Soviets Put 3rd-Generation Space Station Into Orbit
The Soviet Union today moved closer to its goal of creating a permanent home for man in space by launching a third-generation orbital research station named Mir, or Peace, Tass press agency said.
The agency said the research station was launched early this morning with no cosmonauts aboard. Its onboard systems, tested automatically, were “functioning normally,” Tass said.
The space station has six docking ports--four more than the second-generation Salyut-7, which has the capacity to dock two spacecraft--and four modules for research and living quarters.
It was not immediately known when the first cosmonauts will be launched into space to board the station, or how many people it will hold.
“The capacity of the energy supply station is enhanced, more comfortable conditions for operation and rest of the cosmonauts have been created and new equipment installed,” Tass said.
A Western diplomat who follows Soviet scientific development said it was not yet clear if the Soviets planned to man the Peace station permanently.
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