Soyuz 20 (Russian: Союз 20, Union 20) was an uncrewed spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union. It was a long-duration test of the Soyuz spacecraft that docked with the Salyut 4 space station. Soyuz 20 performed comprehensive checking of improved on-board systems of the spacecraft under various flight conditions. It also carried a biological payload. Living organisms were exposed to three months in space. The primary goal of the mission was to test hardware modifications to the Soyuz 7K-T spacecraft that would extend its operating life from two to three months in preparation for long-duration Salyut crew residencies.
Mission parameters
- Mass: 6,570 kg (14,480 lb) [1]
- Perigee: 199.7 km (124.1 mi)[3]
- Apogee: 263.5 km (163.7 mi)
- Inclination: 51.6°
- Period: 88.8 minutes
Return
It was recovered on 16 February 1976 at 02:24 UTC.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Soyuz 20". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Mark Wade. "Baikonur LC1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Soyuz 20: Trajectory". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Anatoly Zak. "The Salyut Era: First Space Stations". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ Robert Christy. "Salyut 4". Orbital Focus. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
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Uncrewed missions are designated as Kosmos instead of Soyuz; exceptions are noted "(uncrewed)". The † sign designates failed missions. Italics designates cancelled missions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
