Soyuz 32
COSPAR ID | 1979-018A |
---|---|
SATCAT no. | 11281 |
Mission duration | 108 days |
Orbits completed | 2,755 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | NPO Energia |
Crew | |
Crew size | 2 up None down |
Launching | Vladimir Lyakhov Valery Ryumin |
Callsign | Протон (Proton - "Proton" |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | February 25, 1979, 11:53:49 | UTC
Rocket | 1/5 |
End of mission | |
Landing date | June 13, 1979, 16:18:26 | UTC
Landing site | 170 kilometres (110 mi) SE of Dzhezkazgan |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Docking with Salyut 6 | |
Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) |
Soyuz 32 (Russian: Союз 32, Union 32) was a 1979 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station.[1] It was the eighth mission to and seventh successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 32 crew was the third long-duration crew to man the space station.
Crew
Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
---|---|---|
Commander | Vladimir Lyakhov First spaceflight |
None |
Flight Engineer | Valery Ryumin Second spaceflight |
None |
Backup crew
Position | Crew | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Leonid Popov | |
Flight Engineer | Valentin Lebedev |
Mission parameters
- Mass: 6,800 kg (15,000 lb)
- Perigee: 198.4 km (123.3 mi)
- Apogee: 274.3 km (170.4 mi)
- Inclination: 51.61°
- Period: 89.94 minutes
Mission highlights
Launch and station activation
Soyuz 32 was launched with its two-man crew on 25 February 1979. The crew's main mission was to overhaul the Salyut 6 space station's systems and prepare it for further long-duration crews. They would also attempt a new record duration flight.[2] Soyuz 32 docked with Salyut 6 the next day, and Lyakhov and Ryumin, the third long-duration crew at the station, commenced de-mothballing the facility which had been vacant since November. When the hatch to the station was opened, the cosmonauts smelled burnt steel, a scent Ryumin called the odor of space.[2]
The crew started routine activities and two types of
The orbit of the station was raised by the Soyuz craft's propulsion system 1 March. What the Soviets did not then report was that the Salyut station's propulsion system was having problems.[3]
Experiments included hatching
Progress 5 arrives
The Soviets revealed the propulsion problem on 16 March.
On the same day they cleared the tank, the crew used the station's shower for the first time, wearing scuba masks to keep the water out of their eyes.[2]
A milestone was reached 24 March when the cosmonauts installed a television monitor which allowed a two-way television link with ground control. For the first time, cosmonauts received television pictures in space. Seeing family, instead of just hearing them, was considered to have great psychological importance, especially as longer flights were contemplated.[3]
On 30 March, Progress 5 boosted the station's orbit, then Soyuz 32 boosted the orbit again 6 April in preparation for the forthcoming Soyuz 33 crew. Progress 5 was undocked 3 April and deorbited two days later.[2]
Soyuz 33 mission failure
Soyuz 33 was launched 10 April with the fourth international crew in the Soviet
It was only in 1983 that the Soviets revealed how serious the situation was.[3] The craft had a back-up engine but it was feared that it may have been damaged by the main engine, potentially leaving the crew stranded with five days of supplies while it would take ten days for the orbit to decay.[2] The station could have been moved to within 1,000 m of the craft, but the two craft were drifting apart at 28 metres per second, and time was needed to calculate the manoeuvres. In any event, four crew on the station with one malfunctioning Soyuz and a second Soyuz (Soyuz 32) with a now-questionable engine (it had the same type as Soyuz 33) was not considered the best option.[2]
In the end, the backup engine did fire, though for 25 seconds too long, resulting in an unusually steep trajectory and loads of 10 Gs to be endured by the crew. Rukavishnikov and Ivanov were safely recovered.[2]
Progress 6, uncrewed Soyuz launched
