Salyut 5 (Russian: Салют-5 meaning Salute 5), also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited the station, each manned by two cosmonauts. A third Soyuz mission attempted to visit the station, but failed to dock, whilst a fourth mission was planned but never launched.
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Station statistics | |
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COSPAR ID | 1976-057A |
SATCAT no. | 08911![]() |
Call sign | Salyut 5[citation needed] |
Crew | 2 |
Launch | 22 June 1976 18:04:00 UTC |
Carrier rocket | Proton-K |
Launch pad | Baikonur Site 81/23 |
Reentry | 8 August 1977 |
Mass | 19,000 kg |
Length | 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) |
Diameter | 4.15 metres (13.6 ft) |
Pressurised volume | 100 cubic metres (3,500 cu ft) |
Periapsis altitude | 223 kilometres (120 nmi) |
Apoapsis altitude | 269 kilometres (145 nmi) |
Orbital inclination | 51.6° |
Orbital period | 89 minutes |
Days in orbit | 412 days |
Days occupied | 67 days |
No. of orbits | 6,666 |
Distance travelled | Approx 270,409,616 kilometres (168,024,745 mi) |
Configuration | |
![]() Salyut 5 diagram | |
Salyut 5 was launched at 18:04:00 UTC on 22 June 1976. The launch took place from Site 81/23 the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and used a three-stage Proton-K 8K82K carrier rocket with the serial number 290-02.[1]
Upon reaching orbit, Salyut 5 was assigned the International Designator 1976-057A, whilst the North American Aerospace Defense Command gave it the Satellite Catalog Number 08911.[2]
Salyut 5 was an Almaz spacecraft, the last of three to be launched as space stations after Salyut 2 and Salyut 3. Like its predecessors, it was 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) long, with a maximum diameter of 4.15 metres (13.6 ft). It had a habitable interior volume of 100 cubic metres (3,500 cu ft), and a mass at launch of 19,000 kilograms (42,000 lb). The station was equipped with a single docking port for Soyuz spacecraft, with the Soyuz 7K-T being the configuration in service at the time. Two solar arrays mounted laterally at the same end of the station as the docking port provided it with power. The station was equipped with a KSI capsule to return research data and materials.
Salyut 5 carried Agat, a camera which the crews used to observe the Earth. The German Kristall furnace was used for crystal growth experiments aboard the station[citation needed].
Four manned missions to Salyut 5 were originally planned. The first, Soyuz 21, was launched from Baikonur on 6 July 1976, and docked at 13:40 UTC the next day.[3] The primary objective of the Soyuz 21 mission aboard Salyut 5 was to conduct military experiments, however scientific research was also conducted, which included studying aquarium fish in microgravity and observing the sun. The crew also conducted a televised conference with school pupils. Cosmonauts Boris Volynov and Vitali Zholobov remained aboard Salyut 5 until 24 August, when they returned to Earth landing 200 km southwest of Kokchetav. The mission had been expected to last longer, however the atmosphere within Salyut 5 became contaminated with nitric acid fumes from a fuel leak, which affected the crew's psychological and physical condition, necessitating an emergency landing.
On 14 October 1976, Soyuz 23 was launched carrying Vyacheslav Zudov and Valery Rozhdestvensky to the space station. During approach for docking the next day, a faulty sensor incorrectly detected an unexpected lateral motion. The spacecraft's Igla automated docking system fired the spacecraft's maneuvering thrusters in an attempt to stop the non-existent motion. Although the crew was able to deactivate the Igla system, the spacecraft had expended too much fuel to reattempt the docking under manual control. Soyuz 23 returned to Earth on 16 October without completing its mission objectives.
