Soyuz 15 attempted to bring a second crew but failed to dock, after which the third planned mission to the station was cancelled.

Although little official information has been released about the station, several sources report that it contained multiple Earth-observation cameras, as well as an on-board gun.

The first Almaz station, Salyut 2, launched in April 1973 but failed within days of reaching orbit and was never crewed.

[7] It had two solar arrays, one docking port, and two main engines, each of which could produce 400 kilograms-force (3,900 N; 880 lbf) of thrust.

Secondary objectives included the study of water pollution, agricultural land, possible ore-bearing landforms, and oceanic ice formation.

[12] These claims have reportedly been verified by Pavel Popovich, who had visited the station in orbit, as commander of Soyuz 14.

One other spacecraft, Soyuz 15, came within 40 metres of the station,[1] but failed to dock due to a malfunctioning rendezvous system.

[3] The suspicions of Western observers were raised by the low altitude, combined with the choice of a crew from the Soviet Air Force, and the use of radio frequencies normally designated for military use.

[13] The crew of Soyuz 14 consisted of commander Pavel Popovich and flight engineer Yury Artyukhin.

On 9 July, it was reported that the crew activated the Earth-observation cameras, and spent several days taking photos of various locations, including central Asia.

[13] The spacecraft Soyuz 15 was launched on 26 August 1974, carrying a two-man crew consisting of commander Gennadi Sarafanov and flight engineer Lev Demin.

The Igla rendezvous system on their Soyuz spacecraft malfunctioned, and the crew was unable to dock manually.

[14] Due to the limited battery life of their Soyuz spacecraft, they de-orbited and landed two days after launch.

[14] At the time of the spaceflight, Demin was 48 years old, earning him the record for the oldest person to fly in space up to that point.

[7] Other sources say the main parachute did not open, and the capsule was deformed upon landing, but that all the film was recoverable.