Salyut 3
Encyclopedia
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. Due to the military nature of the station, the Soviet Union was reluctant to release information about its design, and about the missions relating to the station.
It attained an altitude of 219 to 270 km on launch and NASA reported its final orbital altitude was 268 to 272 km. 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.
Although little official information has been released about the station, several sources report that it contained multiple Earth-observation cameras, as well as an on-board gun. The station was deorbited, and re-entered the atmosphere on January 24, 1975. The next space station launched by the Soviet Union was the civilian station Salyut 4
; the next military station was Salyut 5
, which was the final Almaz space station.
, Salyut 1
(also called DOS-1) had been launched by the Soviet Union
in April 1971. Only one mission successfully docked with Salyut 1, which was Soyuz 11
, whose three person crew stayed aboard the station for 22 days in June 1971. After undocking from the station, the Soyuz 11 crew were killed during atmospheric reentry
.
At the time there were competing civilian and military Soviet space programs; Salyut 1, for example, was developed as a civilian program. Other civilian stations, called Durable Orbital Stations (DOS), were considered successors of Salyut 1. These consisted of the unsuccessful DOS-2
in 1972, DOS-3 in 1974, and later the successful Salyut 4
, Salyut 6
, and Salyut 7
.
The space stations funded and developed by the military, known as Almaz
stations, were roughly similar in size and shape to the civilian DOS stations. But the details of their design, which is attributed to Vladimir Chelomey, are considered to be significantly different from the DOS stations. The first Almaz station was Salyut 2
, which launched in April 1973, but failed only days after reaching orbit, and hence it was never manned.
(3.9 kN) of thrust. It's launch mass was 18,900 kg
.
The station came equipped with a shower, a standing sleeping station, as well as a foldaway bed. The floor was covered with Velcro
to assist the cosmonauts moving around the station. Some entertainment on the station included a magnetic
chess
set, a small library, and a cassette deck
with some audio cassette tapes
. Exercise equipment included a treadmill and Pingvin exercise suit. On the station the first water-recycling facilities were tested; the system was called Priboy.
of 6.375 metres and a optical resolution
better than three meters, according to post-Soviet sources; NASA historian Siddiqi has speculated that given the size of the telescope's mirror, it likely had a resolution better than one metre. The telescope was used in conjunction with a wide-film camera, and was used primarily for military reconnaissance purposes. The cosmonauts are said to have observed targets set out on the ground at Baikonur. Secondary objectives included study of water pollution, agricultural land, possible ore-bearing landforms, and oceanic ice formation.
The cosmonauts were able to develop film
while on the station. Important or interesting images were printed, and then scanned by a TV imaging system for broadcast to Earth. They needed as little as 30 minutes to shoot, develop, and scan a photograph. Less important images were packed into a small Earth-return capsule, which could be ejected from the station.
In addition to the Agat-1 camera, other cameras on board included a topographical camera, a star camera, and Volga infrared camera with a resolution of 100 meters. Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich
, who visited the station as Commander of Soyuz 14
, recalled that the station was equipped with 14 cameras.
aircraft cannon, or possibly a Nudelmann NR-30
30 mm gun. These claims have reportedly been verified by Pavel Popovich
, who had visited the station in orbit, as Commander of Soyuz 14
. Due to potential shaking of the station, in-orbit tests of the weapon with cosmonauts in the station were ruled out. The gun was fixed to the station in such a way that the only way to aim would have been to change the orientation of the entire station. Following the last manned mission to the station, the gun was commanded by the ground to be fired; some sources say it was fired to depletion, while other sources say three test firings took place during the Salyut 3 mission.
, docked with Salyut 3. One other spacecraft, Soyuz 15
, came within 40 meters of the station, but failed to dock due to a malfunctioning rendezvous system.
Salyut 3 was the first space station to maintain constant orientation relative to the Earth surface. To achieve that, as many as 500,000 firings of the attitude control thrusters had been performed. Its initial orbit was 219 km by 270 km above mean sea level
, which was considered low. The suspicions of Western observers were raised by the low altitude, combined with the choice of crew from the Air Force, and the use of radio frequencies normally designated for military use.
docked with the station, having been launched the previous day. The crew of Soyuz 14 consisted of Commander Pavel Popovich
and Flight Engineer Yury Artyukhin. The crew spent 15 days aboard the station.