The last mission to Salyut 5, Soyuz 24, was launched on 7 February 1977. Its crew consisted of cosmonauts Viktor Gorbatko and Yury Glazkov, who conducted repairs aboard the station and vented the air which had been reported to be contaminated. Scientific experiments were conducted, including observation of the sun. The Soyuz 24 crew departed on 25 February. The short mission was apparently related to Salyut 5 starting to run low on propellant for its main engines and attitude control system.[4]
The fourth planned mission, which would have been designated Soyuz 25 if launched, was intended to visit the station for two weeks in July 1977.[5] It would have been crewed by cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Mikhail Lisun; the backup crew for the Soyuz 24 mission. The mission was cancelled for the above-mentioned shortage of propellant.[6] The spacecraft which was constructed for the Soyuz 25 mission was reused for the Soyuz 30 mission to Salyut 6. Since it could not be refuelled, and no longer had the fuel to sustain manned operations, the KSI recoverable capsule was ejected and returned to Earth on 26 February. Salyut 5 was deorbited on 8 August 1977 and burned up as it reentered the Earth's atmosphere.[7]
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Salyut programme | ||
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Almaz stations (OPS) |
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TKS spacecraft |
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List of space stations | |||||||||
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Notes: † Never inhabited due to launch or on-orbit failure, ‡ Part of the Almaz military program, ° Never inhabited, lacks docking mechanism. |
← 1975 · Orbital launches in 1976 · 1977 → | |
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Kosmos 787 | Kosmos 788 | Helios 2 | Hermes | Kosmos 789 | Molniya-1 No.40 | Kosmos 790 | Kosmos 791 · Kosmos 792 · Kosmos 793 · Kosmos 794 · Kosmos 795 · Kosmos 796 · Kosmos 797 · Kosmos 798 | Kosmos 799 | Intelsat IVA F-2 | Kosmos 800 | CORSA-A | Kosmos 801 | Kosmos 802 | Kosmos 803 | Kosmos 804 | OPS 5140 | Marisat 1 | Kosmos 805 | Ume 1 | Kosmos 806 | Molniya-1-33 | Kosmos 807 | LES-8 · LES-9 · Solrad 11A · Solrad 11B | Kosmos 808 | Kosmos 809 | Molniya-1 No.42 | OPS 7600 | Kosmos 810 | Satcom 2 | Kosmos 811 | Kosmos 812 | Meteor No.37 | Kosmos 813 | Kosmos 814 | NATO 3A | Kosmos 815 | Kosmos 816 | OPS 6431 · OPS 6431 SSU-1 · OPS 6431 SSU-2 · OPS 6431 SSU-3 | LAGEOS-1 | Kosmos 817 | Molniya-3 No.16 | Comstar 1A | Meteor-Priroda No.2-1 | Kosmos 818 | Kosmos 819 | Kosmos 820 | Wideband | Kosmos 821 | Kosmos 822 | OPS 7837 | Kosmos 823 | Kosmos 824 | Marisat-3 | Kosmos 825 · Kosmos 826 · Kosmos 827 · Kosmos 828 · Kosmos 829 · Kosmos 830 · Kosmos 831 · Kosmos 832 | Kosmos 833 | Interkosmos 15 | Salyut 5 | Kosmos 834 | OPS 2112 | Kosmos 835 | Kosmos 836 | Kosmos 837 | Kosmos 838 | Soyuz 21 | OPS 4699 · OPS 5366 · OPS 3986 | Kosmos 839 | Palapa A1 | Kosmos 840 | Kosmos 841 | Kosmos 842 | Kosmos 843 | Kosmos 844 | Comstar 1B | Molniya-1 No.43 | Kosmos 845 | Interkosmos 16 | NOAA-5 | Kosmos 846 | Kosmos 847 | OPS 7940 | Luna 24 | Kosmos 848 | Kosmos 849 | Kosmos 850 | Kosmos 851 | Kosmos 852 | Ji Shu Shiyan Weixing 3 | Kosmos 853 | Triad 3 | Kosmos 854 | OPS 5721 | Gran' No.12L | Soyuz 22 | OPS 8533 | Kosmos 855 | Kosmos 856 | Kosmos 857 | Kosmos 858 | Unnamed | Kosmos 859 | Soyuz 23 | Marisat-2 | Meteor No.35 | Kosmos 860 | Kosmos 861 | Kosmos 862 | Kosmos 863 | Ekran No.11L | Kosmos 864 | Kosmos 865 | Kosmos 865 | Unnamed | Kosmos 866 | Kosmos 867 | Prognoz 5 | Kosmos 868 | Kosmos 869 | Kosmos 870 | Molniya-2-16 | Fanhui Shi Weixing 3 | Kosmos 871 · Kosmos 872 · Kosmos 873 · Kosmos 874 · Kosmos 875 · Kosmos 876 · Kosmos 877 · Kosmos 878 | Kosmos 879 | Kosmos 880 | Kosmos 881 · Kosmos 882 | Kosmos 883 | Kosmos 884 | Kosmos 885 | OPS 5705 | Kosmos 886 | Molniya-3 No.17 | Kosmos 887 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |