Soyuz 38

Soyuz 38 was a human spaceflight mission carried out by the Soviet Union in September 1980. The Soyuz spacecraft traveled to the Salyut 6 space station, carrying two crew members for a visit. One of these crew members was an Intercosmos cosmonaut from Cuba, showing international cooperation in space exploration during that time. The mission helped continue important research and work far above Earth.

Crew

Soyuz 38 was a space mission done by the Soviet Union in September 1980. It carried two people to the Salyut 6 space station. One of these people was from Cuba as part of a program to let people from different countries join space missions.

Mission parameters

The Soyuz 38 mission had a mass of 6800 kg. It traveled as low as 199.7 kilometers and as high as 273.5 kilometers above Earth. The spacecraft's path was tilted at an angle of 51.63 degrees, and it completed one orbit around Earth every 88.194 minutes.

Mission highlights

Soyuz 38 was the 12th expedition to the Salyut 6 space station and the 7th international crew. It carried an astronaut from Cuba as part of the Intercosmos program. The spacecraft docked in darkness, and the crew on the space station could only see its "headlights" as it approached.

The mission aimed to carry out nine experiments. The crew studied brain activity using special helmets with silver electrodes and tape recorders. They also wore special shoes to examine changes in foot structure and motion during weightlessness. The crew worked with Cuban scientists to study blood and urine samples, looking at the effects of stress and long hours in space. Other experiments focused on muscle changes, blood circulation, and how the body loses water and minerals in space. They also studied how cells and the immune system are affected by weightlessness and looked at the growth of a single crystal in space.