The Soyuz 40 mission was a 1981
Soviet
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, ...
crewed spaceflight
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...
and the final flight of the
Soyuz 7K-T
The second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the ''Soyuz 7K-T'', comprised Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 (1973-1981). In the wake of the Soyuz 11 tragedy, the spacecraft was redesigned to accommodate two cosmonauts who would wear pressure suit ...
spacecraft. It was a collaboration between the Soviet Union and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
[The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-40.htm]
Crew
Backup crew
Mission parameters
*Mass: 6800 kg
*Perigee: 198.1 km
*Apogee: 287 km
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 89.06 minutes
Mission highlights
Soyuz 40 was the 16th expedition to Salyut 6 and carried the ninth international crew. It also ended the first phase of the
Intercosmos
Interkosmos (russian: Интеркосмос) was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with crewed and uncrewed space missions.
The program was formed in April 1967 in Moscow. All members of the program from USSR ...
program by carrying Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu and Soviet cosmonaut Leonid Popov to the station. In all, nine Intercosmos missions were launched between 1978 and 1981.
Soyuz 40 was the last of the original Soyuz spacecraft (due to its replacement by the Soyuz-T) and the last Soyuz spacecraft to dock with
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 ...
. During the crew's stay, Prunariu studied the Earth's magnetic field. Earth observations had to be delayed until the last day of the flight, when Salyut 6 passed over Romania in daylight. During this time the crew also tested the station's orientation system.
See also
*
List of human spaceflights to Salyut space stations
This is a chronological list of human spaceflights to the Salyut space stations. Prior to Salyut 6, flights were referred to by the designation of the Soyuz spacecraft that transported the crew to and from the station. Flights to Salyut 6 and Salyu ...
*
List of Salyut expeditions
This is a chronological list of expeditions to the Salyut space stations. Initially these expeditions were not numbered, however the crews of Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 were numbered , where ''n'' is sequentially increased with each expedition to that p ...
References
{{Orbital launches in 1981
Crewed Soyuz missions
Spacecraft launched in 1981
1981 in the Soviet Union
Romania–Soviet Union relations
1981 in Romania
Spacecraft which reentered in 1981