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The DOS Space Stations |
Tyneside, UK 2024 Nov 4 Monday, Day 309 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Curated by:
Salyut 1
Salyut 4
Salyut 6
Salyut 7
The next Salyut gets a new name
| More Tests of Soyuz-T - Nov to Dec 1980
More work was in train to test-out Soyuz-T so, after the main Salyut 6 crew left for Earth at the end of Expedition 4, the space station was used again as a host for a Soyuz-T mission. This time the purpose of the test was to prove the ability of Soyuz-T to carry a crew of three.
Soyuz T-3 carried the first Soviet three-cosmonaut crew since 1971, when three crew had died following an air leak during the return to Earth from Salyut 1 of Soyuz 11 - they were not wearing space suits.
Subsequently, Soyuz crews wore suits on the ascent and descent but the extra weight and space penalties meant reducing the crew to two. Soyuz-T's improved performance compared with the old design meant that the change could be reversed. The improvement came in part through a slight increase in the mass of Soyuz, and partly through re-design, miniaturisation or elimination of systems.
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