Soyuz TM-26

Summary

Soyuz TM-26 was a Russian spaceflight that ferried cosmonauts and supplies to Mir.[1] It was the 32nd expedition to Mir. It was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome on August 5, 1997. The main mission was to transport two specially-trained cosmonauts to repair or salvage the troubled space station.

Soyuz TM-26
OperatorRosaviakosmos
COSPAR ID1997-038A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.24886Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration197 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 36 seconds
Orbits completed~3,220
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TM
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Launch mass7,150 kilograms (15,760 lb)
Crew
Crew size2 up
3 down
MembersAnatoly Solovyev
Pavel Vinogradov
LandingLéopold Eyharts
CallsignРодни́к (Rodnik - Spring)
Start of mission
Launch dateAugust 5, 1997, 15:35:54 (1997-08-05UTC15:35:54Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-U
End of mission
Landing dateFebruary 19, 1998, 09:10:30 (1998-02-19UTC09:10:31Z) UTC
Landing site50°11′N 67°30′E / 50.18°N 67.50°E / 50.18; 67.50
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude193 kilometres (120 mi)
Apogee altitude249 kilometres (155 mi)
Inclination51.6 degrees
Docking with Mir
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)
 
Damaged solar array of the Spektr module after Progress M-34 freighter colliding with the Mir space station on June 25, 1997

TM-26 docked with Mir on August 7 by manual control. The crew repaired the power cable and harness/connectors in the severely damaged Spektr module and restored much of the lost power; they also repaired and replaced the oxygen generators in Mir. The hole(s) in that module that caused total depressurization of the module could not be located during their spacewalk inside that module.

During the flight a television advertisement starring Vasily Tsibliyev was filmed on the station. The ad, for Tnuva's brand of UHT milk, was the first ad to be filmed in space.[2]

Crew edit

Position Launching crew Landing crew
Commander   Anatoly Solovyev
Fifth and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer   Pavel Vinogradov
First spaceflight
Research Cosmonaut None   Léopold Eyharts
First spaceflight

References edit

  1. ^ The mission report is available here: http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-TM-26.htm
  2. ^ "First commercial filmed in space". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 16 March 2017.

50°11′N 67°30′E / 50.183°N 67.500°E / 50.183; 67.500