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Salyut 7 (russian: Салют-7; en, Salute 7) (a.k.a. DOS-6, short for Durable Orbital Station) was a
space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station ...
in
low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...
from April 1982 to February 1991.David Portree – Mir Hardware Heritage (1995) – Page 90-95 – NASA RP1357
/ref> It was first crewed in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15. Various crew and modules were used over its lifetime, including 12 crewed and 15 uncrewed launches in total. Supporting spacecraft included the Soyuz T,
Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...
, and TKS spacecraft. It was part of the
Soviet 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 ...
Salyut programme The ''Salyut'' programme (russian: Салют, , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed m ...
, and launched on 19 April 1982 on a
Proton rocket Proton (Russian: Протон) (formal designation: UR-500) is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965. Modern versions of the launch system are sti ...
from Site 200/40 at the
Baikonur Cosmodrome ''Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy'' rus, Космодром Байконур''Kosmodrom Baykonur'' , image = Baikonur Cosmodrome Soyuz launch pad.jpg , caption = The Baikonur Cosmodrome's " Gagarin's Start" Soyu ...
in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. Salyut 7 was part of the transition from monolithic to modular space stations, acting as a testbed for docking of additional modules and expanded station operations. It was the eighth space station of any kind launched. Salyut 7 was the last of both the second generation of DOS-series space stations and of the monolithic Salyut Program overall, to be replaced by Mir, the modular, expandable, third generation.


Description

Salyut 7 was the backup vehicle for
Salyut 6 Salyut 6 (russian: Салют-6; lit. Salute 6), DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receiv ...
and very similar in equipment and capabilities. With delays to the Mir programme it was decided to launch the back-up vehicle as Salyut 7. In orbit the station suffered technical failures though it benefited from the improved payload capacity of the visiting Progress and Soyuz craft and the experience of its crews who improvised many solutions (such as a fuel line rupture in September 1983 requiring EVAs by the
Soyuz T-10 Soyuz T-10 was the fifth expedition to the Salyut 7 space station. It entered a darkened and empty station because of the loss of Soyuz T-10a. It was visited by the sixth and seventh expeditions. During the course of the cosmonauts stay, th ...
crew to repair). It was aloft for eight years and ten months (a record not broken until Mir), during which time it was visited by 10 crews constituting six main expeditions and four secondary flights (including French and Indian cosmonauts). The station also saw two flights of Svetlana Savitskaya making her the second woman in space since
Valentina Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ( rus, Валентина Владимировна Терешкова, links=no, p=vɐlʲɪnʲˈtʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə tʲɪrʲɪʂˈkovə, a=Valentina Tereshkova.ogg; born 6 March 1937) is an engine ...
first flew in June 1963 and the first woman to perform an EVA during which she conducted metal cutting and welding alongside her colleague Vladimir Dzhanibekov. Aside from the many experiments and observations made on Salyut 7, the station also tested the docking and use of large modules with an orbiting space station. The modules were called "Heavy Kosmos modules" though in reality were variants of the TKS spacecraft intended for the cancelled
Almaz The Almaz (russian: Алмаз, lit=Diamond) program was a highly secret Soviet military space station program, begun in the early 1960s. Three crewed military reconnaissance stations were launched between 1973 and 1976: Salyut 2, Salyut 3 ...
military space station. They helped engineers develop technology necessary to build Mir.


