Soyuz T-11 was the sixth mission to visit the Salyut 7 space station and the first to visit the long-duration Soyuz T-10 resident crew of the station. The mission began on April 3, 1984, 13:08:00 UTC, launching Commander Yury Malyshev, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and Research Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with the station the next day. During their 7-day stay on the station, crew performed various scientific experiments. Soyuz T-11, per usual, swapped their vehicles with the resident Soyuz T-10 crew, which allowed for a longer stay on the station. The crew returned in Soyuz T-11 spacecraft, landing safely back on Earth on October 2, 1984, 10:57:00 UTC.