Soyuz 16 (Russian: Союз 16, Union 16) was a December, 1974, crewed test flight for a joint Soviet-United States space flight which culminated in the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July 1975. The two-man Soviet crew, Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov, tested a docking ring and other systems to be used in the joint flight.
Mission type | Test flight for ASTP mission |
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Operator | Soviet space program |
COSPAR ID | 1974-096A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 07561 |
Mission duration | 5 days 22 hours 23 minutes 35 seconds |
Orbits completed | 95 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K-TM No.4 |
Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-TM |
Manufacturer | NPO Energia |
Launch mass | 6680 kg [1] |
Landing mass | 1200 kg |
Crew | |
Crew size | 2 |
Members | Anatoly Filipchenko Nikolai Rukavishnikov |
Callsign | Буран (Buran - "Blizzard") |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 2 December 1974, 09:40:00 UTC |
Rocket | Soyuz-U |
Launch site | Baikonur, Site 1/5[2] |
End of mission | |
Landing date | 8 December 1974, 08:03:35 UTC |
Landing site | 30 km of the northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit[3] |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 177.0 km |
Apogee altitude | 223.0 km |
Inclination | 51.7° |
Period | 88.4 minutes |
![]() Salyut program insignia Soyuz programme |
Position | Cosmonaut | |
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Commander | ![]() Second and last spaceflight | |
Flight Engineer | ![]() Second spaceflight |
Position | Cosmonaut | |
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Commander | ![]() | |
Flight Engineer | ![]() |
Position | Cosmonaut | |
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Commander | ![]() | |
Flight Engineer | ![]() |
The Soyuz 16 mission was the final rehearsal and first crewed mission in a program which culminated in the Apollo-Soyuz (ASTP) mission seven months later.[4] The Soviet Union and the United States, Cold War rivals, had signed several arms control treaties in the 1960s and 1970s, and had entered into a period of detente by the early 1970s. In 1972, a treaty was signed to participate in a joint crewed space flight as a symbol of this detente.[5]
Early concepts for a joint flight included docking a Soyuz craft to the American Skylab space station, or an Apollo vehicle docking with a Salyut space station. Once the Americans abandoned their Skylab station in 1974, the Apollo-Salyut concept seemed to be the logical choice, but since the Soviets had started to develop a universal docking adapter for the mission and feared having to publicly reveal details of their military-focused Salyut missions, the two powers opted to link a Soyuz spacecraft with an Apollo spacecraft.[5]
Three test flights of an uncrewed version of the ASTP spacecraft were flown: Kosmos 638, launched 3 April 1974; Kosmos 652, launched 15 May 1974; and Kosmos 672, launched 12 August 1974. These three flights, and Soyuz 16, were all launched with an improved version of a Soyuz booster.[5]
In an unprecedented move, Soviet planners offered to inform their NASA counterparts of the time of the launch, as long as they did not reveal that time to the press. NASA officials refused to agree to that condition and, accordingly, were informed of the launch an hour after it occurred, on 2 December 1974.[4]
During the flight, Cosmonauts Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov tested the androgynous docking system to be used for the ASTP mission by retracting and extending a simulated 20 kg American docking ring.[4][5] The crew also tested modified environmental systems, new solar panels and improved control systems, as well as a new radar docking system. Air pressure was reduced from 760 mm to 540 mm and oxygen raised from 20% to 40% to test reducing the planned transfer time to Apollo from two to one hour.[5] On 7 December 1974, the docking ring was jettisoned with explosive bolts to test emergency measures if the capture latches got stuck during the ASTP flight.
The craft landed 8 December 1974, near Arkalyk and was hailed a complete success.[5] The mission duration, six days, matched the ASTP mission duration to within 10 minutes.[4]
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Past missions (by spacecraft type) |
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Future missions |
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Uncrewed missions are designated as Kosmos instead of Soyuz; exceptions are noted "(uncrewed)". The † sign designates failed missions. Italics designates cancelled missions. |
← 1973 · Orbital launches in 1974 · 1975 → | |
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Kosmos 628 | Skynet 2A | Kosmos 629 | Kosmos 630 | Kosmos 631 | Sphinx · VDS | Kosmos 632 | OPS 6889 | Tansei 2 | San Marco 4 | Kosmos 633 | Meteor-M No.30 | Kosmos 634 | Miranda | Kosmos 635 · Nauka-17KS No.1L | OPS 8579 | Kosmos 636 | Kosmos 637 | Kosmos 638 | Kosmos 639 | OPS 6245 · OPS 4547 · OPS 3935 | Kosmos 640 | Unnamed | Westar 1 | Molniya-1-27 | Kosmos 641 · Kosmos 642 · Kosmos 643 · Kosmos 644 · Kosmos 645 · Kosmos 646 · Kosmos 647 · Kosmos 648 | Meteor-M No.22 | Molniya-2-9 | Kosmos 649 | Kosmos 650 | Kosmos 651 | Kosmos 652 | Kosmos 653 | Kosmos 654 | SMS-1 | Interkosmos 11 | Kosmos 655 | Yantar-2K No.1 | Kosmos 656 | Luna 22 | Kosmos 657 | ATS-6 | Explorer 52 | Kosmos 658 | OPS 1776 | Kosmos 659 | Kosmos 660 | Kosmos 661 | Salyut 3 | Kosmos 662 | Kosmos 663 | Kosmos 664 | Kosmos 665 | Soyuz 14 | Meteor-Priroda No.1 | DS-P1-Yu No.68 | Kosmos 666 | Unnamed | OPS 7518 | Aeros 2 | Molniya-2-10 | Kosmos 667 | Kosmos 668 | Kosmos 669 · Nauka-8KS No.3 | Molniya-1 No.38 | Kosmos 670 | Kosmos 671 | OPS 6983 | Kosmos 672 | OPS 3004 | Kosmos 673 | Soyuz 15 | Kosmos 674 | Kosmos 675 | Unnamed | ANS | Kosmos 676 | Kosmos 677 · Kosmos 678 · Kosmos 679 · Kosmos 680 · Kosmos 681 · Kosmos 682 · Kosmos 683 · Kosmos 684 | Kosmos 685 | Kosmos 686 | Westar 2 | Kosmos 687 | Ariel 5 | Kosmos 688 | Kosmos 689 | Kosmos 690 | Molniya-1 No.26 | Kosmos 691 | Meteor-M No.33 | Luna 23 | OPS 7122 · OPS 6239 · OPS 8452 | Interkosmos 12 | Kosmos 692 | Kosmos 693 | Fanhui Shi Weixing 1 | NOAA-4 · OSCAR-7 · INTASAT | Kosmos 694 | Kosmos 695 | Molniya-3 No.11 | Intelsat IV F-8 | Skynet 2B | Kosmos 696 | Soyuz 16 | Helios 1 | Kosmos 697 | Meteor-M No.32 | Kosmos 698 | Symphonie 1 | Molniya-2-11 | Kosmos 699 | Salyut 4 | Kosmos 700 | Kosmos 701 | |
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). |