Equipment

It had two docking ports, one on either end of the station, to allow docking with the Progress unmanned resupply craft, and a wider front docking port to allow safer docking with a Heavy Kosmos module. It carried three
solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a pho ...
s, two in lateral and one in dorsal longitudinal positions, but they now had the ability to mount secondary panels on their sides. Internally, the Salyut 7 carried electric stoves, a refrigerator, constant hot water and redesigned seats at the command console (more like bicycle seats). Two portholes were designed to allow
ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiati ...
light in, to help kill infections. The medical, biological and exercise sections were improved, to allow long stays in the station. The BST-1M telescope used in Salyut 6 was replaced by an
X-ray X-rays (or rarely, ''X-radiation'') are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, it is referred to as Röntgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered it in 1895 and named it ' ...
detection system. To support experiments in cultivating plants in space, several different plant life support systems were installed: Oasis 1A, Vazon, Svetoblok, Magnetogravistat, Biogravistat and Fiton(Phyton)-3. It was in Fiton-3 that ''
Arabidopsis ''Arabidopsis'' (rockcress) is a genus in the family Brassicaceae. They are small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard. This genus is of great interest since it contains thale cress (''Arabidopsis thaliana''), one of the model org ...
'' became the first plants to flower and produce seeds in the zero gravity of space. Salyut 7 was the most advanced and most comfortable space station of the Salyut series. A set of modifications to the interior made it more liveable. There were approximately 20 windows with shades on the Salyut 7. To protect the inside of the windows, they were covered with removable glass panels. The colour scheme was improved and a refrigerator was installed. The ceiling on the Salyut 7 was white; the left wall was apple green and the right one beige, a signature design by interior design architect, Galina Balashova, who carried on the concept through
Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз ( Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социали ...
to Mir and Buran, in an effort to replace 'survive' with 'comfort', working with seasoned cosmonauts to make living conditions better and 'closer to home'. Externally, in a departure from previous first generation stations, the large diameter operations section which housed the large scientific apparatus, was colored in a distinctive brown-red and white stripe pattern. This was done to differentiate between it and the outwardly similar
Salyut 6 Salyut 6 (russian: Салют-6; lit. Salute 6), DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receiv ...
that, for several months of its life, was in orbit at the same time.


Crews and missions

Following up the use of Kosmos 1267 on Salyut 6, the Soviets launched Kosmos 1443 on 2 March 1983 from a Proton SL-13. It docked with the station on 10 March, and was used by the crew of Soyuz T-9. It jettisoned its recovery module on 23 August, and re-entered the atmosphere on 19 September. Kosmos 1686 was launched on 27 September 1985, docking with the station on 2 October. It did not carry a recovery vehicle, and remained connected to the station for use by the crew of Soyuz T-14. Ten Soyuz T crews operated in Salyut 7. Only two Interkosmos "guest cosmonauts" worked in Salyut 7. The first attempt to launch Soyuz T-10 was aborted on the launch pad when a fire broke out at the base of the vehicle. The payload was ejected, and the crew was recovered safely.


Resident crews

Salyut 7 had six resident crews. * The first crew, Anatoli Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev, arrived on 13 May 1982 on Soyuz T-5 and remained for 211 days until 10 December 1982. * On 27 June 1983, the crew of
Vladimir Lyakhov Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич Ля́хов; 20 July 1941 – 19 April 2018) was a Ukrainian Soviet cosmonaut. He was selected as cosmonaut on 5 May 1967, and retired on 7 September 1994. Lya ...
and Alexander Alexandrov arrived on Soyuz T-9 and remained for 150 days, until 23 November 1983. * On 8 February 1984, Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov and
Oleg Atkov Oleg Yur'yevich At'kov ( Russian: Оле́г Ю́рьевич Атько́в; born 9 May 1949) is a Russian cardiologist and former Soviet cosmonaut. With a doctorate from the Russian Academy of Medical Science, Atkov was chosen to be the health ...
began a 237-day stay, the longest on Salyut 7, which ended on 2 October 1984. * Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh ( Soyuz T-13) arrived at the space station on 6 June 1985 to repair its malfunctions. * On 17 September 1985, Soyuz T-14 docked with the station carrying Vladimir Vasyutin, Alexander Volkov and
Georgi Grechko Georgy Mikhaylovich Grechko (russian: Георгий Михайлович Гречко; 25 May 1931 – 8 April 2017) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He flew to space on three missions, each bound for rendezvous with a different Salyut space station.< ...
. Eight days later Dzhanibekov and Grechko left the station and returned to Earth after 103 days, while Savinyikh, Vasyutin and Volkov remained on Salyut 7 and returned to Earth on 21 November 1985 after 65 days. * On 6 May 1986, Soyuz T-15 carrying Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov docked with the space station and undocked, after a 50-day stay, on 25 June 1986. The Soyuz had come from the Mir space station and returned to Mir on 26 June 1986 in a flight lasting 29 hours. There were also four visiting missions, crews which came to bring supplies and make shorter duration visits with the resident crews.


