Soyuz 29
Encyclopedia
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. Commander Vladimir Kovalyonok
and flight engineer Aleksandr Ivanchenkov
established a new space-endurance record of 139 days.
The crew returned in Soyuz 31
, which had been swapped by a crew launched in August who returned in Soyuz 29.
ended after 96 days. The crew successfully docked on 17 June and Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov reactivated the station. Kovalyonok, who was aboard the failed Soyuz 25
mission to Salyut 6, became the first person to visit the same station twice.
They switched on the station’s air regenerators and thermal regulation system, and activated the water recycling system to reprocess water left aboard by Soyuz 26
. De-mothballing Salyut 6 occurred simultaneously with the crew’s adaptation to weightlessness, and required about one week. On June 19 Salyut 6 was in a 368 by orbit. Onboard temperature was 20 °C (68 °F), and air pressure was 750 mmHg (100 kPa; 14.5 psi). Soon after this, Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov performed maintenance on the station’s airlock
, installed equipment they brought with them in Soyuz 29’s orbital module, and tested the station’s Kaskad orientation system.
The station operated in gravity-gradient stabilized
mode June 24–June 26 to avoid attitude control system engine firings which could cause interference with a 3-day smelting experiment using the Splav-01 furnace. The previous crew installed the furnace in the intermediate compartment so it could operate in vacuum. At the time, the station was in an orbit exposed to the sun's light for 24 hours a day. This happens twice a year when the plane of the station's orbit faces the sun.
, with Pyotr Klimuk
and the second Intercosmos
participant, Mirosław Hermaszewski of Poland
, arrived at Salyut 6 on 29 June. For the third time, the Salyut was a four-man orbiting space laboratory. The activities of the Soyuz 30 crew, however, were severely curtailed so as not to interfere with the Soyuz 29 crew. They returned to earth in the capsule they came in on 5 July.
Progress 2
, the second unmanned supply tanker to dock with a manned space station, arrived at Salyut 6 on 9 July. Fifty days of supplies were on board, including 200 litres of water, 250 kg (551 lb) of food, the Kristall furnace, 600 kg (1,323 lb) of propellant, air re-generators, computer sub-systems, replacement parts, film and mail. It took the crew a week to unload the vehicle. On 19 July, the tanker refueled the station, then it was filled with used equipment and trash and sent into a destructive de-orbit on 4 August.
The crew was advised not to use the station treadmill at certain speeds, as dangerous vibrations could be produced. This advice was a result of resonance experiments carried out by the previous long-term Soyuz 26
crew.
Experiments continued, with glass and semi-conductor tests done with the Kristall furnace, newly installed in the transfer tunnel leading to the rear docking port. Mercury telluride and cadmimum telluride were processed on 18 July, and 24 July saw aluminum, tin and molybdenum alloys processed in the Spalv furnace.
The crew complained of headaches before realizing the carbon dioxide detectors had failed to alert them to change the air purifiers. Normal CO2 levels are 8.8 mm Hg; the levels had likely reached 62 mm Hg to cause the headaches.
on 29 July, the second at Salyut 6. Their main mission was to retrieve material from the Medusa experiment, left on the station's exterior by the Soyuz 26
crew in December. The experiment was designed to test various materials' exposure to space. Aluminum, titanium, steel, rubber and glass were among the materials tested. Later examination revealed two hundred small craters caused by orbital debris, much more than anticipated. Much of the debris was said to be paint chips and propellant residue.
During the two-hour EVA, the crew saw a meteor pass below them, an event which briefly blinded them. Air lost during the EVA was replaced by air from the Progress 2.
Progress 3 was launched 8 August and docked with Salyut 6 two days later. With it, the station's orbit was boosted to 244 x 262 km (163 mi). Supplies aboard the tanker included strawberries, onions, milk, 450 kg (992 lb) of air, 190 litres of water, fur boots, newspapers, film, letters and equipment. Additionally, Kovalyonok's guitar was on board. It was the first tanker not to carry a fresh supply of propellant for the station, as Progress 2 had so recently replenished Salyut 6's tanks. The Progress was de-orbited 23 August.