The failure of a prestigious international mission was an embarrassment to Soviet authorities and also had a negative effect on the morale of Ryumin and Lyhakov, both of whom had been looking forward to receiving visitors. News of the cancellation of the Soyuz 33 flight was greeted by a series of grunts followed by the termination of all voice communication by the Salyut 6 crew. Their bad mood persisted for several days.[3] After the Soyuz 33 failure, the station crew were stuck with a suspect craft. The Soyuz 33 craft was intended to be swapped for the Soyuz 32, but the failure called into question the reliability of Soyuz 32's main engine. Until the design was corrected and a new vehicle launched, the crew was safe on Salyut with the Soyuz usable in an emergency. The fifth international flight, scheduled for 5 June, was postponed.[2]
Lyakhov and Ryumin continued their station activities, including experiments intended to be carried out with the visiting crew (which had been delivered aboard the Progress 5 flight[3]), such as one called Pirin which investigated the formation of metal whiskers on zinc crystals, and another which made multi-spectral measurements of the daylight atmosphere. They were given five days off for the May Day holiday.[2]
Progress 6 was launched 13 May and delivered some 100 items. The Soyuz 33 engine failure did not affect the supply tanker as it differed in its design. Unloading took two days, a new navigational unit was installed, and the tanker raised the station's orbit on 22 May. Refueling was completed by 28 May, more orbital adjustments were made 4 and 5 June, and Progress 6 was undocked 8 June.[2]
Soyuz 34, launched uncrewed on 6 June, docked at the just-vacated aft port of the space station on 9 June. The Soyuz had a new engine system, and its successful test flight gave the Salyut 6 crew a reliable return vehicle. Since the craft was uncrewed, some biological samples for experiments were included on the flight.[2]
Soyuz 32 was loaded with 130 kg of replaced instruments, processed materials, exposed film and other items with a total weight equal to that of the two cosmonauts. On 13 June, it undocked and returned to Earth uncrewed 295 km northwest of
Progress 7, radio telescope deployed, return to Earth
External images | |
---|---|
10-metre diameter KRT-10 radio telescope | |
http://www.spacefacts.de/graph/photo/photos2/soyuz-32_krt-10.jpg | |
http://scifiart.narod.ru/Albums/6/Picts/6_146.jpg |
Progress 7 was launched 28 June and docked at Salyut 6 two days later. It carried 1,230 kg of supplies including food, plants, mail and a 10-metre diameter radio telescope. The station's orbit was raised 3 and 4 July to a 399–411 km orbit, the highest at which a Salyut had operated. This was because no more Progress flights were planned for 1979 and the Salyut's propulsion system was suspect, so the decision was to raise the station's orbit as high as possible before the crew returned to Earth.[3] Propellant was transferred by 17 July. When the Progress craft undocked, the wire mesh parabolic telescope was unfurled. A camera aboard the tanker beamed the scene to Earth.[3]
The KRT-10 radio telescope was deployed out of the rear docking port, but results proved disappointing and the cosmonauts ejected it on August 9. Trouble happened again when the antenna became snared on the port, forcing the tired cosmonauts to perform an unscheduled
They packed several experiments in Soyuz 34 and departed the space station 19 August, reentering two days later and landing 170 km southeast of Dzhezkazgan. Because the cosmonauts were so weakened from six months in zero gravity (a bouquet of flowers presented to them reportedly felt like "a ton of bricks"), a system of slides and chutes had to be deployed for them to exit the Soyuz descent module. Lyakhov lost 5.5 kg during the flight (Ryumin's weight was the same) and both experienced a 20% reduction in lower leg volume. They recovered in seven days, several days faster than expected.[2]
The mission had lasted 175 days, a new endurance record surpassing the 139-day mission by the Soyuz 29 crew in 1978.[3]
Legacy
Years later, a similar scenario of crew return was required in 2022-23. As Soyuz MS-22, due a coolant leak in external radiator, was unable to perform crew return, it returned uncrewed with cargo, instead of crew, like Soyuz 32 and Soyuz MS-23 was launched unmanned like Soyuz 34 as a replacement, to return the MS-22 crew.[4][5]
See also
References
- ^ The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-32.htm
- ^ ISBN 0-87201-848-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-517-56954-X.
- Space News. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
- ^ "Russia to launch new capsule to return space station crew". WJXT. Associated Press. 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.