Soyuz 4
Model of Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 after performing the first docking of two manned spacecraft on 16 January 1969
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| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet space program |
| COSPAR ID | 1969-004A |
| Mission duration | 2 days, 23 hours, 20 minutes, 47 seconds |
| Orbits completed | 48 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-OK(A) |
| Manufacturer | Experimental Design Bureau OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 6,625 kilograms (14,606 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 1 up 3 down |
| Members | Vladimir Shatalov |
| Landing |
Aleksei Yeliseyev Yevgeny Khrunov |
| Callsign |
Амур (Amur - "Amur River") |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 January 1969, 07:30:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz |
| Launch site | Baikonur 31/6 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 17 January 1969, 06:50:47 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 213 kilometers (132 mi) |
| Apogee | 224 kilometers (139 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.7 degrees |
| Period | 88.8 minutes |
| Docking with Soyuz 5 | |
| Docking date | 16 January 1969, 08:20 UTC |
| Undocking date | 16 January 1969, 12:55 UTC |
| Time docked | 4 hours, 35 minutes |
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Soyuz programme
(Manned missions) |
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Soyuz 4 (Russian: Союз 4 Ukrainian: Союз 4, Union 4) was launched on 14 January 1969, carrying cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov on his first flight. The aim of the mission was to dock with Soyuz 5, transfer two crew members from that spacecraft, and return to Earth. The previous three Soyuz flights were also docking attempts but all had failed for various reasons.
The radio call sign of the crew was Amur, while Soyuz 5 was Baikal. This referred to the trans-Siberian railway project called the Baikal-Amur Mainline, which was under construction at the time. The mission presumably served as encouragement to the workers on that project.
The Soyuz 4 and 5 spacecraft docked on 16 January, the first time two manned spacecraft had docked (Apollo 9 would do the same in March of the same year). The two craft possessed only a primitive probe (Soyuz 4) and drogue (Soyuz 5) docking assembly. A connecting tunnel for the docking mechanism had not yet been developed, which prevented a simple internal transfer between the craft. This required the two transferring cosmonauts to spacewalk from one vehicle to the other. Aboard Soyuz 5, Yevgeny Khrunov and Aleksei Yeliseyev immediately began preparing for their extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Boris Volynov, who would remain aboard Soyuz 5, filmed them donning their Yastreb space suits.
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