Salyut 7
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 i ...
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 mor ...
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 Soyuz T-5 was a human spaceflight into Earth orbit to the then new Salyut 7 space station in 1982.Soyuz T-15 Soyuz T-15 (russian: Союз T-15, ''Union T-15'') was a crewed mission to the Mir and Salyut 7 space stations and was part of the Soyuz programme. It marked the final flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft, the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, whi ...
. Various crew and modules were used over its lifetime, including 12 crewed and 15 uncrewed launches in total. Supporting spacecraft included the
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 wi ...
, and
TKS spacecraft The TKS spacecraft (russian: Транспортный корабль снабжения, , ''Transport Supply Spacecraft'', GRAU index 11F72) was a Soviet spacecraft conceived in the late 1960s for resupply flights to the military Almaz space s ...
. It was part of the
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, ...
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 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
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 ...
. 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 ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
, 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 ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
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
EVA Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
s 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, thr ...
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 Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya (russian: Светла́на Евге́ньевна Сави́цкая; born 8 August 1948) is a Russian former aviator and Soviet cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space. O ...
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 Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков, born 13 May 1942) is a former cosmonaut who made five flights. Biography Dzhanibekov was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krysin (russian ...
. 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 The TKS spacecraft (russian: Транспортный корабль снабжения, , ''Transport Supply Spacecraft'', GRAU index 11F72) was a Soviet spacecraft conceived in the late 1960s for resupply flights to the military Almaz space s ...
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 an ...
military space station. They helped engineers develop technology necessary to build
Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
.


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 photo ...
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 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
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 An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10  picometers to 10  nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
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 organi ...
'' 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 Социалис ...
to
Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
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 Kosmos 1267 (russian: Космос 1267 meaning ''Cosmos 1267''), also known as TKS-2, was an unmanned TKS spacecraft which docked to the USSR, Soviet space station Salyut 6 as part of tests to attach scientific expansion modules to stations in Ear ...
on Salyut 6, the Soviets launched
Kosmos 1443 The TKS spacecraft (russian: Транспортный корабль снабжения, , ''Transport Supply Spacecraft'', GRAU index 11F72) was a Soviet Union, Soviet spacecraft conceived in the late 1960s for resupply flights to the military ...
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 Soyuz T-9 (Russian: Союз Т-9, Union T-9) was the 4th expedition to Salyut 7 following the failed docking of Soyuz T-8. It returned lab experiments to Earth. The next mission, Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L (Soyuz 10a), had exploded and thus failed to ...
. It jettisoned its recovery module on 23 August, and re-entered the atmosphere on 19 September.
Kosmos 1686 Kosmos 1686 (russian: Космос 1686 meaning ''Cosmos 1686''), also known as TKS-4, was a heavily modified TKS spacecraft which docked unmanned to the Soviet space station Salyut 7 as part of tests to attach scientific expansion modules to sta ...
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 Soyuz T-14 (russian: Союз Т-14, ''Union T-14'') was the ninth expedition to Salyut 7. The mission relieved Soyuz T-13, whose crew had performed unprecedented repairs aboard the previously-dead station. Crew Backup crew Mission parame ...
. 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 Anatoly Nikolayevich Berezovoy (russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Березово́й; 11 April 1942 – 20 September 2014) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Berezovoy was born in Enem, Adyghe Autonomous Oblast, Russian SFSR ...
and
Valentin Lebedev Valentin Vitalyevich Lebedev (russian: Валентин Витальевич Лебедев; born April 14, 1942 in Moscow) is a Soviet cosmonaut who made two flights into space. His stay aboard the Space Station Salyut 7 with Anatoly Berezo ...
