Soyuz T-1
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Soyuz T-1 (, also called Soyuz T) was a 1979-80 uncrewed Soviet space flight, a test flight of a new
Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...
craft which docked with the orbiting
Salyut 6 Salyut 6 () was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme, and alternatively known DOS-5 as it was the fifth of the Durable Orbital Station series of civilian space stations. It was launched on 29 September 19 ...
space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...
.


Mission parameters

*Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-ST *Mass: 6450 kg *Crew: None *Launched: 16 December 1979 *Landed: 25 March 1980


Mission highlights

Four months had passed since the last Salyut 6 crew ( Soyuz 32) had landed, and since the same amount of time had passed between the previous space station's long-duration crews, a December 1979 launch was considered a real possibility by observers. However, though the secretive Soviets did launch a craft that month, it was not what observers expected. Soyuz T-1 was launched 16 December, and was the fourth uncrewed test flight of a modified version of the Soyuz spacecraft, the first to be given a "Soyuz" designation. Two days later, it approached the space station, but overshot it. A second dock attempt was made 19 December, and Soyuz T-1 successfully docked at the forward port. The Soyuz lifted the orbit of the space station on 25 December and remained docked to it for 95 days, during which time the station remained unoccupied. It undocked on 23 March 1980, performed several days of tests, then was de-orbited 25 March. The landing date was outside a normal landing window as the craft was being flight-rated over the standard months and the Soviets were planning to launch Soyuz 35 during the next launch window in April. The mission was unusual for several reasons. Unlike other previous long uncrewed missions, Soyuz T-1 was not powered down while docked to the space station. And, its recovery saw a change from the norm as well. Previous Soyuz missions saw the entire spacecraft de-orbit. But with the Soyuz T craft, the orbital module was separated prior to retro-fire, to save propellant. This allowed for more maneuvers prior to de-orbit.


References


Further reading


Mir Hardware Heritage – NASA report (PDF format)
* Mir Hardware Heritage (wikisource) {{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz T-01 Soyuz uncrewed test flights 1979 in the Soviet Union Spacecraft launched in 1979 Spacecraft which reentered in 1980 Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-U rockets