science

Salyut 5

Salyut 5 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Salyut 5 rather than just read about it. In short: Salyut 5 (Russian: Салют-5 meaning Salute 5), also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military.

Key takeaways

Salyut 5 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Salyut 5 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Salyut 5 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Salyut 5 (Russian: Салют-5 meaning Salute 5), also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited the station, each crewed by two cosmonauts. A third Soyuz mission attempted to visit the station but failed to dock. A fourth mission was planned but never launched.

Launch Salyut 5 was launched at 18:04:00 UTC on 22 June 1976. The launch took place from Site 81/23 the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and used a three-stage Proton-K carrier rocket with the serial number 290–02. Upon reaching orbit, Salyut 5 was assigned the International Designator 1976-057A. The North American Aerospace Defense Command gave it the Satellite Catalog Number 08911.

Spacecraft Salyut 5 was an Almaz spacecraft, the last of three to be launched as space stations after Salyut 2 and Salyut 3. Like its predecessors, it was 14.55 metres (47.7 ft) long, with a maximum diameter of 4.15 metres (13.6 ft). It had a habitable interior volume of 100 cubic metres (3,500 cu ft), and a mass at launch of 19,000 kilograms (42,000 lb). The station was equipped with a single docking port for Soyuz spacecraft, with the Soyuz 7K-T being the configuration in service at the time. Two solar arrays mounted laterally at the same end of the station as the docking port provided it with power. The station was equipped with a KSI capsule to return research data and materials. Salyut 5 carried Agat, a camera which the crews used to observe the Earth. The German Kristall furnace was used for crystal growth experiments aboard the station.

Operation

Four crewed missions to Salyut 5 were originally planned. The first, Soyuz 21, was launched from Baikonur on 6 July 1976, and docked at 13:40 UTC the next day. The primary objective of the Soyuz 21 mission aboard Salyut 5 was to conduct military experiments. Scientific research included studying effects of microgravity and solar observation. The crew also conducted a televised conference with school pupils. Cosmonauts Boris Volynov and Vitali Zholobov remained aboard Salyut 5 until 24 August, when they returned to Earth landing 200 km southwest of Kokchetav. The mission had been expected to last longer, but the atmosphere within Salyut 5 became contaminated with nitric acid fumes from a fuel leak, affecting the crew's psychological and physical condition and necessitating an emergency landing. On 14 October 1976, Soyuz 23 was launched carrying Vyacheslav Zudov and Valery Rozhdestvensky to the space station. During approach for docking the next day, a faulty sensor incorrectly detected lateral motion. The spacecraft's Igla automated docking system fired the spacecraft's maneuvering thrusters in an attempt to stop the phantom motion. Although the crew was able to deactivate the Igla system, the spacecraft had expended too much fuel to re-attempt the docking under manual control. Soyuz 23 returned to Earth on 16 October without completing its mission objectives. The last mission to Salyut 5, Soyuz 24, was launched on 7 February 1977. Its crew consisted of cosmonauts Viktor Gorbatko and Yury Glazkov, who conducted repairs aboard the station and vented the air which had been reported to be contaminated. Scientific experiments were conducted, including observation of the sun. The Soyuz 24 crew departed on 25 February. Salyut 5 ran low on propellant for its main engines and attitude control system, which necessitated shortening the mission. The fourth planned mission (designated Soyuz 25 if launched) was intended to visit the station for two weeks in July 1977. It would have been crewed by cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Mikhail Lisun; the backup crew for the Soyuz 24 mission. The mission was cancelled due to a shortage of propellant. The spacecraft which was constructed for the Soyuz 25 mission was reused for the Soyuz 30 mission to Salyut 6. Since it could not be refuelled, and no longer had the fuel to sustain crewed operations, the KSI recoverable capsule was ejected and returned to Earth on 26 February. Salyut 5 was deorbited on 8 August 1977 and burned up as it reentered the Earth's atmosphere.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Salyut 5

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Salyut 5 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Salyut 5 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Salyut 5 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Salyut 5

In research: Salyut 5 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Salyut 5 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Salyut 5 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1976 in spaceflight, 1976 in the Soviet Union, Almaz program, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Salyut 5 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Salyut 5” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Salyut 5 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Salyut 5 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Salyut 5 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Salyut 5 in simple terms?

Why does Salyut 5 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Salyut 5?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Salyut 5.