SPACE — On December 26, 1974, the Soviet Union’s space station, Salyut 4, was launched into orbit around the Earth. Salyut 4 is a small space station the size of a school bus.
Salyut 4 is nearly identical to its sister space station DOS 3, which failed to reach orbit. Because of this, Salyut 4 became the first space station made by humans.
Salyut 4 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and entered orbit 217 miles above Earth. The first mission to the station, Soyuz 17, arrived about two weeks after Salyut 4 launched. The first two cosmonauts to visit Salyut 4 spent 29 days aboard.
A few months later, a second Soyuz crew (18) was launched to the space station, but they never got there. The spacecraft failed to reach orbit, but fortunately both cosmonauts survived.
Also Read: Today’s History: The Soviet Union’s Space Station Falls to Earth
Just seven weeks later, the third crew (19) successfully launched onto Salyut 4, and they ended up staying for 63 days. After they left, Salyut 4 remained in orbit for a year and a half before deorbiting and burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. Source: Space.com
2023-12-26 14:36:00
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