Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; landing 200 km southeast of Dzheskasgan.

Soyuz T-2 was a manned testflight of the new developed Soyuz T spacecraft. The craft had new engine systems and could launch three cosmonauts. Additionally, the Soyuz was equipped with a new Argon computer which controlled docking and reentry procedures. Six unmanned spacecraft of this new type had been tested before. Following a one day solo flight Soyuz T-2 docked with the Salyut 6 space station on June 06, 1980 and common work with the fourth resident crew followed.

The main goal of this flight was the testing and development of onboard systems in the improved Soyuz T series transport vehicle under piloted conditions. As the craft approached Salyut 6, solar cells, re-introduced to the Soyuz, were tested. The approach was completed automatically, while the final 180 metres were achieved manually on June 06, 1980. The Argon docking computer had failed, leaving the craft perpendicular to the station. The computer failure was later explained as being caused by the crew and controllers failing to have practiced the particular approach the computer chose. The crew had therefore chose to dock manually to be safe; the computer would have successfully docked if allowed to, said the Soviets. However, failures during the automatic approach was a recurring problem in future Soyuz T missions.

During their short stay, Yuri Malyshev and Vladimir Aksyonov seemed to have carried out a minimum of experiments, including participating in some medical tests and using the Salyut's MKF-6M camera. They undocked in the craft they arrived on only two days after first greeting the resident crew. As they left, the Salyut turned around and the Soyuz T-2 crew photographed and visually inspected the space station. The Soyuz then departed and landed about three hours later.