Aug 19 1982
From The Space Library
August 19-29: The Soviet Union launched Soyuz T-7 at 9:12 p.m. Moscow time August 19 carrying three cosmonauts to orbital station Salyut 7 to join Anatoly Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev, who had been working there since May 14. Commander of Soyuz T-7 was Col. Leonid Popov; flight engineer was Aleksandr Serebrov; and researcher was Svetlana Savitskaya, the second woman to fly on a space mission. Initial orbit parameters were 280-kilogram apogee, 223-kilometer perigee, 89.5-minute period, and 51.6° inclination.
On August 20, Soyuz T-7 docked with the Salyut 7-Soyuz T-5 complex at 10:32 p.m. Moscow time. The five-person crew would carry out a week-long scientific program, largely medicobiological research, Tass reported. Soviet manned flights had included many studies of the effects of weightlessness on men; the present crew would check the effects "on the female organism" to understand better how humans adapted to life in those conditions.
An interim report said that Salyut 7 had "more comfortable conditions for life and work" than Salyut 6. On a television broadcast, rookie Savitskaya said, "I think women cosmonauts can work in outer space successfully and. . .in future whole families will work on orbital stations" On August 26 the visitors began preparing for their return trip, packing research materials, like biological objects with technical documentation, and used equipment such as exposed still and motion-picture film. They returned to Earth at 7:04 p.m. Moscow time August 27 in the Soyuz T-5 that had carried Berezovoy and Lebedev to Salyut 7 On August 29 the remaining crew redocked Soyuz T-7 with the orbiting Salyut 7 to make room for cargo vehicles expected later. (FBIS, Tass in English, Aug 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 29; NY Times, Aug 20/82, A-28; Aug 21/82; Aug 27/82, A-11; Aug 28/82, 5; Aug 29/82,3; W Post, Aug 20/82, A-25)
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