Beskrivning : Salyut 3 was the first military space station launched by the Soviet Union. It was launched on June 24, 1974, attaining an altitude of 219-270 km. Its final orbital altitude was 268-272 km. Salyut 3 had a total mass of about 18-19 tons. It had two solar panels laterally mounted on the center of the station, and a retactable recovery module, for the return of research data and materials. Salyut 3 was only operated by one team of Soyuz cosmonauts from Soyuz 14. The Soyuz 15 cosmonauts were unable to dock successfully with the station. On September 23, 1974, the station`s recovery module was released and re-entered, being recovered by the Soviets. The station`s orbit decayed, and it re-entered the atmosphere on January 24, 1975.