Soviet Space Stations: Salyut 3

Salyut 3 with Soyuz spacecraft (source)

Salyut 3 (aka OPS-2 or Almaz 2) was a much needed success after the three previous failures and Skylab's success. There is also much more information known about it, despite it being a secret military station.

Salyut 3 Design/Scientific Equipment

Salyut 3 cutaway, showing interior

Salyut 3 had the same general layout as Salyut 2 before it, but we know a lot more now about what was inside. Salyut 3 had the first water recycling systems, had a treadmill, magnetic chess set, and a shower. The floor was covered in Velcro to help cosmonauts move around the station.

In the work compartment (the larger portion), there was an Agat-1 earth observation telescope used primarily for military reconnaissance, but also for studying water pollution, farmland, and ocean ice. The cosmonauts would scan and transmit photos from the station, or develop film and launch it back in a film return capsule. There were up to 14 other cameras on the station, including a star camera and Volga infrared camera.

Finally, it carried a gun. Sources vary on the type, but most believe it was a 23mm cannon. It wasn;t fired until the day before it was deorbited with no crew onboard, but successfully engaged a target satellite, and is to-date the only weapon fired in orbit.


The main armament of the Almaz space station (source)

The Mission
Salyut 3 successfully launched into orbit into a relatively low orbit in 1974, which combined with the use of traditionally military radio frequencies, tipped off the West that it was a military station. A week later, Soyuz 14 rendezvoused with the station, where they conducted photo reconnaissance for two weeks before loading up the film return capsule and returning home themselves.


Soyuz 14 rendezvous with Salyut 3

About a month later, Soyuz 15 launched and attempted to rendezvous, but had more problems with their docking system. They would have kept trying, but the Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft they were using (see first picture) was running out of battery power, and didn't have the solar panels most other Soyuz designs had, so they gave up and went home.

Since they'd had a series of problems with the Soyuz rendezvous system, the Soviets cancelled any further crewed missions to Salyut 3 for a rework. They tested the gun system, fired off the film return capsule, and deorbited the station at the beginning of 1975

Although it still wasn't able to carry out a crew swap, Salyut 3 was the most successful Soviet space station so far, with all of the crew surviving and no serious malfunctions.

Salyut 3 front, and rear aspect docked with Soyuz 14