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Handmade late 1970s Soviet-era custom-made model of the Salyut 1 space station with the docked Soyuz 11 spacecraft. Created by NPO Energia, the beautifully detailed model is crafted of metal and resin, measures 21˝ in length and 7.5˝ in height, and is displayed on a wooden base, 19.5˝ x 5.5˝, with an affixed plaque in Cyrillic (translated): “Orbital Space Station, ‘Salute – Salyut,’ 24-V-1971.” In fine condition.
Salyut 1, launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971, was the world’s first space station, measuring 15 meters in length and weighing 18.6 tons, with living quarters, scientific work areas, and solar arrays for power. The first crewed mission, Soyuz 10, failed to dock, but Soyuz 11 successfully boarded and spent 23 days aboard, setting a new record for space endurance before tragedy struck on reentry, when all three cosmonauts—Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev, and Vladislav Volkov—died from cabin depressurization, becoming the only humans to perish in space. Though deorbited later that year, Salyut 1 proved the viability of orbital stations and laid the foundation for Mir and the International Space Station.
