This is a detailedlist of human spaceflights from 1981 to 1990, spanning the end of the Soviet Union'sSalyut space station program, the beginning ofMir, and the start of the USSpace Shuttle program.
| # | Crew | Launch spacecraft | Habitation | Return spacecraft | Brief mission summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 13 March 1981 | Salyut 6 | 26 May 1981 | |||
| 81 | 22 March 1981 | Salyut 6 | 29 March 1981 | First Mongolian in space (Gürragchaa). | ||
| 82 | 12 April 1981 | 14 April 1981 | FirstSpace Shuttle flight. Systems test. | |||
| 83 | 14 May 1981 | Salyut 6 | 22 May 1981 | First Romanian in space (Prunariu). Magnetic field observations. Final Soyuz flight. | ||
| 84 | 12 November 1981 | 14 November 1981 | First re-use of a crewed orbital spacecraft. Systems test. Earth science observations. | |||
| 85 | 22 March 1982 | 30 March 1982 | Further system testing. Miscellaneous scientific experiments and Earth science observations. | |||
| 86 | 12 May 1982 | Salyut 7 | 10 December 1982 | First mission to Salyut 7. Deployment of radio communications satellite. | ||
| 87 | 24 June 1982 | Salyut 7 | 2 July 1982 | First French citizen in space (Chrétien). | ||
| 88 | 27 June 1982 | 4 July 1982 | Final Space Shuttle R&D flight. Miscellaneous scientific experiments plus classified US Air Force payload. | |||
| 89 | 19 August 1982 | Salyut 7 | 27 August 1982 | Second woman in space (Savitskaya). | ||
| 90 | 11 November 1982 | 16 November 1982 | Launched commercial ANIK C-3 and SBS-C communications satellites. PlannedEVA cancelled due to space suit malfunction. | |||
| 91 | 4 April 1983 | 9 April 1983 | First Space ShuttleEVA (Peterson and Musgrave). Deployment of firstTracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-1). Miscellaneous science experiments. | |||
| 92 | 20 April 1983 | 22 April 1983 | Failed to dock withSalyut 7. | |||
| 93 | 18 June 1983 | 24 June 1983 | Two communications satellites launched. First American woman in space (Ride). Investigation into behavior of ant colony in zero gravity. Various microgravity experiments. | |||
| 94 | 26 June 1983 | Salyut 7 | 23 November 1983 | |||
| 95 | 30 August 1983 | 5 September 1983 | First African-American in space (Bluford). First night launch and landing. Deployed INSAT-1B satellite for India. Observation of behavior of rats in space. | |||
| — | 26 September 1983 | Launch failed due to fire. Crew ejected. | ||||
| 96 | 28 November 1983 | 8 December 1983 | FirstSpacelab (orbital laboratory) mission. FirstESA astronaut, firstWest German astronaut and first non-American on US flight (Merbold). | |||
| 97 | 3 February 1984 Challenger | 11 February 1984 Challenger | First untetheredspacewalk (McCandless and Stewart). WESTAR-VI and PALAPA-B2 satellites deployed but failed to attain correct orbits. | |||
| 98 | 4 February 1984 | Salyut 7 | 2 October 1984 | |||
| 99 | 3 April 1984 | Salyut 7 | 11 April 1984 | First Indian in space (Sharma). Earth observation program. Life sciences and materials processing experiments. | ||
| 100 | 6 April 1984 Challenger | 13 April 1984 Challenger | LDEF deployed for later retrieval. Capture, repair and redeployment of malfunctioningSolar Maximum Mission satellite. | |||
| 101 | 17 July 1984 | Salyut 7 | 29 July 1984 | FirstEVA by a female astronaut (Savitskaya). | ||
| 102 | 30 August 1984 Discovery | 5 September 1984 Discovery | Testing of experimental solar arrays. Three satellites deployed. | |||
| 103 | 5 October 1984 Challenger | 13 October 1984 Challenger | ERBS satellite deployed. Radar imaging. FirstEVA by an American woman (Sullivan). First Canadian in space (Garneau). First flight including two women. | |||
| 104 | 8 November 1984 Discovery | 16 November 1984 Discovery | Deployed two communications satellites. Retrieved two malfunctioning satellites. | |||
| 105 | 24 January 1985 Discovery | 27 January 1985 Discovery | First mission for theU.S. Department of Defense. Classified payload, possibly intelligence-gathering satellite. | |||
| 106 | 12 April 1985 Discovery | 19 April 1985 Discovery | Communications satellite deployed. Miscellaneous scientific experiments. First sitting member ofU.S. Congress in space (Garn). | |||
| 107 | 29 April 1985 Challenger | 6 May 1985 Challenger | SecondSpacelab mission; microgravity experiments. Observation of behaviour of monkeys and rodents in space. | |||
