Salyut 3

Infobox Space station
station = Salyut 3 (OPS-2)
station_

station_image_size =
station_image_caption =
extra_

extra_image_size =
extra_image_caption =
insignia = Salyut insignia.jpg
insignia_size = 160px
insignia_caption =
sign = Salyut 3
crew = 3
launch = June 25, 1974
04:15:00 UTC
launch_pad = Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR
reentry = January 24, 1975
mass = 18,500 kg
length = 14.55 m
width = 4.15 m
height =
volume = 90 m³
pressure =
perigee = 136 mi (219 km)
apogee = 168 mi (270 km)
inclination = 51.6 degrees
altitude =
speed =
period = 89.1 minutes
orbits_day =
in_orbit = 213 days
occupied = 15 days
orbits = 3,442
distance = ~86,763,251 mi
(~139,631,918 km)
NSSDC_ID = 1974-046A
as_of = de-orbit and reentry
stats_ref =
configuration_

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configuration_size =
configuration_caption = Salyut 3 diagram

Salyut 3 (OPS-2) ( _ru. Салют-3; _en. Salute 3) was launched on June 25, 1974. It was another Almaz military space station, this one launched successfully, included in the Salyut program to disguise its true purpose.

It attained an altitude of 219 to 270 km on launch and its final orbital altitude was 268 to 272 km. Salyut 3 had a total mass of about 18 to 19 tons. It had two solar panels laterally mounted on the center of the station and a detachable recovery module for the return of research data and materials. Only one of the three intended crews successfully boarded and manned the station, brought by Soyuz 14; Soyuz 15 attempted to bring a second crew but failed to dock. Nevertheless, it was an overall success. The station's orbit decayed, and it re-entered the atmosphere on January 24, 1975.

Mission

Salyut 3 was the first space station to maintain constant orientation relative to the Earth surface. To achieve that, as many as 500,000 firings of the attitude control thrusters had been performed.

It tested a wide variety of reconnaissance sensors. On September 23, 1974, the station's recovery module was released and re-entered, being recovered by the Soviets.

"Self-defense" gun

Some sources claim that on January 24, 1975 (after the station was ordered to deorbit) trials of the on-board 23 mm Nudelmann aircraft cannon (other sources say it was a Nudelmann NR-30 30 mm gun) were conducted with positive results at ranges from 500 m to 3000 m. [http://space.au.af.mil/books/oberg/ch02.pdf] Cosmonauts had confirmed that a target satellite was destroyed in the test.Fact|date=February 2007 Firings were conducted in the direction opposite to the station's velocity vector, in order to shorten the "orbital life" of the cannon's shells. A total of three firings were conducted during the flight of the Salyut 3.

Payload

*Agat-1 photo-camera, with a focal length of 6,375 millimeters and a resolution better than 3 meters.
*OD-5 optical visor,
*POU panoramic device
*Topographical camera
*Star camera
*Volga infrared camera with a resolution of 100 meters
*Pingvin exercise suit
*Priboy water regeneration system

pecifications

*Length - 14.55 m
*Maximum diameter - 4.15 m
*Habitable volume - 90 m³
*Weight at launch - 18,900 kg
*Launch vehicle - Proton (three-stage)
*Number of solar arrays - 2
*Resupply carriers - Soyuz Ferry
*Number of docking ports - 1
*Total manned missions - 2
*Total long-duration manned missions - 1
*Number of main engines - 2
*Main engine thrust (each) - 400 kgf (3.9 kN)

Visiting spacecraft and crews

ee also

*Space station for statistics of occupied space stations
*Salyut
*TKS spacecraft
*Almaz
*Mir
*Skylab
*International Space Station

References

*http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1974-046A
* [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19870012563_1987012563.pdf Soviet Space Stations as Analogs - NASA report (PDF format)]