Used for the recovery of Soyuz crews.

This worked well, until an accidental depressurization on entry resulted in the deaths of an entire Soyuz crew.

The Soyuz 24 crew landed after spending 18 days in space, and the Salyut station was de-orbited six months later.

The Soyuz 32 crew was the third long-duration crew to man the space station.

The mission had lasted 175 days, a new endurance record surpassing the 139-day mission by the Soyuz 29 crew in 1978.

On 10 March, the Soyuz 28 crew prepared for their return to Earth, packing experiments and testing systems.

Three days later, the Soyuz 10 crew attempted to dock with it, but failed to achieve a secure enough connection to safely enter the station.

The Soyuz 35 crew were the fourth long-duration crew to man the space station.

The Soyuz 35 crew docked with and entered the space station on 10 April, using the vacant front port.

After undocking from the station, the Soyuz 11 crew were killed during atmospheric reentry.