On July 9, it was reported that the crew activated the Earth-observation cameras, and spent several days taking photos of various locations, including Central Asia. They placed some film in the Earth return capsule. After undocking, Soyuz 14 safely landed on July 19.
was launched on August 26, 1974, carrying a two man crew consisting of Commander Gennadi Sarafanov
and flight engineer Lev Demin. They were intended to be the second crew to man Salyut 3, but they failed to dock, after their Igla rendezvous system on their Soyuz spacecraft malfunctioned, and they were unable to manually dock. Due to the limited battery life of their Soyuz spacecraft, they were deorbited and landed two days after launch. At the time of the spaceflight, Demin was 48 years old, earning him the record for the oldest person to fly in space up to that point. This record was broken the following year, with Deke Slayton
's spaceflight as a part of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.
to Salyut 4
(a civilian space station).
Following this decision, on September 23, 1974, the station's Earth return capsule was released from the station. The ejected capsule was deorbited by small engines. NASA sources report that the parachute of Salyut 3's capsule opened at an altitude of 8.4 km. Other sources say the main parachute did not open, and the capsule was deformed upon landing, but that all the film was recoverable.
Also following the decision to not send any more cosmonauts to the station, the on-board gun was commanded by the ground to be fired; some sources say it was fired to depletion, while other sources say three test firings took place at the end of the mission.
The station was deorbited on January 24, 1975 over the Pacific Ocean
.
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 on June 25, 1974. It was the second 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....
military 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...
, and the first such station to be launched successfully. It was included in the Salyut
Salyut
The 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...
program to disguise its true military nature. Due to the military nature of the station, the Soviet Union was reluctant to release information about its design, and about the missions relating to the station.
It attained an altitude of 219 to 270 km on launch and NASA reported its final orbital altitude was 268 to 272 km. Only one of the three intended crews successfully boarded and manned the station, brought by Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14 was a 1974 manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of human...
; Soyuz 15
Soyuz 15
Soyuz 15 was a 1974 manned space flight which was to have been the second mission to the Soviet Union's Salyut 3 space station with presumably military objectives....
attempted to bring a second crew but failed to dock.
Although little official information has been released about the station, several sources report that it contained multiple Earth-observation cameras, as well as an on-board gun. The station was deorbited, and re-entered the atmosphere on January 24, 1975. The next space station launched by the Soviet Union was the civilian station Salyut 4
Salyut 4
Salyut 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...
; the next military station was Salyut 5
Salyut 5
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...
, which was the final Almaz space station.
Background
The first space stationSpace 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...
, Salyut 1
Salyut 1
Salyut 1 was the first space station of any kind, launched by the USSR on April 19, 1971. It was launched unmanned using a Proton-K rocket. Its first crew came later in Soyuz 10, but was unable to dock completely; its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 days...
(also called DOS-1) had been launched by the Soviet Union
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....
in April 1971. Only one mission successfully docked with Salyut 1, which was Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11 was the first manned mission to arrive at the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The mission arrived at the space station on June 7, 1971 and departed on June 30, 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry, killing the...
, whose three person crew stayed aboard the station for 22 days in June 1971. After undocking from the station, the Soyuz 11 crew were killed during atmospheric reentry
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,...
.
At the time there were competing civilian and military Soviet space programs; Salyut 1, for example, was developed as a civilian program. Other civilian stations, called Durable Orbital Stations (DOS), were considered successors of Salyut 1. These consisted of the unsuccessful DOS-2
DOS-2
DOS-2 designation given to a space station, launched as part of the Salyut programme, which was lost in a launch failure on 29 July 1972, when the failure of the second stage of its Proton-K launch vehicle prevented the station from achieving orbit, it instead fell into the Pacific Ocean...
in 1972, DOS-3 in 1974, and later the successful Salyut 4
Salyut 4
Salyut 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...
, 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...
, and Salyut 7
Salyut 7
Salyut 7 was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first manned in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15. Various crew and modules were used over its lifetime, including a total of 12 manned and 15 unmanned launches...
.
