Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. - without -

Soyuz 34

Soyuz 32

Proton

USSR

USSR
Patch Soyuz 32

Launch, orbit and landing data

Soyuz 34
Launch date:  06.06.1979
Launch time:  18.12:40.982 UTC
Launch Site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  31
Altitude:  198.4 - 274.3 km
Inclination:  51.59°
Docking Salyut 6:  08.06.1979, 20.02:06 UTC
Undocking Salyut 6):  19.08.1979, 09:07 UTC
Landing date:  19.08.1979
Landing time:  12:29:26 UTC
Landing site:  46°48' N, 69°42' E
Soyuz 32
Launch date:  25.02.1979
Launch time:  11:53:49.015 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Docking Salyut 6:  26.02.1979, 13:29:55 UTC
Undocking Salyut 6  13.06.1979, 09:51 UTC
Landing date:  13.06.1979
Landing time  13.06.1979, 16:18:26 UTC
Landing site :  295 km NW of Dzheskasgan
Crew
Launch date:  25.02.1979
Launch time:  11:53:49.015 UTC
Landing date:  19.08.1979
Landing time:  12:29:26 UTC
Duration Crew  175d 00h 35m 37s

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz 32

hi res version (538 KB)

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Lyakhov  Vladimir Afanasiyevich  Commander 1 175d 00h 35m 37s  2755 
2  Ryumin  Valeri Viktorovich  Flight Engineer 2 175d 00h 35m 37s  2755 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  
2  
Soyuz spacecraft
Landing
1  Lyakhov
2  Ryumin

Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-U (No. Yo15000-178)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz 34 (7K-T No. 50)

Flight

The unmanned Soyuz 34 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to replace the Soyuz 32 spacecraft. The crew of Soyuz 32 landed with Soyuz 34.

The Soyuz spacecraft is composed of three elements attached end-to-end - the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module. The crew occupied the central element, the Descent Module. The other two modules are jettisoned prior to re-entry. They burn up in the atmosphere, so only the Descent Module returned to Earth.
The deorbit burn lasted 188 seconds. Having shed two-thirds of its mass, the Soyuz reached Entry Interface - a point 400,000 feet (121.9 kilometers) above the Earth, where friction due to the thickening atmosphere began to heat its outer surfaces. With only 23 minutes left before it lands on the grassy plains of central Asia, attention in the module turned to slowing its rate of descent.
Eight minutes later, the spacecraft was streaking through the sky at a rate of 755 feet (230 meters) per second. Before it touched down, its speed slowed to only 5 feet (1.5 meter) per second, and it lands at an even lower speed than that. Several onboard features ensure that the vehicle and crew land safely and in relative comfort.
Four parachutes, deployed 15 minutes before landing, dramatically slowed the vehicle's rate of descent. Two pilot parachutes were the first to be released, and a drogue chute attached to the second one followed immediately after. The drogue, measuring 24 square meters (258 square feet) in area, slowed the rate of descent from 755 feet (230 meters) per second to 262 feet (80 meters) per second.
The main parachute was the last to emerge. It is the largest chute, with a surface area of 10,764 square feet (1,000 square meters). Its harnesses shifted the vehicle's attitude to a 30-degree angle relative to the ground, dissipating heat, and then shifted it again to a straight vertical descent prior to landing.
The main chute slowed the Soyuz to a descent rate of only 24 feet (7.3 meters) per second, which is still too fast for a comfortable landing. One second before touchdown, two sets of three small engines on the bottom of the vehicle fired, slowing the vehicle to soften the landing.

Photos / Graphics

Salyut 6 Salyut 6

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Last update on January 27, 2023.

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