Salyut-8
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Salyut-8 was a Soviet space station that served as the site of the first unarmed, non-lethal space conflict in 1994. The conflict reportedly occurred due to political differences and involved two cosmonauts, one from the Afghan SSR.
Contents
History
Salyut-8 ("Salute-8") was the last of a series of space stations operated by the Soviet Union in the last years of the twentieth century. The first five Salyut stations, launched in the 1970s, carried two cosmonauts, who arrived via capsule-type Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz also served as the crews' return vehicle, remaining docked to the station's single port for the duration of the mission.
These early outposts were plagued with developmental problems. A faulty pressure equalization valve resulted in the suffocation of the crew of the first during reentry. The second station, a disguised Almaz-series military space station flying under the designation Salyut-2, was hit by fragments of its jettisoned booster rocket, causing a pressure loss and crippling its flight control systems. Seven days into its mission a mysterious accident caused both the station's solar arrays to be lost, leaving the station without power. So it remained, until its destruction on reentry a month later.
However, the Soviets persisted and had better success with the next three stations, which performed civilian scientific work and clandestine military projects while providing invaluable experience in the long-term habitation of space, with crews working aboard for periods sometimes lasting for two months or more. Salyut-3, another incognito military station, holds the dubious honor of being the first manned spacecraft to carry and fire a weapon, a 23mm cannon of the kind used in contemporary atmospheric fighter planes. The weapon was tested satisfactorily against target satellites.
Following the successful three-month flight of Salyut-5, a partial redesign was undertaken to incorporate the benefits gained by the experience of the program so far. These modifications included a second docking port, allowing resupply of the station using unmanned Progress-class vessels while the crew's Soyuz capsule remained docked to the station. This, along with various other optimizations, allowed much longer missions to be flown. Salyut-6 and -7 remained in orbit for four years or more, with replacement personnel being flown in rotation to relieve the resident cosmonauts.
Salyut-8, with a redesigned core module, was intended to remain in orbit for more than five years, and to host a total rotating contingent of more than forty cosmonauts. This may seem unimpressive in view of the much greater capabilities of later spacefaring systems. However, taking into account the technique of the era, the achievement remains substantial. Further Salyut missions, and a follow-on Mir program, envisaged the indefinite occupation of space by humans for the first time. However, the violent end of the Salyut-8 mission, along with the political chaos resulting from the breakup of the Soviet system, put an end to these ambitions.
Notes
Salyut-8 most likely resembled other space stations in the Salyut Program.
References
- Strategic Operations, p. 244