Salyut 7 Space Station

After being bested in the race to the Moon, the Soviet space program turned its attention to space stations with the Salyut program. Salyut 7 was a part of a new generation of crafts, a low-earth-orbiting scientific laboratory complete with telescopes, cameras, and even a greenhouse.

Once the Mir space station was online, Salyut 7 was abandoned to eventually burn up in the atmosphere, its pieces scattering over Capitán Bermúdez, Argentina. This specimen is a piece of the spacecraft, recovered after its impact.

In 1971, the Salyut program launched the world's very first space station, Salyut 1, offering a permanent presence in space to run experiments and make astronomical observations. Over the next 15 years, the Soviet Union launched a number of stations, culminating in Salyut 7. This new station offered insights into outer space and how life interacts with extended stays in zero g.

Salyut 7 is perhaps best known for being the first dead space station to be brought back to working order. A fuel leak had caused an electrical failure, rendering the space station inert, but in 1985, the Soyuz T-13 mission was able to restore power and allow Salyut 7 to continue operating for just over a year, when it was succeeded by the Mir station.

Having served its purpose, Salyut 7 was abandoned and underwent an uncontrolled reentry on February 7, 1991, with some debris landing in Argentina around the town of Capitán Bermúdez. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the fall.

This specimen is a fragment of the space station, recovered after impact in Argentina. All specimens are enclosed in an acrylic specimen jar with a removable top which arrives in a handsome, glass-topped riker box case measuring 4x3x1". It comes complete with an informational card that serves as statement of authenticity.