, arrived on 13 May 1982 on
Soyuz T-5 Soyuz T-5 was a human spaceflight into Earth orbit to the then new Salyut 7 space station in 1982.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 Soyuz T-9 (Russian: Союз Т-9, Union T-9) was the 4th expedition to Salyut 7 following the failed docking of Soyuz T-8. It returned lab experiments to Earth. The next mission, Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L (Soyuz 10a), had exploded and thus failed to ...
and remained for 150 days, until 23 November 1983. * On 8 February 1984,
Leonid Kizim Leonid Denisovich Kizim (russian: Леонид Денисович Кизим; 5 August 1941 – 14 June 2010) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Kizim was born in Krasnyi Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union (now Lyman, Ukraine). He graduated f ...
, 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 s ...
began a 237-day stay, the longest on Salyut 7, which ended on 2 October 1984. *
Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков, born 13 May 1942) is a former cosmonaut who made five flights. Biography Dzhanibekov was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krysin (russian ...
and
Viktor Savinykh Viktor Petrovich Savinykh (born 7 March 1940) is a Soviet cosmonaut. Selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978, he flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-4, Soyuz T-13 and Soyuz TM-5, and has spent 252 days 17 hours 38 minutes in space. Savinykh reti ...
(
Soyuz T-13 Soyuz T-13 was a Soyuz mission, transporting personnel to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The eighth expedition to the orbital station, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:39:52 UTC on June ...
) arrived at the space station on 6 June 1985 to repair its malfunctions. * On 17 September 1985,
Soyuz T-14 Soyuz T-14 (russian: Союз Т-14, ''Union T-14'') was the ninth expedition to Salyut 7. The mission relieved Soyuz T-13, whose crew had performed unprecedented repairs aboard the previously-dead station. Crew Backup crew Mission parame ...
docked with the station carrying
Vladimir Vasyutin Vladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin (Russian: Влaдимиp Bлaдимиpoвич Васютин; 8 March 1952 19 July 2002) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He was selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978 (TsPK-6). He retired on 25 February 1986. Vasyuti ...
, 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 Soyuz T-15 (russian: Союз T-15, ''Union T-15'') was a crewed mission to the Mir and Salyut 7 space stations and was part of the Soyuz programme. It marked the final flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft, the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, whi ...
carrying
Leonid Kizim Leonid Denisovich Kizim (russian: Леонид Денисович Кизим; 5 August 1941 – 14 June 2010) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Kizim was born in Krasnyi Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union (now Lyman, Ukraine). He graduated f ...
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 ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
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 Leonid Denisovich Kizim (russian: Леонид Денисович Кизим; 5 August 1941 – 14 June 2010) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Kizim was born in Krasnyi Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union (now Lyman, Ukraine). He graduated f ...
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 occurr ...
, 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 s ...
, and before the next crew arrived. It was once again decided to attempt to repair the station. The work was performed by
Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков, born 13 May 1942) is a former cosmonaut who made five flights. Biography Dzhanibekov was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krysin (russian ...
and
Viktor Savinykh Viktor Petrovich Savinykh (born 7 March 1940) is a Soviet cosmonaut. Selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978, he flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-4, Soyuz T-13 and Soyuz TM-5, and has spent 252 days 17 hours 38 minutes in space. Savinykh reti ...
on the
Soyuz T-13 Soyuz T-13 was a Soyuz mission, transporting personnel to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The eighth expedition to the orbital station, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:39:52 UTC on June ...
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 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 May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last vi ...
''. 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 The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station. ...
of the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
using the
Kurs KURS (1040 kHz) is an AM radio station broadcasting a Spanish-language Catholic radio format. The station is licensed to San Diego, California and is owned by El Sembrador Ministries. KURS is an affiliate of ''ESNE Radio''. ESNE had been hea ...
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 wi ...
cargo ships to dock with the station.


End of life

Salyut 7 was last inhabited in 1986 by the crew of
Soyuz T-15 Soyuz T-15 (russian: Союз T-15, ''Union T-15'') was a crewed mission to the Mir and Salyut 7 space stations and was part of the Soyuz programme. It marked the final flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft, the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, whi ...
