- Soyuz 18
Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz 18
sign = Кавказ (Kavkaz - "Caucasus")
crew_members = 2
launch =May 24 ,1975
14:58:10 UTCGagarin's Start
landing =July 26 ,1975
14:18:18 UTC
51° N, 68° E
duration = 62d/23:20:08
orbits = 993
next =Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
previous =Soyuz 18a |Soyuz 18, of the
Soyuz spacecraft series, brought cosmonautsPyotr Klimuk andVitali Sevastyanov to theSalyut 4 space station where they remained in orbit for 63 days.The focus of the mission seems to have been research into long-term stays in space, with the crew performing various biomedical experiments and growing plants in orbit. They also made observations of the Earth and Sun.
The crew was on-board Salyut 4 during the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project , and contacted the participating astronauts and cosmonauts during that historic mission. ASTP resulted in a tie for the largest number of people in orbit at the same time, seven, matched bySoyuz 6 ,Soyuz 7 andSoyuz 8 in1969 .The name "Soyuz 18" was also given to an earlier, unsuccessful Soyuz flight that is now often referred to as Soyuz 18-1 or
Soyuz 18a .Crew
Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
*Pyotr Klimuk (2) - Commander
*Vitali Sevastyanov (2) - Flight EngineerBackup crew
*
Vladimir Kovalyonok - Commander
*Yuri Ponomaryov - Flight EngineerMission parameters
*Mass: 6825 kg
*Perigee: 186 km
*Apogee: 230 km
*Inclination: 51.7°
*Period: 88.6 minutes
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