The station was put into gravity gradient stabilized flight on 11 August for materials processing with the Kristall and Splav furnaces, and the crew underwent medical experiments on 16 August.
with Valery Bykovsky and East German Sigmund Jähn
, the third Intercosmos participant, aboard. Food was brought aboard, and numerous medical and biological experiments were carried out. The visiting crew swapped craft with the resident crew, and tested the Soyuz 29's engines on 2 September. Seat liners were exchanged the next day, the craft undocked, and Bykovsky and Jahn returned to Earth.
On 7 September, after the Soyuz 31 crew had left, the Soyuz 29 crew entered the Soyuz 31 craft and undocked from the Salyut 6 station. The Salyut was put into gravity gradient mode, the Soyuz activated its docking radar, and the Salyut responded by pointing its forward port at the Soyuz. The Soyuz was now 90 degrees away from the station, so the crew rotated the craft then redocked with the station. It was the first time the Soviets had attempted such a redocking. The redock had the effect of clearing the aft port for another Progress craft.
Experiments continued on the station, and on 15 September, the cosmonauts took their second showers. By October, some 3,000 photographs had been taken and some 50 experiments carried out.
The crew marked a significant milestone on 20 September when they surpassed the 96-day space endurance record of the Soyuz 26 crew, set earlier that year.
Refuelling was completed 13 October, two burns were used to raise the station's orbit on 20 October, and the Progress was de-orbited 26 October.
More experiments were carried out in the waning days of the mission. A lunar eclipse was observed on 7 October, extensive medical tests were carried out 17 and 18 October, and more material experiments were conducted in the Kristall and Splav furnaces on 22 October.
The crew exercised three hours a day in their final month in orbit. Experiments were transferred to Soyuz 31 on 30 October, its engines were tested, and the station's interior was cleaned. They returned to earth 2 November, landing 180 km (112 mi) southeast of Jezkazgan. The landing was covered live by Soviet television. They were mostly recovered in five days, fully recovered in 25. They were the first crew to have difficulty talking after returning to earth. Despite all this, their condition was slightly better than the previous long-duration crew's. They had spent a total of 139 days in orbit.
The relative good shape the crew were in was seen as a direct result of the hard exercise program carried out in the final days of the mission, and cleared the way for even longer flights.
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. It was the fifth mission, the fourth successful docking, and the second long-duration crew for the orbiting station. Commander Vladimir Kovalyonok
Vladimir Kovalyonok
-Honours and awards:* Hero of the Soviet Union, twice * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class * Order of Military Merit * Three Orders of Lenin...
and flight engineer Aleksandr Ivanchenkov
Aleksandr Ivanchenkov
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 29 and Soyuz T-6, he spent 147 days, 12 hours and 37 minutes in space....
established a new space-endurance record of 139 days.
The crew returned in Soyuz 31
Soyuz 31
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.64°*Period: 88.81 minutes-Mission highlights:Soyuz 31, the third Intercosmos flight, was launched 26 August 1978...
, which had been swapped by a crew launched in August who returned in Soyuz 29.
Crew
Backup crew
Launch and station re-activation
The second long-duration mission to Salyut 6 was launched into orbit on 15 June 1978. The space station had been vacant for three months since the record-breaking mission of Soyuz 26Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26 was Soviet manned mission, used to launch the crew of Salyut 6 EO-1, the first long duration crew on the space station Salyut 6.The Soyuz spacecraft was launched on December 10, 1977, and docked with the space station the next day...
ended after 96 days. The crew successfully docked on 17 June and Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov reactivated the station. Kovalyonok, who was aboard the failed Soyuz 25
Soyuz 25
Soyuz 25 was a 1977 Soviet manned space flight, the first to the new Salyut 6 space station, which had been launched 10 days earlier. However, the mission was aborted when cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Valery Ryumin failed to engage the docking latches of the station despite five attempts...
mission to Salyut 6, became the first person to visit the same station twice.
They switched on the station’s air regenerators and thermal regulation system, and activated the water recycling system to reprocess water left aboard by Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26 was Soviet manned mission, used to launch the crew of Salyut 6 EO-1, the first long duration crew on the space station Salyut 6.The Soyuz spacecraft was launched on December 10, 1977, and docked with the space station the next day...
