In the wake of the successful American moon landings of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Soviet Union moved to pioneer manned space stations ahead of the Americans. They launched the first such station, Salyut 1, in April 1971, followed by its first crew--Georgi T. Dobrovolsky (1928-1971), Viktor I. Patsayev (1933-1971) and Vladislav N. Volkov (1935-1971)--aboard the Soyuz 24 in June.

Salyut was constructed from four cylinders of different diameters. At the forward end was a docking port and transfer compartment linking the station with the Soyuz 24 ferry craft. Soyuz had a set of solar panels to collect energy for the station's power. Its length was 47 feet (14.3 m), and its largest diameter was 13 feet (4 m). The crew of the Salyut carried out astronomical research, plant growth experiments, and earth observations. Unfortunately, the mission ended in tragedy. As the crew headed back to earth, the seal of their...