Soyuz 14

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz 14
sign = Беркут (Berkut - "Golden Eagle")
crew_members = 2
launch = July 3, 1974
18:51:08 UTC
Gagarin's Start
landing = July 19, 1974
12:21:36 UTC
140km SE of Dzhezkazgan
duration = 15d/17:30:28
orbits = 255
next = Soyuz 15
previous = Soyuz 13 |

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
*Pavel Popovich (2) - Commander
*Yuri Artyukhin (1) - Flight Engineer

Backup crew

*Gennadi Sarafanov - Commander
*Lev Dyomin - Flight Engineer

Reserve crew

*Boris Volynov - Commander
*Vitali Zholobov - Flight Engineer

Mission parameters

*Mass: 6,800 kg
*Perigee: 195 km
*Apogee: 217 km
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 88.6 min

Mission highlights

Soyuz 14 carried cosmonauts Yuri Artyukhin and Pavel Popovich to the Salyut 3 space station. The mission was part of the Soviet Union's Almaz programme to evaluate military applications of human spaceflight. At the time, however, the military nature of this mission and the station itself were not acknowledged by Soviet authorities.

The crew tested the suitability of Salyut 3 as a manned military reconnaissancesatellite. They also tested Almaz station systems, such as the solararrays. The cosmonauts exercised for 2 hours each day to counter the effectsof weightlessness. Because of this, they were able to climb from their SoyuzFerry descent module without assistance at the end of their flight.

During their two-week stay on the station, the cosmonauts undertook militaryreconnaissance tasks and various biomedical experiments. All mission objectives were reportedly met.