Salyut 1 was the first space station launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. It completed 362 orbits before reentering the atmosphere and breaking up. Salyut 1 helped test elements of space station systems and study the effects of long-duration spaceflight. It was 20 meters long and had a maximum diameter of 4 meters, with an interior space mass of 18,425 kilograms. Salyut 1 provided valuable data as the first long-duration orbital station.