2.5.2 Salyut 4 Notable Features
- Structural layout very similar to that of Salyut 1. That is, it had a single docking port leading into a transfer compartment, a work compartment divided into smalldiameter and large-diameter sections, and a propulsion and service module based on the Soyuz service module (figure 2-8). It was the last of four DOS-type stations based on hulls from the Almaz program.
- Stroka teleprinter allowed the TsUP to send hardcopy instructions to the Salyut 4 cosmonauts.
- Raketa (“rocket”) vacuum cleaner in transfer compartment.
- Rubberized fabric sleeve in the transfer compartment for providing ventilation to docked Soyuz Ferries.
- Cosmonauts spent a great deal of time conducting astrophysics observations. The large-diameter work compartment was dominated by a conical structure housing, among other things, the OST-1 25-cm solar telescope. It was equipped with a spectrograph and a diffraction spectrometer. The cosmonauts could recoat the mirror by remote control using the Zentis system. The solar telescope lacked a solar events alarm (as had Skylab) to alert the cosmonauts to valuable observation opportunities. The conical housing also held the Filin and RT-4 X-ray telescopes and the ITSK infrared telescope.[1]
- Cosmonauts also spent a great deal of time on experiments with application to closed-cycle life support systems. They cultivated peas and onions in the Oazis plant growth unit. They again tested a water regeneration system, which condensed about a liter of water from the station’s air each day.
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Figure 2-8. Salyut 4, the second DOS station to be manned.
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