| 108 | 5 June 1985 | Salyut 7 | 26 September 1985 | Repair of crippled Salyut 7 station. | ||
| 21 November 1985 | ||||||
| 109 | 17 June 1985 Discovery | 24 June 1985 Discovery | Three communications satellites deployed. Miscellaneous scientific experiments. First Saudi and the first Arab in space (Al-Saud). | |||
| 110 | 29 July 1985 Challenger | 6 August 1985 Challenger | Spacelab-2 mission. Miscellaneous science experiments. Three communications satellites deployed. | |||
| 111 | 27 August 1985 Discovery | 3 September 1985 Discovery | Three communications satellites deployed. Retrieval, repair and redeployment of LEASAT-3 satellite. | |||
| 112 | 17 September 1985 | Salyut 7 | 21 November 1985 | |||
| 26 September 1985 | ||||||
| 113 | 3 October 1985 Atlantis | 7 October 1985 Atlantis | SecondU.S. Department of Defense mission. Classified payload, believed to be two communications satellites. | |||
| 114 | 30 October 1985 Challenger | 6 November 1985 Challenger | German-sponsoredSpacelab mission. Microgravity experiments. First Dutchman in space (Ockels). | |||
| 115 | 26 November 1985 Atlantis | 3 December 1985 Atlantis | Three communications satellites deployed. Demonstration of in-orbit construction techniques. First Mexican in space (Neri Vela). | |||
| 116 | 12 January 1986 Columbia | 18 January 1986 Columbia | Deployment of communications satellite. Miscellaneous science experiments. | |||
| — | 28 January 1986 | Disintegrated 73 seconds after launch with loss of all crew. | ||||
| 117 | 13 March 1986 | Mir Salyut 7 Mir | 16 July 1986 | First expedition toMir. Last expedition toSalyut 7. | ||
| 118 | 7 February 1987 | Mir | 30 July 1987 | Mir crew rotation and maintenance. | ||
| 29 December 1987 | ||||||
| 119 | 22 July 1987 | Mir | 30 July 1987 | Mir crew rotation. First Syrian in space (Faris). | ||
| 29 December 1987 | ||||||
| 120 | 21 December 1987 | Mir | 29 December 1987 | Mir crew rotation. Biological experiments and astronomical observations. | ||
| 21 December 1988 | ||||||
| 121 | 7 June 1988 | Mir | 17 June 1988 | |||
| 122 | 29 August 1988 | Mir | 7 September 1988 | Mir crew rotation. First Afghan in space (Mohmand). | ||
| 27 April 1989 | ||||||
| 123 | 28 September 1988 | 3 October 1988 | First "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission afterChallenger disaster. Deployment ofTracking and Data Relay Satellite-3 (TDRS-3). | |||
| 124 | 26 November 1988 | Mir | 27 April 1989 | Mir crew rotation. Technology experiments. First EuropeanEVA (Chrétien). | ||
| 21 December 1988 | ||||||
| 125 | 2 December 1988 | 6 December 1988 | U.S. Department of Defense mission. Classified payload, reportedlyLacrosse 1 radar reconnaissance satellite. | |||
| 126 | 13 March 1989 | 18 March 1989 | Deployment ofTracking and Data Relay Satellite-4 (TDRS-4). Miscellaneous science experiments. | |||
| 127 | 4 May 1989 | 8 May 1989 | Magellan probe deployed. | |||
| 128 | 8 August 1989 | 13 August 1989 | U.S. Department of Defense mission. Classified payload, reportedly military communications and reconnaissance satellites. | |||
| 129 | 5 September 1989 | Mir | 19 February 1990 | Mir equipment installation. | ||
| 130 | 18 October 1989 | 23 October 1989 | Galileo probe deployed. | |||
| 131 | 22 November 1989 | 27 November 1989 | U.S. Department of Defense mission. Classified payload, reportedly reconnaissance satellite. First African-American Shuttle Commander. | |||
| 132 | 9 January 1990 | 20 January 1990 | Deployment of defense communications satellite.Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) retrieval. | |||
| 133 | 11 February 1990 | Mir | 17 July 1990 | |||
| 134 | 28 February 1990 | 4 March 1990 | U.S. Department of Defense mission. Classified payload, reportedly reconnaissance satellite. | |||
| 135 | 24 April 1990 | 29 April 1990 | Hubble Space Telescope deployed. | |||
| 136 | 3 August 1990 | Mir | 10 December 1990 | |||
| 137 | 6 October 1990 | 10 October 1990 | Ulysses probe deployed. Miscellaneous science experiments. | |||
| 138 | 15 November 1990 | 20 November 1990 | U.S. Department of Defense mission. Classified payload, reportedly reconnaissance satellite. | |||
| 139 | 2 December 1990 | 10 December 1990 | Ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy (ASTRO-1 observatory). | |||
| 140 | 2 December 1990 | Mir | 26 May 1991 | Mir crew rotation. First Japanese in space (Akiyama). | ||
| 10 December 1990 | ||||||