The Salyut programme (Russian: Салют, IPA:, meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed military reconnaissance space stations over a period of 15 years, from 1971 to 1986.

On April 19, 1971, the Soviet Union placed into orbit Salyut, the world’s first space station. Designed for a 6-month on orbit operational lifetime, Salyut hosted the crew of Georgi T. Dobrovolski, Vladislav N. Volkov, and Viktor I. Patsayev for a then record-setting 24-day mission.

Salyut 1 (Russian: Салют-1, lit. 'Salute 1'), also known as DOS-1 (Durable Orbital Station 1), was the world's first space station. It was launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program subsequently achieved five more successful

Salyut, any of a series of Soviet space stations (of two designs), launched between 1971 and 1982, that served as living quarters and scientific laboratories or military reconnaissance platforms. The program name Salyut (Russian: “Salute”) was chosen to honour cosmonaut Yury Gagarin’s historic first orbit of Earth in 1961.

Jul 26, 2012 · Despite an array of problems, the first space station, Salyut 1, made important progress toward living and working in space long-term and paved the way for future space stations.

Salyut 6 (Russian: Салют 6, lit. 'Salute 6') was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme, and alternatively known DOS-5 as it was the fifth of the Durable Orbital Station series of civilian space stations. It was launched on 29 …

Mar 25, 2025 · Salyut 1, which was launched April 19, 1971, atop a Proton rocket, was outfitted from the start to support two three-man crews for a total of two months over a six-month period. Although its first designated crew docked five days later in Soyuz 10, the cosmonauts could not open their ferry’s hatch and had to return home.

Oct 23, 2020 · While most Western space enthusiasts remember the American Skylab space station, only some recall the long series of Soviet orbiting labs called the Salyut space stations. The last of these,...

At launch, the announced purpose of Salyut was to test the elements of the systems of a space station and to conduct scientific research and experiments. The craft was described as being 20 m in length, 4 m in maximum diameter, and 99 cubic cm in interior space.

Salyut 1 was followed by three more first- generation DOS-type stations, all based on Almaz components: one which failed to reach orbit in 1972 and received no official public designation (DOS-2), Cosmos 557 (DOS-3), which failed in orbit in 1973, and Salyut 4 (DOS-4) in 1974.10.