Soyuz T-3 was a Soviet spaceflight, launched on 27 November 1980 to the
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. It was the first Soyuz spacecraft to carry three cosmonauts following the fatal
Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11 () was the only crewed mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971, and departed on 29 June 1971. The ...
disaster in 1971.
The mission was both an early flight of the new
Soyuz-T
The Soyuz-T (, ''Union-T'') spacecraft was the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, in service for seven years from 1979 to 1986. The ''T'' stood for transport (, ). The revised spacecraft incorporated lessons learned from the Apollo Soyuz Test ...
variant craft, as well as one of the later flights to the Salyut 6 station, which had successfully received several crews and visiting craft in recent years. Unlike previous habitations of the station, the crew of Soyuz T-3 did not receive any visitors, and thus did not exchange Soyuz craft with other crews for a return journey, a common practice.
Crew
Backup crew
Mission summary
Although the main objective of the crew's mission was to refurbish Salyut 6, part of their mission also involved testing their spacecraft. During their brief stay on Salyut 6, the crew performed experiments using the Splav and Kristall units, and studied biological material which had been carried aboard their Soyuz using the Svetoblok and Oazis units. Much of their time, however, was devoted to station maintenance.
On 2 December they began conducting the Mikroklimat experiment to assess the station's living conditions, and began work on the thermal control system. They installed a new hydraulic unit with four pumps. On 4 December, they replaced electronics in the station's
telemetry
Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...
system. 5 December saw them repairing electrical system faults. Other repairs included replacement of a program and timing device in the onboard control system and replacement of a power supply unit for the compressor in the refueling system. The Salyut 6 Principal Expedition 4 crew in
TsUP provided the crew with advice as they made their repairs. On 8 December, Progress 11 carried out an orbital correction for the complex.
Upon leaving the station the craft's
orbital module
The orbital module is a compartment of some space capsules used only in orbit. It is separated from the crewed reentry capsule before reentry. The orbital module provides 'habitat' space to use in orbit, while the reentry capsule tends to be focus ...
was left attached to Salyut 6 for a few hours, while its descent and service modules completed procedures for re-entry. This procedure was also used during the undocking of
Soyuz T-4.
[Portree, Mir Hardware Heritage, p. 89.] Soyuz T-3 returned to Earth on 11 December 1980, landing west of
Dzhezkazgan
Zhezkazgan, or Jezkazgan ( ) is a city and the administrative centre of Ulytau Region, Kazakhstan. Population: Its urban area includes the neighbouring mining town of Satpayev, for a total city population of 148,700.
55% of Jezkazgan's popu ...
,
Kazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Located in northern Centr ...
.
See also
*
List of human spaceflights to Salyut space stations
This is a chronological list of human spaceflights to the Salyut space stations. Prior to Salyut 6, flights were referred to by the designation of the Soyuz spacecraft that transported the crew to and from the station. Flights to Salyut 6 and Salyu ...
*
List of Salyut expeditions
This is a chronological list of expeditions to the Salyut space stations. Initially these expeditions were not numbered, however the crews of Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 were numbered , where ''n'' is sequentially increased with each expedition to that p ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz T-03
Crewed Soyuz missions
1980 in the Soviet Union
Spacecraft launched in 1980
Spacecraft which reentered in 1980
Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-U rockets