Salyut 1 (DOS-1) was the world's first space station launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program followed this with five more successful launches of seven more stations. The final module of the program, Zvezda (DOS-8), became the core of the Russian segment of the International Space Station and remains in orbit.
Salyut 6, DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receive large numbers of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft for human habitation, crew transfer, international participation and resupply, establishing precedents for station life and operations which were enhanced on Mir and the International Space Station.
Soyuz 29 was a 1978 crewed Soviet space mission to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the fifth mission, the fourth successful docking, and the second long-duration crew for the orbiting station. Commander Vladimir Kovalyonok and flight engineer Aleksandr Ivanchenkov established a new space-endurance record of 139 days.
Pyotr Ilyich Klimuk is a former Soviet cosmonaut and the first Belarusian to perform space travel. Klimuk made three flights into space.
Soyuz 14 was a July, 1974, crewed spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station. Soyuz 14 is also the name given to the Soyuz spacecraft which was used to bring the cosmonauts to and from the station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz program to evaluate the military applications of crew spaceflight. The mission's crew members were cosmonauts Pavel Popovich and Yuri Artyukhin. At the time, the military nature of this mission and the station itself were not acknowledged by Soviet authorities.
Soyuz 28 was a March, 1978, Soviet crewed mission to the orbiting Salyut 6 space station. It was the fourth mission to the station, the third successful docking, and the second visit to the resident crew launched in Soyuz 26.
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, the first Latin American, the first person of African descent, and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the United States to travel into Earth orbit.
Soyuz 30 was a 1978 crewed Soviet space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the sixth mission to and fifth successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 30 crew were the first to visit the long-duration Soyuz 29 resident crew.
Soyuz 31 was a 1978 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the seventh mission to and sixth successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 31 crew were the second to visit the long-duration Soyuz 29 resident crew.
Soyuz 35 was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 10th mission to and eighth successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 35 crew were the fourth long-duration crew to man the space station.
Soyuz 36 was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 11th mission to and ninth successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz 36 crew were the first to visit the long-duration Soyuz 35 resident crew.
Soyuz T-2 was a 1980 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the 12th mission to and 10th successful docking at the orbiting facility. The Soyuz T-2 crew were the second to visit the long-duration Soyuz 35 resident crew.
Soyuz 39 was a 1981 Soviet crewed space flight to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the fifteenth expedition, and carried the eighth international crew to the orbiting facility. The crew visited Vladimir Kovalyonok and Viktor Savinykh, who had reached Salyut-6 ten days prior.
The Soyuz 40 mission was a 1981 Soviet crewed spaceflight and the final flight of the Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft. It was a collaboration between the Soviet Union and Romania.
Soyuz T-5 was a human spaceflight into Earth orbit to the then new Salyut 7 space station in 1982. While the Soyuz-T was docked it received visits from the uncrewed Progress 13 resupply spacecraft, and the crewed Soyuz T-6 and Soyuz T-7.
Soyuz T-6 was a human spaceflight to Earth orbit to the Salyut 7 space station in 1982. Along with two Soviet cosmonauts, the crew included a Frenchman, Jean-Loup Chrétien.
Soyuz T-7 was the third Soviet space mission to the Salyut 7 space station. Crew member Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman in space in almost twenty years, since Valentina Tereshkova who flew in 1963 on Vostok 6.
Soyuz T-13 was a Soyuz mission, transporting personnel to the Soviet space station Salyut 7. The eighth expedition to the orbital station, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:39:52 UTC on 1985-06-06. It is of note because it marked the first time a spacecraft had docked with a 'dead' space station, and the first time such a station had been returned to operational status following repairs.
The Bulgarian cosmonaut program refers to human spaceflight efforts by the People's Republic of Bulgaria. The idea of a Bulgarian manned space mission predated the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. An informal proposal for the Soviet Union to send a Bulgarian cosmonaut in space was issued in 1964, but it was not seriously considered by the Soviets. Official space cooperation began in 1966 with the establishment of the Interkosmos programme which allowed Communist Bloc countries to access Soviet space technology and assets.
