Soyuz TM-5 crew (L-R): Viktor Savinyhk, Anatoly Solovyev, Aleksandr Aleksandrov
Mission patch
Soyuz TM-5, launched June 7, 1988, was the fifth manned mission to the space station Mir. Its crew consisted of Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Viktor Savinnykh and Aleksandr Aleksandrov. They were the crew of Mir EP-2.
Soyuz TM-5 returned to Earth in September with Vladimir Lyakhov and Abdul Ahad Mohmand.
Salyut 7, Soviet space station, was launched April 19, 1982. It was the last of the Salyut program, which was replaced by Mir. It had six resident crews, the first of which arrived in December 1982.
In February 1985, contact with the space station was lost and began to drift. Soyuz T-13 with Valdimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh arrived in June 1985 to repair the malfunctions.
The crew of Soyuz T-15 was the final crew to visit Salyut 7 and transferred equipment to the new Mir space station.
Salyut 7 underwent an uncontrolled reentry in February 1991, breaking up over the southern Pacific Ocean.
Vladimir Kovalyonok, born March 3, 1942, is a cosmonaut who went into space three times. His first flight was aboard Soyuz 25 to the space station Salyut 6 in October 1977. The mission was aborted when the crew of Soyuz 25 was unable to dock with Salyut 6.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz 29 as commander to Salyut 6 in June 1978. He and fellow cosmonaut Aleksandr Ivanchenkov stayed aboard until September and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 31.
Kovalyonok's third and final flight was commander aboard Soyuz T-4 in March 1981 to Salyut 6. He and cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh were the last long-term crew on Salyut 6. They returned to Earth in May 1981.
Soyuz T-14 crew (L-R): Alexander Volkov, Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgi Grechko
Soyuz T-14, launched September 17, 1985, was the ninth expedition to space station Salyut 7. Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgi Grechko and Alexander Volkov. The trip was cut short due to Vasyutin becoming ill and had to return to Earth for treatment. Grechko stayed aboard the space station and Viktor Savinykh returned with the Soyuz T-14 crew in November 1985.
Soyuz TM-4, launched December 21, 1987, was the fourth manned mission to the space station Mir. Its crew at lift-off consisted of Commander Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov and Anatoli Levenchenko. Titov and Manarov were part of the expedition Mir EO-3 and stayed in space for a year returning to Earth. Levchenko returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-3 a week later.
Soyuz TM-4 returned in June 1998 with crew of Mir EP-2:Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Viktor Savinykh and Aleksandr Aleksandrov. They had arrived a week earlier on Soyuz TM-5.
I watched the Russian movie Salyut 7 over the weekend and
was very impressed with the whole film, which is based on the rescue of the
space station after contact had been lost with it. In June 1985, the crew of Soyuz T-13,
Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh, traveled to Salyut 7 and brought it
back to life. The mission has been
called the “Apollo 13” of the Soviet space program.
At first, I got confused because the two main characters,
the cosmonauts, were not given the full names of the real life cosmonauts. Vladimir Vdovichenkov played Vladimir
Fyodorov (Dzhanibekov) and cutie(!) Pavel Derenvyanko played Viktor Alyokhin
(Savinykh).
As I expected, the events of the real mission were
embellished and over-dramatized for the film version. For instance, Salyut 7 was crippled by a
faulty electrical sensor, which determined when batteries needed charging. Not meteorites, as in the film.
Also, a fire did not break out on the Soyuz module, causing Vladimir
to don a space suit and blow the hatch putting out the fire.
Still, the movie had a lot of suspenseful moments and had
some awesome special effects. The version
I saw has English subtitles, so it was easy to watch. Even if you are not a space history buff like
me, you will enjoy it for the drama and suspense.
Soyuz T-13 crew: Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Viktor Savinykh
Soyuz T-13, launched June 6, 1985, was the rescue mission for Salyut 7 space station. Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Flight Engineer Viktor Savinykh. Salyut 7 had been rendered inoperable due to a solar array problem and ground crews had lost contact with it.
Dzhanibekov maneuvered his ship to match the station's rotation and managed to dock with it. They first recharged the batteries (two of eight were destroyed) by re-aligning the solar arrays to their proper position. They wore winter clothes until they could turn on the air heaters, June 10. They used Soyuz T-13 for the air regeneration system until Salyut 7's system was fixed.
Normal atmospheric humidity was achieved at the end of July, nearly two months after docking.
Soyuz T-13 landed with Dzhanibekov and Georgi Grechko September 26, 1985. Savinykh returned on Soyuz T-14 in November.
Soyuz T-4, launched March 12, 1981, carried Commander Vladimir Kovalyonok and Flight Engineer Viktor Savinykh to Salyut 6. They made up expedition EO-6, the sixth and final long duration crew of Salyut 6.
They were visited by the crews of Soyuz 39 and Soyuz 40 befor returning to Earth May 26, 1981.
Vladimir Vasyutin, born March 8, 1952 in the Ukraine, spent just under 65 days in space on Salyut 7. He flew into space as commander of Soyuz T-14 in September 1985 with Georgi Grechko and Alexander Volkov as part of the EO-4 expedition.
Shortly after his arrival, Vasyutin became ill, probably due to a prostate infection, and they had to cut their mission short, because he couldn't perform his duties. Vasyutin, Volkov and Savinykh returned to Earth November 21, 1985.
He did not go into space again. He died of cancer July 2002.
Viktor Savinykh, born March 7, 1940, is part of the team that rescued Salyut 7, which had stopped responding to ground signals. His first mission into space was aboard Soyuz T-4 launched March 12, 1981, the sixth and last long-duration stay aboard Salyut 6 as EO-6, with fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalyonok. They stayed on board about a month and a half before returning to Earth.
His next trip was aboard Soyuz T-13, June 6, 1985, the eighth expedition to Salyut 7, the first time a spacecraft docked with a 'dead' space station. Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov piloted his ship and matched the station's rotation and managed to connect with the forward port. Savinykh and Dzhanibekov, wearing winter garb and fur-lined hats entered the dark station. The air was breathable but extremely cold. On June 10, they turned the heaters on after restoring electric power and three days later, managed to reactivate the attitude control system, which allowed the supply spacecraft to dock with Salyut 7.
Water tanks were thawed by the end of June and normal atmospheric humidity was achieved after almost two months after docking. These events have been dramatized in a 2017 Russian film, Salyut 7.
Savinykh's next trip was to the space station Mir, aboard Soyuz TM-5 in June 1988. He was part of expedition EP-2, which lasted about a week and he returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-4.
