Soyuz 34 launched 1979

Soyuz 34, launched June 6, 1979, was an unmanned spacecraft sent to supply the Salyut 6's resident crew after Soyuz 33 suffered engine failure.  Soyuz 34 returned to Earth on August 19, bringing Vladimir Lyakhov and Valery Ryumin home.

Soyuz 33 launched 1979

Soyuz 33 crew: Nikolai Rukavishnikov, Georgi Ivanov

Mission patch

Soyuz 33, launched April 10, 1979, was intended to dock with Salyut 6 but an engine failure forced the mission to be aborted.  Its crew consisted of Nikolai Rukavishnikov and Bulgarian Georgi Ivanov.  They had to abort the mission before they docked with the space station and returned to Earth after almost 2 days in space.

Soyuz 32 launched 1979

Soyuz 32 crew: Vladimir Lyakhov, Valery Ryumin

Mission patch

Soyuz 32, launched February 25, 1979, was the seventh successful mission to space station Salyut 6.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Lyakhov and Valery Ryumin.  They set a record at the time for longest duration in space, 175 days.

A visiting crew (Soyuz 33) failed to dock to Salyut 6, so the cosmonauts had no visitors during their stay.  They returned to Earth June 13.

Cosmonaut Nikolai Rukavishnikov born 1932

Cosmonaut Nikolai Rukavishnikov, born September 18, 1932, is a veteran of three Soyuz missions, only one of which was successful. 

His first mission was aboard Soyuz 10 in April 1971 as Test Engineer.  The Soyuz crew tried to dock with Salyut 1, but failed.  They returned two days later.

His second mission was as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 16 in December 1974.  It was a test flight for the Apollo-Soyuz mission the following year.  The mission was successful and the crew returned after almost 6 days in space.

His third and final mission was as Commander aboard Soyuz 33 in April 1979.  They attempted to dock with Salyut 6 but an engine failure forced the mission to be aborted.  They returned to Earth after less than two days.

He passed away of a heart attack in October 2002.

Georgi Ivanov, first Bulgarian in space, born 1940

Georgi Ivanov, born July 2, 1940, is the first Bulgarian cosmonaut.  Born in Lovech, Bulgaria, Ivanov flew on Soyuz 33, launched April 10, 1979 but the mission was a disaster  Engine damage would not allow them to dock with Salyut 6, so they had to return to Earth prematurely.  Their re-entry was also flawed as they had to endure 9Gs.  They completed 31 orbits in just under 2 days.