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54-687: The Zenit-3SL design began in the late 1980s as the Zenit-3, a proposed replacement for the Proton-K , which would have used a Zenit-2 rocket with a Block D upper stage. This proposal was shelved after the dissolution of the Soviet Union , as Russia inherited the space programme, however the Zenit was manufactured in Ukrainian SSR . Boeing became involved in the programme in 1994. The design

108-549: A Block DM4 . The Briz-M upper stage was used for four launches; three carrying payloads for the Russian Government, and one commercial launch with GE-9 for GE Americom . One launch was reported to have used a Block DM-3 upper stage, however this may have been a reporting error, and it is unclear whether this launch actually used a DM-3, DM3, or DM-2. Due to its rushed development, the Proton K launch vehicle had

162-598: A Salyut -derived core module at its heart. Mir -2 (DOS-8), the final spacecraft from the Salyut series, became one of the first modules of the ISS. The first module of the ISS, the Russian-made Zarya , relied heavily on technologies developed in the Salyut programme. The programme was composed of DOS (Durable Orbital Station) civilian stations and OPS (Orbital Piloted Station) military stations: It

216-747: A "docking sphere" containing a front port and starboard docking port. While the station cores DOS-7 and DOS-8 were built and flown, they never received the Salyut designation. Instead, DOS-7 evolved into the Mir Core Module for the Mir space station that followed the Salyut programme, and DOS-8 was used as the Zvezda Service Module for the International Space Station (ISS) which followed Mir . The heritage from

270-409: A basic, engineering development stage, from single docking port stations to complex, multi-ported, long-term orbital outposts with impressive scientific capabilities, whose technological legacy continues as of 2023 . Experience gained from the Salyut stations paved the way for multimodular space stations such as Mir and the International Space Station (ISS), with each of those stations possessing

324-529: A commercial version of the DM-2, was used to launch Inmarsat-3 F2 . The Block DM2 upper stage was used to launch three groups of seven Iridium satellites, including Iridium 33 . This configuration was also used to launch INTEGRAL for the European Space Agency . Block DM3 stages were used on twenty five launches, almost exclusively carrying commercial satellites. Telstar 5 was launched with

378-483: A low success rate initially. However, the issues were rectified and it went on to become one of the most widely used heavy launch vehicle. Salyut program The Salyut programme ( Russian : Салют , IPA: [sɐˈlʲut] , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union . It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed military reconnaissance space stations over

432-588: A maximum of five docking ports (front, port, starboard, zenith and nadir). And finally, the modules for Mir were derived from the Functional Cargo Block design of the Almaz programme. The name of the Mir space station – Russian : Мир , literally Peace or World – was to signify the intentions of the Soviet Union to bring peace to the world. However, it was during the time of Mir that

486-436: A modified Nudelman aircraft cannon. To operate the cannon, the crew had to maneuver the whole space station in the direction of the target. Sources state that the firing was to deplete the ammunition on the craft. However, others sources say that the station conducted 3 tests of the gun through the whole mission span of Salyut 3. In 1977, another marked step forward was made with the second generation of Salyut stations. The aim

540-466: A period of 15 years, from 1971 to 1986. Two other Salyut launches failed. In one respect, Salyut had the space-race task of carrying out long-term research into the problems of living in space and a variety of astronomical, biological and Earth-resources experiments, and on the other hand, the USSR used this civilian programme as a cover for the highly secretive military Almaz stations, which flew under

594-666: The Zvezda module ("DOS-8"), that as of 21 August 2012 accumulated 4,310 days of occupancy. Furthermore, the Functional Cargo Block space station modules were derived from the Almaz programme, with the Zarya ISS module being still in operation together with Zvezda . First generation served as a space station engineering test bed. Aim was from early Almaz beginnings to construct long-living multi-modular stations. Salyut 1 (DOS-1) ( Russian : Салют-1 )