Technical and crew problems

The station suffered from two major problems, the first of which required extensive repair work to be performed on a number of EVAs.


Leaks

On 9 September 1983, during the stay of
Vladimir Lyakhov Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич Ля́хов; 20 July 1941 – 19 April 2018) was a Ukrainian Soviet cosmonaut. He was selected as cosmonaut on 5 May 1967, and retired on 7 September 1994. Lya ...
and Alexander Alexandrov, while reorienting the station to perform a radiowave transmission experiment, Lyakhov noticed the pressure of one fuel tank was almost zero. Following this, Alexandrov spotted a fuel leak when looking through the aft porthole. Ground control decided to try to repair the damaged pipes, in what was the most complex repair attempted during EVA at the time. This was to be attempted by the next crew, the current one lacking the necessary training and tools. The damage was eventually repaired by Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov, who needed four EVAs to fix two leaks. A special tool to fix the third leak was delivered by
Soyuz T-12 Soyuz T-12 (also known as Salyut 7 EP-4) was the seventh crewed spaceflight to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The name "Soyuz T-12" is also the name of the spacecraft used to launch and land the mission's three-person crew. The mission occur ...
, and the leak was subsequently fixed.''Leaving Earth'', by Robert Zimmerman, , 2003.


Loss of power

On 11 February 1985, contact with Salyut 7 was lost. The station began to drift, doing unpredictable movement on orbit, and all systems shut down. At this time the station was uninhabited, after the departure of Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov and
Oleg Atkov Oleg Yur'yevich At'kov ( Russian: Оле́г Ю́рьевич Атько́в; born 9 May 1949) is a Russian cardiologist and former Soviet cosmonaut. With a doctorate from the Russian Academy of Medical Science, Atkov was chosen to be the health ...
, and before the next crew arrived. It was once again decided to attempt to repair the station. The work was performed by Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh on the Soyuz T-13 mission during June 1985, in what was in the words of author David S. F. Portree "one of the most impressive feats of in-space repairs in history". This operation forms the basis of the 2017 Russian film '' Salyut 7''. All Soviet and Russian space stations were equipped with automatic rendezvous and docking systems, from the first space station Salyut 1 using the Igla system, to the Russian Orbital Segment of the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...
using the Kurs system. Upon arrival, on 6 June 1985, the Soyuz crew found the station was not broadcasting radar or telemetry for rendezvous, and after arrival and external inspection of the tumbling station, the crew estimated proximity using handheld laser rangefinders. Dzhanibekov piloted his ship to intercept the forward port of Salyut 7 and matched the station's rotation. After hard docking to the station and confirming the station's electrical system was dead, Dzhanibekov and Savinykh sampled the station atmosphere prior to opening the hatch. Attired in winter fur-lined clothing, they entered the station to conduct repairs. The fault was eventually found to be an electrical sensor that determined when the batteries needed charging. Once the batteries were replaced, the station started charging them, and warmed up over the next few days. Within a week sufficient systems were brought back online to allow uncrewed
Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...
cargo ships to dock with the station.


