Soyuz 9

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz 9
sign = Сокол (Sokol - "Falcon")
crew_members = 2
launch = June 1, 1970
19:00:00 UTC
Gagarin's Start
landing = June 19, 1970
11:58:55 UTC
50° N, 72° E
duration = 17d/16:58:55
orbits = 288
next = Soyuz 10
previous = |

Soyuz 9 paved the way for the Salyut space station missions, investigating theeffects of long-term weightlessness on crew, and evaluating the work that the cosmonautscould do in orbit, individually and as a team.

Commander Andrian Nikolayev and flight-engineer Vitali Sevastyanov spent eighteen days in space conducting variousphysiological and biomedical experiments on themselves, but also investigating the socialimplications of prolonged spaceflight. The cosmonauts spent time in two-way TV links with theirfamilies, watched the World Cup football game, played chess with ground control, and votedin a Soviet election. The mission set a new space endurance record and marked a shift in emphasis away from spacefarers merely being able to exist in space for the duration of a longmission (such as the Apollo flights to the moon) and being able to live in space.

On their return to Earth, the crew was found to have weakened considerably, and it took someten days for them to regain their strength. In orbit, they had sacrificed some of their exercise time for the sake of carrying out their scientific work, and their bodies' reactions tothe prolonged weightlessness emphasised the importance of maintaining regular exercise.

=Crew] =

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
*Andrian Nikolayev (2) - Commander
*Vitali Sevastyanov (1) - Flight Engineer

Backup Crew

*Anatoli Filipchenko - Commander
*Georgi Grechko - Flight Engineer

Reserve Crew

*Vasili Lazarev - Commander
*Valeri Yazdovsky - Flight Engineer

Mission parameters

*Mass: 6590 kg (14,530 lb)
*Perigee: 176 km (109 mi)
*Apogee: 227 km (141 mi)
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 88.5 min

References