Backup crew

Mission parameters

• Mass: 6800 kg (14,991.4 lb)
• Perigee: 198 km (123 mi)
• Apogee: 259.7 km (161.4 mi)
• Inclination: 51.65°
• Period: 88.81 minutes

Crew launch, station activation

Soyuz 35 was launched 9 April 1980 with Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin aboard for a planned rendezvous with the orbiting Salyut 6 space station. The launch followed increased recent activity with the unmanned space station. An unmanned test craft, Soyuz T-1

Soyuz T-1

Soyuz T-1 was a 1979-80 unmanned Soviet space flight, a test flight of a new Soyuz craft which docked with the orbiting Salyut 6 space station.-Mission parameters:*Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-ST*Mass: 6450 kg*Crew: None*Launched: December 16, 1979...

, spent several months docked to the station until it was undocked 23 March and deorbited 25 March. Progress 8, an unmanned supply tanker, was launched almost immediately afterwards, on 27 March, and it docked with the rear dock port of the two-dock facility. Several manoeuvres were carried out by 2 April using the Progress to adjust the station's orbit.

Valentin Lebedev

Valentin Lebedev

Valentin Vitaljevich Lebedev was a Soviet cosmonaut who made two flights into space. His stay aboard the Space Station Salyut 7 with Anatoly Berezovoy in 1982, which lasted 211 days, was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records....

 had been scheduled to be Popov’s flight engineer, but he was disqualified from launch after suffering a knee injury in a trampoline

Trampoline

A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....

 accident. As none of the back-up crew had previous flight experience (required since the failure of the 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), Ryumin had been given the choice of replacing Lebedev or delaying the mission. This despite having completed a six-month mission only the previous August. Ryumin's family was upset by this turn of events.

The Soyuz 35 crew docked with and entered the space station on 10 April, using the vacant front port. Ryumin read the traditional note left by the previous crew, a note he had written with no expectation he would be the one receiving it. Upon entering Salyut 6, Ryumin noted that the two viewports in the transfer compartment had lost their transparency. The windows also had many chips in them caused by micrometeoroids and orbital debris. The cosmonauts replaced components of the attitude control system

Attitude control system

In spaceflight, the attitude control system or attitude determination and control system of a spacecraft consists of equipment to measure, report and change the orientation of the vehicle.- Components :...

 and life support system

Life support system

In human spaceflight, a life support system is a group of devices that allow a human being to survive in space.US government space agency NASA,and private spaceflight companies...

, installed a new caution and warning system, synchronized the station’s clocks with those in the TsUP Mission Control Center

Mission Control Center

A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...

, added an 80 kilograms (176.4 lb) storage battery, and replaced air using tanks aboard the Progress 8 supply craft.

By 15 April, the Progress tanker had been emptied of supplies, and the crew filled it with garbage and deorbited the craft 25 April. Two days later, Progress 9 was launched, docking with the facility on 29 April. The next day, the first-ever transfer of water between a tanker and a 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...

 station was completed. Cargo transfers and refuelling operations were completed by 12 May. With this flight, the resupply of the Salyut was complete for the long-duration crew.

Minor repair work was carried out by the crew and "Lotos" was carried out, an experiment involving using special moulds to make plastic items with a quick-setting material. Additional experiments involved production of polyurethane foam, exploring its utility in assembling structures in orbit.

Soyuz 36 and Soyuz T-2 crews visit

Progress 9 was undocked 20 May, leaving the rear port vacant for the arrival of the next crew. Soyuz 36

Soyuz 36

-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.62°*Period: 89.0 minutes-Mission highlights:...

 was launched 26 May with Valery Kubasov and Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 cosmonaut Bertalan Farkas

Bertalan Farkas

Bertalan Farkas was the first Hungarian cosmonaut and the first Esperantist in space. He is currently the president of Airlines Service and Trade...

. The flight was originally scheduled for 5 June 1979, but was cancelled due to the Soyuz 33

Soyuz 33

-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.63°*Period: 88.99 minutes-Mission highlights:...

 failure. The launch was a part of the Soviet 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...

 program whereby guest cosmonauts from allied nations would visit the space station, typically for about a week. Upon boarding, the visiting crew carried out some Hungarian experiments, including one measuring radiation doses received by the crew and another studying the formation of interferon

Interferon

Interferons are proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of pathogens—such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites—or tumor cells. They allow communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that eradicate pathogens or tumors.IFNs belong to...

 in human cells under weightless conditions.

Kubasov and Farkas swapped Soyuz craft with the long-duration crew, departing the station in Soyuz 35 on 3 June. The next day, Popov and Ryumin entered Soyuz 36, undocked it from the station, then redocked it 90 minutes later at the vacant front dock. The rapid switch of ferry vehicles, along with the launch of Soyuz 36 at almost the earliest possible date to allow a crew recovery in the nominal window, caused observers to speculate the secretive Soviets were possibly planning a second Intercosmos mission to recoup the time lost after the Soyuz 33 failure. A launch indeed was soon in the offing, but not the predicted mission.

