Soyuz TM-2 | |
Insignia: | Soyuz TM-2 mission patch.jpg |
Cospar Id: | 1987-013A |
Satcat: | 17482 |
Mission Duration: | 174 days, 3 hours, 25 minutes, 56 seconds |
Orbits Completed: | ~2,810 |
Spacecraft: | Soyuz 7K-STM No. 52 |
Spacecraft Type: | Soyuz-TM |
Manufacturer: | NPO Energia |
Launch Mass: | 7100kg (15,700lb) |
Launch Date: | UTC[1] |
Launch Rocket: | Soyuz-U2 |
Launch Site: | Baikonur 1/5 |
Landing Date: | UTC[2] |
Landing Site: | 80km (50miles) from Arkalyk |
Crew Size: | 2 up 3 down |
Crew Members: | Aleksandr Laveykin |
Crew Launching: | Yuri Romanenko |
Crew Landing: | Aleksandr Viktorenko Muhammed Faris |
Crew Callsign: | Taimyr |
Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
Orbit Periapsis: | 341km (212miles) |
Orbit Apoapsis: | 365km (227miles) |
Orbit Inclination: | 51.6 degrees |
Orbit Period: | 91.6 minutes |
Apsis: | gee |
Docking: | |
Previous Mission: | Soyuz T-15 |
Next Mission: | Soyuz TM-3 |
Programme: | Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) |
Soyuz TM-2 was a crewed spaceflight to the Soviet space station Mir, which was uncrewed at the time. TM-2 was launched on February 5, 1987, and it was first crewed spaceflight of the Soyuz-TM spacecraft,[4] and the second crewed spaceflight to Mir (the first being Soyuz T-15). The crew of the long duration expedition, Mir EO-2, who were launched by TM-2 consisted of Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin.
The spacecraft remained docked to Mir, functioning as a lifeboat for the EO-2 crew, until July 1987 when it returned to Earth carrying Laveykin and the two man crew of Mir EP-1. Romanenko later returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-3 at the end of EO-2.
See main article: Mir EO-2.
Early in the expedition EO-2, the module Kvant-1 was launched to automatically dock with Mir. The docking system, known as the "Igla system", was not behaving as expected. On April 5 the EO-2 crew retreated to the Soyuz TM-2 spacecraft so that they could escape in the event the module got out of control. About 200 m out, the docking system lost its lock on Mir's aft port antenna. The cosmonauts watched from within Soyuz TM-2 as the Kvant/ FSM combination passed within 10 m of the station.[1] Following an emergency spacewalk, Kvant fully docked to the station on April 11.