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Encyclopedia Astronautica
Salyut 7



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Kosmos 1267/Salyut 7
Kosmos 1267 / Salyut 7. This detailed painting was the first revelation in the West of the configuration of the TKS spacecraft.
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Salyut 7 in Assembly
Salyut 7 in Assembly Hall
Credit: RKK Energia
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Salyut 7 frozen.
The frozen interior of Salyut 7 that greeted the crew of the Soyuz T-15 repair mission.
Credit: RKK Energia
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Salyut 7
Credit: © Mark Wade
Russian manned space station. One launch, 1982.04.19. Salyut 7 was the back-up article for Salyut 6 and very similar in equipment and capabilities.

It was in use 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). A total of 22 cosmonauts visited the station, five of them twice and one three times. From two to six crew were aboard at any one time. 11 Soyuz T and 15 Progress spacecraft made a total of 25 dockings and 3 redockings. Mission durations of 211 and then 237 days were achieved, during which 13 EVA's were conducted during 861 total days of piloted flight.

On 19-22 August 1986 The station was moved to a 492 x 474 km orbit, which was expected to take a very long time to decay. Retrieval at a future date by a Buran shuttle was planned. However much greater than expected solar activity resulted in it returning to earth much more rapidly than expected. Equipment aboard Salyut 7 included: Unitary Propulsion/RCS Systems. Kurs Rendezvous/Docking System - 24 hr hot water - food refrigerator. Experimental Equipment included: - Kristal materials processing furnace - EFO-7 star electrophotometer Improved Oasis plant growth unit - Aelita cardiovascular diagnostic unit - French echography ultrasonic medical system - Korund semiconductor materials furnace Military experiments: observations of ground aerosols; ABM intercept; naval exercises; laser pointing/tracking hardware tests

Characteristics

RCS Coarse No x Thrust: 14 X 98 N. RCS Fine No x Thrust: 18 x 10 N. Electric System: 2.00 average kW.

AKA: 11F715.
Gross mass: 19,824 kg (43,704 lb).
Unfuelled mass: 18,624 kg (41,058 lb).
Height: 14.40 m (47.20 ft).
Span: 17.00 m (55.00 ft).
Thrust: 3.92 kN (881 lbf).
Specific impulse: 305 s.
First Launch: 1982.04.19.
Number: 1 .

More... - Chronology...


Associated Countries
Associated Engines
  • KRD-79 Isayev N2O4/UDMH rocket engine. 3.090 kN. Salyut 6, 7and Mir orbital propulsion maneuvering engine. In Production. Probably derived from engine of propulsion system KDU-426. Pressure fed engine. More...

See also
  • Proton The Proton launch vehicle has been the medium-lift workhorse of the Soviet and Russian space programs for over forty years. Although constantly criticized within Russia for its use of toxic and ecologically-damaging storable liquid propellants, it has out-lasted all challengers, and no replacement is in sight. More...

Associated Launch Vehicles
  • Proton The Proton launch vehicle has been the medium-lift workhorse of the Soviet and Russian space programs for over forty years. Although constantly criticized within Russia for its use of toxic and ecologically-damaging storable liquid propellants, it has out-lasted all challengers, and no replacement is in sight. Development of the Proton began in 1962 as a two-stage vehicle that could be used to launch large military payloads or act as a ballistic missile with a 100 megaton nuclear warhead. The ICBM was cancelled in 1965, but development of a three-stage version for the crash program to send a Soviet man around the moon began in 1964. The hurried development caused severe reliability problems in early production. But these were eventually solved, and from the 1970's the Proton was used to launch all Russian space stations, medium- and geosynchronous orbit satellites, and lunar and planetary probes. More...
  • Proton-K Russian orbital launch vehicle. Development of a three-stage version of the UR-500 was authorised in the decree of 3 August 1964. Decrees of 12 October and 11 November 1964 authorised development of the Almaz manned military space station and the manned circumlunar spacecraft LK-1 as payloads for the UR-500K. Remarkably, due to continuing failures, the 8K82K did not satisfactorily complete its state trials until its 61st launch (Salyut 6 / serial number 29501 / 29 September 1977). Thereafter it reached a level of launch reliability comparable to that of other world launch vehicles. More...

Associated Manufacturers and Agencies
  • Korolev Russian manufacturer of rockets, spacecraft, and rocket engines. Korolev Design Bureau, Kaliningrad, Russia. More...
  • MOM Russian agency overseeing development of spacecraft. Ministry of General Machine Building (Moskva, Russia), Moscow, Russia. More...

Associated Programs
  • Salyut 7 Due to cancellation of the Almaz military station, and delays in the Mir project, the decision was taken in the late 1970's to fly the back-up to DOS-5 / Salyut 6. This was launched as Salyut 7 in 1982. The opportunity was still taken to fly 'guest cosmonauts' from friendly countries on short visits to the stations, although emphasis was placed on military experiments. Salyut 7 was able to conduct significant military experiments thanks to the greatly increased volume and payload of the TKS modules diverted from the Almaz programme that docked with the station. More...

Associated Propellants
  • N2O4/UDMH Nitrogen tetroxide became the storable liquid propellant of choice from the late 1950's. Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine ((CH3)2NNH2) became the storable liquid fuel of choice by the mid-1950's. Development of UDMH in the Soviet Union began in 1949. It is used in virtually all storable liquid rocket engines except for some orbital manoeuvring engines in the United States, where MMH has been preferred due to a slightly higher density and performance. More...