End of life

Salyut 7 was last inhabited in 1986 by the crew of Soyuz T-15, who ferried equipment from Salyut 7 to the new Mir space station. Between 19 and 22 August 1986, engines on Kosmos 1686 boosted Salyut 7 to a record-high mean orbital altitude of 475 km to forestall reentry until 1994. Retrieval at a future date by a
Buran shuttle ''Buran'' (russian: Буран, , meaning "Snowstorm" or "Blizzard"; GRAU index serial number: 11F35 1K, construction number: 1.01) was the first spaceplane to be produced as part of the Soviet/Russian Buran program. Besides describing the fir ...
was also planned. However, unexpectedly high solar activity in the late 1980s and early 1990s increased atmospheric drag on the station and sped its orbital decay. It finally underwent an uncontrolled reentry on 7 February 1991 over the town of Capitán Bermúdez in Argentina after it overshot its intended entry point, which would have placed its debris in uninhabited portions of the southern Pacific Ocean.


Expeditions and visiting spacecraft

Notation: * ''EO'' () or ''PE'' means Principal Expedition * ''EP'' () or ''VE'' means Visiting Expedition


Expeditions


Spacewalks


Docking operations

On three occasions, a visiting Soyuz craft was transferred from the station's aft port to its forward port. This was done to accommodate upcoming Progress shuttles, which could only refuel the station using connections available at the aft port. Typically, the resident crew would first dock at the forward port, leaving the aft port available for Progress craft and visiting Soyuz support crews. When a support crew docked at the aft port and left in the older, forward Soyuz, the resident crew would move the new vehicle forward by boarding it, undocking, and translating some 100–200 meters away from Salyut 7. Then, ground control would command the station itself to rotate 180 degrees, and the Soyuz would close and re-dock at the forward port. Soyuz T-7, T-9 and T-11 performed the operation, piloted by resident crews.Portree, Mir Hardware Heritage, pp. 90-102.


Specifications

Specifications of the baseline 1982 Salyut 7 module, from ''Mir Hardware Heritage'' (1995, NASA RP1357): * Length – about 16 m * Maximum diameter – 4.15 meters * Habitable volume – 90 m³ * Weight at launch – 19,824 kg * Launch vehicle –
Proton rocket Proton (Russian: Протон) (formal designation: UR-500) is an expendable launch system used for both commercial and Russian government space launches. The first Proton rocket was launched in 1965. Modern versions of the launch system are sti ...
(three-stage) * Orbital inclination – 51.6° * Span across solar arrays – 17 m * Area of solar arrays – 51 m2 * Number of solar arrays – 3 * Electricity available – 4.5 kW * Resupply carriers –
Soyuz-T The Soyuz-T (russian: Союз-T, ''Union-T'') spacecraft was the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, in service for seven years from 1979 to 1986. The ''T'' stood for transport (, ). The revised spacecraft incorporated lessons learned from the ...
,
Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...
, TKS spacecraft * Docking System – Igla or manual approach * Number of docking ports – 2 * Total manned missions – 12 * Total unmanned missions – 15 * Total long-duration missions – 6 * Number of main engines – 2 * Main engine thrust (each) – 300 kg


