Salyut Missions

A mission to a Salyut station includes a spacecraft launch from earth, attaining orbit, docking with the station and return to Earth for crewed spacecraft or deliberate destruction by a controlled re-entry for cargo craft. The duration of a mission varies, depending on its purpose.

Salyut Missions were named after the spacecraft used for crew transport.

Soyuz and Soyuz T spacecraft were used for crew transport and Progress spacecraft were mainly used for logistic supplies.

The Soyuz craft were also used as emergency escape vehicles. Therefore at least one Soyuz was always docked at the station during crew presence.

The table below gives a summary of all the missions to the Salyut stations.

Salyut		Launch		Mission Description ℹ Mission objective	Spacecraft ℹ Transport crews and cargo to station	Crew (Days) ℹ Number of days crew in orbit	Craft (Days) ℹ Number of days station in orbit	Mission Notes ℹ General notes on the mission
No.	I.D.	Year	Date

One	DOS 1	1971	Apr 19	Station module to orbit			175	World's first space station.
			Apr 23	3 crew to station	Soyuz 10	3	3	Soyuz 10 failed to dock and returned to Earth.
			Jun 6	3 crew to station	Soyuz 11	24	24	Crew lost during re-entry.
-	DOS 2	1972	Jul 29	Station module lost				Failure of launcher second stage. Did not reach orbit. Would have been Salyut Two.
Two	OPS 1	1973	Apr 4	Station module to orbit			54	First military station. Failed after launch. No crews.
-	DOS 3	1973	May 11	Station module lost			11	Flight control system failure. Was to be Salyut Three. Renamed Kosmos 557.
Three	OPS 2	1974	Jun 25	Station module to orbit			213	Second military station.
			Jul 3	2 crew to station	Soyuz 14	16	16	Only crew to occupy Salyut 3.
			Aug 26	2 crew to orbit only	Soyuz 15	2	2	Soyuz 15 failed to dock and returned to Earth.
Four	DOS 4		Dec 26	Station module to orbit			770	Forth military station. (DOS 3 failed to reach orbit) Similar design to Salyut 3.
			Jan 11	2 crew to station	Soyuz 17	30	30	First crew on Salyut 4.
			Apr 5	2 crew to space only	Soyuz 18a	0	0	Soyuz 18a (7K-T 39) failed to reach orbit and returned to Earth.
			May 24	2 crew to station	Soyuz 18	63	63	Second and last crew on Salyut 4.
		1975	Nov 17	Test of Soyuz craft	Soyuz 20	-	88	Un-crewed mission. Long duration test of Soyuz crew craft.
Five	OPS 3	1976	Jun 22	Station module to orbit			412	Last military station.
			Jul 6	2 crew to station	Soyuz 21	50	50	Military and scientific objectives.
			Oct 14	2 crew to orbit only	Soyuz 23	2	2	Reached station but failed to dock. Mission aborted.
		1977	Feb 7	2 crew to station	Soyuz 24	18	18	Final mission to a military station.
Six	DOS 5		Sep 29	Station module to orbit			1764	First fully operational civilian scientific only station.
			Oct 9	2 Crew to orbit only	Soyuz 25	2	0	Soyuz 25 failed to dock and returned to Earth.
			Dec 10	2 Expedition crew EO-1 to station	Soyuz 26	96	37	First Expedition crew on Salyut 6. Returned on Soyuz 27.
		1978	Jan 10	2 Visiting crew EP-1 to station	Soyuz 27	6	65	Replacement standby craft for EO-1 crew. EP-1 crew returned on Soyuz 26.
			Mar 2	2 Visiting crew EP-2 crew to station	Soyuz 28	8	8	Visiting crew with first non-Soviet (Czechoslovakian) cosmonaut. Returned on Soyuz 28.
			Jan 20	Supplies only to station	Progress 1		15	First Progress un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Jun 15	2 Expedition crew EO-2 to station	Soyuz 29	140	80	Second Expedition crew on Salyut 6. Returned on Soyuz 31.
			Jun 27	2 Visiting crew EP-3 crew to station	Soyuz 30	8	8	Visiting crew with non-Soviet (Polish) cosmonaut. Returned on Soyuz 30.
			Jul 7	Supplies only to station	Progress 2		23	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Aug 7	Supplies only to station	Progress 3		11	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Aug 26	2 Visiting crew EP-4 crew to station	Soyuz 31	8	68	Replacement standby craft for EO-2 crew. EP-4 crew returned on Soyuz 29.
			Oct 3	Supplies only to station	Progress 4		18	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
		1979	Feb 25	2 Expedition crew EO-3 to station	Soyuz 32	175	108	Third Expedition crew on Salyut 6. Returned on Soyuz 34. Soyuz 32 returned un-crewed.
			Apr 10	2 Crew to orbit only	Soyuz 33	2	2	Soyuz 33 engine fault. Failed to dock and returned to Earth.
			Mar 12	Supplies only to station	Progress 5		20	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			May 13	Supplies only to station	Progress 6		24	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Jun 6	Un-crewed to station	Soyuz 34	-	74	Launched un-crewed as standby and return craft for EO-3 crew.
			Jun 28	Supplies only to station	Progress 7		17	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Dec 16	Un-crewed test of Soyuz T	Soyuz T-1	-	95	Un-crewed test of the newly designed Soyuz T crewed craft.
		1980	Mar 27	Supplies only to station	Progress 8		26	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Apr 9	2 Expedition crew EO-4 to station	Soyuz 35	185	55	Fourth Expedition crew on Salyut 6. Returned on Soyuz 37.