Bibliography
  • McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: here.
  • JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: here.
  • Semenov, Yuri P Editor, Raketno-kosmicheskaya korporatsiya 'Energia' imeni S P Koroleva, Moscow, Russia, 1996.
  • Clark, Philip, The Soviet Manned Space Program, Salamander Books, London, 1988.
  • Furniss, Tim, Manned Spaceflight Log, Jane's, London, 1986.
  • Oberg, James, Red Star in Orbit, Random House, New York, 1981.
  • Wilson, Keith T., "EVA Log 1965-1997", Spaceflight, 1998, Volume 40, page 85.
  • Kaesmann, Ferdinand, et. al., "Proton - Development of A Russian Launch Vehicle", Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 1998, Volume 51, page 3.
  • Semenov, Yu. P., S P Korolev Space Corporation Energia, RKK Energia, 1994.
  • Vladimirov, A, "Tablitsa zapuskov RN 'Proton' i 'Proton K'", Novosti kosmonavtiki, 1998, Issue 10, page 25.
  • Ludueña, Alejo M, "Personal communication, describing crash of Salyut 7.", E-mail of 27 February 1999..
  • Chertok, Boris Yevseyevich, Raketi i lyudi, Mashinostroenie, Moscow, 1994-1999.. Web Address when accessed: here.

Associated Launch Sites
  • Baikonur Russia's largest cosmodrome, the only one used for manned launches and with facilities for the larger Proton, N1, and Energia launch vehicles. The spaceport ended up on foreign soil after the break-up of Soviet Union. The official designations NIIP-5 and GIK-5 are used in official Soviet histories. It was also universally referred to as Tyuratam by both Soviet military staff and engineers, and the US intelligence agencies. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union the Russian Federation has insisted on continued use of the old Soviet 'public' name of Baikonur. In its Kazakh (Kazak) version this is rendered Baykonur. More...

Salyut 7 Chronology


1982 April 19 - . 19:45 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC200/40. LV Family: Proton. Launch Vehicle: Proton-K. LV Configuration: Proton-K 306-02.
  • Salyut 7 - . Payload: Zarya s/n 125-2. Mass: 18,900 kg (41,600 lb). Nation: USSR. Agency: MOM. Program: Salyut 7. Class: Manned. Type: Manned space station. Spacecraft: Salyut 7. Duration: 3,215.34 days. Decay Date: 1991-02-07 . USAF Sat Cat: 13138 . COSPAR: 1982-033A. Apogee: 284 km (176 mi). Perigee: 279 km (173 mi). Inclination: 51.6000 deg. Period: 90.20 min. Second Soviet replenishable long-duration ‘civilian’ space station. Objectives: Continuation of scientific research on board manned space complexes in the interests of science and the Soviet national economy; testing of advanced systems and apparatus for orbital stations. Continuation of the scientific research in progress on board manned space complexes in the interests of science and the national economy; testing of advanced systems and apparatus for orbital stations. Although of the same design as Salyut 6, technical breakdowns throughout its life made Salyut 7 a much less productive station. Replaced finally by Mir. Two different TKS resupply craft, originally designed for the Almaz military station, docked with Salyut 7 to provide a larger complex. With the cancellation of Almaz, a large proportion of the experiments carried out on board had military objectives. As of January 1990 out of fuel, unable to manoeuvre, uncontrolled re-entry expected in three to four years. Re-entered in 1991 with 70 kg fuel remaining over Argentina. Controllers attempted to control impact point (set for Atlantic Ocean) by setting Salyut 7/Kosmos 1686 assembly into a tumble. This however failed and Salyut 7 re-entered February 7, 1991 04:00 GMT. Many fragments fell on the town of Capitan Bermudez, 25 km from Rosario and 400 km from Buenos Aires, Argentina. At 1 am local time the sky was lit up with hundreds of incandescent meteors travelling from Southwest to Northeast. At dawn the inhabitants discovered numerous metal fragments, which seemed to have fallen in distinct groups at various locations in the city. Luckily no one was hurt in the metallic shower. Additional Details: here....

1982 July 30 - . 02:39 GMT - .
1983 November 1 - . 04:47 GMT - .
1983 November 3 - . 03:47 GMT - .
1984 April 23 - . 04:31 GMT - .
1984 April 26 - . 02:40 GMT - .
1984 April 29 - . 01:35 GMT - .
1984 May 4 - . 23:15 GMT - .
1984 May 18 - . 17:52 GMT - .
1984 July 25 - . 14:55 GMT - .
1984 August 8 - . 08:46 GMT - .
1991 February 6 - .
  • Salyut-7 Burnup In Earth's Atmosphere (Soviet Union Space Station) - . Nation: USSR. Spacecraft: Salyut 7.

1991 February 7 - .
  • Salyut 7 re-enters - . Nation: USSR. Program: Salyut 7. Spacecraft: Salyut 7. Salyut 7 had been put into a high storage orbit in June 1986, which was supposed to allow it to remain in orbit for ten years before decaying. But much greater than expected solar activity caused the orbit to decay rapidly. By the end of 1990 the station was no longer controllable, and on 7 February 1991 the station came down over South America.

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