Salyut 6

Salyut 6 (Russian: Салют 6, lit. 'Salute 6') was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton-K rocket. Salyut 6 was important because it was the first space station to welcome many crewed and uncrewed spacecraft. It showed how people could live and work in space for longer periods, a idea that was later used on Mir and the International Space Station.

Salyut 6 was special because it was the first "second generation" space station. It had two docking ports, which meant two spacecraft could visit at the same time. This helped people stay on board for several months. Six long-term crews lived there, and ten short-term crews visited. These visiting crews often came from Warsaw Pact countries through the Soviet Union's Intercosmos programme, making them the first space travelers from countries other than the Soviet Union or the United States. The station was also visited by twelve uncrewed Progress spacecraft, including Progress 1, and new Soyuz-T spacecraft.

Unlike earlier stations, Salyut 6 was successful in having many spacecraft dock with it, even though some early visits, like Soyuz 25 and Soyuz 33, did not manage to dock. From 1977 to 1981, human crews lived on Salyut 6 during six different times. After the launch of Salyut 7, Salyut 6 was brought down from orbit on 29 July 1982, almost five years after it was launched.

Description

Salyut 6 was launched on a Proton-K rocket on 29 September 1977. It was an important Soviet space station that helped change how space stations worked. It had a special navigation system and power system with big solar panels that made electricity.

The biggest change on Salyut 6 was adding a second docking port. This let two spacecraft stay connected at the same time. Crews could stay longer because new ships could bring them home when needed. The longest stay was 185 days, breaking a record set earlier on the American Skylab station. Many different countries sent people to visit Salyut 6, including the first space traveller from outside the US or USSR, Vladimír Remek from Czechoslovakia.

Progress spacecraft brought supplies and fuel, helping the station stay ready for science work. Salyut 6 also had new tools for looking at stars and Earth, making it a busy place for discovery.

Support craft

Salyut 6 was mainly supported by the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, which helped change crews and could be used if there was an emergency. These spacecraft docked with the station automatically using the new Igla system and took crews back to Earth when their time in space was over.

The station was also the first to receive supplies from the new uncrewed Progress freighters. These could only dock at the back of the station because the front did not have the right equipment for refueling. The freighters docked automatically and were opened by the astronauts on board, while fuel was moved to the station automatically from the ground.

After all crews had left, Salyut 6 was visited by an experimental spacecraft called Kosmos 1267 in 1982. This spacecraft, known as the TKS, was originally made for the Almaz programme and showed that big modules could dock automatically with space stations. This was an important step for building bigger stations like Mir and the International Space Station.

Resident crews

The Salyut 6 space station welcomed 16 groups of cosmonauts, including six long stays. The longest stay lasted 185 days. The crews with long stays were called EO, and shorter visits were called EP.

1. On 10 December 1977, Yuri Romanenko and Georgy Grechko arrived on Soyuz 26 and stayed for 96 days.
2. On 15 June 1978, Vladimir Kovalyonok and Aleksandr Ivanchenkov arrived on Soyuz 29 and stayed for 140 days.
3. Vladimir Lyakhov and Valery Ryumin arrived on Soyuz 32 on 25 February 1979 and stayed for 175 days.
4. On 9 April 1980, Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin arrived on Soyuz 35 for the longest stay of 185 days. While there, they sent greetings to athletes at the opening of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
5. A repair team of Leonid Kizim, Oleg Makarov, and Gennady Strekalov arrived on Soyuz T-3 and worked for 12 days starting on 27 November 1980.
6. The last long stay was by Vladimir Kovalyonok and Viktor Savinykh on Soyuz T-4, arriving on 12 March 1981 and staying for 75 days.

Station operations

On four occasions, visiting Soyuz spacecraft moved from the back of the station to the front. This helped make space for Progress shuttles, which could only refuel at the back. Usually, the crew would dock at the front, leaving the back open for Progress and visiting Soyuz crews. When a support crew arrived at the back and left in an older Soyuz at the front, the main crew would move the new Soyuz to the front. They would undock, move about 100–200 meters away, and then the station would turn around. The Soyuz would then dock at the front again. This was done by Soyuz 31, 34, 36, and 37.

Dates and times are 24-hour Moscow Time. Sources:ṏ

Dates and times are 24-hour Coordinated Universal Time.

Dates and times are 24-hour Coordinated Universal Time. Source:

Expedition	Crew	Launch date	Flight up	Landing date	Flight down	Duration (days)
Salyut 6 - EO-1	Yuri Romanenko, Georgy Grechko	10 December 1977 01:18:40	Soyuz 26	16 March 1978 11:18:47	Soyuz 27	96.42
Salyut 6 - EP-1	Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Oleg Makarov	10 January 1978 12:26:00	Soyuz 27	16 January 1978 11:24:58	Soyuz 26	5.96
Salyut 6 - EP-2	Aleksei Gubarev, Vladimir Remek	2 March 1978 15:28:00	Soyuz 28	10 March 1978 13:44:00	Soyuz 28	7.93
Salyut 6 - EO-2	Vladimir Kovalyonok, Aleksandr Ivanchenkov	15 June 1978 20:16:45	Soyuz 29	2 November 1978 11:04:17	Soyuz 31	139.62
Salyut 6 - EP-3	Pyotr Klimuk Mirosław Hermaszewski	27 June 1978 15:27:21	Soyuz 30	5 July 1978 13:30:20	Soyuz 30	7.92
Salyut 6 - EP-4	Valery Bykovsky Sigmund Jähn	26 August 1978 14:51:30	Soyuz 31	3 September 1978 11:40:34	Soyuz 29	7.87
Salyut 6 - EO-3	Vladimir Lyakhov, Valery Ryumin	25 February 1979 11:53:49	Soyuz 32	19 August 1979 12:29:26	Soyuz 34	175.02
Salyut 6 - EO-4	Leonid Popov, Valery Ryumin	9 April 1980 13:38:22	Soyuz 35	11 October 1980 09:49:57	Soyuz 37	184.84
Salyut 6 - EP-5	Valery Kubasov Bertalan Farkas	26 May 1980 18:20:39	Soyuz 36	3 June 1980 15:06:23	Soyuz 35	7.87
Salyut 6 - EP-6	Yury Malyshev Vladimir Aksyonov	5 June 1980 14:19:30	Soyuz T-2	9 June 1980 12:39:00	Soyuz T-2	3.93
Salyut 6 - EP-7	Viktor Gorbatko, Pham Tuan	23 July 1980 18:33:03	Soyuz 37	31 July 1980 15:15:02	Soyuz 36	7.86
Salyut 6 - EP-8	Yuri Romanenko, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez	18 September 1980 19:11:03	Soyuz 38	26 September 1980 15:54:27	Soyuz 38	7.86
Salyut 6 - EO-5	Leonid Kizim, Oleg Makarov Gennady Strekalov	27 November 1980 14:18:28	Soyuz T-3	10 December 1980 09:26:10	Soyuz T-3	12.80
Salyut 6 - EO-6	Vladimir Kovalyonok, Viktor Savinykh	12 March 1981 19:00:11	Soyuz T-4	26 May 1981 12:37:34	Soyuz T-4	74.73
Salyut 6 - EP-9	Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa	22 March 1981 14:58:55	Soyuz 39	30 March 1981 11:40:58	Soyuz 39	7.86
Salyut 6 - EP-10	Leonid Popov, Dumitru Prunariu	14 May 1981 17:16:38	Soyuz 40	22 May 1981 13:58:30	Soyuz 40	7.86