Soyuz "Globus" Mechanical Navigation Computer Part 1: Grand Opening 

Technically, it's an artifact of a highly advanced lost civilization.

I do own a Yak-52, a small russian trainer aircraft from 1980. Made in the former red star countries. Instruments are the same as on the Migs, Tanks and some Sojuz parts like the round instruments and some switches/fuses. They used the same design and parts for 50 years on all vehicles. Simple and reliable, I can smell this Globus from 8000miles away. Same paint, screws, finish, metal. This Globus is like the holy grail, its marvelous, 100% hand made mechanical wonder. Comes right after the antikythera mechanism.

It's incredible what people did in the past without CAD/CAM, a true engineering masterpiece.

An electro - mechanical work of art. A cross between the watch maker's world and an electrical engineer's.

There's just something about mechanical devices like this, they're a thing of beauty inside.

Мог ли я представить раньше, когда собирал на заводе подобные штуки, что потом кто то будет их с таким интересом разбирать и рассматривать? В перчатках! )))))

Analog no matter how old is still a thing of beauty.

How can one jam such a device? The answer is: one can't! It takes a lot of deeply learned knowledge to make a seemingly primitive and cumbersome contraption like that work at a very sophisticated level. Kudos to Soviet engineers and workers who made them!

What brilliant mechanisms people had to come up with because of the technology available at the time, definitely a good idea to show the inner workings and preserve this knowledge for future generations.

Ребята, вы молодцы! Благодаря вам, старые, очень сложные и редкие вещи снова живут и на них можно посмотреть. Класс!

По образованию инженер-механик, но в голове не укладывается, как это спроектировать, разработать, изготовить без компьютеров, а потом поместить в маленький чемоданчик? Сложно предположить сколько заводов, людей работало над этим.

Without CAD and any computer design this is one of the masterpiece❤

я видел подобный навигационный компьютер лишь в двух местах- в музее космонавтики на ВДНХ и в музее Циолковского в Калуге. И каждый раз меня впечатляла тонкость работы, облаченная в до боли родные стальные корпуса, покрытые молотковой краской и бакелитовые детали. спасибо за видео, вы исполнили мальчишескую мечту- разобрали сложнейший интересный механизм)

I have a three volume set titled "Ingenious Mechanisms For Designers and Inventors" published in 1930 and edited by Franklin D. Jones. Anyone who has worked in machinery design can appreciate the hours of partially sleepless nights lying in bed thinking about efficient component relationships to control and transfer motion, of which, these volumes are goldmines. I can only imagine the "feeling/emotions" the engineers and watchmakers had that were challenged with the creation of this device...and the satisfaction of completing a working model...

This thing is a masterpiece, the equivalent of the astronomical clocks of the XIVth century or the Antikythera mechanism: The pinnacle of their time's technology.

I can see "73 г" - 1973 year of production on those МП3 microswitches, so most likely this unit was made in 1973-1974 or so. It is about 50 years old now! Also it is impressive that after some really hard dropping you was needed just to insert globe shaft back in the mechanism to repair it... Definitely made in soviet Russia☻

Фрезерованная нержавейка и латунь! Блестящие шестеренки и провод МГТФ! Это просто роскошь какая то!

imagine if digital computers were never invented, these amazing devices would be everywhere.

Шикарный прибор, спасибо за то что показали как он устроен.

WoW! I envy you guys for having the opportunity to play with these amazing nostalgic toys.

It amazes me these pieces of technology can be understood and explained, but the idea to be grasped out of thin air to build one from scratch is beyond my comprehension. And yet it is done nearly everyday.

Mindbogglingly old-fashioned - but wonderful just because of that! You just can't get the same buzz out of opening up modern electronics. Many thanks!

Всегда нравилась такая подача стиля. От кабины пилота ту-154 … до панели в поезде, где можешь налить себе чай. Больше поражает как люди подходили к решению прикладной задачи. Спасибо за видео.

Absolutely amazing mechanism. Thanks for making these, Marc. I loved your teletype series, I couldn't get enough of the beautiful mechanisms in those machines. And now this - excellent!

