 | |
| Operator | Soviet space program |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1979-049A |
| SATCATno. | 11387 |
| Mission duration | 73 days, 18 hours and 16 minutes |
| Orbits completed | ~1,200 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-T |
| Manufacturer | NPO Energia |
| Launch mass | 6,800 kg (15,000 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 0 up 2 down |
| Landing | Vladimir Lyakhov Valery Ryumin |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 6, 1979, 18:12:41 (1979-06-06UTC18:12:41Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U |
| Launch site | Baikonur31/6 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | August 19, 1979, 12:29:26 (1979-08-19UTC12:29:27Z) UTC |
| Landing site | 170 km (110 mi) SE ofDzhezkazgan |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 199 km (124 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 271.5 km (168.7 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.62 degrees |
| Period | 88.91 minutes |
| Docking withSalyut 6 | |
| Docking port | Aft |
| Docking date | June 8, 1979, 20:02:06 UTC[1] |
| Undocking date | June 14, 1979[2] |
| Time docked | 6 days |
| Redocking withSalyut 6 | |
| Redocking port | Front |
| Redocking date | June 14, 1979 |
| Unredocking date | August 19, 1979, 12:29:26 UTC[1] |
| Time redocked | 66 days |
Soyuz 34 (Russian:Союз 34,Union 34) was a 1979Sovietuncrewed space flight to theSalyut 6space station. It was sent to supply the resident crew a reliable return vehicle after the previous flight,Soyuz 33, suffered an engine failure.
Mission control decided to re-design the engine used on Soyuz craft as a result of the Soyuz 33 failure, and to return theSoyuz 32 craft which transportedVladimir Lyakhov andValery Ryumin to the space station to Earth uncrewed as it had the same suspect engine as Soyuz 33. Soyuz 34 successfully returned the crew to earth 73 days after launching.
| Position | Launching cosmonaut | Landing cosmonaut |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | None | Vladimir Lyakhov First spaceflight |
| Flight engineer | None | Valery Ryumin Second spaceflight |
Soyuz 34 had been intended to have been launched around 6 June 1979 with a two-man Hungarian/Soviet crew. That crew would have presumably returned inSoyuz 33 which had been planned to be docked at theSalyut 6 space station. Suspicions this was originally to be a Hungarian/Soviet flight were confirmed in 1980 when press releases for an upcoming joint mission were still dated June 1979.[3]
However, the engine failure during Soyuz 33's flight in April necessitated a shuffling of planned missions. Because the engine used in that flight was the same model already docked at the space station onSoyuz 32 and the resident crew ofVladimir Lyakhov andValery Ryumin needed a reliable craft to return toEarth in, it was decided that the engine needed to be modified and a fresh return vehicle sent to the station - vacant.[4]
Soyuz 34 was launched uncrewed on 6 June, and docked at the aft port of the space station on 9 June. The flight itself was a test of the new engine and its success meant the crew had a reliable return craft. Since the craft was uncrewed, some biological samples for experiments were included on the flight.[4]
Soyuz 32 was loaded with 130 kg of replaced instruments, processed materials, exposed film and other items with a total weight equal to that of the two cosmonauts. On 13 June, it undocked and returned to Earth uncrewed 295 km northwest ofDzhezkazgan. The craft was found to be in good condition.[3] The next day, the crew redocked Soyuz 34 at the forward port to clear the aft port forProgress 7, a supply tanker.[4]
On 19 August, the resident crew returned to earth in Soyuz 34, establishing a new space-endurance record of 175 days, surpassing the 139-day mission by theSoyuz 29 crew in 1978.[3]
Years later, a similar scenario of crew return was required in 2022. AsSoyuz MS-22 was unable to perform crew return due a coolant leak in external radiator, it returned uncrewed with cargo instead of crew likeSoyuz 32, andSoyuz MS-23 was launched unmanned with cargo like Soyuz 34 as a replacement to return the crew.[5][6]
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| Past missions (by spacecraft type) |
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Uncrewed missions are designated asKosmos instead ofSoyuz; exceptions are noted "(uncrewed)". The † sign designates failed missions.Italics designates cancelled missions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
