---

Popov Prunariu

---

14 May 1981 17:17 GMT. Landing Date: 1981-05-22 13:58:52. Flight Time: 7.86 days. Alternate Name: Soyuz 40. Flight Up: Soyuz 40. Flight Back: Soyuz 40. Call Sign: Dnepr (Dnieper ). Crew: Popov, Prunariu. Backup Crew: Dediu, Romanenko. Program: Salyut 6.

Of note: First Rumanian astronaut. Manned two crew. Docked with Salyut 6. Transported to the Salyut-6 orbital station the ninth international crew under the Intercosmos programme, comprising L I Popov (USSR), and D. Prunariu (Romania), to conduct scientific research and experiments.

• 1981 May 14 - Soyuz 40  Crew: Popov, Prunariu. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T s/n 56. Mass: 6,800 kg (14,900 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Duration: 7.86 days. Perigee: 192 km (119 mi). Apogee: 270 km (160 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 89.10 min.

  Manned two crew. Docked with Salyut 6. Transported to the Salyut-6 orbital station the ninth international crew under the INTERCOSMOS programme, comprising L I Popov (USSR), and D. Prunariu (Romania), to conduct scientific research and experiments.

• 1981 May 22 - Landing of Soyuz 40 

  Soyuz 40 landed at 13:58 GMT.

• Clark, Philip, The Soviet Manned Space Program, Salamander Books, London, 1988. ISBN: 051756954X. By far the best account of the Soviet manned program, though now out of date due to the flood of revelations since Glasnost and the end of the cold war. More at amazon.com...

• JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Accessed at: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.

• USAF Satellite Database, USAF Institute of Technology, 1995. Accessed at: ftp://archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space/.

• Furniss, Tim, Manned Spaceflight Log, Jane's, London, 1986. ISBN: 0710604025. Summary of all manned spaceflights up to 1986. Pre-Glasnost, so many 'war stories' of Soviet manned spaceflight are not included. More at amazon.com...

• Oberg, James, Red Star in Orbit, Random House, New York, 1981. ISBN: 0394514297. Oberg's book was, at its time, the most accurate, and still the most lively account of the Soviet manned program. More at amazon.com...

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.