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Soyuz 16

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This article is about a 1974 spaceflight. For the mission identified by NASA as ISS Soyuz 16, seeSoyuz TMA-12.

Soyuz 16
Mission typeTest flight forASTP mission
OperatorSoviet space program
COSPAR ID1974-096AEdit this at Wikidata
SATCATno.07561
Mission duration5 days 22 hours 23 minutes 35 seconds
Orbits completed95
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz 7K-TM No.4
Spacecraft typeSoyuz 7K-TM
ManufacturerNPO Energia
Launch mass6680 kg[1]
Landing mass1200 kg
Crew
Crew size2
MembersAnatoly Filipchenko
Nikolai Rukavishnikov
CallsignБуран(Buran- "Blizzard" )
Start of mission
Launch date2 December 1974, 09:40:00UTC
RocketSoyuz-U
Launch siteBaikonur,Site 1/5[2]
End of mission
Landing date8 December 1974, 08:03:35 UTC
Landing site30 km of the northeast ofArkalyk,Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[3]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude177.0 km
Apogee altitude223.0 km
Inclination51.7°
Period88.4 minutes

Salyut program insignia

Soyuz 16(Russian:Союз 16,Union 16) was a December, 1974, crewed test flight for a jointSoviet-United Statesspace flightwhich culminated in theApollo–Soyuzmission in July 1975. The two-man Soviet crew,Anatoly FilipchenkoandNikolai Rukavishnikov,tested a docking ring and other systems to be used in the joint flight.

Crew

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Position Cosmonaut
Commander Soviet UnionAnatoly Filipchenko
Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer Soviet UnionNikolai Rukavishnikov
Second spaceflight

Backup crew

[edit]
Position Cosmonaut
Commander Soviet UnionVladimir Dzhanibekov
Flight Engineer Soviet UnionBoris Andreyev

Reserve crew

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Position Cosmonaut
Commander Soviet UnionYuri Romanenko
Flight Engineer Soviet UnionAleksandr Ivanchenkov

Mission parameters

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  • Mass:6,680 kg (14,730 lb)[1]
  • Perigee:177.0 km (110.0 mi)[3]
  • Apogee:223.0 km (138.6 mi)
  • Inclination:51.7°
  • Period:88.4 minutes

Background

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The Soyuz 16 mission was the final rehearsal and first crewed mission in a program which culminated in theApollo–Soyuz(ASTP) mission seven months later.[4]TheSoviet Unionand the United States,Cold Warrivals, had signed severalarms controltreaties in the 1960s and 1970s, and had entered into a period ofdetenteby the early 1970s. In 1972, a treaty was signed to participate in a joint crewed space flight as a symbol of this detente.[5]

Early concepts for a joint flight included the docking of aSoyuzcraft to the AmericanSkylabspace station, or anApollo vehicledocking with aSalyutspace station. Once the Americans abandoned their Skylab station in 1974, the Apollo-Salyut concept seemed to be the logical choice, but since the Soviets had started to develop a universal docking adapter for the mission and feared having to publicly reveal details of their military-focused Salyut missions, the two powers opted to link a Soyuz spacecraft with an Apollo spacecraft.[5]

Three test flights of an uncrewed version of theASTPspacecraft were flown:Kosmos 638,launched 3 April 1974;Kosmos 652,launched 15 May 1974; andKosmos 672,launched 12 August 1974. These three flights, and Soyuz 16, were all launched with an improved version of aSoyuz booster.[5]

Mission highlights

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In an unprecedented move, Soviet planners offered to inform theirNASAcounterparts of the time of the launch, as long as they did not reveal that time to the press. NASA officials refused to agree to that condition and, accordingly, were informed of the launch an hour after it occurred, on 2 December 1974.[4]

During the flight,CosmonautsAnatoly FilipchenkoandNikolai Rukavishnikovtested the androgynous docking system to be used for the ASTP mission by retracting and extending a simulated 20 kg American docking ring.[4][5]The crew also tested modified environmental systems, newsolar panelsand improved control systems, as well as a newradardocking system.Air pressurewas reduced from 760 mm to 540 mm andoxygenraised from 20% to 40% to test reducing the planned transfer time to Apollo from two to one hour.[5]On 7 December 1974, the docking ring was jettisoned withexplosive boltsto test emergency measures if the capture latches got stuck during the ASTP flight.

The craft landed 8 December 1974, nearArkalykand was hailed a complete success.[5]The mission duration, six days, matched the ASTP mission duration to within 10 minutes.[4]

References

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  1. ^ab"Display: Soyuz 16 1974-096A".NASA. 14 May 2020.Retrieved11 October2020.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  2. ^"Baikonur LC1".Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2009.Retrieved4 March2009.
  3. ^ab"Trajectory: Soyuz 16 1974-096A".NASA. 14 May 2020.Retrieved11 October2020.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  4. ^abcdClark, Phillip (1988).The Soviet Manned Space Program.New York: Orion Books, a division of Crown Publishers, Inc.ISBN0-517-56954-X.
  5. ^abcdefNewkirk, Dennis (1990).Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight.Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company.ISBN0-87201-848-2.
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