Salyut 7 EO-3

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mission dates
Mission: Salyut 7 EO-3
Crew: 3
Call sign: Маяк ("Mayak")
Space station: Salyut 7
Start: February 8, 1984, 12:07:26  UTC
Started by: Soyuz T-10 launch
The End: October 2, 1984, 10:57 UTC
Ended by: Landing of Soyuz T-11
Duration: 236d 22h 49min
Number of EVAs : 5
Total length of the EVAs: 17h 51min
navigation
Previous
mission:
Salyut 7 EO-2 		Next
mission:
Salyut 7 EO-4

Salyut 7 EO-3 was the name of the third long-term stay on board the Soviet space station Salyut 7 . The two cosmonauts took off with Soyuz T-10 and returned to Earth with Soyuz T-11 .

crew

Main team

Kisim and Solowjow were previously substitutes for Soyuz T-6 , Atkow had not yet been assigned to a team. The Soviet Union planned that every long-term mission should have a doctor who should constantly monitor the cosmonauts medically. He should have the authority to cancel the mission if his health deteriorates.

Substitute team

situation

The Salyut 7 space station had been in space since April 1982 and had hosted two long-term missions and two visiting teams. The second long-term crew Salyut 7 EO-2 had to leave the station unmanned in November 1983 after the launch vehicle for the Soyuz T-10-1 spacecraft exploded on the launch pad, leaving no spacecraft ready for an extension or replacement. An unsolved problem was two fuel tanks that could no longer be used since a line defect in September 1983. One of the most important tasks of the cosmonauts was to repair this damage.

Mission history

Start and pairing

The launch took place on February 8, 1984 with the Soyuz T-10 spacecraft . The coupling with the space station took place the following day. It was temporarily delayed because Kisim could not see the markings in the glaring sunlight. The cosmonauts boarded the dark, unmanned space station with flashlights. It took about a week for all of the systems to be fully functional.

The Progress 19 spacecraft docked on February 23, 1984 and remained connected to the space station until March 31. It carried about two tons of fuel, food, and equipment.

Replacement of the spaceship

On April 4, 1984, the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft docked with the space station. On board were commander Yuri Malyshev , flight engineer Gennady Strekalov , and the first Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma . Five people lived and worked on the space station for a week, then on April 11 the visitors boarded the Soyuz T-10 spacecraft and returned to Earth. Soyuz T-11 remained with the long-term crew as a new spacecraft.

Repair of the fuel line

On April 13, the Soyuz T-11 was moved to the front coupling nozzle so that the rear would be cleared for the space freighter Progress 20, which docked on April 17 and remained connected to the space station until May 6.

Progress 20 had an extension on the orbital module that could be extended and locked remotely. This enabled one of the cosmonauts to get a better position when working outside. In addition, a ladder was delivered with this flight that was adapted to the shape of the space station so that the cosmonauts could even reach the repair site. The cosmonauts also received additional special tools with this delivery.

The first phase of the repair consisted of four exits, with Kisim and Solowjow getting out, while Atkow assisted from inside. The first four-hour exit was on April 23rd and consisted of preparatory work. At the second exit on April 26th, Kisim exposed the defective line. To do this, he had to partially remove the insulation layer on the outer shell of the space station. Soloviev assisted him. After a valve was replaced, Atkow internally pressurized the line with nitrogen . It turned out that simply replacing the valve was not enough; a piece of fuel line had to be replaced. This could not be done on the same day, but Kisim and Soloviev did as much preparation as possible before returning to the Salyut after five hours. On April 29, Kisim laid a new fuel line around Solovyov for a third exit in order to bypass the defective section. This exit took just under three hours. Another replacement line was laid on the fourth exit on May 3 (May 4, Moscow time ). Then the insulation of the outer shell had to be reattached. The repair was only temporarily completed. The cosmonauts lacked the tools to completely cut off the original fuel line.

Progress 20 decoupled on May 6th and burned up in the earth's atmosphere as planned.

Installation of the solar cells

The next freighter, Progress 21, docked on May 10th. Was on board except the usual charge of equipment and fuel, a gallium arsenide - solar panel of nine square meters, similar to that which had installed the previous team.

Kisim and Solovyov installed the solar panel on May 18 on their fifth exit. After the first half was assembled, Atkow moved the structure half a turn from the inside so that Kisim and Solowjow could install the second half without having to laboriously move themselves or the tools. A piece of the previous solar cells was removed and should be returned to Earth to study the influence of space on the structure. This exit took over three hours.

Progress 21 decoupled on May 26th and burned up as planned in the earth's atmosphere. On May 30th, the free space was taken by Progress 22.

When Progress 22 decoupled on July 15, the freighter was only pushed off the space station by spring force. So far, the engines had been ignited briefly for this purpose, but it was now believed that the solar cells could be damaged if they were hit by the exhaust gases.

Soyuz T-12 visit

Salyut 7 space station with a Soyuz spaceship attached

On July 18, another manned spacecraft docked at Salyut 7. During the approach phase, data from the Soyuz spaceship was transmitted not only to the ground station, but also to the space station for the first time.

On board the Soyuz T-12 were commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov , flight engineer Svetlana Savitskaya and research cosmonaut Igor Wolk . This meant that the crew strength on board Salyut 7 had increased to six again, which resulted in cramped conditions.

Janibekov and Savitskaya conducted a space exit on July 25 to test new tools and procedures. Above all, a multifunctional device was used for material processing in a vacuum, with which one could cut, weld and coat. This was a woman's first space exit. The US followed suit three months later when Kathy Sullivan left the space shuttle on the STS-41-G mission .

On July 29th, the three visitors boarded their Soyuz T-12 spacecraft again and returned to Earth.

Further repair

The Soyuz T-12 crew had delivered more tools, so that on August 8, 1984, Kisim and Solovyov wanted to complete the repair of the fuel line with a sixth and final space exit. Using a pneumatic hand press, they squeezed the two ends of the defective line to seal it completely. They also cut off a piece of an older solar panel to have it examined on Earth. The aim was to analyze how UV radiation, dust deposits and micrometeorites had affected the surface over time. Kisim and Solowjew used a tool that cut off a piece without coming into contact with the cosmonauts' spacesuits.

On August 16, the freighter Progress 23 docked. Among other things, he had loaded the two X-ray telescopes Siren from France and RS-17 from the Soviet Union. When the Progress freighter uncoupled on August 26 and released the rear coupling connection, the telescopes could be used remotely through the opened hatch.

return

In addition to daily sports units (five kilometers on the treadmill and ten kilometers on the ergometer wheel) began the cosmonauts on September 27, her body with the Chibis prepare -Druckanzug to return to Earth. As of September 29, Soyuz T-11 was loaded with everything to be returned to Earth. Kisim, Solovyov and Atkow boarded the spaceship on October 2 and returned to Earth. When re-entering, the cosmonauts had to endure a higher pressure than usual.

Significance for the Salyut program

The three cosmonauts Kisim, Solowjow and Atkow had by far exceeded the previous long-term record of the first Salyut 7 team Salyut 7 EO-1 of 211 days with just under 237 days in space . Nevertheless, they were in good health. The scientific yield was also satisfactory. The three cosmonauts had performed 100 different experiments, including 30 medical ones. The mission had also proven that with the right tools, major mechanical repairs could be made in space that could extend the life of a space station.

Salyut 7 remained unmanned for the time being and was remotely controlled from the ground station. In February 1985, however, radio contact was completely lost, so that the next crew had to couple Salyut 7 EO-4 to a completely functionless space station.

See also

swell