On this day in space! July 29, 1982: Soviet Salyut 6 space station falls to Earth

The Salyut 6 space station experienced a catastrophic failure on July 29, 1982, resulting in its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The station, which had been occupied by cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Viktor Shelenkov, and Vladimir Yazonovich since July 14th, was deliberately deorbited to prevent uncontrolled collisions with other spacecraft. As predicted, the Salyut 6 entered the atmosphere and completely burned up over the Kara Sea near the coast of Novaya Zemlya. This event marked the end of an era for Soviet orbital stations and represented a significant achievement in controlled spacecraft disposal techniques. The mission's crew tragically perished during the descent.