Salyut 5

Salyut 5 (Russian: Салют-5 meaning Salute 5), also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited the station, each manned by two cosmonauts. A third Soyuz mission attempted to visit the station, but failed to dock, whilst a fourth mission was planned but never launched. Salyut 5 was an Almaz spacecraft, the last of three to be launched as space stations after Salyut 2 and Salyut 3. Like its predecessors, it was 14.55 metres long, with a maximum diameter of 4.15 metres. It had a habitable interior volume of 100 cubic metres, and a mass at launch of 19,000 kilograms. The station was equipped with a single docking port for Soyuz spacecraft, with the Soyuz 7K-T being the configuration in service at the time. Two solar arrays mounted laterally at the same end of the station as the docking port provided it with power. The station was equipped with a KSI capsule to return research data and materials. Salyut 5 carried Agat, a camera which the crews used to observe the Earth. The German Kristall furnace was used for crystal growth experiments aboard the station.