Soyuz T-3

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz T-3
sign = Mayak (Beacon)
crew_members = 3
launch = November 27, 1980
14:18:28 UTC
Gagarin's Start
landing = December 10, 1980
09:26:10 UTC
130 km from Dzhezkazgan
duration = 12d/19:07:42
orbits = 204
next = Soyuz T-4
previous = Soyuz 38 |

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
*Leonid Kizim (1) - Commander
*Oleg Makarov (4) - Flight Engineer
*Gennady Strekalov (1) - Research Cosmonaut

Backup crew

*Vasili Lazarev - Commander
*Viktor Savinykh - Flight Engineer
*Valeri Polyakov - Research Cosmonaut

Mission parameters

*Mass: 6850 kg
*Perigee: 200 km
*Apogee: 251 km
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 88.7 minutes

Mission highlights

13th expedition to Salyut 6. Tested three seat version of Soyuz T. First Soyuz since 1971 to carry three cosmonauts. It constituted a Salyut 6 refurbishment mission.The Mayaks were the first three-person space station crew since Soyuz 11 in 1971. Part of their mission was to further test the Soyuz-T. 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. On December 2 they commenced conducting the Mikroklimat experiment to assess the station’s living conditions, and began work on the thermal control system. They installed a new hydraulic unit with four pumps. On December 4 they replaced electronics in the Salyut 6 telemetry system. December 5 saw them repairing electrical system faults. Other repairs included replacement of a program and timing device in the onboard control system and replacement of a power supply unit for the compressor in the refueling system. The Salyut 6 Principal Expedition 4 crew in the TsUP provided the crew with advice as they made their repairs. On December 8 Progress 11 carried out an orbit correction for the complex.