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Soyuz TM-7

1988 Soviet crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-7

COSPAR ID	1988-104A
SATCAT no.	19660
Mission duration	151 days, 11 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds
Orbits completed	~2,450
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Soyuz 7K-TMA No. 57
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TM
Manufacturer	NPO Energia
Launch mass	7,000 kilograms (15,000 lb)
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Alexander Volkov Sergei Krikalev
Launching	Jean-Loup Chrétien
Landing	Valeri Polyakov
Callsign	Донба́сс (Donbass)
Start of mission
Launch date	26 November 1988, 15:49:34 (1988-11-26UTC15:49:34Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-U2
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	27 April 1989, 02:57:58 (1989-04-27UTC02:57:59Z) UTC
Landing site	140 kilometres (87 mi) NE of Dzhezkazgan
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	194 kilometres (121 mi)
Apogee altitude	235 kilometres (146 mi)
Inclination	51.6 degrees
Period	88.8 minutes
Docking with Mir
Docking date	28 November 1988, 17:15:00 UTC
Undocking date	26 April 1989, 23:28:01 UTC
Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) ← Soyuz TM-6 Soyuz TM-8 →

Soyuz TM-7 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir.^[1] It launched on 26 November 1988, at 15:49:34, and was the start of the fourth long duration expedition to Mir, Mir EO-4. The crew would join the third crew member of EO-4, cosmonaut/physician Valeri Polyakov, who was on Mir for the second half of EO-3. Also launched by Soyuz TM-7 was French astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien, who would take part in the 24-day French mission known as Mir Aragatz. The spacecraft Soyuz TM-7 remained docked to Mir for the duration of EO-4. At the end of EO-4 in April 1989, due to delays in the launch schedule, Mir was left uncrewed, and all three EO-4 crew members were transported back to Earth.

Crew[edit]

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Alexander Volkov Mir EO-4 Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Sergei Krikalev Mir EO-4 First spaceflight
Research Cosmonaut	Jean-Loup Chrétien Mir Aragatz Second spaceflight	Valeri Polyakov Mir EO-3 / Mir EO-4 First spaceflight

Backup crew[edit]

• Aleksandr Viktorenko
• Aleksandr Serebrov
• Michel Tognini

Mission parameters[edit]

• Mass: 7,000 kg 15,400 lb
• Perigee: 194 km (120 mi)
• Apogee: 235 km (146 mi)
• Inclination: 51.6°
• Period: 88.8 minutes

Mission highlights[edit]

The original launch date of November 21 was moved back to permit French president François Mitterrand to view the launch, which was also attended by David Gilmour and Nick MasonofPink Floyd, who made an audio recording of the event for potential use in a future project.^[2] The spacecraft arrived at the Mir station carrying a three-man crew, including French cosmonaut Chrétien on his second flight into space. Titov, Manarov, and Chrétien returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-6. Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev, and Valeri Polyakov remained aboard Mir. On 1989 April 28, they left Mir in mothballs and returned to Earth in Soyuz-TM 7. The Soyuz-TM land landing system is effective at reducing velocity in the vertical direction. However, according to cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, winds at the landing site often impart considerable horizontal velocity. During the rough landing, Krikalev suffered a minor injury to his knee.

Preparations for the first EVA involving a non-Soviet/non-U.S. space traveler forced the cosmonauts to cut short a TV meeting with diplomats from 47 countries on December 8. On December 9, Chrétien and Volkov depressurized the multiport docking adapter and clambered outside Mir. Chrétien was first out. He installed handrails, then attached the 15.5 kg (34 lb) Échantillons experiment rack to the handrails by springs and hooks. He also attached electrical wires leading from the rack to Mir's power supply. Échantillons carried five technological experiments with applications to the Hermes shuttle program. Volkov and Chrétien then assembled the 240 kg (530 lb) experimental deployable structure (known as ERA). They attached a mount to handrails on the frustum linking the multiport docking unit to the small-diameter portion of the work compartment. After resolving problems with cables linking ERA to a control panel inside Mir, they attached the folded ERA structure to a support arm on the platform. The structure was designed to unfold to form a flat six-sided structure 1 metre deep by 3.8 metres across. From inside Mir, Krikalev commanded the structure to unfold, but to no avail. Volkov then kicked ERA, causing it to unfold properly. According to Krikalev, taking the ERA outside helped relieve the crowding problems. The EVA lasted 5 hours and 57 minutes.

The crew took with them a cassette of Pink Floyd's newly released live album Delicate Sound of Thunder (minus the cassette box, for weight reasons) and played it in orbit; this was claimed by David Gilmour to have been the first rock music recording in space.^[2] The tape was left on Mir when the mission crew returned to Earth.^[2]

References[edit]