Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Soyuz T-8
| Mission Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Mission Name: | Soyuz T-8 |
| Call Sign: | Okean (Ocean) |
| Number of Crew Members: | 3 |
| Launch: | April 20, 1983 13:10:54 UTC Baikonur LC1 |
| Landing: | April 22, 1982 13:28:42 UTC 60 km NE of Arkalyk |
| Duration: | 2 days 00 hours 17 minutes 48 seconds |
| Number of Orbits: | 32 |
Crew
- Vladimir Titov (1)
- Gennady Strekalov (2)
- Aleksandr Serebrov (2)
Mission Parameters
- Mass: 6850 kg
- Perigee: 200 km
- Apogee: 230 km
- Inclination: 51.6°
- Period: 88.6 minutes
Mission Highlights
Failed to dock with Salyut 7 due to problems with automated docking system.
First failure to dock at a space station since Soyuz 33 in 1979. When the launch shroud separated from the booster, it took with it the rendezvous antenna boom. The crew believed the boom remained attached to the spacecraft’s orbital module, and that it had not locked into place. Accordingly, they shook the spacecraft using its attitude thrusters in an effort to rock it forward so it could lock. The abortive docking attempts consumed much propellant. To ensure that enough would remain to permit deorbit, the cosmonauts shut down the attitude control system and put Soyuz-T 8 into a spinstabilized mode of the type used by Soyuz Ferries in the early 1970s. Landing occurred as normal.
| Previous Mission: Soyuz T-7 |
Soyuz programme | Next Mission: Soyuz T-9 |
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