and in some especially fierce stories you start to think about whether he was lying for a catchphrase. But in all other respects - and this is a quality that I highly value in people and therefore I cannot but respect the author for him - he is extremely honest. He talks about all aspects of working at NASA, without underestimating or exaggerating either merits or mistakes. Yes, not everything in the program was smooth, and the photographs of the crews with snow-white smiles in no way reflect the real picture: for example, what tough competition existed in the astronaut corps, how the leadership only encouraged this competition. In addition, it was still "the time of the firsts": the first American woman in space, and the first American, and many others were in the Mullein set. Add to this the fact that the era of boundless political correctness was still far away, and the Navy and Air Force employees were already conservative people - and it is quite clear why the seemingly official colleagues looked at each other like a wolf. Mullein admits that he was part of this program himself, because "heck, we all wanted to fly."

And that, damn it, redeems everything for the author. Because his every flight, every launch and every day spent in orbit, the views of the Earth and reflections when looking at the planet - everything is described in such a way that you want to immediately forgive Mullein every salty joke. Each of his missions instantly explains why, in fact, everyone took the system for granted and worked in such an unpleasant environment. Anyway, every little thing, every nuisance, problem and disagreement - everything fades into the background when you read the chapters about space. And after the first flight, you just as zealously begin to wait for a new assignment (to be honest, until the last I held back and did not google how many missions Mullein had: the book reads almost like an artist, and a spoiler would come out). At the same time, the author, even in space, does not conceal uncomfortable questions from the series "how to go to the toilet in zero gravity."

The other large part of the book is a story about what endless undercover intrigues and ignorance of the voice of reason poured into: about the explosion of the Challenger. Over and over again, Mullein analyzes where what went wrong, where it could have been predicted, refined, corrected ... and all because whatever the relationship in the team, it was still in the team. And he perceives the tragedy of the shuttle as very personal. Still would. Close friends and acquaintances died there. It threatened the entire future of thousands of people who worked in the space program. She threatened the dreams of so many. Fair? Fair. And it really hurts.

You can't help but respect Mullein for this honesty. As well as for the fact that he went to space all his life, from childhood to many delayed launches, despite the fact that fate and those around him often said: no, man, this is not for you, you cannot. The story is not a brilliant talent, for which it is like a green light on all roads, but long and hard work and sacrifices on the way to a dream. Yes, pictures of fear before the start - fear that drives everything inside - and explosions that can kill you in several dozen different ways - all this is written very picturesquely. But damn it, reading this book, I envied Mullein as hell.

What was missing: despite the fact that the book has an editor and as many as two proofreaders, the text is still full of errors: both in translation (very noticeable in some places) and banal typos. This is the first time I see that the numbering of notes at the end of the book does not coincide with the numbering in the text - but this is so, the list gets lost almost at the very beginning. Also, as in Hadfield's book, illustrations were sorely lacking. Moreover, I suspect that this is a flaw of the publishing house: when I came across the original edition of the "Astronaut's Manual ...", there suddenly appeared a solid color insert. This is a significant disadvantage, even though, otherwise, "Alpina" approached the publication quite carefully, to the point that the cover of the Russian version is practically copied from the original.

The years were gracious to the 38th. Its sleek, pointed nose and exquisitely thin, card-table-sized wings have become the hallmark of speed for all time. And in 100 years, people who will look at the T-38 in the museum will say, "What a great car!" It was a real rocket, as if specially built for astronauts. The 38, which belonged to NASA, was painted in bright white paint, and along the body, like on a racing car, there was a blue stripe. The agency's emblem - the word NASA in special red letters - flaunted on the tail. This plane and this color scheme made them catch the eye at any airport.

The 38s performed two functions: transport - for flights to various meetings and training - to maintain flight shape. NASA simulators were remarkably good at preparing astronauts for a shuttle flight, but had one critical flaw: they were not intimidating. No matter how wrong you are, the simulator will not kill you, but an aircraft with high tactical and technical characteristics will do it easily. Flights on the T-38 allowed pilots to maintain a keen perception and accuracy of response to get out of deadly situations, which were abound in space flight.

Before being cleared to fly the T-38, we had to undergo water survival training at Eglin AFB in Florida. We were lifted by paragliding to a height of 100-200 meters, after which they were detached from the boat and allowed to descend into the water, simulating a landing after ejection. In the water, we had to unhook the parachute, climb onto a single life raft and signal the helicopter, and then put on a special "harness" for boarding. We were towed behind a speedboat to simulate a gale-force landing. We were thrown into the water, covered with a canopy of a parachute and taught how to get out from under it before the nylon begins to sink and drags us to the bottom. For military pilots, such training was a repetition of what was passed - we all did this several times during our service. But for civilians it was all for the first time. I followed them closely, expecting that someone would object to particularly dangerous exercises or would need to explain many times what to do. In particular, I looked to see if women would show fear and ask for help when they were most physically challenged. But no, they worked no worse than me and other veterans. I began to rethink the sense of superiority over postdocs and women. It took a few more years for respect for them to develop completely, but naval training initiated this process.

The biggest surprise for us when we were introduced to the operation of the T-38 was the rules. There were none, or at least very few. In the military, every phase of flight, from engine on to shutdown, was usually part of an approved training program, and the process was closely followed by senior officers. On the tables in the shift room there were always manuals and instructions for flying the aircraft. NASA executives, however, were naively convinced that astronauts were already professionals who should not be looked after by Big Brother, and that thick manuals on the safe operation of aircraft were unnecessary for them. Well, of course ... a teenager who has been given the keys to a high-speed Ferrari does not need rules in this way.

We were these very teenagers, and the skies over the Gulf of Mexico were our country roads. Coming out of the Houston air zone under radar control, we made our famous request to air traffic control: "Houston Center, I'm NASA 904. Please cancel the instrument flight rules." Translated into ordinary language, this meant: “Houston, I'm going to play. Don't bother me: when I'm finished, I'll let you know. "

Many times it happened that my TFNG pilot said, "Mike, come on!" - and I took control of the T-38 into my own hands. (Since the 38 was designed as a trainer, it had a full set of controls in the back seat.) If there was a thunderstorm in the flight area, I would direct the plane to where the clouds swirled in a fancy flower and glided between them like a skier passes slalom downhill gates. Pieces of clouds swept inches from the cockpit, increasing the sense of speed. If only there is an orgasm without sex, then it was it - speed and limitless freedom in the sky.