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2.8.3.6 Salyut 7 Principal Expedition 6
Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov
Crew code name—Mayak
Soyuz-T 15, Arrived from Mir – May 6, 1986; Departed for Mir – June 25, 1986.
51 days on Salyut 7
See Mir Principal Expedition 1 note.
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Soyuz-T 15 • Salyut 7 • Cosmos 1686 | May 6-June 25, 1986 | |
| First EVA—girder experiment. Vasyutin’s illness left loose ends on Salyut 7. Most notably, the Chegets were unable to perform EVAs with implications for the Mir program. On May 28 the Mayaks climbed outside to retrieve space exposure experiments and test the Ferma-Postroital (“girder-constructor”) device. A deployment canister converted a folded girder cartridge into a 15-m girder in only a few minutes. The girder was retracted by reversing the process at the end of the EVA. The EVA lasted 3 hr, 50 min.
Second EVA—girder and welding experiments. On May 31 Kizim and Solovyov attached measurement devices to the top of the retracted girder, then re-extended it with an aim toward studying its rigidity. They then used an electron gun to weld several of the girder’s joints. The EVA lasted 5 hr. | |||
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Salyut 7 • Cosmos 1686 | June 25, 1986-February 7, 1991 | |
| Salyut 7 abandoned; reenters after 4 years. The Mayaks removed 20 instruments with a total mass of 350-400 kg from Salyut 7 before returning to Mir. Between August 19 and August 22, engines on Cosmos 1686 boosted Salyut 7 to a record-high mean orbital altitude of 475 km to forestall reentry. Atmospheric drag took its toll, however, and the station reentered over South America 54 mo later. Pieces of Salyut 7 and Cosmos 1686 were found in Argentina. | |||
