Mass

18,500 kilograms

Launched

Dec. 26, 1974 at 4:15 Universal

Launched From

Baikonur Cosmodrome

Instruments Carried

It carried an X-ray instrument, called the Filin telescope that consisted of four gas flow proportional counters. Outside the station, there were optical sensors and X-ray detectors, whereas, power supply and measurement units were inside. The detectors were calibrated using one ground-based and three inflight modes -- inertial orientation, orbital orientation and survey. Data was collected by the large detectors in four energy channels

Crews Visited

4 spacecraft were sent to Salyut 4 out of which, one was unmanned and another suffered a launch failure.

• Soyuz 17 from Baikonur on Jan. 10, 1975 was the first to be launched and spent 29 days in space.
• The second mission was Soyuz 18-1which took off on April 5, 1975 . However, due to a launch failure, the flight had to be aborted. The entire flight lasted for approximately 21 minutes.
• The next and final manned mission was Soyuz 18 which was launched from Baikonur on May 24, 1975 . the mission lasted for 63 days, during which, the crew could converse with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project crews.
• Soyuz 20 was sent to examine how its systems would perform over a long period of time in space. It launched from Baikonur on Nov. 17, 1975 . It landed back on landed on Feb. 16, 1976

Country

Soviet

D uration

On Feb. 2, 1977 , approximately one year later, Salyut 4's propulsion system was used to deorbit it over the Pacific Ocean . Frictional heating destroyed the station.