, who ferried equipment from Salyut 7 to the new
Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
space station. Between 19 and 22 August 1986, engines on
Kosmos 1686 Kosmos 1686 (russian: Космос 1686 meaning ''Cosmos 1686''), also known as TKS-4, was a heavily modified TKS spacecraft which docked unmanned to the Soviet space station Salyut 7 as part of tests to attach scientific expansion modules to sta ...
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 Capitán Bermúdez is a city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Argentina, located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, (north of Rosario, Santa Fe, Rosario, immediately north of Granadero Baigorria) ...
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 wi ...
,
TKS spacecraft The TKS spacecraft (russian: Транспортный корабль снабжения, , ''Transport Supply Spacecraft'', GRAU index 11F72) was a Soviet spacecraft conceived in the late 1960s for resupply flights to the military Almaz space s ...
* 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 Soyuz T-5 was a human spaceflight into Earth orbit to the then new Salyut 7 space station in 1982.Anatoli Berezovoy Anatoly Nikolayevich Berezovoy (russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Березово́й; 11 April 1942 – 20 September 2014) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Berezovoy was born in Enem, Adyghe Autonomous Oblast, Russian SFSR ...
**
Valentin Lebedev Valentin Vitalyevich Lebedev (russian: Валентин Витальевич Лебедев; born April 14, 1942 in Moscow) is a Soviet cosmonaut who made two flights into space. His stay aboard the Space Station Salyut 7 with Anatoly Berezo ...
*
Soyuz T-6 Soyuz T-6 was a human spaceflight to Earth orbit to the Salyut 7 space station in 1982. Along with two Soviet cosmonauts, the crew included a Frenchman, Jean-Loup Chrétien. The Soyuz-T spacecraft arrived at Salyut 7 following launch on 24 June ...
– ''24 June – 2 July 1982 – Intercosmos Flight'' **
Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков, born 13 May 1942) is a former cosmonaut who made five flights. Biography Dzhanibekov was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krysin (russian ...
**
Aleksandr Ivanchenkov Aleksandr Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Иванче́нков; born 28 September 1940 ) is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 29 and Soyuz T-6, he spent 147 days, 12 hou ...
**
Jean-Loup Chrétien Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien (born 20 August 1938) is a French retired ''Général de Brigade'' (brigadier general) in the ''Armée de l'Air'' (French air force), and a former CNES spationaut. He flew on two Franco-Soviet space missions a ...
– 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. Savi ...
– ''19 August – 10 December 1982'' ** Leonid Popov **
Aleksandr Serebrov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Серебро́в, 15 February 1944 – 12 November 2013) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1967), ...
**
Svetlana Savitskaya Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya (russian: Светла́на Евге́ньевна Сави́цкая; born 8 August 1948) is a Russian former aviator and Soviet cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space. O ...
*
Soyuz T-8 Soyuz T-8 was a crewed mission to the Salyut 7 space station in 1983. Shortly into the mission, the spacecraft failed to dock with the space station due to an incident involving an antenna being torn off the craft by the protective launch shroud. ...
– ''20–22 April 1983 – Failed docking'' **
Vladimir Titov Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov (russian: Владимир Георгиевич Титов; born 1 January 1947 in Sretensk, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia) is a retired Russian Air Force Colonel and former cosmonaut. He has participated in four spacefli ...
**
Gennady Strekalov Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov (russian: Генна́дий Миха́йлович Стрека́лов; 26 October 1940 – 25 December 2004) was an engineer, cosmonaut, and administrator at Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia. He flew into spa ...
**
Aleksandr Serebrov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Серебро́в, 15 February 1944 – 12 November 2013) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1967), ...
*
Soyuz T-9 Soyuz T-9 (Russian: Союз Т-9, Union T-9) was the 4th expedition to Salyut 7 following the failed docking of Soyuz T-8. It returned lab experiments to Earth. The next mission, Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L (Soyuz 10a), had exploded and thus failed to ...
– ''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 Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L, sometimes known as Soyuz T-10a or Soyuz T-10-1, was an unsuccessful Soyuz mission intended to visit the Salyut 7 space station, which was occupied by the Soyuz T-9 crew. However, it never finished its launch countdown; the ...
