Soyuz T-13

Key facts

Mission & specifications

Mission

Soyuz T-13 flew one of the most remarkable rescues in the history of spaceflight. In early 1985 the uncrewed Salyut 7 space station suffered a total power failure and fell silent, drifting dead and slowly tumbling in orbit, its systems frozen solid. Rather than abandon a station the size of a small house, the Soviet Union mounted a daring repair mission. On 6 June 1985 the veteran commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov and the engineer Viktor Savinykh launched on Soyuz T-13 and chased down the lifeless station. With Salyut 7 unpowered and broadcasting nothing, there was no automatic system to guide them; Dzhanibekov flew the approach manually and docked by eye with the inert, rotating hulk — a feat never attempted before. Inside they found a frozen, lifeless station, its walls coated in ice. Working in fur-lined suits in the cold and dark, they coaxed it back to life over days, restoring power and warmth as the thawing ice ran down the walls, and returned Salyut 7 to service. It remains a landmark demonstration that astronauts, unlike robots, can save a mission that machines alone would have written off.

1. 1985The rescue launchesLaunch

   Dzhanibekov and Savinykh set out to save the dead, tumbling Salyut 7.

2. 1985Docking with a dead stationMilestone

   With no automatic guidance, they dock by eye with the inert, rotating station — never attempted before.

3. 1985Mission accomplishedMission end

   Salyut 7, thawed and restored to life, is back in service; Dzhanibekov returns.

Images

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