Salyut

Salyut, any of a series of Soviet space stations (of two designs), launched between 1971 and 1982, that served as living quarters and scientific laboratories or military reconnaissance platforms. The program name Salyut (Russian: “Salute”) was chosen to honour cosmonaut Yury Gagarin’s historic first orbit of Earth in 1961.

Salyut 1, launched April 19, 1971, was the world’s first space station. It was derived from the Almaz reconnaissance platform designed in the 1960s by Soviet aerospace engineer Vladimir Chelomey and adapted for use with the Soyuz manned spacecraft originally developed by his rival Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Moon-landing program. It weighed 20 metric tons, had a single docking port, and took the form of a stepped cylinder 14.6 metres (48 feet) long, with its widest, rearmost section 4.25 metres (13.9 feet) in diameter. After a record-breaking 23 days aboard Salyut 1 in June 1971, the inaugural three-man crew died while returning to Earth when their Soyuz, which at that time carried no support system for individual pressure suits, inadvertently lost its air.

Salyut 2 (launched 1973) suffered an explosion after being placed in orbit and was never occupied. Salyuts 3 and 5 (1974 and 1976, respectively) were military space stations, while Salyut 4 (1974) was basically for scientific purposes. The scientific Salyuts 6 and 7 (1977 and 1982, respectively) were of an advanced design that featured a new refueling system and better living quarters. Docking ports on both ends allowed crews on long-duration missions to be resupplied by automated Progress cargo ferries while their Soyuz remained attached to the station. Salyut 6 supported a particularly successful scientific program, and its crews hosted a succession of international guest cosmonauts for short stays. The experience gained in the Salyut program laid the groundwork for the development and operation of the next-generation modular Mir space station. (See also Energia.)