 Full-size mockups of Salyut 7 (center) with a Soyuz spacecraft (left) docked on the station's fore docking port and a Progress unmanned spacecraft (right) on the aft port. Note that the station's three solar arrays are not featured on the mockup. | |
| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
| Launch | 19 April 1982 19:45:00 UTC |
| Launch pad | LC-200/40, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Soviet Union |
| Reentry | 7 February 1991 |
| Mass | 19,824 kg |
| Length | 16 m (minimum) |
| Width | 4.15 m (max. |
| Pressurised volume | 90 m³ (minimum) |
| Periapsis altitude | 219 km (118.25 nmi) |
| Apoapsis altitude | 278 km (150.1 nmi) |
| Orbital inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Orbital period | 89.2 minutes |
| Days in orbit | 3216 days |
| Days occupied | 816 days |
| No. of orbits | 51,917 |
| Distance travelled | 2,106,297,129 km (1,137,309,460 nmi) |
| Statistics as of de-orbit and reentry | |
| Configuration | |
 | |
Salyut 7 (Russian: Салют-7; English: Salute 7), also known as DOS-6,[a] was a Soviet space station operational in low Earth orbit from 1982 to 1986. Launched into space by a Proton-K rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 19 April 1982, it was the last station of the Salyut program after which the Soviet space program shifted its focus to the next-generation, modular Mir station. Like its predecessor, Salyut 7 featured a monolithic cylindrical body, with forward and aft facing docking ports which enabled it to have two spacecraft docked simultaneously.
During its five-year operational lifetime, the station was manned by six resident crews and was visited by four visiting crews, two of which carried non-Soviet cosmonauts of the Interkosmos program. These were supported by twelve manned flights of the Soyuz-T and fifteen unmanned flights by the Progress and TKS spacecraft. Aside from numerous scientific experiments, the station was also used as a testbed by docking an expansion module and moving spacecraft from one docking port to another, functionalities which were both needed for the subsequent development of Mir.
The first mission to Salyut 7 arrived on the station on 13 May 1982 onboard Soyuz T-5, bringing in the first resident crew consisting of cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev. The two remained in orbit for 211 days until 10 December before returning to Earth onboard Soyuz T-7.
The station suffered numerous mishaps and equipment failures during its operational run.
The station was also used for conducting a number of scientific experiments and Earth observations, while crews operating the station regulary conducted long duration stays, with the longest one lasting 237 days. During its operations, the station also suffered malfunctions such as a fuel tank leak and a complete loss of power, with the latter one requiring a risky space walk to repair. The last crew visiting the station arrived in 1986 and stayed on board for fifty days before returning to Mir which was in orbit since earlier that year. Salyut 7 reentered and burned in Earth's atmosphere on 7 February 1991 over South America.
Description
editSalyut 7 was constructed as the back-up vehicle for Salyut 6 featuring similar equipment and capabilities. With delays to the Mir programme it was decided to launch the back-up vehicle as Salyut 7. Power was provided by three steerable solar panels with a combined surface area of 51 m2 (550 sq ft), generating 4.5 kW of electricity.
Compared to its preedecesors, Salyut 7 also included improved living conditions. Crewmember now had access to electric stoves for heating up food, continuously hot water and improved exercise and medical facilities.[1]
Station operations
editSalyut 7 was launched into orbit on 19 April 1982 by a Proton-K rocket from Site 200 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The first crew consisting of cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Anatoli Berezovoi arrived on the station on board Soyuz T-5 in May 1982, starting their seven month mission in orbit. The relationship between the two proved to be troublesome as they often engaging in heated arguments amongst each other but also with the flight controlers and doctors on the ground.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1982-033A
Crews
editThe station received x cosmonaut crews, x of which were long-duration crews, with the longest expedition lasting x days. Resident crew missions were identified with an EO prefix, whilst short-duration missions were identified with EP.
Resident crews
editVisiting crews
editSpacewalks
editSpacecraft
editSupport craft
editDocking operations
editDolgovremennaya Orbitalnaya Stantsiya[2]
Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle
Notes
editFootnotes
edit- ^ Portree 1995, p. 90.
- ^ Smith 2020, p. 25.