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Launch SuccessfulSoviet Space Program

Soyuz-U: Soyuz 40

Soyuz 40 was the 16th and final mission to visit the Salyut 6 space station. It carried the the EP-10 crew, which visited the long-duration Soyuz T-4 resident crew. The mission began on May 14, 1981, 17:16:38 UTC, launching Commander Leonid Popov and Research Cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu, the first Romanian cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their 7-day stay on the station, EP-10 crew conducted Earth observation, material, medical and other experiments, including Earth magnetic field and space radiation study. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on May 22, 1981, 13:58:30 UTC.

Thursday, 14 May 198117:16 UTC
Soyuz-U: Soyuz 40

Mission Data

Soviet Space Program
🇷🇺Soviet Space ProgramEst. 1931
Launch VehicleSoyuz U
Vehicle FamilySoyuz
Vehicle Record694 of 714 launches (97.2%)
Provider TypeGovernment
Agency Record2288 successes / 168 failures (93%)
Success Streak17 consecutive
ProgramSoyuz · Human Spaceflight
Mission TypeHuman Exploration
Target OrbitLow Earth Orbit
Launch Pad1/5
Location🇰🇿 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan KAZ
Orbital Launches This Year#44
Agency Launches This Year#37
Launches From This Pad487
Launches From This Site1,565
Status Note

The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).

Launch Site

1/5 · 45.9200°N 63.3420°E

Launch data from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs.