This article is about the 1969 mission. For the mission identified by NASA as ISS Soyuz 7, see
Soyuz TMA-3.
| Soyuz 7 |
Mission insignia
 |
| Mission statistics |
| Mission name |
Soyuz 7 |
| Spacecraft mass |
6,570 kg (14,500 lb) |
| Crew size |
3 |
| Call sign |
Буран (Buran - "Blizzard") |
| Launch pad |
Gagarin's Start[1] |
| Launch date |
October 12, 1969 10:44:42 (1969-10-12T10:44:42) UTC |
| Landing |
October 17, 1969 09:25:05 (1969-10-17T09:25:06) UTC
155 km (96 mi) NW of Karaganda |
| Mission duration |
4d/22:40:23 |
| Number of orbits |
80 |
| Apogee |
223 km (139 mi) |
| Perigee |
210 km (130 mi) |
| Orbital period |
88.8 min |
| Orbital inclination |
51.7° |
| Related missions |
|
|
Soyuz 7 (Russian: Союз 7, Union 7) was part of a joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 8 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying seven cosmonauts.
The crew consisted of commander Anatoly Filipchenko, flight-engineer Vladislav Volkov and research-cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko, whose mission was to dock with Soyuz 8 and transfer crew, as the Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 missions did. Soyuz 6 was to film the operation from nearby.
However, this objective was not achieved due to equipment failures. Soviet sources later claimed that no docking had been intended, but this seems unlikely, given the docking adapters carried by the spacecraft, and the fact that the Soyuz 8 crew were both veterans of the previous successful docking mission. This was the last time that the Soviet manned Moon landing hardware was tested in orbit, and the failure seems to have been one of the final nails in the coffin of the programme.
The radio call sign of the spacecraft was Buran, meaning blizzard, which years later was re-used as the name of the entirely different spaceplane Buran. This word is apparently used as the name of an active or aggressive squadron in Soviet military training, and, just like the Soyuz 4, it was constructed and trained to be the active or male spacecraft in its docking. Further, the word was probably chosen as it begins with the second letter of the alphabet.
[edit] Backup Crew
[edit] Reserve Crew
[edit] Mission parameters
- Mass: 6,570 kg (14,500 lb)
- Perigee: 210 km (130 mi)
- Apogee: 223 km (139 mi)
- Inclination: 51.7°
- Period: 88.8 min
[edit] References
