Progress 4 (), was a
Progress cargo spacecraft launched by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1978 to resupply the
Salyut 6 space station. It used the
Progress 7K-TG configuration and was the fourth Progress mission to Salyut 6. It carried supplies aboard Salyut 6, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.
Spacecraft
Progress 4 was a Progress 7K-TG spacecraft. The fourth of forty three to be launched, it had the
serial number
A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it.
Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...
105.
The Progress 7K-TG spacecraft was the first generation
Progress, derived from the
Soyuz 7K-T and intended for uncrewed logistics missions to space stations in support of the
Salyut programme. On some missions the spacecraft were also used to adjust the orbit of the space station.
The Progress spacecraft had a dry mass of , which increased to around when fully fuelled. It measured in length, and in diameter. Each spacecraft could accommodate up to of payload, consisting of dry cargo and propellant. The spacecraft were powered by chemical batteries, and could operate in free flight for up to three days, remaining docked to the station for up to thirty.
Launch
Progress 4 launched on 3 October 1978 at 23:09:30 UTC from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
in the
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. It used a
Soyuz-U rocket.
Docking
Progress 4 docked with Salyut 6 on 6 October 1978 at 01:00:15 UTC.
Decay
It remained in orbit until 26 October 1978, when it was deorbited. The deorbit burn occurred at 16:28 UTC.
See also
*
1978 in spaceflight
1978 saw the launch of the Pioneer Venus missions launched by the United States, on 20 May and 8 August. The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe landed four spacecraft on the planet, one of which transmitted data for 67 minutes before being destroyed by a ...
*
List of Progress missions
*
List of uncrewed spaceflights to Salyut space stations
References
{{Orbital launches in 1978
Progress (spacecraft) missions
1978 in the Soviet Union
Spacecraft launched in 1978
Spacecraft which reentered in 1978
Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-U rockets