. De-mothballing Salyut 6 occurred simultaneously with the crew’s adaptation to weightlessness, and required about one week. On June 19 Salyut 6 was in a 368 by orbit. Onboard temperature was 20 °C (68 °F), and air pressure was 750 mmHg (100 kPa; 14.5 psi). Soon after this, Kovalyonok and Ivanchenkov performed maintenance on the station’s airlock
Airlock
An airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
, installed equipment they brought with them in Soyuz 29’s orbital module, and tested the station’s Kaskad orientation system.
The station operated in gravity-gradient stabilized
Gravity-gradient stabilization
Gravity-gradient stabilization is a method of stabilizing artificial satellites or space tethers in a fixed orientation using only the orbited body's mass distribution and the Earth's gravitational field. The main advantage over using active stabilization with propellants, gyroscopes or reaction...
mode June 24–June 26 to avoid attitude control system engine firings which could cause interference with a 3-day smelting experiment using the Splav-01 furnace. The previous crew installed the furnace in the intermediate compartment so it could operate in vacuum. At the time, the station was in an orbit exposed to the sun's light for 24 hours a day. This happens twice a year when the plane of the station's orbit faces the sun.
Soyuz 30 crew visits, Progress 2 docks
Soyuz 30Soyuz 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...
, with Pyotr Klimuk
Pyotr Klimuk
Pyotr Ilyich Klimuk Klimuk attended the Leninski Komsomol Chernigov High Aviation School and entered the Soviet Air Force in 1964. The following year, he was selected to join the space programme.His first flight was a long test flight on Soyuz 13 in 1973...
and the second Intercosmos
Intercosmos
Interkosmos was a space program of the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions...
participant, Mirosław Hermaszewski of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, arrived at Salyut 6 on 29 June. For the third time, the Salyut was a four-man orbiting space laboratory. The activities of the Soyuz 30 crew, however, were severely curtailed so as not to interfere with the Soyuz 29 crew. They returned to earth in the capsule they came in on 5 July.
Progress 2
Progress 2
Progress 2 was an unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union in 1978 to resupply the Salyut 6 space station. It used the Progress 7K-TG configuration, and was the second Progress mission to Salyut 6...
, the second unmanned supply tanker to dock with a manned space station, arrived at Salyut 6 on 9 July. Fifty days of supplies were on board, including 200 litres of water, 250 kg (551 lb) of food, the Kristall furnace, 600 kg (1,323 lb) of propellant, air re-generators, computer sub-systems, replacement parts, film and mail. It took the crew a week to unload the vehicle. On 19 July, the tanker refueled the station, then it was filled with used equipment and trash and sent into a destructive de-orbit on 4 August.
The crew was advised not to use the station treadmill at certain speeds, as dangerous vibrations could be produced. This advice was a result of resonance experiments carried out by the previous long-term Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26 was Soviet manned mission, used to launch the crew of Salyut 6 EO-1, the first long duration crew on the space station Salyut 6.The Soyuz spacecraft was launched on December 10, 1977, and docked with the space station the next day...
crew.
Experiments continued, with glass and semi-conductor tests done with the Kristall furnace, newly installed in the transfer tunnel leading to the rear docking port. Mercury telluride and cadmimum telluride were processed on 18 July, and 24 July saw aluminum, tin and molybdenum alloys processed in the Spalv furnace.
The crew complained of headaches before realizing the carbon dioxide detectors had failed to alert them to change the air purifiers. Normal CO2 levels are 8.8 mm Hg; the levels had likely reached 62 mm Hg to cause the headaches.
Spacewalk, Progress 3
The crew performed a spacewalkExtra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
on 29 July, the second at Salyut 6. Their main mission was to retrieve material from the Medusa experiment, left on the station's exterior by the Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26
Soyuz 26 was Soviet manned mission, used to launch the crew of Salyut 6 EO-1, the first long duration crew on the space station Salyut 6.The Soyuz spacecraft was launched on December 10, 1977, and docked with the space station the next day...
crew in December. The experiment was designed to test various materials' exposure to space. Aluminum, titanium, steel, rubber and glass were among the materials tested. Later examination revealed two hundred small craters caused by orbital debris, much more than anticipated. Much of the debris was said to be paint chips and propellant residue.
