Soyuz 11

Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11 on a 1971 commemorative stamp of the Soviet Union
Mission typeDock with Salyut 1
OperatorSoviet space program
COSPAR ID1971-053A
SATCAT no.05283
Mission duration23 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes, 43 seconds
Orbits completed383
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz, 7K-T No. 32
Spacecraft typeSoyuz 7K-OKS
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass6,565 kg (14,473 lb)
Landing mass1,200 kg (2,600 lb)
Crew
Crew size3
Members
CallsignЯнтарь (Yantar – "Amber")
Start of mission
Launch date04:55:09, 6 June 1971 (UTC) (1971-06-06T04:55:09Z)
RocketSoyuz
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 1/5
End of mission
Landing date23:16:52, 29 June 1971 (UTC) (1971-06-29T23:16:52Z)
Landing site90 km (56 mi) southwest of Karazhal, Karaganda Oblast, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
(47°21′23″N 70°07′16″E / 47.35639°N 70.12111°E / 47.35639; 70.12111)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude185 km (100 nmi; 115 mi)
Apogee altitude217 km (117 nmi; 135 mi)
Inclination51.6°
Period88.3 minutes
Docking with Salyut 1
Docking date7 June 1971
Undocking date29 June 1971, 18:28 UTC
Time docked22 days

Zvezda Rocket

Left to right: Dobrovolsky, Volkov and Patsayev

Soyuz 11 (Russian: Союз 11, lit.'Union 11') was the only crewed mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971, and departed on 29 June 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurised during preparations for re-entry, killing the three-person crew. The three crew members of Soyuz 11 are the only humans to have died in space.