Amateur Space Commentaries by Jesse

Salyut 5 (aka Almaz 3 or OPS-3) ( source ) Salyut 5 was launched in mid-1976, while Salyut 4 was still in orbit but abandoned for over a year. It was the last Almaz station that was inhabited and used for its intended purpose of military reconnaissance, but it also provided its fair share of exciting events in the early history of space stations. Scientific Equipment and Design The overall layout of OPS-3 was the same as the previous two Almaz stations, but there was no known gun attached like Almaz 2. There was also equipment onboard that permitted a propellant transfer test, in preparation for future space stations. Scientific equipment included the Agat Earth-observation camera used for both military reconnaissance and civilian work, the Kristall furnace for crystal-growing experiments, an aquarium for observing fish, the Potok flow experiment studying zero-G capillary pumps, and the Sfera metal smelter studying zero-G metal crystal formation. Zero-G soldering was tested wit...

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 statio...

Salyut 2 aka Almaz 1 or OPS-1 ( source ) There isn't much information on Salyut 2; it was the first military space station, named Almaz 1 or OPS-1, but was publicly named Salyut 2 to disguise it as a civilian program. It launched in 1973, two years after the semi-successful Salyut 1, and one year after the failed launch of Salyut 2, and it was never visited by a human crew. The Almaz Program Chelomei had started work on the Almaz military space station in response to the American MOL years before the Salyut program even started, with several designs in the mid-60s. While many of the hulls were converted to a civilian configuration, some were actually used for their intended purpose, before it became apparent that automated spy satellites were much more cost-effective. The two phases of Almaz designs before they were homogenized into the Salyut program ( source ) The initial designs were very similar to the US Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory, with a VA crew cap...