Soyuz T-2 - Mission Highlights

Mission Highlights

When the visiting Soyuz 36 Intercosmos crew departed Salyut 6 on 3 June 1980 and the remaining resident crew almost immediately redocked the Soyuz craft left behind, observers speculated the secretive Soviets were possibly planning a second Intercosmos mission. The failure of Soyuz 33 the year before had forced the Soviets to juggle their launch schedule.

A launch indeed was soon in the offing, but not the predicted mission. Soyuz T-2 was launched 5 June with Yuri Malyshev and Vladimir Aksyonov on what turned out to be the first manned mission of the new Soyuz T variant. The craft had new engine systems and could launch three cosmonauts. Additionally, the Soyuz was equipped with a new Argon computer which controlled docking and reentry procedures.

As the craft approached Salyut 6, solar cells, re-introduced to the Soyuz, were tested. The approach was completed automatically, while the final 180 metres were achieved manually on 6 June. The Argon docking computer had failed, leaving the craft perpendicular to the station. The computer failure was later explained as being caused by the crew and controllers failing to have practiced the particular approach the computer chose. The crew had therefore chose to dock manually to be safe; the computer would have successfully docked if allowed to, said the Soviets. However, failures during the automatic approach was a recurring problem in future Soyuz T missions.

During their short stay, Malyshev and Aksyonov seemed to have carried out a minimum of experiments, including participating in some medical tests and using the Salyut's MKF-6M camera. They undocked in the craft they arrived on only two days after first greeting the resident crew. As they left, the Salyut turned around and the Soyuz T-2 crew photographed and visually inspected the space station. The Soyuz then departed and landed about three hours later.