Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; landing 130 km east of Dzheskasgan. Following a one day solo flight the Soyuz docked with the Salyut 6 space station on 28.11.1980. It was the first Soviet mission with 3 cosmonauts since 1971.

Main goals of the mission were overhauling and reactivating of the space station. Maintenance work on the station was also done. The crew conducted the Mikroklimat experiment to assess the station's living conditions, and began work on the thermal control system. They also installed a new hydraulic unit with four pumps, replaced electronics in the Salyut 6 telemetry system, repaired electrical system faults and replaced computer in the onboard control system.

Scientific experiments included holografic record of photographies, experiments on the fields of Earth observation, medicine, materials science and biology, using a so called "greenhouse", which was the most interesting part for the media.