Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; landing 130 km east of Dzheskasgan.

Following a one day solo flight Soyuz T-3 docked with the Salyut 6 space station on November 28, 1980. Soyuz T-3 was the first Soviet mission with three cosmonauts on board since 1971.

Main goals of the mission were overhauling and reactivating of the space station. Maintenance work on the station was also done. The crew conducted the Mikroklimat experiment to assess the station's living conditions, and began work on the thermal control system. They also installed a new hydraulic unit with four pumps, replaced electronics in the Salyut 6 telemetry system, repaired electrical system faults and replaced computer in the onboard control system.

During their brief stay on Salyut 6, they performed the usual experiments using the Splav and Kristall units, and studied “biological objects” they brought with them in Soyuz-T 3. They used the Svetoblok and Oazis units. Much of their time, however, was devoted to space station maintenance.

The crew had to work on scientific experiments including holografic record of photographies, experiments on the fields of Earth observation, medicine, materials science and biology, using a so called "greenhouse", which was the most interesting part for the media.

On December 8, 1980 Progress 11 carried out an orbit correction for the complex.