Visiting spacecraft and crews

(Launched crews. Spacecraft launch and landing dates listed.) * Soyuz T-5 – ''13 May – 27 August 1982'' ** Anatoli Berezovoy ** Valentin Lebedev * Soyuz T-6 – ''24 June – 2 July 1982 – Intercosmos Flight'' ** Vladimir Dzhanibekov ** Aleksandr Ivanchenkov ** Jean-Loup Chrétien – France *
Soyuz T-7 Soyuz T-7 (; code name Dnieper) was the third Soviet space mission to the Salyut 7 space station. Crew member Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman in space in almost twenty years, since Valentina Tereshkova who flew in 1963 on Vostok 6. Sa ...
– ''19 August – 10 December 1982'' **
Leonid Popov Leonid Ivanovich Popov (russian: Леони́д Ива́нович Попо́в; born August 31, 1945) is a former Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Popov was born in Oleksandriia, Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukrainian SSR. He was selected as a cosmonaut on ...
** Aleksandr Serebrov ** Svetlana Savitskaya *
Soyuz T-8 Soyuz T-8 was a crewed mission to the Salyut 7 Salyut 7 (russian: Салют-7; en, Salute 7) (a.k.a. DOS-6, short for Durable Orbital Station) was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first crewed in ...
– ''20–22 April 1983 – Failed docking'' ** Vladimir Titov ** Gennady Strekalov ** Aleksandr Serebrov * Soyuz T-9 – ''27 June – 23 November 1983'' **
Vladimir Lyakhov Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич Ля́хов; 20 July 1941 – 19 April 2018) was a Ukrainian Soviet cosmonaut. He was selected as cosmonaut on 5 May 1967, and retired on 7 September 1994. Lya ...
** Alexander Alexandrov * Soyuz T-10-1 – ''26 September 1983 – Launch abort'' ** Vladimir Titov ** Gennady Strekalov *
Soyuz T-10 Soyuz T-10 was the fifth expedition to the Salyut 7 space station. It entered a darkened and empty station because of the loss of Soyuz T-10a. It was visited by the sixth and seventh expeditions. During the course of the cosmonauts stay, th ...
– ''8 February – 11 April 1984'' ** Leonid Kizim ** Vladimir Solovyov **
Oleg Atkov Oleg Yur'yevich At'kov ( Russian: Оле́г Ю́рьевич Атько́в; born 9 May 1949) is a Russian cardiologist and former Soviet cosmonaut. With a doctorate from the Russian Academy of Medical Science, Atkov was chosen to be the health ...
* TKS 3 – ''4 March – 14 August 1983 – Launched unmanned as Kosmos 1443.'' * Soyuz T-11 – ''3 April – 2 October 1984 – Intercosmos Flight'' ** Yury Malyshev ** Gennady Strekalov **
Rakesh Sharma Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC (born 13 January 1949) is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although th ...
– India *
Soyuz T-12 Soyuz T-12 (also known as Salyut 7 EP-4) was the seventh crewed spaceflight to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The name "Soyuz T-12" is also the name of the spacecraft used to launch and land the mission's three-person crew. The mission occur ...
– ''17–29 July 1984'' ** Vladimir Dzhanibekov ** Svetlana Savitskaya **
Igor Volk Igor Petrovich Volk (russian: Игорь Петрович Волк, ; 12 April 1937 – 3 January 2017) was a Soviet test pilot and cosmonaut in the Buran programme. Military and test pilot Volk became a pilot in the Soviet Air Forces in ...
* Soyuz T-13 – ''6 June – 26 September 1985'' ** Vladimir Dzhanibekov ** Viktor Savinykh * Soyuz T-14 – ''17 September – 21 November 1985'' ** Vladimir Vasyutin **
Georgi Grechko Georgy Mikhaylovich Grechko (russian: Георгий Михайлович Гречко; 25 May 1931 – 8 April 2017) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He flew to space on three missions, each bound for rendezvous with a different Salyut space station.< ...
** Alexander Volkov * TKS 4 – ''September 1985 – 7 February 1991 – Launched unmanned as Kosmos 1686. Featured a high-resolution photo apparatus and optical sensor experiments (infrared telescope and Ozon spectrometer).'' * Soyuz T-15 – ''13 March – 16 July 1986 – Also visited Mir'' ** Leonid Kizim ** Vladimir Solovyov


In popular culture

The repair and reactivation of the station by Soyuz T-13 is the subject of the 2017 Russian historical drama '' Salyut 7''. These events also served as a plot base for the Polish novel ''Połowa nieba'' (pol. ''Half the sky''), by Bartek Biedrzycki (first published 2018), collected in ''Zimne światło gwiazd'' in 2020.


See also

* List of spacewalks *
Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operation ...
*
STS-61 STS-61 was the first NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission launched on 2 December 1993 from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The mission restored the spacebor ...
(
Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ver ...
mirror fix-mission)


References


External links

* * {{Orbital launches in 1982 Salyut program 1982 in the Soviet Union Spacecraft launched in 1982 Spacecraft which reentered in 1991