The space stations funded and developed by the military, known as 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....
stations, were roughly similar in size and shape to the civilian DOS stations. But the details of their design, which is attributed to Vladimir Chelomey, are considered to be significantly different from the DOS stations. The first Almaz station was Salyut 2
Salyut 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...
, which launched in April 1973, but failed only days after reaching orbit, and hence it was never manned.
Description
Salyut 3 consisted of an airlock chamber, a large-diameter work compartment, and a small diameter living compartment, giving a total habitable volume of 90 m³. It had two solar arrays, one docking port, and two main engines each of which could produce 400 kgfKGF
KGF may refer to:*Keratinocyte Growth Factor*King George's Fields A UK set of 471 memorial playing fields and recreation grounds*Kolar Gold Fields*The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan...
(3.9 kN) of thrust. It's launch mass was 18,900 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
.
The station came equipped with a shower, a standing sleeping station, as well as a foldaway bed. The floor was covered with Velcro
Velcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...
to assist the cosmonauts moving around the station. Some entertainment on the station included a magnetic
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
set, a small library, and a cassette deck
Cassette deck
A cassette deck is a type of tape recorder for playing or recording audio compact cassettes. A deck was formerly distinguished from a recorder as being part of a stereo component system, while a recorder had a self-contained power amplifier...
with some audio cassette tapes
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
. Exercise equipment included a treadmill and Pingvin exercise suit. On the station the first water-recycling facilities were tested; the system was called Priboy.
Earth-observation cameras
The work compartment was dominated by the Agat-1 Earth-observation telescope, which had a focal lengthFocal length
The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus...
of 6.375 metres and a optical resolution
Optical resolution
Optical resolution describes the ability of an imaging system to resolve detail in the object that is being imaged.An imaging system may have many individual components including a lens and recording and display components...
better than three meters, according to post-Soviet sources; NASA historian Siddiqi has speculated that given the size of the telescope's mirror, it likely had a resolution better than one metre. The telescope was used in conjunction with a wide-film camera, and was used primarily for military reconnaissance purposes. The cosmonauts are said to have observed targets set out on the ground at Baikonur. Secondary objectives included study of water pollution, agricultural land, possible ore-bearing landforms, and oceanic ice formation.
The cosmonauts were able to develop film
Photographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
while on the station. Important or interesting images were printed, and then scanned by a TV imaging system for broadcast to Earth. They needed as little as 30 minutes to shoot, develop, and scan a photograph. Less important images were packed into a small Earth-return capsule, which could be ejected from the station.
In addition to the Agat-1 camera, other cameras on board included a topographical camera, a star camera, and Volga infrared camera with a resolution of 100 meters. Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich
Pavel Popovich
- Biography :He was born in Uzyn, Kiev Oblast of Soviet Union . to Roman Porfirievich Popovich and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonov. He had two sisters and two brothers ....
, who visited the station as Commander of Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14 was a 1974 manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of human...
, recalled that the station was equipped with 14 cameras.
On-board gun
The Salyut 3 station was equipped with a "self-defence" gun, which had been designed for use aboard the station, and whose design is attributed to Nudelman. Some accounts claim the station was equipped with a Nudelman-Rikhter "Vulkan" gun, which was a variant of the 23 mm NudelmannNudelman-Rikhter NR-23
The Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 is a Soviet cannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A. E. Nudelman and A.A. Rikhter to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 and VYa cannon, entering service in 1949....
aircraft cannon, or possibly a Nudelmann NR-30
Nudelman-Rikhter NR-30
The Nudelman-Rikhter NR-30 was a Soviet cannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A.E. Nudelman and A.A. Rikhter, entering service in 1954....
30 mm gun. These claims have reportedly been verified by Pavel Popovich
Pavel Popovich
- Biography :He was born in Uzyn, Kiev Oblast of Soviet Union . to Roman Porfirievich Popovich and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonov. He had two sisters and two brothers ....
, who had visited the station in orbit, as Commander of Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14 was a 1974 manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of human...
. Due to potential shaking of the station, in-orbit tests of the weapon with cosmonauts in the station were ruled out. The gun was fixed to the station in such a way that the only way to aim would have been to change the orientation of the entire station. Following the last manned mission to the station, the gun was commanded by the ground to be fired; some sources say it was fired to depletion, while other sources say three test firings took place during the Salyut 3 mission.
