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Klimuk Lebedev

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Soyuz 13 Credit - © Mark Wade

18 December 1973 11:55 GMT. Landing Date: 1973-12-26 08:50:35. Flight Time: 7.87 days. Flight Up: Soyuz 13. Flight Back: Soyuz 13. Call Sign: Kavkas (Caucasus ). Crew: Klimuk, Lebedev. Backup Crew: Vorobyov, Yazdovsky. Program: Salyut.

Of note: First Byelorussian astronaut. First space mission devoted to a single scientific instrument. A unique flight of the 7K-T/AF modification of the Soyuz spacecraft. The orbital module was dominated by the large Orion 2 astrophysical camera. The crew conducted astrophysical observations of stars in the ultraviolet range. Additional experiments included spectrozonal photography of specific areas of the earth's surface, and continued testing of space craft's on-board systems. Recovered December 26, 1973 8:50 GMT. Landed in snowstorm 200 km SW Karaganda.

After the Soyuz 11 disaster, the Soyuz underwent redesign for increased reliability. Two solo test flights of the new design were planned. The second mission would include installation of a large astrophyscial camera. Crews for the second mission, Soyuz-13, were first named in July 1973: Vorobyev/Yazdovskiy (Prime); Klimuk/Sevastyanov (Backup); Kovalenok/Ponomarev (Support). These assignments were changed a month later to: Vorobyev/Yazdovskiy(Prime); Klimuk/Ponomarev (Backup); Kovalenok/Sevastyanov (Support). They were again revised in September 1973 to Vorobyev/Yazdovskiy (Prime); Klimuk/Lebedev (Backup); Kovalenok/Ponomarev (Support). But just before launch Klimuk/Lebedev were named as the prime crew. Maneuver Summary:
189km X 247km orbit to 186km X 255km orbit. Delta V: 2 m/s
186km X 255km orbit to 223km X 256km orbit. Delta V: 10 m/s
Total Delta V: 12 m/s.

• 1973 Dec 18 - Soyuz 13  Crew: Klimuk, Lebedev. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T s/n 33A. Mass: 6,560 kg (14,460 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511. Duration: 7.87 days. Perigee: 188 km (116 mi). Apogee: 247 km (153 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 88.80 min.

  A unique flight of the 7K-T/AF modification of the Soyuz spacecraft. The orbital module was dominated by the large Orion 2 astrophysical camera. The crew conducted astrophysical observations of stars in the ultraviolet range. Additional experiments included spectrozonal photography of specific areas of the earth's surface, and continued testing of space craft's on-board systems.

• 1973 Dec 26 - Landing of Soyuz 13 

  Soyuz 13 landed at 08:50 GMT in a snowstorm, 200 km SW of Karaganda.

• 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...

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• 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.

• 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...

• Turnill, Reginald,, The Observer's Spaceflight Directory, Frederick Warne, London, 1978. ISBN: 0723220514. Good miniature encyclopaedia of space programs just before the shuttle started flying. More at amazon.com...

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