Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov (Russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич Ля́хов; 20 July 1941 – 19 April 2018) was a Russian Soviet cosmonaut. He was selected as cosmonaut on 5 May 1967, and retired on 7 September 1994. Lyakhov was the Commander on Soyuz 32, Soyuz T-9, and Soyuz TM-6, and spent 333 days, 7 hours, 47 minutes in space.
Soyuz 32 was the seventh mission to visit the Salyut 6 space station and carried the EO-3 expedition, which was the third long-duration crew for the station. The mission began on February 25, 1979, 11:53:49 UTC, launching Commander Vladimir Lyakhov and Flight Engineer Valery Ryumin into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their 175-day stay on the station, EO-3 crew conducted various scientific experiments, performed an EVA and were visited by three uncrewed Progress cargo spacecrafts and an uncrewed Soyuz 34. Soyuz 32 crew returned to Earth in Soyuz 34 spacecraft, while their own spacecraft returned uncrewed several days later. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on August 19, 1979, 12:29:26 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz T-5 was the second long-duration expedition to the Salyut 7 space station. The mission began on June 27, 1983, 09:12:00 UTC, launching Commander Vladimir Lyakhov and Flight Engineer Aleksandr Aleksandrov into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their 150-day stay on the station, crew carried outd various scientific and medical experiments, performed two EVAs to install additional solar panels on the station, and were visited by 2 uncrewed cargo Progress vehicles. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on November 23, 1983, 19:58:00 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz TM-5 was the fifth mission to Mir space station. The mission began on June 7, 1988, 14:03:13 UTC, launching Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Viktor Savinykh and Research Cosmonaut Aleksandr Aleksandrov into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later, meeting with the long-duration resident crew. During their 7-day stay there, cosmonauts carried out scientific experiments. They returned on a Soyuz TM-4 spacecraft, landing safely back on Earth on June 17, 1988, 10:12:32 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitSoyuz TM-6 was the sixth mission to Mir space station. The mission began on June 7, 1988, 14:03:13 UTC, launching Commander Vladimir Lyakhov, Flight Engineer/Research Doctor Valeri Polyakov and Research Cosmonaut Abdul Mohmand, the first Afghan cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later, meeting with the long-duration resident crew. During their 7-day stay there, cosmonauts performed Earth observation and other tasks. They returned on a Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft, landing safely back on Earth on September 7, 1988, 00:49:38 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitThe Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.