Soyuz 33
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| Mission statistics | |
|---|---|
| Mission name: | Soyuz 33 |
| Call sign: | Saturn |
| Number of crew members: | 2 |
| Launch: | April 10, 1979 17:34:34 UTC Baikonur LC1 |
| Landing: | April 12, 1979 16:35:40 UTC 320 km SE of Dzhezkazgan |
| Duration: | 1 days, 23 h, 1 min, 6 s |
| Number of Orbits: | 31 |
The Soyuz 33 mission was intended to dock with Salyut 6 but failed to do so due to an engine malfunction.
When approaching to within 4km of the station the engine was fired for a planned 6 second burn, but it shut down after 3 seconds and the Igla docking system also shut down. The Proton crew on the Salyut 6 reported flames shooting out of the main engine and towards the back-up engine at the time of the shutdown. The docking was called off and the craft began its return to earth.
During the descent to earth the back-up engine did not shut down at the end of the planned 188 second burn. Since it was not clear if the engine had operated at its correct thrust Rukavishnikov let it burn for a further 25 seconds before shutting it down manually. As a result of this Soyuz 33 made a steep ballistic reentry and experienced accelerations of up to 10G (98 m/s²). Examination of the engine was impossible and the service module was discarded after the mission.
[edit] Crew
- Nikolay Rukavishnikov (3)
- Georgi Ivanov - Bulgaria (1)
[edit] Mission parameters
- Mass: 6860 kg
- Perigee: 198.6 km
- Apogee: 279.2 km
- Inclination: 51.63°
- Period: 88.99 minutes
[edit] Mission highlights
- Intercosmos mission to Salyut 6 with Bulgarian cosmonaut.
- Failed to dock with Salyut 6 due to main engine fault.
- Retro burn with reserve engine.
- Reentry acceleration of 10 G (98 m/s²).
| Preceded by Soyuz 32 |
Soyuz programme | Succeeded by Soyuz 34 |
