| Soyuz T-3 | |||
| Cospar Id: | 1980-094A | ||
| Satcat: | 12077 | ||
| Mission Duration: | 12 days, 19 hours, 7 minutes, 42 seconds | ||
| Orbits Completed: | 204 | ||
| Spacecraft Type: | Soyuz-T | ||
| Manufacturer: | NPO Energia | ||
| Launch Mass: | 6850kg (15,100lb) | ||
| Launch Date: | UTC | ||
| Launch Rocket: | Soyuz-U | ||
| Launch Site: | Baikonur 1/5 | ||
| Landing Date: | UTC | ||
| Landing Site: | 130km (80miles) from Dzhezkazgan | ||
| Crew Size: | 3 | ||
| Crew Members: | Leonid Kizim Oleg Makarov Gennady Strekalov | ||
| Crew Callsign: | Mayak (Beacon) | ||
| Crew Photo: | Image:USSR stamp Soyuz-T-3 1981 10k.jpg | ||
| Crew Photo Caption: | 1981 USSR stamp, depicting Soyuz T-3 spacecraft and crew, from left to right: Oleg Makarov, Leonid Kizim, Gennady Strekalov | ||
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric | ||
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth | ||
| Orbit Periapsis: | 200km (100miles) | ||
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 251km (156miles) | ||
| Orbit Inclination: | 51.6 degrees | ||
| Orbit Period: | 88.7 minutes | ||
| Apsis: | gee | ||
| Docking: |
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| Previous Mission: | Soyuz 38 | ||
| Next Mission: | Soyuz T-4 | ||
| Programme: | Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) | ||
Soyuz T-3 was a Soviet spaceflight, launched on 27 November 1980 to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the first Soyuz spacecraft to carry three cosmonauts following the fatal Soyuz 11 disaster in 1971.[1]
The mission was both an early flight of the new Soyuz-T variant craft, as well as one of the later flights to the Salyut 6 station, which had successfully received several crews and visiting craft in recent years. Unlike previous habitations of the station, the crew of Soyuz T-3 did not receive any visitors, and thus did not exchange Soyuz craft with other crews for a return journey, a common practice.
Although the main objective of the crew's mission was to refurbish Salyut 6, part of their mission also involved testing their spacecraft. During their brief stay on Salyut 6, the crew performed experiments using the Splav and Kristall units, and studied biological material which had been carried aboard their Soyuz using the Svetoblok and Oazis units. Much of their time, however, was devoted to station maintenance.
On 2 December they began conducting the Mikroklimat experiment to assess the station's living conditions, and began work on the thermal control system. They installed a new hydraulic unit with four pumps. On 4 December, they replaced electronics in the station's telemetry system. 5 December saw them repairing electrical system faults. Other repairs included replacement of a program and timing device in the onboard control system and replacement of a power supply unit for the compressor in the refueling system. The Salyut 6 Principal Expedition 4 crew in TsUP provided the crew with advice as they made their repairs. On 8 December, Progress 11 carried out an orbital correction for the complex.
Upon leaving the station the craft's orbital module was left attached to Salyut 6 for a few hours, while its descent and service modules completed procedures for re-entry. This procedure was also used during the undocking of Soyuz T-4.[2] Soyuz T-3 returned to Earth on 11 December 1980, landing 130km (80miles) west of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakh SSR.