это как в подземельях Skyrim находишь артефакт давно исчезнувшей, развитой цивилизации и удивляешься умениям ученых того периода

The cams engaging on a conical driver makes sense. The orbit time is directly related to orbit altitude/speed (assuming a near-circular orbit) and therefore the crew can take the orbital altitude and speed over the ground into account by setting the orbit time. Simple, elegant, and reliable!

My word, your whole channel is a treasure trove of awesomeness!! amazing job showcasing and even explaining more in depth about everything you cover. Best Wishes to all of you guys in the community keeping history alive

Today computers can design digital circuits. I would like to see if an (I.A.) could design ('imagine') something like this! What a piece of art!!

Man, I love this channel. Thank You for everyone involved!

In the 80s he served in the GDR. First as a mechanic driver on a self-propelled gun, then as a platoon commander of artillery reconnaissance. At that time there was no GPS, Glonass, and so on, but we were able to get attached to the terrain, and then systems with a gyrocompass and a mechanical system for indicating the location worked - a paper map on the shaft on which the route was drawn. The engineers of the last century were very smart and inventive. I raise a glass of wine to them. Vivat!

This is what I love about the space race, such carefully magnificently designed elements!

The ingenuity of the "Globus" amaze me since the first time i saw it in one of the recent movies avout the soviet space progam. The critical information aka where you are or where you are gonna land is presented in such an intuitive way. The fact that you can switch beetween the two modes remind me of the TDC (torpedoe date computer), an electro mechanical targetng computer and early bomb sight of the same technology that could perform both CCRP (Continuesly Calculated Release Point) and CCIP (Cont..; Calcul...Impact Point) computing. All those devices had to solve the same type of geometric and dynamic problems. Little known fact : When NASA set up the its network of relay sation during the 60s at the heart of the space race it did offer the USSR the ability to use it which was refused. Even then russian spacecraft had instructions in english outside the spacecraft in case it had to land ouside soviet territory, preferably on us soil which might seems counter intuitive in retrospect. Also there was a NASA/state memorandum that if a soviet craft landed on US soil it was to be treated the same as a diplomatic vehicle. That might explain why NASA stations were marked on the globe even before joint missions were a thing, just in case they had to communicate during an ermergency their intent to land on US soil. Just my 2 cents.

It deserves to be preserved. A work of art.

100% awesome video and thank You so much for sharing such content! Couldn't see such stuff anywhere else!

That is super cool! The engineering that went into designing this device is amazing.

An artifact of an advanced civilization.

What a beautiful piece of history, I love how they were able to engineer these things. Can't wait to see it in operation.

Wow, just wow. What a brilliant piece of equipment

One of the best engineerings I have ever seen in my life. That is art.

This is so cool---the Globus was always one of my favorite pieces of Soviet space technology. Thanks for this wonderful opportunity to go on the journey of what's inside, and how it works!

Marc never disappoints.

Amazing 👏 what a beautiful man made machine instrument...art , marriage of clockwork analogue and more !

such a cool instrument! i have always been fascinated by the globe when i looked at photos from the soyuz crafts

Can you imagine that somewhere out there, in Russia, there are still people who know every single cog of this beauty and have been servicing them for years? I know that the Globus used to be the first thing removed from any Soyuz capsule after touchdown - and taken for servicing ad re-fitting.

The Globus is one of my favorite feats of early space age engineering

Discovering these new machines is the best part of the channel

God damn! Those Wostok instruments just blow my mind. They really, totally and absolutely flew into space with cast iron (OK, maybe aluminium...) gear finished in hammer blow enamel. Those were the days! Thanks for making those extremely entertaining and just excellent videos!

What a beautiful thing! Looking forward to more about this.

Soviet mechanisms, electronic boards with components are truly masterpieces. look at the braided wire harnesses.

The level of care and precision this was assembled with is just amazing

This is why I love RU-vid so much. Where else would you ever stumble upon stuff like this.

These are true masterpieces and feats of engineering. Now everything is driven by software (CAD, OpenAi, algorithms, etc.)

Not sure if you noticed, but @ 18:16 there is a loose c-clip sticking to the side of the motor on the far right side of the shot.