Soyuz T-2

Soyuz T-2

Soyuz T-2 was a 1980 Soviet manned space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 12th mission to and 10th successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz T-2 crew were the second to visit the long-duration Soyuz 35 resident crew....

 was launched 5 June with Yuri Malyshev

Yuri Malyshev

Yury Vasilyevich Malyshev was born in the village Nikolayevsk, Stalingrad Oblast , USSR on August 27, 1941. Studied in Taganrog's high school N24, 1949-1959. Married with two children. Selected as a cosmonaut on May 7, 1967. Retired on July 20, 1988...

 and Vladimir Aksyonov

Vladimir Aksyonov

Vladimir Viktorovich Aksyonov is a Soviet cosmonaut, married with two children....

 on what turned out to be the first manned mission of the new Soyuz T variant. The craft docked at Salyut 6's rear port the next day. The mission proved to be a short one, as they undocked in the craft they arrived on only two days after first greeting the resident crew.

The resident crew carried out repairs of the station's Kaskad attitude control system and performed materials processing experiments. On 1 July, Popov and Ryumin received Progress 10 at the station. Replacement equipment was unloaded from the supply tanker, as were regular crew supplies. Supplies included a Polaroid

Instant camera

The instant camera is a type of camera that generates a developed film image. The most popular types to use self-developing film were formerly made by Polaroid Corporation....

 camera, a color television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 monitor, and tapes of Soviet pop music

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

. The tanker was undocked from the complex on 17 July after refuelling the station and deorbited 19 July. Also on July 19, Popov and Ryumin sent their greetings from the station to the 1980 Summer Olympics

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

, wishing the athletes happy starts in a live communication

Live television

Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...

 between the station and the Central Lenin Stadium

Luzhniki

Luzhniki may refer to:*Luzhniki , a village in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Luzhniki Olympic Complex, sport complex in Moscow, Russia.**Luzhniki Palace of Sports, an arena in Luzhniki Olympic Complex...

 where the opening ceremony was held. They appeared on the stadium's scoreboard

Scoreboard

A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...

 and their voices were translated via loud speaker

Loud Speaker

Loud Speaker is a play by American playwright John Howard Lawson. It was first produced by the New Playwrights' Theatre at the 52nd Street Theatre in New York, opening on March 2 1927. Harry Wagstaff Gribble directed, Mordecai Gorelik designed the sets, Eugene L. Berton composed its music, and...

s.

First Asian and Cuban cosmonauts, end of mission

Observers anticipated a Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n Intercosmos mission for the approaching launch window, but were proven wrong when the first Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n cosmonaut, Pham Tuan of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, was launched aboard Soyuz 37

Soyuz 37

-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.61°*Period: 89.12 minutes-Mission highlights:...

 with Viktor Gorbatko

Viktor Gorbatko

Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7, Soyuz 24, and Soyuz 37 missions.After leaving the space program in 1982 he taught at the Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow.-References:...

 on 23 July. The launch was timed to take advantage of the world's focus on the Soviet Union during the Olympic games. The visiting crew swapped craft and left on the docked Soyuz 36 craft, returning to earth 31 July.

The following day, Popov and Ryumin boarded Soyuz 37 and redocked it to the front port, suggesting to observers that another crew's launch was coming shortly. That was not to occur, nor was another Progress supply tanker soon launched. The crew performed a joint experiment with scientists on the ground, using their Yelena-F gamma ray

Gamma ray

Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...

 telescope

Telescope

A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...

. The experiment was designed to compare measurements with another telescope on the ground, but the weather balloon

Weather balloon

A weather or sounding balloon is a balloon which carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde...

 the experiment was using malfunctioned and thieves stole much of the equipment before ground crews could locate it.

The next landing window was now 2-15 October, suggesting the anticipated Cuban launch would be 24 September, but observers were caught off guard once again when Soyuz 38

Soyuz 38

-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: 6800 kg*Perigee: 199.7 km*Apogee: 273.5 km*Inclination: 51.63°*Period: 88.194 minutes-Mission highlights:...

 was launched 18 September, almost a week earlier than anticipated.

Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo M%C3%A9ndez, the first space-farer of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n descent, was accompanied by Yuri Romanenko

Yuri Romanenko

Yury Viktorovich Romanenko is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union . Over his career, Yury Romanenko spent a total of 430 days 20 hours 21 minutes 30 seconds in space and 18 hours in space walks. In 1987 he was a resident of the Mir space station, launching on Soyuz TM-2 and...

 into space, the fourth crew to visit the resident crew. The early launch date was intended to allow Cubans to be able to see their countryman overhead. Twenty-seven material processing and medical experiments were carried out by the visiting crew. As the Soyuz 35 crew were returning 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...

 soon, the Soyuz 38 crew didn't swap their craft when they returned on 26 September.

The launch, therefore, of Progress 11 on 28 September came as surprise to observers, as it was assumed cosmonauts due to return to Earth would not need fresh supplies. Indeed, by the time the Soyuz 35 crew returned on 11 October, the Progress was only partially unloaded. The crew set a new space endurance mark of 185 days, but the record was not recognized by the IAF

International Astronautical Federation

International Astronautical Federation , the world's foremost space advocacy organisation, is based in Paris. It was founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization. It has 206 members from 58 countries across the world. They are drawn from space agencies, industry, professional associations,...

 as it had not exceeded the previous 175-day record by the required minimum of 10 per cent. Ryumin had become by far the most experienced space-farer to that date, with a total of 352 days spent in space over three missions. Unusually, the crew had gained an average of 2 kg during the flight. This was explained by the crew's strict adherence to exercises and diet. By the day after landing, they were able to walk for half an hour. By 15 October, they were playing tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

. Thousands of Earth resources photographs were taken, as were more than 40,000 spectograms.