Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Soyuz 3
| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Soyuz 3 |
| Call Sign: | Аргон (Argon - "Argon") |
| Number of Crew Members: | 1 |
| Launch: | October 26, 1968 08:34:18 UTC Baikonur LC1 |
| Landing: | October 30, 1968 07:25:03 UTC |
| Duration: | 3 days, 22 h, 50 min, 45 s |
| Number of Orbits: | 64 |
Soyuz 3 was the first manned launch of a Soyuz spacecraft since the accident that killed cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on Soyuz 1. That ill-fated flight had been intended to rendezvous and dock with Soyuz 2; now Soyuz 3 with cosmonaut Georgi Beregovoi would attempt this goal.
Ground controllers were able to bring the two spacecraft within 200 m of one another before Beregovoi took control of the Soyuz to complete the maneuver. Unfortunately, while he was able to close the gap to only one metre, three successive attempts to dock failed. Eventually, almost all of the maneuvering fuel was expended and the objective had to be abandoned. The failure was blamed on Beregovoi's piloting.
The plane crash that killed Yuri Gagarin was during his training for this mission.
Crew
- Georgi Beregovoi (1)
Mission Parameters
- Mass: 6575 kg
- Perigee: 183 km
- Apogee: 205 km
- Inclination: 51.7°
- Period: 88.3 min
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