On Sept. 29, 1977, the Salyut 6 space station launched into orbit. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com](https://www.space.com/39251-on-this-day-in-space.html)

This was the eighth space station the Soviet Union launched under its Salyut program and the first second-generation Salyut space station. Unlike its predecessors, Salyut 6 was able to accommodate long-duration crewed missions. Over the course of its five years in operation, 16 cosmonaut crews visited the station. The longest anyone stayed there was 185 days. The space station deorbited in 1982 and burned up in Earth's atmosphere.