Soyuz 22

Soyuz 22 was a Soviet Earth-observation flight launched from Baikonur on September 15, 1976. Valery Bykovsky commanded the mission with Vladimir Aksyonov as flight engineer. The spacecraft carried the MKF-6 multispectral camera system, developed for Earth-resources imaging work. Unlike many later Soyuz flights of the Salyut period, Soyuz 22 did not dock with a station; the crew spent the mission operating the observation payload and related spacecraft systems. The crew landed on September 23, 1976 after just under eight days in orbit. Spacefacts lists Bykovsky's role as commander and Aksyonov's as flight engineer, and the mission forms Bykovsky's second of three career spaceflights.