Station operations
Only one manned spacecraft, Soyuz 14Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14 was a 1974 manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of human...
, docked with Salyut 3. One other spacecraft, Soyuz 15
Soyuz 15
Soyuz 15 was a 1974 manned space flight which was to have been the second mission to the Soviet Union's Salyut 3 space station with presumably military objectives....
, came within 40 meters of the station, but failed to dock due to a malfunctioning rendezvous system.
Launch
The station was launched on June 25, 1974 by a three stage Proton launch vehicle.Salyut 3 was the first space station to maintain constant orientation relative to the Earth surface. To achieve that, as many as 500,000 firings of the attitude control thrusters had been performed. Its initial orbit was 219 km by 270 km above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
, which was considered low. The suspicions of Western observers were raised by the low altitude, combined with the choice of crew from the Air Force, and the use of radio frequencies normally designated for military use.
Soyuz 14
On July 4, a little over a week after Salyut 3 was launched, the manned spacecraft Soyuz 14Soyuz 14
Soyuz 14 was a 1974 manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of human...
docked with the station, having been launched the previous day. The crew of Soyuz 14 consisted of Commander Pavel Popovich
Pavel Popovich
- Biography :He was born in Uzyn, Kiev Oblast of Soviet Union . to Roman Porfirievich Popovich and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonov. He had two sisters and two brothers ....
and Flight Engineer Yury Artyukhin. The crew spent 15 days aboard the station.
On July 9, it was reported that the crew activated the Earth-observation cameras, and spent several days taking photos of various locations, including Central Asia. They placed some film in the Earth return capsule. After undocking, Soyuz 14 safely landed on July 19.
Soyuz 15
The spacecraft Soyuz 15Soyuz 15
Soyuz 15 was a 1974 manned space flight which was to have been the second mission to the Soviet Union's Salyut 3 space station with presumably military objectives....
was launched on August 26, 1974, carrying a two man crew consisting of Commander Gennadi Sarafanov
Gennadi Sarafanov
Gennadi Vasiliyevich Sarafanov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 15 spaceflight in 1974. This mission was intended to dock with the space station Salyut 3, but failed to do so after the docking system malfunctioned....
and flight engineer Lev Demin. They were intended to be the second crew to man Salyut 3, but they failed to dock, after their Igla rendezvous system on their Soyuz spacecraft malfunctioned, and they were unable to manually dock. Due to the limited battery life of their Soyuz spacecraft, they were deorbited and landed two days after launch. At the time of the spaceflight, Demin was 48 years old, earning him the record for the oldest person to fly in space up to that point. This record was broken the following year, with Deke Slayton
Deke Slayton
Donald Kent Slayton , better known as Deke Slayton, was an American World War II pilot and later, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts....
's spaceflight as a part of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.
Unmanned operations
Following the failed docking of Soyuz 15, it was decided that the Igla docking system needed significant modifications. Due to the amount of time needed to make the changes, and the limited time Salyut 3 had left in orbit due to orbital decay, the next planned mission to the station was cancelled. The spacecraft which would have been used on the third mission to Salyut 3 was later used for the mission Soyuz 20Soyuz 20
Soyuz 20 was an unmanned spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union. It was a long-duration test of the Soyuz spacecraft that docked with the Salyut 4 space station. Soyuz 20 performed comprehensive checking of improved on-board systems of the spacecraft under various flight conditions. It also...
to Salyut 4
Salyut 4
Salyut 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...
(a civilian space station).
Following this decision, on September 23, 1974, the station's Earth return capsule was released from the station. The ejected capsule was deorbited by small engines. NASA sources report that the parachute of Salyut 3's capsule opened at an altitude of 8.4 km. Other sources say the main parachute did not open, and the capsule was deformed upon landing, but that all the film was recoverable.
Also following the decision to not send any more cosmonauts to the station, the on-board gun was commanded by the ground to be fired; some sources say it was fired to depletion, while other sources say three test firings took place at the end of the mission.
The station was deorbited on January 24, 1975 over the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.