Salyut programme Salyut programme The Almaz (Алмаз - "Diamond") program was a series of military space stations launched by the Soviet Union under cover of the Salyut program. Three Almaz stations were launched; Salyut 2, Salyut 3 and Salyut 5. Salyut 2 failed shortly after achieving orbit, but Salyut 3 and 5 both conducted successful manned testing. Following Salyut 5 the Soviet Military judged that the time consumed by station maintenance outweighed the benefits. ...more on Wikipedia about "Almaz"
The Salyut (Russian: Салют, Salute or Firework) program was a series of space stations launched by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The Salyuts were all relatively simple structures consisting of a single main module placed into orbit in a single launch. The program was originally designated the DOS 7-K program, with each Salyut station receiving a designation. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut"
Salyut 1 (DOS 1) was the first Salyut space station, and the first human-made space station of any kind. It was launched April 19, 1971. Its first crew launched in Soyuz 10 but was unable to board it due to a failure in the docking mechanism; its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 productive days. Unfortunately, a pressure-equalization valve in the Soyuz 11 reentry capsule opened prematurely when the crew returned to Earth, killing all three. Salyut 1 reentered Earth's atmosphere October 11, 1971. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 1"
Salyut 2 was launched April 4, 1973. It was not really a part of the same program as the other Salyut space stations, instead being the highly classified prototype military space station Almaz. It was given the designation Salyut 2 to conceal its true nature. Despite its successful launch, within two days the as-yet-unmanned Salyut 2 began losing pressure and its flight control failed; the cause of the failure was likely due to shrapnel piercing the station when the discarded Proton rocket upper stage that had placed it in orbit later exploded nearby. On April 11 the station lost four solar panels and all onboard power. Salyut 2 reentered on May 28, 1973. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 2"
Salyut 3 was launched on June 25, 1974. It was another Almaz military space station, this one launched successfully, included in the Salyut program to disguise its true purpose. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 3"
Salyut 4 (DOS 4) was a Salyut space station launched on December 26, 1974 into an orbit with an apogee of 355 km, a perigee of 343 km and an orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees. It was essentially a copy of the DOS 3, and unlike its ill-fated sibling it was a complete success. Three crews attempted to make stays aboard Salyut 4 ( Soyuz 17 and Soyuz 18 docked; Soyuz 18a suffered a launch abort). The second stay was for 63 days duration, and an unmanned Soyuz capsule remained docked to the station for three months, proving the systems' long-term durability. Salyut 4 was deorbited February 3, 1977. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 4"
Salyut 5 was launched on June 22, 1976 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Proton 8K82K rocket. It was the third and last Almaz military space station, included in the Salyut program to conceal its true purpose. Its launch and subsequent mission were both completed successfully. The Soyuz 21 cosmonauts worked in the station from July 7 - August 24, 1976. Soyuz 23 attempted to dock on October 15, but was unable to enter the station. The Soyuz 24 crew worked in the station from February 8 - 25, 1977. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 5" shortopedia rocks.
Salyut 6 was a Soviet space station launched on September 29, 1977. Although it resembled the previous Salyut space stations in overall design, it featured several revolutionary advances including a second docking port where an unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft could dock and refuel the station. With Salyut 6, the Soviet space station program evolved from short-duration to long-duration stays. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 6"
Salyut 7 (Салют-7) was launched on April 19, 1982, the last of the Salyut space station program. It was the back-up vehicle for Salyut 6 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 a number of 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. In September 1983 a fuel line ruptured requiring EVAs by the Soyuz T-10 to repair. It was aloft for four years and two months, during which time it was visited by 10 crews constituting 6 main expeditions and 4 secondary flights (including French and Indian cosmonauts). Also saw two flights of Svetlana Savitskaya making her the second woman in space since 1963 and the first to perform an EVA. 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 Cosmos modules" though in reality were components intended for the cancelled Almaz military space station. They helped engineers develop technology necessary to build Mir. Salyut 7 deorbited on February 7, 1991. ...more on Wikipedia about "Salyut 7"
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia . Direct links to the original articles are in the text.
If you use exact copy or modified of this article you should preserve above paragraph and put also : It uses material from
the Shortopedia article about "Salyut programme".
| MAIN PAGE | MAIN INDEX | CONTACT US |