Salyut 5
Encyclopedia
Salyut 5 also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet
space station
. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz
space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz
missions visited the station, each manned by two cosmonauts
. A third Soyuz mission attempted to visit the station, but failed to dock, whilst a fourth mission was planned but never launched.
the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and used a three-stage Proton-K
8K82K carrier rocket with the serial number
290-02.
Upon reaching orbit, Salyut 5 was assigned the International Designator
1976-057A, whilst the North American Aerospace Defense Command
gave it the Satellite Catalog Number
08911.
and Salyut 3
. Like its predecessors, it was 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) long, with a maximum diameter of 4.15 metres (13.6 ft). It had a habitable interior volume of 100 cubic metres (3,531.5 cu ft), and a mass at launch of 1900 kilograms (4,188.8 lb). The station was equipped with a single docking port for Soyuz spacecraft, with the Soyuz 7K-T
being the configuration in service at the time. Two solar arrays mounted laterally at the same end of the station as the docking port provided it with power. The station was equipped with a KSI capsule to return research data and materials.
Salyut 5 carried Agat, a camera which the crews used to observe the Earth. The German
Kristall furnace was used for crystal growth experiments aboard the station.
, was launched from Baikonur on 6 July 1976, and docked at 13:40 UTC the next day. The primary objective of the Soyuz 21 mission aboard Salyut 5 was to conduct military experiments, however scientific research was also conducted, which included studying aquarium fish in microgravity and observing the sun
. The crew also conducted a televised conference with school pupils. Cosmonauts Boris Volynov
and Vitali Zholobov
remained aboard Salyut 5 until 24 August, when they returned to Earth landing 200 km southwest of Kokchetav. The mission had been expected to last longer, however the air within Salyut 5 became contaminated, which affected the crew's psychological and physical condition, necessitating an emergency landing.
On 14 October 1976, Soyuz 23
was launched carrying Vyacheslav Zudov
and Valery Rozhdestvensky to the space station. During approach for docking the next day, a faulty sensor incorrectly detected an unexpected lateral motion. The spacecraft's Igla automated docking system fired the spacecraft's manoeuvring thrusters in an attempt to stop the non-existent motion. Although the crew was able to deactivate the Igla system, the spacecraft had expended too much fuel to reattempt the docking under manual control. Soyuz 23 returned to Earth on 16 October without completing its mission objectives.
The last mission to Salyut 5, Soyuz 24
, was launched on 7 February 1977. Its crew consisted of cosmonauts Viktor Gorbatko
and Yury Glazkov, who conducted repairs aboard the station and vented the air which had been reported to be contaminated. Scientific experiments were conducted, including observation of the sun. The Soyuz 24 crew departed on 25 February. On 26 February the KSI reentry capsule was ejected from the station for recovery.
The fourth planned mission, which would have been designated Soyuz 25 if launched, was intended to visit the station for two weeks in July 1977. It would have been crewed by cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Mikhail Lisun; the backup crew for the Soyuz 24 mission. The mission was cancelled after higher fuel consumption than expected caused fuel reserves aboard Salyut 5 dropped to a level at which the mission could not have been safely completed. The spacecraft which was constructed for the Soyuz 25 mission was reused for the Soyuz 30
mission to Salyut 6
. Since it could not be refuelled, and no longer had the fuel to sustain manned operations, Salyut 5 was deorbited on 8 August 1977, and broke up as it reentered
the Earth's atmosphere.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz
Almaz
The Almaz program was a series of military space stations launched by the Soviet Union under cover of the civilian Salyut DOS-17K program after 1971....
space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz
Soyuz programme
The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme that was initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon...
missions visited the station, each manned by two cosmonauts
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. A third Soyuz mission attempted to visit the station, but failed to dock, whilst a fourth mission was planned but never launched.
Launch
Salyut 5 was launched at 18:04:00 UTC on 22 June 1976. The launch took place from Site 81/23Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81
Site 81 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is a launch site used, along with Site 200, by Proton rockets. It consists of two launch pads, areas 23 and 24. Area 24 is currently used for Proton-K and Proton-M launches, while Area 23 is currently inactive....
the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and used a three-stage Proton-K
Proton-K
The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index, 8K82K, is a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and is launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan...
8K82K carrier rocket with the serial number
Serial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
290-02.
Upon reaching orbit, Salyut 5 was assigned the International Designator
International Designator
The International Designator, also known as COSPAR designation, and in the United States as NSSDC ID, is an international naming convention for satellites...
1976-057A, whilst the North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...
gave it the Satellite Catalog Number
Satellite Catalog Number
The Satellite Catalog Number is a sequential 5-digit number assigned by USSPACECOM to all Earth orbiting satellites in order of identification. Before USSPACECOM, the catalog was maintained by NORAD...
08911.
Spacecraft
Salyut 5 was an Almaz spacecraft, the last of three to be launched as space stations after Salyut 2Salyut 2
Salyut 2 was a Soviet space station which was launched in 1973 as part of the Salyut programme. It was the first Almaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of launch the station had lost attitude control and depressurised, leaving it unusable...
and Salyut 3
Salyut 3
Salyut 3 was a Soviet space station launched on June 25, 1974. It was the second Almaz military space station, and the first such station to be launched successfully. It was included in the Salyut program to disguise its true military nature...
