| 18th | Top manned spacecraft |
The Salyut program (Russian: Салют; lit. Salute or Fireworks) was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union, which consisted of a series of nine single-module space stations launched over a period of eleven years from 1971 to 1982. Intended as a project to carry out long-term research into the problems of living in space and a variety of astronomical, biological and Earth-resources experiments, the program allowed space station technology to evolve from the engineering development stage to long-term research outposts in space. Ultimately, experience gained from the Salyut stations went on to pave the way for multimodular space stations such as Mir and the International Space Station, with each of those stations possessing a Salyut-derived core module at its heart.
The program consisted of a series of six scientific research stations and three military reconnaissance stations, the latter being launched as part of the highly secretive Almaz program. Salyut broke several spaceflight records, including several mission duration records, the first ever orbital handover of a space station from one crew to another, and various spacewalk records. By the time the program concluded, in 1991, it had seen space station technology evolve from basic, single-docking port stations to complex, multi-ported orbital outposts with impressive scientific capabilities, whose technological legacy continues to the present day.
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The program was composed of DOS (Durable Orbital Station) civilian stations and OPS (Orbital Piloted Station) military stations. All were adapted from Vladimir Chelomei's original Almaz OPS spaceframe. For the military Orbital Piloted Stations modifications were small, and related to the rear docking port for Soyuz spacecraft. For the civilian DOS Orbital Space Station changes were great, with extra solar panels, rear and front docking ports for Soyuz spacecraft, TKS spacecraft and modules.
Salyut 1 (DOS-1) (Russian: Салют-1; English: Salute 1) was launched April 19,
1971. It was the first space station to orbit Earth. Its first crew
launched in Soyuz 10 but
were 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. 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.
DOS-2 was launched on July 29, 1972. It was similar in design to Salyut 1. The second stage of its Proton rocket failed, which meant that it never reached orbit. It crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
Salyut 2 (OPS-1) (Russian: Салют-2; English: Salute 2) was launched April 4, 1973.
It was not really a part of the same program as the other Salyut
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, 1973, 11 days after launch, an
unexplainable accident caused four solar panels to be torn loose
from the space station cutting off all power to the space station.
Salyut 2 re-entered on May 28, 1973.
The Salyut space station that Almaz had substituted for, designated DOS-3, was launched on May 11, 1973, three days before the launch of Skylab. Due to errors in the flight control system while out of the range of ground control, the station fired its orbit-correction engines until it consumed all of its fuel. Since the spacecraft was already in orbit and had been registered by Western radar, the Soviets disguised the launch as "Cosmos 557" and quietly allowed it to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up a week later. It was revealed to have been a Salyut station only much later.
Salyut 3 (OPS-2) (Russian: Салют-3; English: Salute 3) was launched on June 25,
1974. It was another Almaz military space station, this one
launched successfully. It tested a wide variety of reconnaissance
sensors, returning a canister of film for analysis. On January 24,
1975 trials of the on-board 23 mm Nudelman aircraft cannon
(other sources say it was a Nudelman NR-30 30 mm gun) were
conducted with positive results at ranges from 3000 m to 500 m.
Cosmonauts have confirmed that a target satellite was destroyed in
the test. The next day, the station was ordered to deorbit. Only
one of the three intended crews successfully boarded and manned the
station, brought by Soyuz
14; Soyuz 15 attempted
to bring a second crew but failed to dock. Nevertheless, it was an
overall success. The station's orbit decayed, and it re-entered the
atmosphere on January 24, 1975.
Salyut 4 (DOS-4) (Russian: Салют-4; English: Salute 4) was launched on December
26, 1974. It was essentially a copy of the DOS-3, and unlike its
ill-fated sibling it was a complete success. Two crews made stays
aboard Salyut 4 (Soyuz 17
and Soyuz 18), including
one of 63 days duration, and an unmanned Soyuz capsule (Soyuz 20) remained docked to
the station for three months, proving the systems' long-term
durability. Salyut 4 was deorbited February 2, 1977, and re-entered
the Earth's atmosphere on February 3.