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648-535: The Almaz airframes, and was made out of five components: a transfer compartment, a main compartment, two auxiliary compartments, and the Orion 1 Space Observatory. DOS-2 was a space station , launched as part of the Salyut programme , which was lost in a launch failure on 29 July 1972, when the failure of the second stage of its Proton-K launch vehicle prevented the station from achieving orbit. It instead fell into

702-663: The Comecon ), finally to reach the Soviet Union itself in 1991. While the Russian Federation became the successor to much of the dissolved Soviet Union and was in a position to continue the Soviet space program with the Russian Federal Space Agency , it faced severe difficulties: imports and exports had steeply declined as the economic exchange with Comecon nations had crumbled away, leaving

756-652: The International Space Station . Salyut 6 was the first "second generation" space station, representing a major breakthrough in capabilities and operational success. In addition to a new propulsion system and its primary scientific instrument—the BST-1M multispectral telescope—the station had two docking ports, allowing two craft to visit simultaneously. This feature made it possible for humans to remain aboard for several months. Six long-term resident crews were supported by ten short-term visiting crews who typically arrived in newer Soyuz craft and departed in older craft, leaving

810-419: The Salyut designation. Salyut 1 , the first station in the program, became the world's first crewed space station. Salyut flights broke several spaceflight records , including several mission-duration records, and achieved the first orbital handover of a space station from one crew to another, and various spacewalk records. The ensuing Soyuz programme was vital for evolving space station technology from

864-406: The Salyut program . It was originally intended to be launched as Salyut-3, but due to its failure to achieve orbit on May 11, 1973, three days before the launch of Skylab , it was renamed Kosmos-557. Salyut 3 ( Russian : Салют-3 ; English: Salute 3 ; also known as OPS-2 or Almaz 2 ) was a Soviet space station launched on 25 June 1974. It was the second Almaz military space station , and

918-584: The Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991, ending what was begun with the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. This dissolution had started with the Soviet " perestroika and glasnost " ("restructuring and openness") reform campaigns by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s, had reached a preliminary endpoint with the revolutions of 1989 and the end of the communist Eastern Bloc ( Warsaw Pact and

972-524: The Almaz programme is present even today. While the last space station from the Almaz programme was flown as Salyut 5 in 1976, the development of the Almaz TKS spacecraft evolved into the Functional Cargo Block , which formed the basis for several Mir modules, the experimental Polyus orbital weapons platform and the Zarya module of the ISS. DOS-7 continued to be developed during Salyut 7, becoming

1026-592: The Mir Core Module of the Mir space station – the first modular space station, with crewed operations lasting from 1986 to 2000. The station featured upgraded computers and solar arrays, and accommodations for two cosmonauts each having their own cabin. A total of six docking ports were available on the Mir Core Module, which were used for space station modules and visiting spacecraft – the docking sphere design had been upgraded from its initial Salyut design to contain

1080-487: The Pacific Ocean. The station, which would have been given the designation Salyut 2 had it reached orbit, was structurally identical to Salyut 1 , as it had been assembled as a backup unit for that station. Four teams of cosmonauts were formed to crew the station, of which two would have flown: Kosmos 557 ( Russian : Космос 557 meaning Cosmos 557 ), originally designated DOS-3, was the third space station in

1134-500: The Proton, were, however, corrosive and toxic and required special handling. The Russian Government paid for the cleanup of residual propellant in spent stages that impact downrange. Proton components were built in factories near Moscow, then transported by rail to the final assembly point near the pad. The first stage of the Proton-K consisted of a central oxidiser tank, and six outrigger fuel tanks. This separated as one piece from

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1188-493: The Proton-K was fuelled by unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide . These hypergolic propellants ignite on contact, avoiding the need for an ignition system, and can be stored at ambient temperatures. This avoids the need for low-temperature–tolerant components, and allowed the rocket to sit on the pad fully fuelled for long periods of time. In contrast, cryogenic fuels would have required periodic topping-up of propellants as they boil off. The propellants used on

