Today is (roughly, depending on your timezone) the 47th anniversary of the launch of #Soyuz 9. This mission was launched in preparation for the #Salyut space station missions which would launch in the following year. The scientific goal was to investigate the physiological and psychological effects on the crew of a long term stay in space, while the political goal was to re-take the space endurance record set by the US five years earlier when the crew of #Gemini 7 spent just short of 14 days in space. The two-person Soyuz 9 crew stayed 18 days, setting a new record which remains the longest stay in space achieved using a single vehicle. After a safe reentry and landing, the cosmonauts had to be helped out of the descent module and had difficulty walking for days afterward as they re-adapted to Earth's gravity. #spacehistory #sovietspace https://gnusocial.no/attachment/537816

Today is (roughly, depending on your timezone) the 46th anniversary of the launch of #Soyuz 11. Following the earlier failure of Soyuz 10 to dock with #Salyut 1, Soyuz 11 docked successfully with the world's first space station. The three cosmonauts remained on the station for 22 days, setting a space endurance record and gathering valuable experience relating to long-term living in space. The mission ended in tragedy when the descent module depressurised in orbit during preparations for reentry, resulting in the rapid asphyxiation of the crew. The descent module subsequently reentered under automatic control. Recovery crews were shocked to find the crew dead, having attributed the lack of contact to a radio fault. The deaths of the Soyuz 11 crew remain to date the only deaths to have occurred in space, as opposed to during launch or reentry. #spacehistory #sovietspace https://gnusocial.no/attachment/533936