Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; landing 202 km east of Dzhezkazgan.

Following a one day solo flight Soyuz 11 docked with the space station Salyut 1 on June 07, 1971. The crew transferred into the station. It was the first space station flight in space history.

The crew performed different scientific work in the areas of biology, astronomy and Earth observation were part of the scientific work. The main instrument, a large solar telescope, was inoperative because its cover failed to jettison. The mission was cut short due of problems aboard the station including an electrical fire. The planned highlight of the mission was to have been the observation of an N-1 booster launch, but the launch was postponed. The crew also found that using the exercise treadmill as they were required to do twice a day caused the whole station to vibrate.

During the landing operations a pressure equalization valve was opened prematurly and the cosmonauts perished due to a loss of cabin atmosphere and of non-wearing of pressure suits. As a result of this disaster pressure suits were worn during launch, docking maneuvers and reentry in the following missions.

It quickly became apparent that they had asphyxiated. The fault was traced to a breathing ventilation valve, located between the orbital module and the descent module, that had been jolted open as the descent module separated from the service module, 723 seconds after retrofire. The two were held together by explosive bolts designed to fire sequentially; in fact, they fired simultaneously. The force of this caused the internal mechanism of the pressure equalization valve to loosen a seal that was usually discarded later and normally allowed automatic adjustment of the cabin pressure. The valve opened at an altitude of 168 kilometers (104 mi), and the gradual loss of pressure was fatal within seconds. The valve was located beneath the seats and was impossible to find and block before the air was lost. Flight recorder data from the single cosmonaut outfitted with biomedical sensors showed cardiac arrest occurred within 40 seconds of pressure loss. By 935 seconds after the retrofire, the cabin pressure was zero, and remained there until the capsule entered the Earth's atmosphere.