			Apr 27	Supplies only to station	Progress 9		20	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			May 26	2 Visiting crew EP-5 crew to station	Soyuz 36	8	65	Replacement standby craft for EO-4 crew. EP-5 crew returned on Soyuz 35.
			Jun 5	2 Visiting crew EP-6 crew to station	Soyuz T-2	4	4	Crewed test of Soyuz T craft. EP-5 crew returned on Soyuz T-2.
			Jun 29	Supplies only to station	Progress 10		16	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Jul 23	2 Visiting crew EP-7 crew to station	Soyuz 37	8	80	Second replacement standby craft for EO-4 crew. EP-7 crew returned on Soyuz 36.
			Sep 18	2 Visiting crew EP-8 crew to station	Soyuz 38	8	8	Visiting crew with non-Soviet (Cuban) cosmonaut. Returned on Soyuz 38.
			Sep 28	Supplies only to station	Progress 11		69	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Nov 27	3 Expedition crew EO-5 to station	Soyuz T-3	12	12	Fifth Expedition crew on Salyut 6. First time with three crew. Returned on Soyuz T-3.
		1981	Jan 24	Supplies only to station	Progress 12		52	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Mar 12	2 Expedition crew EO-6 to station	Soyuz T-4	74	74	Sixth and last Expedition crew on Salyut 6. Returned on Soyuz T-4.
			Mar 22	2 Visiting crew EP-9 to station	Soyuz 39	8	8	Visiting crew with non-Soviet (Mongolian) cosmonaut. Returned on Soyuz 39.
			Apr 25	Test of TKS craft	Kosmos 1267		405	Un-crewed test of TKS scientific expansion module. Only re-entry capsule returned.
			May 14	2 Visiting crew EP-10 to station	Soyuz 40	8	8	Visiting crew with non-Soviet (Romanian) cosmonaut. Returned on Soyuz 40.
Seven	DOS 6	1982	Apr 19	Station module to orbit			3216	Fourth civilian station to orbit. Last Salyut station.
			May 13	2 Expedition crew EO-1 to station	Soyuz T-5	211	106	First Expedition crew on Salyut 7. Returned on Soyuz T-7.
			May 23	Supplies only to station	Progress 13		9	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Jun 24	3 Visiting crew EP-1 to station	Soyuz T-6	8	8	Visiting crew with non-Soviet (French) cosmonaut. Returned on Soyuz T-6.
			Jul 10	Supplies only to station	Progress 14		29	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Aug 19	3 Visiting crew EP-2 crew to station	Soyuz T-7	8	113	Replacement standby craft for EO-1 crew. EP-2 crew returned on Soyuz T-5.
			Sep 18	Supplies only to station	Progress 15		24	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Oct 31	Supplies only to station	Progress 16		41	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
		1983	Mar 2	Test of TKS craft	Kosmos 1443		157	Un-crewed test of TKS scientific expansion module. Only re-entry capsule returned.
			Apr 20	3 crew to orbit only	Soyuz T-8	2	2	Soyuz T-8 failed to dock and returned to Earth.
			Jun 27	2 Expedition crew EO-2 to station	Soyuz T-9	149	149	Second Expedition crew on Salyut 7. Returned on Soyuz T-9.
			Aug 17	Supplies only to station	Progress 17		28	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Sep 26	2 crew launch escape	Soyuz 10a	-	-	Soyuz T-10a exploded on launch pad. Crew survived using the Launch Escape System.
			Oct 20	Supplies only to station	Progress 18		21	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
		1984	Feb 8	3 Expedition crew EO-3 to station	Soyuz T-10	237	63	Third Expedition crew. Longest single crew occupation. Returned on Soyuz T-11.
			Feb 21	Supplies only to station	Progress 19		27	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Apr 3	3 Visiting crew EP-3 crew to station	Soyuz T-11	8	182	Replacement standby craft for EO-2 crew. EP-3 crew returned on Soyuz T-10.
			Apr 15	Supplies only to station	Progress 20		50	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			May 7	Supplies only to station	Progress 21		41	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			May 28	Supplies only to station	Progress 22		45	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Jul 17	3 Visiting crew EP-4 to station	Soyuz T-12	8	8	Visiting crew. Returned on Soyuz T-12.
			Aug 14	Supplies only to station	Progress 23		10	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
		1985	Jun 6	2 Expedition crew EO-4 to station	Soyuz T-13	112		Fourth Expedition crew. Salyut 7 was un-occupied. 1 crew returned on Soyuz T-13.
			Jun 21	Supplies only to station	Progress 24		22	Un-crewed supply craft. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Jul 19	Supplies only to station	Kosmos 1669		41	Progress supply craft. Unknown reasons for Kosmos designation. Destroyed on re-entry.
			Sep 17	2 extra Expedition crew EO-4 and 1 Visiting EP-5 crew to station	Soyuz T-14	168	64	Three remaining EO-4 crew returned on Soyuz T-14. One EP-5 crew returned on Soyuz T-13.
			Sep 27	Test of extra module attachment.	Kosmos 1686		1959	Un-crewed test of TKS expansion module for Mir Core. Destroyed with Salyut 7 on re-entry.
		1986	Mar 13	2 Expedition crew EO-5 to station	Soyuz T-15	125	125	Last Salyut 7 station crew. Also visited Mir as Expedition EO-1. Returned on Soyuz T-15.