Servicemen of the search and rescue and paratrooper service of the Central Military District completed a training program for participation in the implementation of the state space program in 2021. In the course of the methodological lesson, the Odyssey lander, which returned from orbit in 2013, was used for the first time. On the basis of “Odyssey”, a training model was created, completely repeating the external structure and onboard equipment of the operating descent vehicles.
Within the framework of practical actions, the military personnel of the Central Military District have worked out a full range of measures to search and rescue the crew of the spacecraft. An aviation group consisting of An-26 transport aircraft equipped with radar equipment and Mi-8 multipurpose helicopters determined the coordinates of the capsule, in the landing area of which the rescue paratrooper group landed.
The delivery of medical specialists was carried out by the crews of Mi-8 helicopters and search engines. Military rescuers evacuated the simulated cosmonaut from the descent vehicle, provided first aid and loaded him into the passenger module of the Blue Bird search and evacuation vehicle for transportation to the nearest airfield.
In addition, the servicemen of the search and rescue group worked out the evacuation of an astronaut from a hard-to-reach area using a winch on board a helicopter, lifting the astronaut to a height of about 30 meters. Army aviation crews carried out the transportation of the descent vehicle on an external sling. In 2021, servicemen of the Central Military District’s search and rescue group will take part in six operations to support the launches of Soyuz MS manned transport spacecraft and landing of descent vehicles.
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The search and rescue group of the Central Military District is a unique unit that deals with specialized support for launches and landings of manned spacecraft. For almost 20 years, the group’s personnel performed 78 support for spacecraft launches and about 80 search and rescue operations to support the landing of the Soyuz MS spacecraft descent vehicles, evacuating over 200 cosmonauts and astronauts who returned from the International Space Station.