 | Almaz right exterior Credit - © Mark Wade
| 7 February 1977 16:12 GMT. Landing Date: 1977-02-25 09:37:58. Flight Time: 17.73 days. Flight Up: Soyuz 24. Flight Back: Soyuz 24. Call Sign: Terek (Terek - river in the Caucasus). Crew: Glazkov, Gorbatko. Backup Crew: Berezovoi, Lisun. Support Crew: Kozelsky, Preobrazhensky. Program: Almaz. Of note: First complete change of cabin atmosphere for a space station. Soyuz 24 docked with Salyut 5 and brought repair equipment and equipment for a change of cabin atmosphere. This special apparatus was designed to allow the entire station to be vented through the EVA airlock. Because of this the planned EVA was cancelled. However analysis after arrival showed no toxins in the air. The crew changed the cabin air anyway, then returned to earth. The mission, although a short 18 days, was characterised as a busy and successful mission, accomplishing nearly as much as the earlier Soyuz 21's 50 day mission. The Soyuz was recovered February 25, 1977 9:38 GMT 37 km NE Arkalyk. Soyuz 24 Chronology - 1977 Feb 7 - Soyuz 24 Crew: Glazkov, Gorbatko. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T/A9. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T(A9) s/n 66. Mass: 6,800 kg (14,900 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Duration: 17.73 days. Perigee: 226 km (140 mi). Apogee: 264 km (164 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 89.30 min.
Soyuz 24 docked with Salyut 5 and brought repair equipment and equipment for a change of cabin atmosphere. This special apparatus was designed to allow the entire station to be vented through the EVA airlock. Because of this the planned EVA was cancelled. However analysis after arrival showed no toxins in the air. The crew changed the cabin air anyway, then returned to earth. The mission, although a short 18 days, was characterised as a busy and successful mission, accomplishing nearly as much as the earlier Soyuz 21's 50 day mission.
Bibliography and Further Reading - 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...
- 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 By far the best account of the Soviet manned program, though now out of date due to the flood of revelations since Glasnost and the end of the cold war.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...
- 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.
|