During the two-hour EVA, the crew saw a meteor pass below them, an event which briefly blinded them. Air lost during the EVA was replaced by air from the Progress 2.
Progress 3 was launched 8 August and docked with Salyut 6 two days later. With it, the station's orbit was boosted to 244 x 262 km (163 mi). Supplies aboard the tanker included strawberries, onions, milk, 450 kg (992 lb) of air, 190 litres of water, fur boots, newspapers, film, letters and equipment. Additionally, Kovalyonok's guitar was on board. It was the first tanker not to carry a fresh supply of propellant for the station, as Progress 2 had so recently replenished Salyut 6's tanks. The Progress was de-orbited 23 August.
The station was put into gravity gradient stabilized flight on 11 August for materials processing with the Kristall and Splav furnaces, and the crew underwent medical experiments on 16 August.
Soyuz 31 crew visits, first Soyuz redock
The Soyuz 29's second visiting crew was launched 26 August on Soyuz 31Soyuz 31
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.64°*Period: 88.81 minutes-Mission highlights:Soyuz 31, the third Intercosmos flight, was launched 26 August 1978...
with Valery Bykovsky and East German Sigmund Jähn
Sigmund Jähn
Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn is a German pilot who became the first German to fly in space as part of the Soviet Union's Interkosmos program.-Biography:Jähn was born in Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, in the Vogtland district of Saxony, Germany...
, the third Intercosmos participant, aboard. Food was brought aboard, and numerous medical and biological experiments were carried out. The visiting crew swapped craft with the resident crew, and tested the Soyuz 29's engines on 2 September. Seat liners were exchanged the next day, the craft undocked, and Bykovsky and Jahn returned to Earth.
On 7 September, after the Soyuz 31 crew had left, the Soyuz 29 crew entered the Soyuz 31 craft and undocked from the Salyut 6 station. The Salyut was put into gravity gradient mode, the Soyuz activated its docking radar, and the Salyut responded by pointing its forward port at the Soyuz. The Soyuz was now 90 degrees away from the station, so the crew rotated the craft then redocked with the station. It was the first time the Soviets had attempted such a redocking. The redock had the effect of clearing the aft port for another Progress craft.
Experiments continued on the station, and on 15 September, the cosmonauts took their second showers. By October, some 3,000 photographs had been taken and some 50 experiments carried out.
The crew marked a significant milestone on 20 September when they surpassed the 96-day space endurance record of the Soyuz 26 crew, set earlier that year.
Progress 4, return to Earth
The third Progess tanker for the crew arrived at Salyut 6's aft port on 6 October. Progress 4 had 1300 kg (2,866 lb) of equipment aboard, including air canisters, clothes, magazines and food. Ivanchenkov's wife had snuck some brandy-filled chocolates into a box of candy, and when the crew opened the box, the chocolates flew out. It took them two hours to retrieve the candies.Refuelling was completed 13 October, two burns were used to raise the station's orbit on 20 October, and the Progress was de-orbited 26 October.
More experiments were carried out in the waning days of the mission. A lunar eclipse was observed on 7 October, extensive medical tests were carried out 17 and 18 October, and more material experiments were conducted in the Kristall and Splav furnaces on 22 October.
The crew exercised three hours a day in their final month in orbit. Experiments were transferred to Soyuz 31 on 30 October, its engines were tested, and the station's interior was cleaned. They returned to earth 2 November, landing 180 km (112 mi) southeast of Jezkazgan. The landing was covered live by Soviet television. They were mostly recovered in five days, fully recovered in 25. They were the first crew to have difficulty talking after returning to earth. Despite all this, their condition was slightly better than the previous long-duration crew's. They had spent a total of 139 days in orbit.
The relative good shape the crew were in was seen as a direct result of the hard exercise program carried out in the final days of the mission, and cleared the way for even longer flights.
Mission parameters
- Mass: 6800 kg (4.2 mi)
- Perigee: 197.8 km (122.9 mi)
- Apogee: 266 km (165.3 mi)
- Inclination: 51.65°
- Period: 88.86 minutes