Soyuz 34
Encyclopedia
Soyuz 34 was a 1979 Soviet unmanned space flight to the Salyut 6
space station
. It was sent to supply the resident crew a reliable return vehicle after the previous flight, Soyuz 33
, suffered an engine failure.
Mission control decided to re-design the engine used on Soyuz craft as a result of the Soyuz 33 failure, and to return the Soyuz 32
craft which transported Vladimir Lyakhov
and Valery Ryumin
to the space station to earth unmanned as it had the same suspect engine as Soyuz 33. Soyuz 34 successfully returned the crew to earth 73 days after launching.
which had been planned to be docked at the Salyut 6
space station. Suspicions this was originally to be a Hungarian/Soviet flight were confirmed in 1980 when press releases for an upcoming joint mission were still dated June 1979.
However, the engine failure during Soyuz 33's flight in April necessitated a shuffling of planned missions. Because the engine used in that flight was the same model already docked at the space station on Soyuz 32
and the resident crew of Vladimir Lyakhov
and Valery Ryumin
needed a reliable craft to return to Earth
in, it was decided that the engine needed to be modified and a fresh return vehicle sent to the station - vacant.
Soyuz 34 was launched unmanned on 6 June, and docked at the aft port of the space station on 9 June. The flight itself was a test of the new engine and its success meant the crew had a reliable return craft. Since the craft was unmanned, some biological samples for experiments were included on the flight.
Soyuz 32 was loaded with 130 kg of replaced instruments, processed materials, exposed film and other items with a total weight equal to that of the two cosmonauts. On 13 June, it undocked and returned to Earth unmanned 295 km northwest of Dzhezkazgan
. The craft was found to be in good condition. The next day, the crew redocked Soyuz 34 at the forward port to clear the aft port for Progress 7, a supply tanker.
On 19 August, the resident crew returned to earth in Soyuz 34, establishing a new space-endurance record of 175 days, surpassing the 139-day mission by the Soyuz 29
crew in 1978.
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...
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...
. It was sent to supply the resident crew a reliable return vehicle after the previous flight, Soyuz 33
Soyuz 33
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.63°*Period: 88.99 minutes-Mission highlights:...
, suffered an engine failure.
Mission control decided to re-design the engine used on Soyuz craft as a result of the Soyuz 33 failure, and to return the Soyuz 32
Soyuz 32
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.61°*Period: 89.94 minutes-Launch and station activation:...
craft which transported Vladimir Lyakhov
Vladimir Lyakhov
Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov , Ukrainian SSR), Soviet Union on July 20, 1941) is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice named a Hero of the Soviet Union....
and Valery Ryumin
Valery Ryumin
Valery Victorovich Ryumin, born August 16, 1939 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur) is a former Soviet cosmonaut.In 1958, he was graduated from the Kaliningrad Mechanical Engineering Technical College with the specialty "Cold Working of Metal." In 1966, he was graduated from the Department of Electronics and...
to the space station to earth unmanned as it had the same suspect engine as Soyuz 33. Soyuz 34 successfully returned the crew to earth 73 days after launching.
Mission parameters
- Mass: 6800 kg (14,991.4 lb)
- Perigee: 199 km (123.7 mi)
- Apogee: 271.5 km (168.7 mi)
- Inclination: 51.62°
- Period: 88.91 minutes
Mission highlights
Soyuz 34 had been intended to have been launched around 6 June 1979 with a two-man Hungarian/Soviet crew. That crew would have presumably returned in Soyuz 33Soyuz 33
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.63°*Period: 88.99 minutes-Mission highlights:...
which had been planned to be docked at the 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...
space station. Suspicions this was originally to be a Hungarian/Soviet flight were confirmed in 1980 when press releases for an upcoming joint mission were still dated June 1979.
However, the engine failure during Soyuz 33's flight in April necessitated a shuffling of planned missions. Because the engine used in that flight was the same model already docked at the space station on Soyuz 32
Soyuz 32
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.61°*Period: 89.94 minutes-Launch and station activation:...
and the resident crew of Vladimir Lyakhov
Vladimir Lyakhov
Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov , Ukrainian SSR), Soviet Union on July 20, 1941) is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice named a Hero of the Soviet Union....
and Valery Ryumin
Valery Ryumin
Valery Victorovich Ryumin, born August 16, 1939 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur) is a former Soviet cosmonaut.In 1958, he was graduated from the Kaliningrad Mechanical Engineering Technical College with the specialty "Cold Working of Metal." In 1966, he was graduated from the Department of Electronics and...
needed a reliable craft to return to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
in, it was decided that the engine needed to be modified and a fresh return vehicle sent to the station - vacant.
Soyuz 34 was launched unmanned on 6 June, and docked at the aft port of the space station on 9 June. The flight itself was a test of the new engine and its success meant the crew had a reliable return craft. Since the craft was unmanned, some biological samples for experiments were included on the flight.
Soyuz 32 was loaded with 130 kg of replaced instruments, processed materials, exposed film and other items with a total weight equal to that of the two cosmonauts. On 13 June, it undocked and returned to Earth unmanned 295 km northwest of Dzhezkazgan
Dzhezkazgan
Jezkazgan or Zhezkazgan , formerly known as Dzhezkazgan , is a city in Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan, on a reservoir of the Kara-Kengir River. The city population is of 90,000...
. The craft was found to be in good condition. The next day, the crew redocked Soyuz 34 at the forward port to clear the aft port for Progress 7, a supply tanker.
On 19 August, the resident crew returned to earth in Soyuz 34, establishing a new space-endurance record of 175 days, surpassing the 139-day mission by the Soyuz 29
Soyuz 29
Soyuz 29 was a 1978 manned Soviet space mission to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the fifth mission, the fourth successful docking, and the second long-duration crew for the orbiting station...
crew in 1978.