Salyut 3

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**Salyut 3**
Mission Insignia
Image:Salyut insignia.jpg
Mission Statistics
Mission Name:	Salyut 3
Call Sign:	Salyut 3
Launch:	June 25, 1974 22:38:00 UTC Baikonur, U.S.S.R
Reentry:	January 24, 1975
Crews:	1
Occupied:	15 days
In Orbit:	213 days
Number of Orbits:	3,442
Apogee:	168 mi (270 km)
Perigee:	136 mi (219 km)
Period:	89.1 min
Inclination	51.6 deg
Distance Traveled:	~86,763,251 mi (~139,631,918 km)
Orbital Mass:	18,500 kg
Salyut 3

Salyut 3 was launched on June 25, 1974. It was another Almaz military space station, this one launched successfully, included in the Salyut program to disguise its true purpose.

Image:Salyut 3 on launch pad.jpg

Image:Salyut 3 diagram.png

It attained an altitude of 219 to 270 km on launch and its final orbital altitude was 268 to 272 km. Salyut 3 had a total mass of about 18 to 19 tons. It had two solar panels laterally mounted on the center of the station and a retractable recovery module for the return of research data and materials. Only one of the three intended crews successfully boarded and manned the station, brought by Soyuz 14; Soyuz 15 attempted to bring a second crew but failed to dock. Nevertheless, Salyut 3 was an overall success.

It tested a wide variety of reconnaissance sensors; on September 23, 1974, the station's recovery module was released and re-entered, being recovered by the Soviets. On January 24, 1975 trials of the on-board 23 mm Nudelmann aircraft cannon (other sources say it was a Nudelmann NR-30 30 mm gun) were conducted with positive results at ranges from 3000 m to 500 m. Cosmonauts have confirmed that a target satellite was destroyed in the test. The next day, the station was ordered to deorbit.

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