Soyuz 9

Soyuz 9 was a Soviet long-duration Soyuz test flight commanded by Andriyan Nikolayev with Vitaly Sevastyanov as flight engineer. The crew launched from Baikonur Site 31/6 on June 1, 1970 and landed west of Karaganda on June 19 after 17 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes in orbit. The mission set a new human spaceflight endurance record and helped shape planning for the Salyut station era. Nikolayev and Sevastyanov performed visual and photographic Earth observations, astrophysical and physiological experiments, technical studies, television and radio communications, and even a chess game with controllers on Earth. The demanding post-landing recovery, recorded by later mission histories, underscored the need for better exercise and medical countermeasures on long-duration flights.