1242-501: The Salyut programme, with six successfully hosting crews and setting some records along the way. However, it was the stations Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 that became the workhorses of the programme. Out of the total of 1,697 days of occupancy that all Salyut crews achieved, Salyut 6 and 7 accounted for 1,499. While Skylab already featured a second docking port, these two Salyut stations became the first that actually utilised two docking ports: this made it possible for two Soyuz spacecraft to dock at

1296-597: The United States it was seen as a chance to learn from the over 20 years of experience of Soviet space station operations. It was "Phase Two" of this Shuttle–Mir program that would lead to the International Space Station . DOS-8 evolved into the Mir-2 project, intended to replace Mir . Finally, it became the International Space Station (ISS) Zvezda Service Module and formed the core of

1350-563: The United States. Salyut 6 was visited and resupplied by twelve uncrewed Progress spacecraft including Progress 1 , the first instance of the series. Additionally, Salyut 6 was visited by the first instances of the new Soyuz-T spacecraft. The success of Salyut 6 contrasted with the programme's earlier failures and limited successes. The early history of the programme was plagued by the fatalities of Soyuz 11 and three launched stations which quickly failed. Earlier successful stations received few crews, limited to several weeks' habitation by

1404-433: The design life of their Soyuz craft and the presence of a single docking port per station; unsuccessful docking was also common. Salyut 6 on the other hand routinely received successful dockings of crewed and uncrewed craft, although the first visiting craft Soyuz 25 and later Soyuz 33 failed to dock with the station. Salyut 7 ( Russian : Салют-7 ; English: Salute 7 ) (a.k.a. DOS-6, short for Durable Orbital Station )

1458-509: The end it turned out that the Soviet N1 "Moon Shot" rocket never flew successfully, so OKB-1's decision to abandon the lunar programme and derive a DOS space station from existing Soyuz subsystems and an Almaz/OPS hull proved to be right: The actual time from the DOS station's inception to the launch of the first DOS-based Salyut 1 space station took only 16 months; the world's first space station

1512-399: The first such station to be launched successfully. It was included in the Salyut program to disguise its true military nature. Due to the military nature of the station, the Soviet Union was reluctant to release information about its design, and about the missions relating to the station. It attained an altitude of 219 to 270 km on launch and NASA reported its final orbital altitude

1566-514: The industry of the former Soviet Union in shambles. Not only did the political change in eastern Europe signify an end of contributions to the space programme by eastern European nations (such as the East German Carl Zeiss Jena ), but parts of the Soviet space industry were located in the newly independent Ukraine , which was similarly cash-strapped as Russia and started to demand hard currency for its contributions. It

1620-448: The launch platform to Commander prior to launch. Zenit-3SL launches predominantly carried communications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits . As of 2009, the only payload to be launched by a Zenit-3SL that was not a communications satellite was a DemoSat , on the maiden flight. The only launch to be conducted to an orbit other than GTO was that of ICO F-1 , which was intended to be placed into medium Earth orbit , however

1674-492: The name of the space stations was changed to Salyut shortly before launch of Salyut 1 . Another explanation given is that the name might have offended the Chinese, who purportedly were preparing a new rocket for launch, which they had already named Shuguang or "Dawn". The Salyut programme was managed by Kerim Kerimov , chairman of the state commission for Soyuz missions. A total of nine space stations were launched in

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1728-451: The newer craft available to the resident crew as a return vehicle, thereby extending the resident crew's stay past the design life of the Soyuz. Short-term visiting crews routinely included international cosmonauts from Warsaw pact countries participating in the Soviet Union's Intercosmos programme. These cosmonauts were the first spacefarers from countries other than the Soviet Union or

