Soyuz TM-13 was the 13th expedition to the Mir space station.[1] Launched from the Soviet Union in October 1991 and lasting until March 1992, the mission included cosmonauts from Austria and the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakh SSR), the latter of which became an independent state during the mission due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. The launch ceremony at the Baikonur CosmodromeinBaikonur, Kazakh SSR was attended by the Soviet Premier Ivan Silaev, the President of the Kazakh SSR Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the Chancellor of Austria Franz Vranitzky. Before the launch, for the first time, President Nazarbayev received the launch report from cosmonaut Tokhtar Aubakirov in the Kazakh language.[2]
| COSPAR ID | 1991-069A  |
|---|---|
| SATCAT no. | 21735 |
| Mission duration | 175 days, 2 hours, 51 minutes, 44 seconds |
| Orbits completed | ~2,730 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K-STM No. 63 |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz-TM |
| Manufacturer | NPO Energia |
| Launch mass | 7,150 kilograms (15,760 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members | Alexander Volkov |
| Launching | Toktar Aubakirov Franz Viehböck |
| Landing | Sergei Krikalev Klaus-Dietrich Flade |
| Callsign | Донба́сс (Donbass) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2 October 1991, 05:59:38 (1991-10-02UTC05:59:38Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U2 |
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 25 March 1992, 08:51:22 (1992-03-25UTC08:51:23Z) UTC |
| Landing site | near Dzhezkazgan |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 195 kilometres (121 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 232 kilometres (144 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.7 degrees |
| Period | 92.4 minutes |
| Docking with Mir | |
| Docking date | 4 October 1991, 07:38:42 UTC |
| Undocking date | 25 March 1992, 05:29:03 UTC |
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions) | |
| Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  / Alexander VolkovThird and last spaceflight | |
| Research Cosmonaut/Flight Engineer |  / Toktar AubakirovOnly spaceflight |
/ Sergei Krikalev Second spaceflight |
| Research Cosmonaut |  Franz ViehböckOnly spaceflight |
 Klaus-Dietrich FladeOnly spaceflight |
Soyuz-TM 13 carried commander Alexander Volkov along with Austrian cosmonaut-researcher Franz Viehböck and Soviet-Kazakh cosmonaut-researcher Toktar Aubakirov. The flight was unusual for carrying no flight engineer. Veteran Russian cosmonaut Alexandr Volkov commanded. The Austrians paid $7 million to fly Viehböck to Mir, and the Kazakh cosmonaut flew partly in an effort to encourage the then-Kazakh SSR to continue to permit launchings from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The cosmonaut-researchers photographed their respective countries from orbit and conducted the usual range of materials processing and medical experiments. Artsebarsky and Viehböck returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-12, with Volkov remaining on board Mir for an extended mission.
The Soyuz spent a total of 175 days docked to the Mir space station.
The Soyuz returned from Mir with German Klaus-Dietrich Flade and Krikalev and Volkov, dubbed by some as "the last citizens of the USSR" because they had launched from the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR, and landed in what had since become the independent Republic of Kazakhstan.
Out of the Present, a 1995 film documentary focused on Soyuz TM-12 cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev's stay on Mir, features the arrival of Soyuz TM-13.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