Built like a fine watch.

This is exactly the instrument I would build if I were making a 1950's movie prop. It's obvious at a glance what it's showing.

How tf did they come up with all these mechanisms in the past to do all these calculations. I mean, how did they reverse engineer from equations to get them done by mechanical/electrical computer? Amazing.

Absolutely outstanding! I am lost for words!

I drooled at all the intricate gears, amazing craftmanship.

Wow! What a great technology from the old days. Many thanks for the video. 👍👍👍

So beautifully made. Real pride of work in every aspect.

Very interesting device, I will say that I have personally seen this kind of mechanical navigation computers in Russian civilian aircraft like the TU-144, it had a mechanical INS navigation system and also the pilot's front panel had a moving "map", which basically projected a film covering all the flight plan that the TU-144 would follow from Moscow Domodedovo to Alma Ata in 1977.

Wow, that looks epic! You guys are superb! ❤️👌

What a great channel. Thanks for the next-level content. Subscribed.

Os caras que construíram essa máquina são uns génios.icrivel essa máquina.sou técnico em eletronica e fiquei encantado

I hope you succeed in making it function. It would be great to see it in action.

Another 23 minutes glued to the screen! Not easy to be bored with gems like these to take up your time

Oh yeah! Definitely worth a restoration. looking forward to seeing it working

A truly beautiful piece of engineering work.

These mechanisms were made in my city and I am proud of it! )

the workmanship is superb, pure excellence, dare I say out of this world.

Another gorgeous contraption :D Have full faith that Ken will figure out how to make it work again.

I love this piece...I found out it a year or so ago...I want to make RPi powered version...but was stuck on how they move the globe...now I know the angle is fixed so I can do whatever I want.

Very cool. Can't wait to see a stop-motion launch, flight, and landing.

You guys have all the fun. 👍

Can't wait to see it working!

Thing looks like something out of a 1950s space movie. I love it! And that it's mechanical is pretty darn cool.

what a remarkable piece of engineering, absolutely stunning.

From the first time I saw one of those, I really wanted one, and to take it apart. You are so lucky!

thnx for showing the tilt mechanism! was working on a simple replica and this is going to make me rewqork it entirely :P

Просто нет слов. Какими нужно быть профессионалами, какого уровня знаниями владеть чтобы это спроектировать.

I want one so bad. I love clocks and watches and this is amazing. Even the finishing for something so utilitarian is amazing !

thanks for such delicate treatment with this mechanical masterpiece

Говорите, что такой тип аналогового вычислителя летал до 2002 года, но конкретно этот, судя по датам на радиодеталях, должен был лететь 1973 года. Так что старичку уже 50 лет.

This technology is literally a work of art. Thanks so much Marc and co for showing us.

Wow, a fabulous machine !

This is SUCH an interesting video. What a beautiful machine.

It is so mechanical, I love it

Really ingenious devices. Only you can recover this technology. How I envy you!!

What a beautifully built piece of equipment!

thank you for saving artifacts for history through your videos; this device is amazing example of human thoughts for anthropology

Los que hicieron esta máquina, son unos genios, con sus piñoneria y engranajes metálicos para durar eternamente. Y los que la reparan, son otros genios.

Фантастические приборы! Спасибо за видео. 👍👍👍👍👍

That is an amazing piece. You should post photos of the globe with the gears attached to it sitting on the desk as shown in this video somewhere, those would look so cool.

2002! I've loved the globus since I read it's article on Wikipedia, it's great to see it open and analized in depth.

The scope is a nice price too. $99 shown at the link's destination. p.s. thanks for the link and very neat instrument.

The black wax / tar seal is very common on soviet equipement, I just broke one today on an avionics module ! The resistive wire of the potentiometer is made of a palladium alloy.

It's a beautiful piece of equipment.

Amazing ! Thank you for sharing

These mechanical & analog computers just piece of art and beauty. Requires more mind effort and design ability more then today digital ones. But forsure, digital ones are simplest ones to be used... I really respect that Soviet analog engineering abilities..

Incredible. I am very amazed how skilled people are when it comes ti mechanical engineering.