Editing Almaz (section)

==Orbital Piloted Stations (OPS)==
Three Almaz OPS space stations were flown from 1973 to 1976 in the Salyut program: [[Salyut 2]] (OPS-1), [[Salyut 3]] (OPS-2) and [[Salyut 5]] (OPS-3).<!-- From 1965 to 1970, eight test models and two flight ready spaceframes were built. --> Five crewed Soyuz expeditions were flown to the Almaz space stations Salyut 3 and Salyut 5, with three reaching their stations and only two of the missions being considered fully successful at that time &nbsp;— the three crews that had reached their stations had crewed Almaz stations for a total of 81 days when the program was ended.<ref name=RSWhist/><ref name=astrospies />

Besides the three flown space stations OPS-1 to OPS-3, seven more spaceframes of Almaz space stations had been built when the program was cancelled: OPS-4, Almaz-205, Almaz-206, [[Almaz-T]], Almaz-T2 ([[Kosmos 1870]]), [[Almaz-1]] and [[Almaz-2]], with Almaz-T2 and Almaz-1 having successfully flown as repurposed uncrewed radar-carrying reconnaissance satellites (see below). The partially outfitted hulls of Almaz-205 and Almaz-206 are today owned by Excalibur Almaz, a company that plans to launch these as crewed space stations (see below).<ref name="RSWprog">{{Cite web |last=Zak |first=Anatoly |title=The Almaz program |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514000112/http://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz.html |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com }}</ref>

===Flown Almaz space stations===
{{main|Salyut programme}}
====OPS-1 (Salyut 2)====
{{main|Salyut 2}}
The first Almaz station (OPS-1 or Almaz 101.1) was launched on April 3, 1973. For purposes of military secrecy, it was publicly designated [[Salyut 2]] upon reaching orbit. A crew was prepared to fly to the station, but an accident days after the launch left OPS-1 disabled and depressurized.<ref name="rsw-almaz-ops1">{{Cite web |last=Zak |first=Anatoly |title=Short mission of Almaz-1 - OPS1 (Salyut-2) |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz_ops1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415065630/https://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz_ops1.html |archive-date=April 15, 2024 |access-date=July 6, 2012 |website=RussianSpaceWeb.com }}</ref>

====OPS-2 (Salyut 3)====
{{main|Salyut 3}}
OPS-2 (or Almaz 101.2), announced as [[Salyut 3]], was launched on June 25, 1974. The crew of the [[Soyuz 14]] spacecraft spent 15 days aboard the station in July 1974. A second expedition was launched toward OPS-2 in August 1974, but failed to reach the station. The station successfully remotely test-fired an onboard aircraft [[autocannon|cannon]] at a target satellite while the station was uncrewed. Salyut-3 was deorbited in January 1975.<ref name="astrospies">{{Cite web |last=Bamford |first=James |title=Astrospies |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/astrospies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501065844/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/astrospies/ |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |access-date=July 6, 2012 |website=[[Nova (American TV program)|NOVΛ]] |publisher=[[PBS]] }}</ref>

====OPS-3 (Salyut 5)====
{{Main|Salyut 5}}
OPS-3 (or Almaz 103), announced after launch as [[Salyut 5]], entered orbit on June 22, 1976. It was visited by two crews in mid-1976 and late 1977. Salyut 5 was deorbited on 8 August 1977, and broke up as it reentered the Earth's atmosphere.<ref name="EA-S5">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Wade|first=Mark|title=1976.06.22 - Salyut 5|url=http://www.astronautix.com/details/sal52008.htm|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=1 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010213804/http://astronautix.com/details/sal52008.htm|archive-date=10 October 2011}}</ref>

===Unflown Almaz space stations===
====OPS-4====
The next Almaz station, OPS-4, was to be the first station launched with a three panel [[Mech-A]] [[synthetic-aperture radar]] and a crewed reusable  Return Vehicle, but the VA was replaced by a second TKS docking port. This station's [[Shchit-1]] 23&nbsp;mm defense [[autocannon]] was also to be replaced with an advanced Shchit-2 [[space weapon|space-to-space]] cannon. The Shchit-2 was reported to be a two projectile system, although no photographs of it have ever been published and it does not appear that this system was ever installed on the station. OPS-4 was grounded when the Almaz crewed program was cancelled.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OPS-4 space station |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/almaz_ops4.html |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=www.russianspaceweb.com}}</ref>

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