Soyuz 27

Soyuz 27 (Russian: Союз 27, Union 27) was a 1978 Soviet manned spacecraft which flew to the orbiting Salyut 6 space station, during the mission EP-1. It was the third manned flight to the station, and the second successful docking. Once docked, it marked the first time that three spacecraft were docked together.

The main function of the EP-1 mission was to swap Soyuz craft with the orbiting crew, in so doing freeing a docking port for a forthcoming supply tanker. Cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Oleg Makarov returned to earth in the Soyuz 26 spacecraft after spending five days on the station.