Soyuz 22
Cosmonauts and Soyuz 22, on a 1976 Soviet stamp | |
| Mission type | Earth science mission |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet space program |
| COSPAR ID | 1976-093A |
| SATCAT no. | 09421 |
| Mission duration | 7 days 21 hours 52 minutes 17 seconds |
| Orbits completed | 127 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-MF6 |
| Manufacturer | NPO Energia |
| Launch mass | 6570 kg |
| Landing mass | 1200 kg |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 2 |
| Members | Valery Bykovsky Vladimir Aksyonov |
| Callsign | Ястреб (Yastreb - "Hawk") |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 15 September 1976, 09:48:30 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U |
| Launch site | Baikonur, Site 1/5 |
| Contractor | NPO Energia |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 23 September 1976, 07:40:47 UTC |
| Landing site | 150 km at the northwest of Tselinograd, Kazakhstan |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 250.0 km |
| Apogee altitude | 280.0 km |
| Inclination | 64.75° |
| Period | 89.6 minutes |
Vimpel Diamond patch | |
Soyuz 22 (Russian: Союз 22, Union 22) was a September 1976, Soviet crewed spaceflight. It was an Earth sciences mission using a modified Soyuz spacecraft, and was also, some observers speculated, a mission to observe NATO exercises near Norway.
The spacecraft was a refurbished Soyuz that had served as a backup for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission the previous year.
Cosmonauts Valery Bykovsky and Vladimir Aksyonov spent a week in orbit photographing the surface of the Earth with a specially-built camera.