Impossible Rescue of Space Station After Power Failure | Salyut 7

During one of its orbits, a Soviet space station suffered an electrical failure, and all contact with the ground station was lost. Fortunately, at the time of this incident, no crew was onboard the space station known as Salyut 7. However, the power failure led to the station spinning out of control and drifting off its orbit.

This became one of the most critical moments in the history of the Soviet space program. A spacecraft weighing tons, traveling at 27,000 km/h, uncontrolled, was nothing short of a time bomb. Every attempt to regain control failed. But then, something happened that made the Soviet Union proud.

During the Cold War, the US and USSR were engaged in a race to demonstrate technological superiority. While billions of dollars were spent, many technologies we still benefit from today—like the internet, jet aircraft, and GPS—emerged from this period.

One of the fiercest competitions between the two superpowers was the space race. In the 1970s, both countries launched space stations: the Soviets named theirs Salyut, while the US launched Skylab. These stations were small and designed for short-term research. The real challenge was: Who could keep humans in space the longest?

So intense was the rivalry that while the US called their space travelers "astronauts," the Soviets coined a new term—"cosmonauts."

By the 1980s, the Soviets decided to leap ahead by constructing a massive space station called Mir. But while it was still under development, they launched Salyut 7 to maintain their space presence.

Salyut 7 featured front and rear docking ports so another spacecraft could dock during orbit, allowing crew rotation and resupply missions.

It was launched on April 19, 1982, and the first crew boarded on May 13, staying for a record-breaking 211 days. They launched a 28 kg satellite—the first communications satellite deployed from a manned spacecraft.

The first year went well, but issues soon began. In September 1983, a fuel tank registered zero pressure—a clear sign of a leak. A tiny puncture in space can be deadly because the vacuum will suck everything out. The leak was located outside the station.

Due to tool shortages, the ground station sent a new spacecraft just to deliver tools and an extra crew. Using special tools and orbital welding, they patched the leak—an extremely complex task.

In 1984, the crew returned to Earth via Soyuz, and the station was left on autopilot, monitored remotely. But on February 11, 1985, all contact was lost. An electrical surge had occurred, and after a second surge, the station went completely silent and off-orbit—a critical moment for the Soviets.

A 16-meter-long station, dark and drifting—this was a perfect opportunity for the US to try to capture it using their space shuttle, and become global heroes. The USSR couldn’t allow that. Their Buran shuttle was not ready yet, so they had only one risky option: send a crew to manually rescue and dock with a dead spacecraft.

This was incredibly dangerous. They would have to track a free-floating space station, match its orbit manually, and dock—all without any onboard assistance.

On June 6, 1985, the Soyuz rescue mission launched, equipped with laser range finders and night vision goggles for docking in darkness.

After two days, the crew approached Salyut 7. First observation: solar panels were misaligned—confirming total electrical failure. Solar panels usually track the Sun using actuators, which were now dead.

Using the laser rangefinder, the cosmonauts aligned their spacecraft with Salyut 7, matched its rotation, and slowly approached. They successfully docked manually—an incredible feat.

But the real danger lay inside. As they opened the hatch, a blast of freezing air hit them. With no power, the interior heating was off. Everything was frozen. The temperature inside had dropped to -150°C—far beyond its design limits.

Wearing thermal gear, they entered one by one, using air quality testers. Carbon monoxide levels were dangerously high, hinting at a fire. With poor ventilation, even breathing became hazardous.

They rationed food and water—barely enough for 12 days—but the repair could take longer. While troubleshooting the electrical system, they discovered the failure was caused by a single faulty sensor—it was supposed to prevent overcharging but ended up blocking battery charging completely, draining all power.

Once the sensor was replaced and solar panels were realigned, to everyone’s shock—Salyut 7 came back to life. It continued functioning for another full year.

By then, the Soviets had launched the much larger Mir space station, but they chose to keep Salyut 7 in orbit. Mir’s crew even docked with Salyut 7 in a station-to-station transfer, setting another world record.

To preserve it further, they boosted it to a 475 km higher orbit. But after the USSR collapsed in 1991, with no funding or focus, Salyut 7’s orbit decayed. Eventually, it reentered Earth’s atmosphere uncontrollably, breaking up over South America.

And so, the last chapter of the Soviet Salyut space station program came to an end.