Soyuz T

The Soyuz T, with T for transport, was the third generation of the Soyuz spacecraft and operated from 1979 to 1986, ferrying crews to and from the Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and Mir space stations. It was based on the second generation Soyuz 7K-T and drew on experience from the military Soyuz programme and the Soyuz 7K-TM flown in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. It was the first Soyuz to use solid-state electronics and had an upgraded onboard computer meant to reduce the docking difficulties of earlier models. Solar panels returned to the design, allowing autonomous flight of up to 11 days, and it adopted a new KTDU-426 propulsion system. Unlike the models before it, the Soyuz T could carry three cosmonauts wearing pressure suits. Eighteen Soyuz T spacecraft were launched, and thirteen of them carried cosmonauts.