Liftoff Videos

Every mission, with the videos that tell it

Salyut 1

April 19, 1971Low Earth orbit

Scott Manley marks 50 years since Salyut 1, the first space station, launched by the Soviet Union in 1971. It was built from the Almaz hull with existing hardware.

Key moments

  1. Salyut 1 and its Almaz origins

    Watch this moment · 0:29

  2. Station design and systems

    Watch this moment · 0:53

  3. Launch on April 19

    Watch this moment · 6:07

  4. Soyuz 10 docking problems

    Watch this moment · 7:34

  5. Soyuz 11 crew and 22 days aboard

    Watch this moment · 11:26

  6. Soyuz 11 return accident

    Watch this moment · 12:16

  7. Salyut 1 de-orbited

    Watch this moment · 13:53
Play video: Salyut 1: How the First Space Station Was Built From Almaz, 14:49 Source: Scott Manley

Key facts
VehicleProton, Soyuz
Mission nameSalyut 1
Launch siteBaikonur Cosmodrome
OutcomePartial success

Videos about this mission

The videos, in date order

Drag, zoom or press play to watch them on this page.

  1. Salyut 1: How the First Space Station Was Built From Almaz

    Scott Manley
Play video: Salyut 1: How the First Space Station Was Built From Almaz

Salyut 1: How the First Space Station Was Built From Almaz

Scott Manley

Duration 14:49

Watch video

Dates are when each video was first published on YouTube.

Sources: The facts and written text on this page come from the 1 video on this page, by Scott Manley.

Related missions

Same vehicle: Proton

Same destination: Low Earth orbit