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 25 crew (L-R): Vladimir Kovalyonok, Valery Ryumin
Soyuz 25, launched October 9, 1977, was the first flight to the new Salyut 6 space station, launched just ten days prior. Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Kovalyonok and Valery Ryumin. The mission was aborted when the cosmonauts failed to dock with Salyut 6. Kovalyonok and Ryumin were both rookies and subsequently, the Soviet space program instituted a new rule such that every crew had to have at least one person who had flown in space previously.
Soyuz 29, launched June 15, 1978, was the fourth successful docking with Salyut 6. Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Kovalyonok and Flight Engineer Aleksandr Ivanchenkov. They docked with the space station June 17. Salyut 6 had been vacant for three months since Soyuz 26 left, after their record-setting stay in space. Kovalyonok became the first cosmonaut to visit the same station twice.
About a week later, Soyuz 30 with Pyotr Klimuk and Miroslaw Hermaszewski arrived at the station but returned July 5.
The second visit, Soyuz 31 with Valery Bykovsky and Sigmund Jahn, arrived at the end of August, bringing food and supplies. The Soyuz 31 crew left in the Soyuz 29 spacecraft and returned to Earth September 3.
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.
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.