. Like its predecessors, it was 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) long, with a maximum diameter of 4.15 metres (13.6 ft). It had a habitable interior volume of 100 cubic metres (3,531.5 cu ft), and a mass at launch of 1900 kilograms (4,188.8 lb). The station was equipped with a single docking port for Soyuz spacecraft, with the Soyuz 7K-T
Soyuz 7K-T
The second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz Ferry or Soyuz 7K-T, comprised Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 . Although still using the Igla system, these had no solar panels, employing batteries...
being the configuration in service at the time. Two solar arrays mounted laterally at the same end of the station as the docking port provided it with power. The station was equipped with a KSI capsule to return research data and materials.
Salyut 5 carried Agat, a camera which the crews used to observe the Earth. The German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Kristall furnace was used for crystal growth experiments aboard the station.
Operation
Four manned missions to Salyut 5 were originally planned. The first, Soyuz 21Soyuz 21
Soyuz 21 was a 1976 Soviet manned mission to the Salyut 5 space station, the first of three flights to the station. The mission's objectives were mainly military in scope, but included other scientific work. The mission ended abruptly with cosmonauts Boris Volynov and Vitaly Zholobov returning to...
, was launched from Baikonur on 6 July 1976, and docked at 13:40 UTC the next day. The primary objective of the Soyuz 21 mission aboard Salyut 5 was to conduct military experiments, however scientific research was also conducted, which included studying aquarium fish in microgravity and observing the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. The crew also conducted a televised conference with school pupils. Cosmonauts Boris Volynov
Boris Volynov
Boris Valentinovich Volynov is a Soviet cosmonaut who flew two space missions of the Soyuz programme: Soyuz 5, and Soyuz 21. He was the first Jewish cosmonaut.-Biography:...
and Vitali Zholobov
Vitali Zholobov
Vitaly Mikhaylovich Zholobov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on Soyuz 21 space flight as the flight engineer.-Career:Zholobov joined the space programme from the Soviet Air Force where he held the rank of Colonel-engineer....
remained aboard Salyut 5 until 24 August, when they returned to Earth landing 200 km southwest of Kokchetav. The mission had been expected to last longer, however the air within Salyut 5 became contaminated, which affected the crew's psychological and physical condition, necessitating an emergency landing.
On 14 October 1976, Soyuz 23
Soyuz 23
Soyuz 23 was a 1976 Soviet manned space flight, the second to the Salyut 5 space station. Cosmonauts Vyacheslav Zudov and Valery Rozhdestvensky arrived at the station, but an equipment malfunction did not allow docking and the mission had to be aborted....
was launched carrying Vyacheslav Zudov
Vyacheslav Zudov
Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov was a USSR cosmonaut.He was selected as a cosmonaut on October 23, 1965, flew as Commander on Soyuz 23 on October 14–16, 1976 and retired on May 14, 1987.Vyacheslav Zudov is married and has two children.-References:...
and Valery Rozhdestvensky to the space station. During approach for docking the next day, a faulty sensor incorrectly detected an unexpected lateral motion. The spacecraft's Igla automated docking system fired the spacecraft's manoeuvring thrusters in an attempt to stop the non-existent motion. Although the crew was able to deactivate the Igla system, the spacecraft had expended too much fuel to reattempt the docking under manual control. Soyuz 23 returned to Earth on 16 October without completing its mission objectives.
The last mission to Salyut 5, Soyuz 24
Soyuz 24
Soyuz 24 was a 1977 Soviet mission to the Salyut 5 space station, the third and final mission to the station, the last purely military crew for the Soviets and the final mission to a military Salyut...
, was launched on 7 February 1977. Its crew consisted of cosmonauts Viktor Gorbatko
Viktor Gorbatko
Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7, Soyuz 24, and Soyuz 37 missions.After leaving the space program in 1982 he taught at the Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow.-References:...
and Yury Glazkov, who conducted repairs aboard the station and vented the air which had been reported to be contaminated. Scientific experiments were conducted, including observation of the sun. The Soyuz 24 crew departed on 25 February. On 26 February the KSI reentry capsule was ejected from the station for recovery.
The fourth planned mission, which would have been designated Soyuz 25 if launched, was intended to visit the station for two weeks in July 1977. It would have been crewed by cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Mikhail Lisun; the backup crew for the Soyuz 24 mission. The mission was cancelled after higher fuel consumption than expected caused fuel reserves aboard Salyut 5 dropped to a level at which the mission could not have been safely completed. The spacecraft which was constructed for the Soyuz 25 mission was reused for the Soyuz 30
Soyuz 30
Soyuz 30 was a 1978 manned Soviet space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the sixth mission to and fifth successful docking at the orbiting facility...
mission to Salyut 6
Salyut 6
Salyut 6 , DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth flown as part of the Salyut programme. Launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket, the station was the first of the 'second-generation' type of space station. Salyut 6 possessed several revolutionary advances over the earlier...
. Since it could not be refuelled, and no longer had the fuel to sustain manned operations, Salyut 5 was deorbited on 8 August 1977, and broke up as it reentered
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
the Earth's atmosphere.
See also
- Space stationSpace stationA space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
for statistics of occupied space stations - SalyutSalyutThe Salyut program was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union, which consisted of a series of nine space stations launched over a period of eleven years from 1971 to 1982...
- TKS spacecraftTKS spacecraftTKS spacecraft was a Soviet spacecraft design in the late 1960s intended to supply the military Almaz space station. The spacecraft was designed for manned or autonomous cargo resupply use...
- AlmazAlmazThe Almaz program was a series of military space stations launched by the Soviet Union under cover of the civilian Salyut DOS-17K program after 1971....
- MirMirMir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
- SkylabSkylabSkylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
- International Space StationInternational Space StationThe International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...