Soyuz-U | Soyuz 31
Soviet Space Program · Soyuz U · 1/5, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Soviet Space Program's 1,238th launch · 56th this year · humanity's 2,129th orbital launch attempt
The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
Window: Aug 26, 14:51 – Aug 26, 14:51 UTC
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Soyuz 31
Soyuz 31 was the sixth mission to visit the Salyut 6 space station and carried the the EP-4 crew, which visited the long-duration Soyuz 29 resident crew. The mission began on August 26, 1978, 14:51:30 UTC, launching Commander Valery Bukovsky and Research Cosmonaut/Flight Engineer Sigmund Jähn, the first German cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their stay on the station, crew conducted various scientific experiments. Soyuz 31 crew swapped vehicles with the Soyuz 29 (EO-2 expedition) crew, which allowed for a longer stay in orbit for EO-2. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on September 3, 1978, 11:40:34 UTC.
Human Exploration · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Crew
Valery BykovskyCommander · RFSA
Sigmund JähnResearch Cosmonaut · RFSA
Booster
No booster details available.
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Pad — 1/5
Local pad time: Aug 26, 7:51 PM GMT+5
487 launches from this pad · 1,564 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
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