Oct 11 1980
From The Space Library
The longest spaceflight in history ended at 12:50 Moscow time when. cosmonauts Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin landed near. Dzhezkazgan in the descent module of Soyuz 37 after 185 days aboard the Salyut 6 space station. A previous record of 175 days was set last year by Ryumin and Vladimir Lyakhov; shown on Soviet television immediately after landing, they seemed to, have trouble walking and talking. The Soviet Union did not have television coverage of the Ryumin-Popov landing, but the two appeared on television at 9 p.m.. local time in recliners, being interviewed. A Reuters report from the landing, carried by the New York Times, said that the two men appeared well when they climbed from their capsule in the rain, Ryumin noting "it's always pleasant to have a soft landing." He joked with journalists and insisted on walking two yards unaided "almost: without staggering," said Trud, a trade-union newspaper. Doctors said that neither man seemed to show the physical deterioration suffered by other long-mission crews; Popov had gained 6.5 pounds, Ryumin almost 11. They had kept up their strength in space with exercises.
(The New York Times noted that the new record far outdistanced the longest U.S. space mission, the 84-day mission of Skylab 4 with Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue, that ended in 1974. In the absence of U.S. space exploits since the Moon landings, Western observers said that the new Soviet feat might indicate that the Soviet Union had regained the lead in space; coupled with the delay in the U.S. Shuttle program and public awareness of growing Soviet military might, the Salyut accomplishment might translate into political advantage.)
Salyut 6 had been orbiting for three years, being manned for about half that time. Four main and eight visiting expeditions had been working there, backed by automatic cargo craft bringing fuel and supplies. Tass said that the preventive maintenance and resupply procedures carried out by the crews were a big step toward "lasting manned complexes for scientific and national economic purpose." (FBIS, Tass in English, Oct 11/80; NY Times, Oct 12/80, 23; Oct 13/80, A-13)
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