Salyut 1

Salyut 1 (DOS-1)

Salyut 1 as seen from the departing Soyuz 11
Station statistics
COSPAR ID	1971-032A
SATCAT no.	05160
Call sign	Salyut 1
Crew	3
Launch	April 19, 1971, 01:40:00 (1971-04-19UTC01:40) UTC[1]
Carrier rocket	Proton-K No. 254-01
Launch pad	Baikonur, Site 81/24
Reentry	October 11, 1971 (1971-10-12)
Mission status	De-orbited
Mass	18,425 kg (40,620 lb)
Length	~20 m (66 ft)
Diameter	~4 m (13 ft)
Pressurized volume	99 m3 (3,500 cu ft)
Perigee altitude	200 km (124 mi; 108 nmi)
Apogee altitude	222 km (138 mi; 120 nmi)
Orbital inclination	51.6°
Orbital period	88.5 minutes
Days in orbit	175 days
Days occupied	24 days
No. of orbits	2,929
Distance traveled	118,602,524 km (73,696,192 mi)
Configuration
Soyuz docking with Salyut 1

Salyut 1 (Russian: Салют-1, lit. 'Salute 1'), also known as DOS-1 (Durable Orbital Station 1), was the world's first space station. It was launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program subsequently achieved five more successful launches of seven additional stations. The program's final module, Zvezda (DOS-8), became the core of the Russian Orbital Segment of the International Space Station and remains in orbit today.

Salyut 1 was adapted from an Almaz airframe and comprised five components: a transfer compartment, a main compartment, two auxiliary compartments, and the Orion 1 Space Observatory. It was visited by the Soyuz 10 and Soyuz 11 missions. While the crew of Soyuz 10 was able to soft dock, the hard-docking failed, forcing the crew to abort their mission. The Soyuz 11 crew successfully docked, spending 23 days aboard Salyut 1 conducting experiments. The Soyuz 11 crew died of asphyxia caused by a valve failure just before reentry, making them the only humans to have died above the Kármán line.

Following the deaths, the mission of Salyut 1 was terminated, and the station reentered Earth's atmosphere, burning up on October 11, 1971.