– ''26 September 1983 – Launch abort'' **
Vladimir Titov Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov (russian: Владимир Георгиевич Титов; born 1 January 1947 in Sretensk, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia) is a retired Russian Air Force Colonel and former cosmonaut. He has participated in four spacefli ...
**
Gennady Strekalov Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov (russian: Генна́дий Миха́йлович Стрека́лов; 26 October 1940 – 25 December 2004) was an engineer, cosmonaut, and administrator at Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia. He flew into spa ...
*
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, thr ...
– ''8 February – 11 April 1984'' **
Leonid Kizim Leonid Denisovich Kizim (russian: Леонид Денисович Кизим; 5 August 1941 – 14 June 2010) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Kizim was born in Krasnyi Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union (now Lyman, Ukraine). He graduated f ...
** 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 s ...
* TKS 3 – ''4 March – 14 August 1983 – Launched unmanned as Kosmos 1443.'' *
Soyuz T-11 Soyuz T-11 was the sixth expedition to the Soviet Salyut 7 space station, which in 1984 carried the first Indian cosmonaut along with Soviet crew members. Salyut 7 was uncrewed after the undocking of Soyuz T-11 in October 1984 until Soyuz T-13 d ...
– ''3 April – 2 October 1984 – Intercosmos Flight'' ** Yury Malyshev **
Gennady Strekalov Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov (russian: Генна́дий Миха́йлович Стрека́лов; 26 October 1940 – 25 December 2004) was an engineer, cosmonaut, and administrator at Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia. He flew into spa ...
**
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 ...
– 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 occurr ...
– ''17–29 July 1984'' **
Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков, born 13 May 1942) is a former cosmonaut who made five flights. Biography Dzhanibekov was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krysin (russian ...
**
Svetlana Savitskaya Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya (russian: Светла́на Евге́ньевна Сави́цкая; born 8 August 1948) is a Russian former aviator and Soviet cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space. O ...
**
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 Soyuz T-13 was a Soyuz mission, transporting personnel to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The eighth expedition to the orbital station, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:39:52 UTC on June ...
– ''6 June – 26 September 1985'' **
Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков, born 13 May 1942) is a former cosmonaut who made five flights. Biography Dzhanibekov was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Krysin (russian ...
**
Viktor Savinykh Viktor Petrovich Savinykh (born 7 March 1940) is a Soviet cosmonaut. Selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978, he flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-4, Soyuz T-13 and Soyuz TM-5, and has spent 252 days 17 hours 38 minutes in space. Savinykh reti ...
*
Soyuz T-14 Soyuz T-14 (russian: Союз Т-14, ''Union T-14'') was the ninth expedition to Salyut 7. The mission relieved Soyuz T-13, whose crew had performed unprecedented repairs aboard the previously-dead station. Crew Backup crew Mission parame ...
– ''17 September – 21 November 1985'' **
Vladimir Vasyutin Vladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin (Russian: Влaдимиp Bлaдимиpoвич Васютин; 8 March 1952 19 July 2002) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He was selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978 (TsPK-6). He retired on 25 February 1986. Vasyuti ...
**
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 Soyuz T-15 (russian: Союз T-15, ''Union T-15'') was a crewed mission to the Mir and Salyut 7 space stations and was part of the Soyuz programme. It marked the final flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft, the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, whi ...
– ''13 March – 16 July 1986 – Also visited Mir'' **
Leonid Kizim Leonid Denisovich Kizim (russian: Леонид Денисович Кизим; 5 August 1941 – 14 June 2010) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Biography Kizim was born in Krasnyi Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, Soviet Union (now Lyman, Ukraine). He graduated f ...
** 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 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 May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last vi ...
''. 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 Lists of spacewalks and moonwalks include: By date: * List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999 * List of spacewalks 2000–2014 * List of spacewalks since 2015 By space station: * List of Salyut spacewalks * List of Mir spacewalks * List ...
*
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 operations in ...
*
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 versa ...
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