Soyuz 23

Soyuz 23
Commemoration stamp of Vyacheslav Zudov and Valery Rozhdestvensky
OperatorSoviet space program
COSPAR ID1976-100A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.09477
Mission duration2 days 6 minutes 35 seconds
Orbits completed32
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz 7K-T No.10
Spacecraft typeSoyuz 7K-T/A9
ManufacturerNPO Energia
Launch mass6750 kg [1]
Landing mass1200 kg
Crew
Crew size2
MembersVyacheslav Zudov
Valery Rozhdestvensky
CallsignРадон (Radon - "Radon")
Start of mission
Launch date14 October 1976, 17:39:18 UTC
RocketSoyuz
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 1/5[2]
End of mission
Landing date16 October 1976, 17:45:53 UTC
Landing siteLake Tengiz, Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[3]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude243.0 km
Apogee altitude275.0 km
Inclination51.6°
Period89.5 minutes

Vimpel Diamond patch

Soyuz 23 (Russian: Союз 23, Union 23) was an October 1976, Soviet crewed space flight, the second to the Salyut 5 space station. Cosmonauts Vyacheslav Zudov and Valery Rozhdestvensky arrived at the station, but an equipment malfunction did not allow docking and the mission had to be aborted.[4]

The crew returned to Earth, but landed on partially frozen Lake Tengiz, the first crewed splashdown in the Soviet space program. While there was no concern about any immediate threat to the crew, the capsule sank under the surface of the frozen lake, and recovery took nine hours owing to fog and other adverse conditions. The landing marked the only example of an unintentional splashdown of a crewed spacecraft to date.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Display was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Baikonur LC1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Trajectory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-23.htm