Soyuz T-3


Soyuz T-3 was launched on 27 November 1980, and carried the 15th expedition to the Salyut 6 space station. The Soyuz T-3 spacecraft was the first Soyuz spacecraft since 1971 that carried three cosmonauts.

Crew

Backup crew

Mission summary

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 abroad 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.
Soyuz T-3 returned to Earth on 11 December 1980, landing west of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakh SSR.