 | |
| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1973-017A |
| SATCATno. | 06398 |
| Call sign | Salyut 2 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Launch | 3 April 1973 09:00:00 UTC |
| Launch pad | BaikonurSite 81/23[1] |
| Reentry | 28 May 1973 |
| Mass | 18,500 kilograms (40,800 lb) |
| Length | 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) |
| Diameter | 4.15 metres (13.6 ft) |
| Pressurisedvolume | 99 cubic metres (3,500 cu ft) |
| Periapsis altitude | 257 kilometres (160 mi) |
| Apoapsis altitude | 278 kilometres (173 mi) |
| Orbital inclination | 51.6° |
| Orbital period | 89.8 minutes |
| Days in orbit | 54 days |
| No. of orbits | 866 |
| Distance travelled | 35,163,530 kilometres (21,849,600 mi) |
| Statistics as of 4 April 1973 | |
| Configuration | |
 An Almaz space station | |
Salyut 2 (OPS-1) (Russian:Салют-2 meaningSalute 2) was aSovietspace station which was launched in 1973 as part of theSalyut programme. It was the firstAlmaz military space station to fly. Within two weeks of its launch, the station had lost altitude control and depressurized, leaving it unusable. Its orbit decayed and it re-entered the atmosphere on 28 May 1973, without any crews having visited it.
Salyut 2 was an Almaz military space station.[2] It was designated part of the Salyut programme in order to conceal the existence of the two separate space station programmes.[3]
Salyut 2 was 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) long with a diameter of 4.15 metres (13.6 ft),[4][5][6] and had an internal habitable volume of 90 cubic metres (3,200 cu ft). At launch it had a mass of 18,950 kilograms (41,780 lb).[7] A single aft-mounted docking port was intended for use bySoyuz spacecraft carrying cosmonauts to work aboard the station. Twosolar arrays mounted at the aft end of the station near the docking port provided power to the station, generating a total of 3,120 watts of electricity.[8] The station was equipped with 32 attitude control thrusters, as well as twoRD-0225 engines, each capable of generating 3.9 kilonewtons (880 lbf) of thrust, for orbital manoeuvres.[7]
Salyut 2 was launched fromSite 81/23 at theBaikonur Cosmodrome, atop a three-stageProton-K rocket, serial number 283-01.[9] The launch took place at 09:00:00 UTC on 3 April 1973,[10] and successfully placed Salyut 2 intolow Earth orbit.[9] Upon reaching orbit, Salyut 2 was assigned theInternational Designator 1973-017A, whilstNORAD gave it theSatellite Catalog Number 06398.[1] The third stage (8S812) of the Proton-K rocket entered orbit along with Salyut 2. On 4 April, it was catalogued in a 192 by 238 kilometres (119 by 148 mi) orbit, inclined at 51.4 degrees.[11]
Three days after the launch of Salyut 2, the Proton's spent third stage exploded, due to pressure changes within the tanks. This explosion resulted in a cloud of debris, some of which followed a similar trajectory to the station. Ten days later this debris struck the station, damaging the hull and causing depressurization. Both solar panels were torn free, removing the ability of the station to generate power and control its attitude.[3][1]
Three pieces of debris from the station were catalogued, and haddecayed from orbit by 13 May.[11] The remainder of the stationreentered the atmosphere on 28 May 1973[2][11] over thePacific Ocean.[4]
An inquiry into the failure initially determined that a fuel line had burst, burning a hole in the station.[3] The damage from the debris collision was only discovered later.[when?]
When First Secretary of the Communist Party ofCubaFidel Castro was in theSoviet Union as part of a whirlwind tour in 1972, General Secretary of the Communist Party of theSoviet UnionLeonid Brezhnev broughtFidel Castro to theGagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre.[12] Fidel Castro was photographed inside both theSoyuz docking trainer[13][better source needed] and the Salyut-2 (OPS-1/Almaz) military space station.[14][better source needed]
1973 April 3...Launch Vehicle: Proton-K. LV Configuration: Proton-K 283-01...Salyut 2
| Salyut stations (DOS) | | |
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| Almaz stations (OPS) | ||
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| TKS spacecraft | ||
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Notes: † Never inhabited due to launch or on-orbit failure, ‡ Part of theAlmaz military program, ° Never inhabited, lacks docking mechanism. | |||||||||
