SOYUZ T13

Flight Crew

DZHANIBEKOV, Vladimir Aleksandrovich, 43, Soviet Air Force, commander, 5th mission

Previous missions: Soyuz 27 (1978); Soyuz 39 (1981); Soyuz T6 (1982); Soyuz T12 (1984)

SAVINYKH, Viktor Petrovich, 43, civilian, flight engineer, 2nd mission Previous mission: Soyuz T4 (1981)

Flight Log

After the return of the long-duration Soyuz T10 trio from the Salyut 7 space station in late 1984, another three manned missions were planned for 1985/1986 to continue manned operations. Indeed, the crews had been selected and were in training. Soyuz T13 would be launched in May, crewed by Vladimir Vasyutin, Viktor Savinykh and Aleksandr Volkov to complete a six-month mission. They would be visited by Soyuz T14, carrying an all-female crew on a two-week mission in November. This crew would comprise commander Svetlana Savitskaya on her third mission, along with Yekaterina Ivanova and Yelena Dobrokvashina. The Soyuz T15 flight would then launch at the end of 1985 to complete the Salyut 7 programme by the spring of 1986, when a new station would have been launched. Soyuz T15 was to have been crewed by Viktor Viktorenko, Alexandr Alexandrov and Yevgeny Salei.

Then, in early 1985, came the blow that Salyut 7 was effectively dead in space. Contact had been lost and the space station was out of control. Systems were freezing and observers expected that it would never be manned again. There was concern that it would make a Skylab-like uncontrolled re-entry. It was decided to send the most qualified veteran cosmonaut (Vladimir Dzhanibekov, with four previous space flights to his credit) to the station along with veteran Salyut 6 FE Savinykh to see if they could restore the station to operational use. Dzhanibekov had already proven his

docking skills in past missions, and all his knowledge would be required on this demanding space flight. If the two men could restore the station sufficiently, then the Soyuz T14 crew would be sent to Salyut to resume their intended programme. Flying along with the T14 crew would be Salyut veteran Georgi Grechko, on a short science – orientated mission. He would return with Dzhanibekov after a few days on the Salyut.

The fate of the other crews would be decided if Salyut could be restored. The launch of Soyuz T13 at 12:40 hrs local time from Baikonur on 6 June to conduct “joint work” with Salyut 7 caught western observers by surprise. The two cosmonauts, Vladimir Dzhanibekov – the first Soviet to make five space flights – and flight engineer Viktor Savinykh, proceeded to fly one of the bravest and most remarkable space missions ever.

Soyuz T13 arrived at Salyut two days later, flying all around to check the condition of the exterior and finally docking at the front port with the aid of a new laser ranging device. The crew donned oxygen masks and lots of woolly clothing and entered the freezing space station. Salyut was stabilised so that its solar panels were pointing at the Sun for long enough periods to re-start some form of electrical power. The station’s life support system was fixed thanks to expert repairs by the two crewmen, who often retreated to Soyuz to warm their bodies. Communications directly from the station were restored and by late June, Salyut 7 was declared to be in an operational state.

Progress 24 arrived on 23 June with additional repair and replenishment supplies, and the crew even got to work on some experiments dedicated to Earth observation, while Progress loaded the Salyut propulsion system with fuel. Confounding experts who regarded the Soyuz T13 mission as finished, the Soviets launched a Heavy Cosmos module, rather than the Progress-class spacecraft that it was first suspected to be by analysts. Designated Cosmos 1669, it docked with Salyut on 21 July, enabling even more fruitful work to be conducted by the remarkable crew, which even went on EVA on 2 August to place two small solar arrays on the third large array on Salyut. The walk lasted about 5 hours.

Cosmos 1669 undocked on 28 August, making a controlled re-entry two days later, and the T13 crew went on conducting a mission as ordinary and routine as a normal residency. The 51.6° mission reached a maximum altitude of 359 km (223 miles). Soyuz T14 was launched and joined them on 18 September. Dzhanibekov and one of the T14 crew, the burly Georgy Grechko, undocked on 25 September, flew a day’s autonomous mission and came home – the first individual space travellers who were launched separately but landed together – at T13 flight time of T + 112 days 3 hours 12 minutes. Savinykh, meanwhile, remained on board Salyut 7 to attempt the longest manned space flight in history, only to be thwarted by his new commander’s illness.

Milestones

106th manned space flight

58th Soviet manned space flight

51st Soyuz mission

12th Soyuz T mission

1st reactivation of a dead space station

10th Soviet and 31st flight with EVA activities