Soyuz T-13
| COSPAR ID | 1985-043A |
|---|---|
| Mission duration | 112 days, 3 hours, 12 minutes, 6 seconds |
| Orbits completed | 2,645 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz-T |
| Manufacturer | NPO Energia |
| Launch mass | 6,850 kilograms (15,100 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 2 |
| Members | Vladimir Dzhanibekov |
| Launching | Viktor Savinykh |
| Landing | Georgi Grechko |
| Callsign | Pamir (After a mountain range in Central Asia) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 6, 1985, 06:39:52 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U2 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | September 26, 1985, 09:51:58 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 198 kilometres (123 mi) |
| Apogee | 222 kilometres (138 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Period | 88.7 minutes |
| Docking with Salyut 7 | |
|
Soyuz programme
(Manned missions) |
|
Soyuz T-13 was a Soyuz mission, a human spaceflight mission transporting personnel to the Russian space station Salyut 7. The eighth expedition to the orbital station, the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:39:52 UTC on 1985-06-06. It is of note because it marked the first time a spacecraft had docked with a 'dead' space station, and the first time such a station had been returned to operational status following repairs.
Soyuz T-13 was the 8th expedition to Salyut 7.
Vladimir Dzhanibekov could have had no notion that he would so soon visit Salyut 7 after his Soyuz T-12 flight, and what more on the first Soyuz flight to dock manually with an inert space station, as Salyut 7 had been crippled by a solar array problem. For this purpose modifications were made to the Soyuz spacecraft to include control levers for proximity operations. Viktor Savinykh's and Vladimir Dzhanibekov's mission was successful and they were able to salvage the Salyut 7 station. Savinykh remained aloft for 169 days, returning to Earth in Soyuz T-14; Dzhanibekov returned to Earth in Soyuz T-13 with Grechko after spending 110 days on Salyut 7. Before deorbiting, Soyuz T-13 spent about 30 h conducting rendezvous and docking tests.
The effort to salvage Salyut 7 was in the words of author David S. F. Portree "one of the most impressive feats of in-space repairs in history". As the crew approached the inert station, they saw that its solar arrays were pointing randomly as it rolled slowly about its long axis. They used a handheld laser rangefinder to judge their distance, and conducted a fly-around inspection to be certain the exterior was intact. Dzhanibekov noted that the thermal blankets on the transfer compartment had turned a dull gray from prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Dzhanibekov piloted his ship to intercept the forward port of Salyut 7, matched the station's rotation and achieved soft dock with the station. Upon achieving hard dock—the only time a spacecraft has docked with an inert space station—the crew confirmed through the electrical connectors in the docking collars that the Salyut 7 electrical system was dead. They carefully sampled the air in the station before opening the hatch. The station air was very cold, but breathable. Frost covered the walls and apparatus. The cosmonauts wore winter garb, including fur-lined hats, as they entered the station.
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