Soyuz T-14

Soyuz T-14 (Russian: Союз Т-14, Union T-14) was the ninth expedition to Salyut 7. The mission relieved Soyuz T-13, whose crew had performed unprecedented repairs aboard the previously-dead station.[1]

Soyuz T-14
COSPAR ID1985-081A
SATCAT no.16051
Mission duration64 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes, 8 seconds
Orbits completed1,021
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-T
ManufacturerNPO Energia
Launch mass6,850 kilograms (15,100 lb)
Crew
Crew size3
MembersVladimir Vasyutin
Alexander Volkov
LaunchingGeorgi Grechko
LandingViktor Savinykh
CallsignЧегет (Cheget – "Mount Cheget")
Start of mission
Launch dateSeptember 17, 1985, 12:38:52 (1985-09-17UTC12:38:52Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-U2
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing dateNovember 21, 1985, 10:31:00 (1985-11-21UTC10:32Z) UTC
Landing site180 kilometres (110 mi) SE of Dzhezkazgan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude196 kilometres (122 mi)
Apogee altitude223 kilometres (139 mi)
Inclination51.6 degrees
Period88.7 minutes
Docking with Salyut 7
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)
 

Crew
Position Launching crew Landing crew
Commander Soviet Union Vladimir Vasyutin
Only spaceflight
Flight Engineer Soviet Union Georgi Grechko
Third and last spaceflight		 Soviet Union Viktor Savinykh
Second spaceflight
Research Cosmonaut Soviet Union Alexander Volkov
First spaceflight

Backup crew
Position Crew
Commander Soviet Union Aleksandr Viktorenko
Flight Engineer Soviet Union Gennady Strekalov
Research Cosmonaut Soviet Union Yevgeni Saley

Mission parameters
  • Mass: 6,850 kg (15,100 lb)
  • Perigee: 196 km (122 mi)
  • Apogee: 223 km (139 mi)
  • Inclination: 51.6°
  • Period: 88.7 minutes

Mission highlights

Soyuz T-14 demonstrated the wisdom of maintaining a Soyuz at Salyut 7 as an emergency medical evacuation vehicle: the mission commander Vasyutin fell ill which forced an early termination of the planned 6-month mission.

The main goals of the mission was to receive Cosmos 1686, a modified TKS, and conduct spacewalks with application to future space stations.[2] The first goal was achieved on October 2. Cosmos 1686 contained 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) of freight, including large items like a girder to be assembled outside Salyut 7, and the Kristallizator materials processing apparatus. However, the crew of Soyuz T-14 were unable to achieve their second goal. By late October Vasyutin was no longer helping with experiments because he was ill.

On November 13 the cosmonauts began scrambling their communications with the TsUP. Return to Earth occurred soon after. Sources at NASA have reported that psychologists with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency cited Soyuz T-14 as ending prematurely due to "mood and performance issues" with the crew.[3] Vasyutin's illness is said to have been caused by a prostate infection or urinary tract infection,[4] which had manifested itself as inflammation and a fever.[5]

References
  1. Yenne, Bill (1988). The Pictorial History of World Spaceflight. Exeter. pp. 182–189. ISBN 0-7917-0188-3.
  2. D. S. F. Portree (1995). "Mir Hardware Heritage" (PDF). NASA. pp. 52, 101. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-07-09.
  3. Burrough, Bryan (1998). Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir. HarperCollins. p. 185. ISBN 0-88730-783-3.
  4. "Soyuz T-14". Spacefacts.
  5. Harland, David Michael; Catchpole, John (March 2002). Creating the International Space Station. Springer. p. 416. ISBN 1-85233-202-6.
  • Hendrickx, Bart (March 2011). "Illness in Orbit" (PDF). Spaceflight. pp. 104–109. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
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