1782-426: The next generation of Salyut stations called for the cores DOS-7 and DOS-8 to allow, for the first time in spaceflight, the addition of several modules to a station core and to create a modular space station. For this, the DOS modules were to be equipped with a total of four docking ports: one docking port at the aft of the station as in the second generation Salyuts, and the replacement of the front docking port with

1836-464: The rocket failed to reach orbit. Of thirty-six rockets launched, three failed, with a fourth placing its payload into an incorrect, but recoverable orbit. The first failure occurred during the third flight, on 12 March 2000, when a software error resulted in the premature cutoff of the second stage, leaving the ICO F-1 satellite unable to reach orbit. On 29 June 2004, during the launch of Apstar 5 ,

1890-426: The same time for crew exchange of the station and for Progress spacecraft to resupply the station, allowing for the first time a continuous ("permanent") occupation of space stations. The heritage of the Salyut programme continued to live on in the first multi-module space station Mir with the Mir Core Module ("DOS-7"), that accumulated 4,592 days of occupancy, and in the International Space Station (ISS) with

1944-551: The same time. Furthermore, the uncrewed Progress resupply craft was created based on the crewed Soyuz, to resupply the crew and station with air, air regenerators, water, food, clothing, bedding, mail, propellants, pressurant, and other supplies. While the Progress docked to the station's second docking port, the crew's Soyuz spacecraft could remain docked to the station's first port. The Progress spacecraft even delivered hardware for updating onboard experiments and permitting repairs to

1998-491: The second stage, which was attached by means of a lattice structure interstage. The second stage ignited prior to first stage separation, and the top of the first stage was insulated to ensure that it retained its structural integrity until separation. The first stage used six RD-253 engines, designed by Valentin Glushko . The RD-253 is a single-chamber engine and uses a staged combustion cycle. The first-stage guidance system

2052-706: The station, extending its life. Salyut 6 ( Russian : Салют 6 , lit.   'Salute 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 1977 by a Proton rocket . Salyut 6 was the first space station to receive large numbers of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft for human habitation, crew transfer, international participation and resupply, establishing precedents for station life and operations which were enhanced on Mir and

2106-539: The unrealized aim of landing Soviet cosmonauts on the Moon . It was retired from service in favour of the modernised Proton-M , making its 310th and final launch on 30 March 2012. The baseline Proton-K was a three-stage rocket. Thirty were launched in this configuration, with payloads including all of the Soviet Union's Salyut space stations , all Mir modules with the exception of the Docking Module , which

2160-442: The upper stage shut down 54 seconds early due to a wiring fault, leaving the satellite in a lower than planned orbit. The spacecraft raised itself to the correct orbit by means of its onboard manoeuvring engines, at the expense of fuel intended for stationkeeping once in the correct orbit . On 30 January 2007, a Zenit-3SL exploded on the launch pad after an engine failure caused by debris in the turbopump . The payload on that flight

2214-399: Was 268 to 272 km. Only one of the three intended crews successfully boarded and operated the station, brought by Soyuz 14 ; Soyuz 15 attempted to bring a second crew but failed to dock. Salyut 3 would make history, by conducting the first test-fire of a conventional weapon in space. During Salyut 3’s mission span, cosmonauts would fire the onboard 23mm cannon, which was reported to be

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2268-573: Was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first crewed in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5 , and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15 . Various crew and modules were used over its lifetime, including 12 crewed and 15 uncrewed launches in total. Supporting spacecraft included the Soyuz T , Progress , and TKS spacecraft. After the second generation, plans for

2322-654: Was a Russian, previously Soviet , carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton . It was built by Khrunichev , and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan . The maiden flight on 10 March 1967 carried a Soyuz 7K-L1 as part of the Zond program . During the so-called Moon Race these Proton/Soyuz/Zond flights consisted of several uncrewed test flights of Soyuz spacecraft to highly elliptical or circumlunar orbits with

