Happy birthday, cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov!

Vladimir Dzhanibekov, born May 13, 1942 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of five space flights.

His first mission was as commander aboard Soyuz 27 to Salyut 6 in January 1978.  He participated in expedition EP-1 and returned to Earth on Soyuz 26 about 6 days later.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz 39 as commander to Salyut 6 in March 1981, where he spent about 8 days before returning to Earth.

His third flight was aboard Soyuz T-6 as commander to Salyut 7 in June 1982 for another 8 days.

His fourth flight was as commander abord Soyuz T-12 to Salyut 7 in July 1984, where he stayed for about 12 days.

His fifth and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-13 as commander to Salyut 7 in June 1985.  He remained on board for about 3 1/2 months before returning to Earth.

He has a minor planet named after him: 3170 Dzhanibekov discovered in 1979.

Salyut 7 launched 1982

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.

Soyuz Т-6 launched 1982

Soyuz T-6 (L-R): Aleksandr Ivanchenkov, Jean-Loup Chretien, Vladimir Dzhanibekov

Mission patch

Soyuz T-6, launched June 24, 1982, carried the first French astronaut into space.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Ivanchenkov and Jean-Loup Chretien.

They docked manually with Salyut 7 after problems with the Soyuz space capsule's automatic docking system arose. They completed experiments with the crew of Soyuz T-5, the resident crew of Salyut 7.

They returned to Earth on July 2.

Soyuz 27 launched 1978

Soyuz 27 crew (L-R): Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Oleg Makarov

Soyuz 27 mission stamp

Soyuz 27, launched January 10, 1978, was the third manned flight to Salyut 6.  It was the first time three spacecraft were docked together and the first visitation mission to the space station. Its launch crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Oleg Makarov.  They were the crew of the expedition EP-1.  They stayed for 6 days before returning to Earth in Soyuz 26.

Soyuz 27 remained docked with Salyut 6 until March when it returned with the crew of EO-1, Commander Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko.

Cosmonaut Oleg Makarov born 1933

Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, born January 6, 1933 in the former Soviet Union, was a veteran of four trips into space. 

His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz 12 in September 1973.  After the tragedy of Soyuz 11, the Soviets reduced crew capacity of the capsule to two (from three) to allow pressure suits to be worn during take off, re-entry and landing.  Makarov and fellow cosmonaut Vasily Lazarev spent two days testing the new suits.

His second mission was the unsuccessful launch of Soyuz 18a in April 1975.  The mission was scheduled to dock with Salyut 4 space station, but the crew failed to make orbit, due to the failure of the launch vehicle.

His third attempt was successful.  He flew as flight engineer for Soyuz 27, which docked with Salyut 6 space station in January 1978.  Makarov and cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov made up the crew of expedition EP-1.  They spent five days aboard the space station and returned in Soyuz 26.

Makarov's fourth and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-3 November-December 1980 as flight engineer.  The mission flew to the Salyut 6 space station and was the first Soyuz spacecraft to carry three cosmonauts since Soyuz 11 in 1971.

He died May 2003 in Moscow from a heart attack.

Soyuz T-12 launched 1984

Soyuz T-12 crew (L-R): Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Svetlana Saviskaya, Igor Volk

Soyuz T-12, launched July 17, 1984, was the seventh manned mission to Salyut 7.  Its crew was Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Svetlana Saviskaya and Igor Volk. 

Igor Volk was a test pilot and the Soviets planned for him to be commander of the first Buran flight, but the program never materialized.  It did not go unnoticed by some in the West that a test pilot was occupying a seat usually reserved for researchers or foreign cosmonauts.  At this time, the Buran project was still secret.

The previous November, NASA announced that Kathryn Sullivan would be the first woman to perform a spacewalk, so naturally, the Soviets decided to get there first. They re-assigned crews and added Savitskaya to the rotation and became the first woman to perform a spacewalk.

The crew returned to Earth July 29.

Movie review - Salyut 7

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, rescue mission to Salyut 7, launched 1985

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.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh!

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.

In total, he has spent almost 253 days in space.

Soyuz 26 launched 1977

Soyuz 26, launched December 10, 1977 to Salyut 6, was the first long-term crew on the space station.  Her crew was Commander Yuri Romanenko and Flight Engineer Georgi Grechko.  They remained on the space station for about 96 days.  Soyuz 26 returned to Earth January 16, 1978 with Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Oleg Makarov. 

Happy birthday, Jugderdemidiin Gurragchaa, first Mongolian astronaut!

Jugderdemidiin Gurragchaa, born December 5, 1947 in Gurvanbulag, Bulgan, Mongolia, is the first Mongolian in space.  He traveled aboard Soyuz 39 in March 1981 with fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov.

First space walk by a woman - Svetlana Savitskaya 1984

Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to perform an Extra-Vehicular Activity, July 25, 1984.  In a rush to upstage the U.S.'s plans to put women into space, the Soviets launched Savitskaya in 1982, seven months before Sally Ride, on Soyuz T-7.  She took her second trip into space on Soyuz T-12 to Salyut 7.

She spent 3 hours and 35 minutes in an EVA repairing Salyut 7 with fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov.

First Mongolian in space, Soyuz 39, launched 1981

March 22, 1981, Jugderdemidiin Gurragchaa blasted off in Soyuz 39 and became the first Mongolian astronaut.  Mongolia became the 10th country to put a man into space.  His backup was Maidarjavyn Ganzorig, also from Mongolia but he never went to space.  Gurragchaa's fellow cosmonaut on the mission was Vladimir Dzhanibekov.

Soyuz 39 carried the eighth crew to Salyut 6.  They installed cosmic ray detectors to determine the amount of exposure spacecraft crews were receiving.  The last two days of the mission were devoted to studying Mongolia from space.  They returned to Earth March 30, spending just 8 days in space.