Soyuz T-9 launched 1983

Soyuz T-9 crew: Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Vladimir Lyakhov

Soyuz T-9, launched June 27, 1983, was the fourth expedition to the Salyut 7 space station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Lyakhov and Aleksandr Aleksandrov.  The previous mission Soyuz T-8 and the next one, Soyuz T-10-1 both failed.

The crew returned to Earth in November.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Vladimir Titov!

Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov, born January 1, 1947 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of four space flights.

His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz T-8 as commander to Salyut 7 in April 1983 but the spacecraft failed to dock and they had to return to Earth two days later.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz T-10-1, which was also a planned trip to Salyut 7 in September 1983, but the spacecraft exploded on the launch pad, and he and fellow cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov had to use the escape system.

His next attempt was successful.  He blasted off in Soyuz TM-4 as commander in December 1987 to the Mir space station, as part of Mir EO-3 expedition.  He remained aboard for a year and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-6 in December 1988.

His third mission was aboard Discovery (STS-63) as mission specialist in February 1995 to Mir.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) to Mir September-October 1997 as mission specialist.  He performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Scott Parazynski for about 5 hours.

Cosmonaut Gennadi Strekalov born 1940

Gennady Strekalov, born October 26, 1940, went into space 5 times.  He lived on Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and Mir.

His first mission into space was aboard Soyuz T-3 as a research cosmonaut November-December 1980 to Salyut 6.  He and the rest of the crew of Soyuz T-3 stayed aboard for almost 13 days.

His second trip was as flight engineer on Soyuz T-8 in April 1983 to Salyut 7.  The craft failed to dock with the space station and due to damage to Soyuz T-8, the decision was made to return to Earth after only 2 days.

In September 1983, Strekalov attempted to go into  space on Soyuz T-10-1 with fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Titov.  The launch vehicle was destroyed by fire before the countdown had completed.  The escape system fired two seconds before the rocket exploded, saving the crew, battered and bruised but alive.

His third trip, which was successful, was as Flight Engineer on Soyuz T-11 in April 1984 to Salyut 7.  He returned to Earth on Soyuz T-10 about a week later.

Gennady's fourth trip was on Soyuz TM-10 as flight engineer to Mir in August 1990.  He and Gennadi Manakov spent over 4 months on Mir and returned to Earth December.

His fifth and final trip was on Soyuz TM-21 as flight engineer, launched in March 1995 to Mir.  He was part of the crew of the expedition Mir EO-18. He returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-71) in July.

He passed away Christmas Day 2004 from cancer.

Soyuz T-10-1 explodes on launch pad, but crew survived 1983

Soyuz T-10-1, a mission scheduled to visit Salyut 7, the space station occupied by the Soyuz T-9 crew, exploded on the launch pad, September 26, 1983.  Miraculously, cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Gennady Strekalov survived via the launch escape system. 

While waiting for fueling of the booster to finish, a bad valve allowed pressurized nitrogen gas into a pump with no propellant.  The pump ruptured and started a fire which consumed the base of the launch vehicle.  The crew, realizing something was very wrong, could not initiate the escape system.  The launch control team could activate it but the control cables were already destroyed by the fire. 

The LES was activated by two launch personnel, but the procedure required them to press two buttons within 5 seconds of each other after receiving authorization.  It took 20 seconds to perform the operation and the booster and pad were in flames by that time.  The orbital module was separated from the lower part of the rocket by explosive bolts and then the escape system motor fired, breaking the crew free from the booster, which exploded just after. 

The cosmonauts landed badly bruised from the sudden acceleration but alive and well, four miles away.  They asked recovery crews for cigarettes to calm their nerves and were given shots of vodka to help them relax.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L