1981-1990: THE REALITY YEARS

At the start of the new decade, Salyut 6 operations were winding down. Its last operations included the demonstration of the first add-on module docked to the core, in preparation for the launch of its replacement, Salyut 7, in 1982. Similar in appearance to the previous station, the new facility would continue where Salyut 6 left off, flying increasingly longer missions, with further visiting crews (this time more international than Interkosmos in nature). It would also see the first on- orbit partial crew exchanges and introduce a further add-on module to the main core station. Salyut 7 would also feature new endurance records for two expedi­tion crews (212 then 237 days), with a further residency of 150 days by a third crew in addition to partial crew residences of 112, 168, and 64 days.

In 1984, and again during 1985, cosmonauts demonstrated the value of having a crew in space when things go wrong by overcoming serious problems to keep the station operating successfully. These activities safely extended its working life until 1986 when a new, improved station appeared. The final crew was able to visit Salyut 7 in 1986 to complete the planned program.

Salyut operations were expected to be the mainstay of orbital operations for the Soviets for the rest of the decade. It was not exactly clear what form the much anticipated Salyut 8 would take, nor was it evident how things were about to dramatically change, not just in the national space program but also across the Soviet Union itself. This would have considerable global consequences as the decade closed.

As the Soviets transitioned from Salyut 6 to Salyut 7, the headlines were being generated by the return of American astronauts to orbit after a gap of six years. It was the start of the Space Shuttle era.