Soyuz 26 was a Soviet human spaceflight launched December 10, 1977. It was the first mission to dock successfully with Salyut 6 and the start of what would be a semi-permanent occupation of space by the Russians. During the flight, the Russians would set several new records as well as for the first time have three spacecraft docked together. And for the first time the Soviets announced that Salyut 6 had two docking ports. On board were Georgi Grechko and Yuri Romanenko. Their callsign for the mission was Taimyr (Taimyr - Russian peninsula). December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... It has been suggested that leap second be merged into this article or section. ... Map showing Baikonurs location in Kazakhstan. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... The Soyuz human spaceflight programme was initiated in the early 1960s as part of the manned lunar programme that was intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Russian: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem(s): The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital Moscow Largest city Moscow Official language(s) None; Russian de facto Government Federation of Soviet Republics  - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev  - Last Premier Ivan Silayev... Edward White on a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission Human spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers, which is in contrast to robotic space probes or remotely-controlled unmanned space missions. ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Salyut 6 was a Soviet space station launched on September 29, 1977. ... Georgi Mikhailovich Grechko (Russian: Георгий Михайлович Гречко; born May 25, 1931 in Leningrad) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on three space flights: Soyuz 17, Soyuz 26, and Soyuz T-14. ... Roman Yurievich Romanenko (Major, Russian Air Force) (born August 9, 1971, in Schelkovo, near Moscow) is a test-cosmonaut at the Yu. ...

The timing of the flight itself was risky. It was the first opportunity after the failure of Soyuz 25. The crew would also have to stay in space over the winter, when there was the worst weather in the launch and landing site. The first flight to Salyut 6 could not dock so one of the first tasks of the Soyuz 26 crew was to perform an EVA to inspect the docking apparatus on the station to make sure that they were not faulty or damaged. The EVA was done on their ninth day in orbit. This was the first EVA by the Russians since 1969 and would be the first use of the Orlan spacesuits which are still used today on the International Space Station. The other objective of the EVA was to test to new suits. Vladimir Kovalyonok (1) Valery Ryumin (1) Mass: 6860 kg Perigee: 198. ... Astronaut Bruce McCandless on an untethered EVA Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of his or her spacecraft. ... Peggy A. Whitson, Expedition Five flight engineer, in an Orlan-M space suit as she prepares for an EVA. (NASA) The Orlan space suits are a series of semi-rigid space suits designed and built by NPP Zvezda for use in the Soviet space program and Russian space program. ... International Space Station insignia ISS Statistics Crew: 3 As of July 21, 2006 Perigee: 352. ...

First the crew entered into the airlock and put on the suits. They then depressurised the airlock Greckho pulled himself half out the airlock so that he could manipulate the docking mechanism with specially designed tools. He carried a colour television camera which sent back to earth pictures of his work. He found that the docking port was in working order, which meant that it was the docking mechanism on Soyuz 25 that was faulty. In all the EVA lasted 1 hour and 28 minutes.

What was not announced by the Soviets at the time was that the EVA almost resulted in the first death in orbit. While in the airlock, Romanenko did not have his safety tether attached and began to float away from the station. Greckho grabbed him by the belt when he saw that he was not attached to the station. In an interview he said that he asked "Yuri, where are you going?" Greckho feels that the incident has been sensationalised by James Oberg in his book to sound more dangerous than it really was as although the safety tether was not attached there was still the electricity/communications umbilical that would have stopped him drifting too far. James Edward Oberg (b. ...

This paved the way for the launch in the new year of Soyuz 27 carrying Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Oleg Makarov. When they docked on January 11, 1978 it was the first time that three spacecraft had been docked together. It was also the first admission that Salyut 6 had two docking ports. The crew spent five days at the station. They then undocked in the Soyuz 26 craft and landed without incident. Crew Launched: Oleg Makarov (3) Vladimir Dzhanibekov (1) Landed: Yuri Romanenko (1) Georgi Grechko (2) Mission Parameters Mass: 6800 kg Perigee: 198. ... Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (Russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков; born May 13, 1942) was a cosmonaut who made five flights. ... Oleg Grigorievich Makarov (Russian: Олег Григорьевич Макаров; January 6, 1933 – May 28, 2003) was a Russian cosmonaut. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Crew

Launched:

• Yuri Romanenko (1)
• Georgi Grechko (2)

Landed: Roman Yurievich Romanenko (Major, Russian Air Force) (born August 9, 1971, in Schelkovo, near Moscow) is a test-cosmonaut at the Yu. ... Georgi Mikhailovich Grechko (Russian: Георгий Михайлович Гречко; born May 25, 1931 in Leningrad) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on three space flights: Soyuz 17, Soyuz 26, and Soyuz T-14. ...

• Vladimir Dzhanibekov (1)
• Oleg Makarov (3)

(1) number of spaceflights each crew member has completed, including this mission. Vladimir Dzhanibekov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (Russian: Владимир Александрович Джанибеков; born May 13, 1942) was a cosmonaut who made five flights. ... Oleg Grigorievich Makarov (Russian: Олег Григорьевич Макаров; January 6, 1933 – May 28, 2003) was a Russian cosmonaut. ...

Mission parameters

• Mass: 6800 kg
• Perigee: 193 km
• Apogee: 246 km
• Inclination: 51.65°
• Period: 88.67 minutes