Soyuz 40
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| Soyuz 40 | |||||
| Mission statistics | |||||
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| Mission name | Soyuz 40 | ||||
| Crew size | 2 | ||||
| Call sign | Dnieper | ||||
| Launch date | May 14, 1981 17:16:38 UTC Gagarin's Start |
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| Landing | May 22, 1981 13:58:30 UTC 225 km SE of Dzhezkazgan |
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| Mission duration | 7d/20:41:52 | ||||
| Number of orbits | 124 | ||||
| Related missions | |||||
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Contents |
[edit] Crew
Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
- Leonid Popov (2) - Commander
- Dumitru Prunariu (Romania) (1) - Research Cosmonaut
[edit] Backup crew
- Yuri Romanenko - Commander
- Dumitru Dediu (Romania) - Research Cosmonaut
[edit] Mission parameters
- Mass: 6800 kg
- Perigee: 198.1 km
- Apogee: 287 km
- Inclination: 51.6°
- Period: 89.06 minutes
[edit] Mission highlights
16th expedition to Salyut 6. 9th international crew. Carried intercosmos cosmonaut from Romania. Last Soyuz Ferry flight; ended the first phase of the Intercosmos program, which concentrated on placing citizens of Soviet bloc states into space. In all, nine Intercosmos missions were launched between 1978 and 1981.
Soyuz 40 was the last of the original Soyuz spacecraft (due to its replacement by the Soyuz-T) and the last Soyuz spacecraft to dock with Salyut 6. It also ended the first phase of the Intercosmos program by carrying Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu and Soviet cosmonaut Leonid Popov to the station. Prunariu studied Earth’s magnetic field. Earth observations had to be delayed until the last day of his flight, when Salyut 6 at last passed over Romania in daylight. During this time the crew also tested the station’s orientation system.
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