Soviet Space Program Soyuz U Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L (Soyuz T-10a / T-10-1)

Mission Overview

Soyuz T-10a, also known as T-10-1, was supposed to be the third long-duration expedition to the Salyut 7 space station. The mission would have launched Commander Vladimir Titov and Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov on September 26, 1983, 19:37:49 UTC, however the launch vehicle was destroyed on the launch pad by fire. The launch escape system in the Soyuz spacecraft fired two seconds before the launch vehicle exploded, saving the crew. It is so far the only case in which a launch escape system has been fired with a crew aboard.