Salyut 5 (OPS-3) (Russian: Салют-5; English translation Salute 5)
was launched on June 22, 1976. It was the third and last Almaz
military space station. Its launch and subsequent mission were both
completed successfully, with three crews launching and two (Soyuz 21 and Soyuz 24) successfully
boarding the craft for lengthy stays (the second crew on Soyuz 23 was unable to dock
and had to abort). Salyut 5 reentered on August 8, 1977. Following
Salyut 5 the Soviet Military decided that the tactical advantages
were not worth the expense of the program and withdrew. The focus
for the later missions was research and prestige.
Salyut 6 (DOS-5) (Russian: Салют-6; English: Salute 6) was launched on September
29, 1977. Although it resembled the previous Salyut 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. From 1977 until 1982 Salyut 6 was visited by
five long-duration crews and 11 short-term crews, including
cosmonauts from Warsaw
Pact countries. Some unconfirmed reports say the station was
functionally capable of even more missions and years, but combating
the ever-increasing mold in living quarters was becoming
impossible, and in practice caused the retirement decision. The
very first long-duration crew on Salyut 6 broke a record set on
board Skylab, staying 96 days
in orbit. The longest flight on board Salyut 6 lasted 185 days. The
fourth Salyut 6 expedition deployed a 10-meter radio-telescope
antenna delivered by a cargo ship. After Salyut 6 manned operations
were discontinued in 1981, a heavy unmanned spacecraft called TKS and developed
using hardware left from the canceled Almaz program was docked to
the station as a hardware test. Salyut 6 was deorbited July 29,
1982.
Salyut 7 (DOS-6) (Russian: Салют-7; English: Salute 7) was launched on April 19,
1982. It was the back-up vehicle for Salyut 6 and very similar in
equipment and capabilities, though several more advanced features
were included. 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). 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." They helped engineers develop technology
necessary to build Mir. Salyut 7
deorbited on February 7, 1991.
It was planned that two other stations (DOS-7
and DOS-8) would follow. These would be equipped
with a total of four docking ports; two at either end of the
station and an additional two ports on either side of docking
sphere at the front of the station. DOS-7
continued to be developed, becoming the Mir Core Module, featuring better
computers and solar arrays, accommodations for two cosmonauts each
having their own cabin and six docking ports.
DOS-8 evolved into the Mir-2 project, intended to replace the Mir space station. Finally, it became
the International Space Station
Zvezda Service Module.
| Space Station |
Launched | Reentered | Days in orbit |
Days occupied |
Total crew and visitors |
Visiting manned spacecraft |
Visiting unmanned spacecraft |
Mass kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salyut 1 | April 19, 1971 01:40:00 UTC |
October 11, 1971 00:00:00 UTC |
175 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18,500 |
| DOS-2 | July 29, 1972 | July 29, 1972 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 |
| Salyut 2 | April 4, 1973 09:00:00 UTC |
May 28, 1973 00:00:00 UTC |
54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,500 |
| Cosmos 557 | May 11, 1973 00:20:00 UTC |
May 22, 1973 00:00:00 UTC |
11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19,400 |
| Salyut 3 | June 25, 1974 22:38:00 UTC |
January 24, 1975 00:00:00 UTC |
213 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18,500 |
| Salyut 4 | December 26, 1974 04:15:00 UTC |
February 3, 1977 00:00:00 UTC |
770 | 92 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18,500 |
| Salyut 5 | June 22, 1976 18:04:00 UTC |
August 8, 1977 00:00:00 UTC |
412 | 67 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 19,000 |
| Salyut 6 | September 29, 1977 06:50:00 UTC |
July 29, 1982 00:00:00 UTC |
1,764 | 683 | 33 | 16 | 14 | 19,824 |
| Salyut 7 | April 19, 1982 19:45:00 UTC |
February 7, 1991 00:00:00 UTC |
3,216 | 816 | 26 | 12 | 15 | 18,900 |
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