2376-627: Was also used to control the first and second stages earlier in flight. Many launches used an upper stage to boost the payload into a higher orbit. Blok D upper stages were used on forty flights, the majority of which were for the Luna and Zond programmes. Ten flights used the Blok D-1 , mostly to launch spacecraft towards Venus . Blok D-2 upper stages were used three times, with the Fobos 1 , Fobos 2 and Mars 96 spacecraft. The Blok DM upper stage

2430-722: Was during this time of transition and upheaval that the Shuttle–Mir program was established between the Russian Federation and the United States in 1993. The former adversaries would now cooperate, with "Phase One" consisting of joint missions and flights of the United States Space Shuttle to the Mir space station . It was a partnership with stark contrasts – Russia needed an inflow of hard currency to keep their space programme aloft, while in

2484-664: Was launched by the Soviet Union, two years before the American Skylab or the first Almaz/OPS station flew. Initially, the space stations were to be named Zarya , the Russian word for "Dawn". However, as the launch of the first station in the programme was prepared, it was realised that this would conflict with the call sign Zarya of the RKA Mission Control Center (TsUP) in Korolyov – therefore

2538-538: Was launched on the United States Space Shuttle , and the Zarya and Zvezda modules of the International Space Station . It was intended to launch Chelomey's crewed TKS spacecraft , and succeeded in launching four uncrewed tests flights prior to the program's cancellation. It was also intended for Chelomey's 20-ton LKS spaceplane that was never realised. Like other members of the Universal Rocket family,

2592-457: Was open-loop, which required significant amounts of propellant to be held in reserve. The third stage was powered by an RD-0210 engine and four vernier nozzles, with common systems. The verniers provided steering, eliminating the need for gimballing of the main engine. They also aided stage separation, and acted as ullage motors . Ducts built into the structure channelled vernier exhaust before stage separation. The third stage guidance system

2646-496: Was realized that the later civilian DOS stations could not only offer a cover story for the military Almaz programme, but could also be finished within one year and at least a year earlier than Almaz. The Salyut programme begun on 15 February 1970 on the condition that the crewed lunar programme would not suffer. However, the engineers at OKB-1 perceived the L3 lunar lander effort as a dead-end and immediately switched to working on DOS. In

2700-656: Was subsequently modified, with a modified version of the Block DM replacing the Block D. Sea Launch integrated the rockets in California , and transfers them to Odyssey via the Sea Launch Commander for transportation to the launch site. Once at the launch site, the rocket was erected on the platform, and a three-day countdown was initiated. The countdown was fully automated, and personnel were evacuated from

2754-564: Was the NSS-8 communications satellite for SES New Skies . This caused a considerable amount of downtime whilst damage to the launch platform was repaired. On 1 February 2013, during the launch of Intelsat-27, a Zenit-3SL launch vehicle suffered a premature engine shutdown, as the rocket strayed from its lift-off trajectory, plunging into the Pacific Ocean shortly after launch. Proton-K The Proton-K , also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number,

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2808-399: Was the world's first space station ; it was launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program followed this with five more successful launches of seven more stations. The final module of the program, Zvezda (DOS-8) , became the core of the Russian segment of the International Space Station and remains in orbit. Salyut 1 was modified from one of

2862-516: Was to continuously occupy a space station with long-duration expeditions, for the first time in spaceflight. Although Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 resembled the previous Salyut stations in overall design, several revolutionary changes were made to the stations and programme for the aim of continuous occupation. The new stations featured a longer design life and a second docking port at the aft of the stations – crew exchanges and station "handovers" were now made possible by docking two crewed Soyuz spacecraft at

2916-488: Was used on 66 launches. The most commonly used upper stage was the Blok DM-2 , which was used on 109 flights, mostly with GLONASS and Raduga satellites. Fifteen launches used the modernised Block DM-2M stage, mostly carrying Ekspress satellites, however other satellites, including Eutelsat 's SESAT 1 , also used this configuration. Two Araks satellites were launched using Block DM-5 upper stages. The Block DM1 ,

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