Mir EO-4

Last updated
Mir EO-4
Mission typeMir expedition
Mission duration151 days, 11 hours, 8 minutes (launch to landing)
Expedition
Space station Mir
Began26 November 1988 (1988-11-26)
Ended26 April 1989, 23:28:01 (1989-04-26UTC23:28:02Z) UTC
Arrived aboard Soyuz TM-7
Polyakov: Soyuz TM-6
Departed aboard Soyuz TM-7
Crew
Crew sizeThree
Members Alexander Volkov
Sergei Krikalev
Valeri Polyakov*
* - Transferred from EO-3
Mir EO-4 patch.png
Long-term Mir expeditions
←  EO-3
EO-5  →

Mir EO-4 (also called Principal Expedition 4 [1] ) was the fourth long-duration expedition to the Soviet space station Mir. The expedition began in November 1988, when crew members Commander Aleksandr Volkov and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev arrived at the station via the spacecraft Soyuz TM-7. The third crew member of EO-4, Valeri Polyakov, was already aboard Mir, having arrived in August 1988 part way through the previous expedition, Mir EO-3.

Contents

The expedition lasted for five months, and at its conclusion Mir was left unmanned until the launch of Mir EO-5 in September 1989. This ended a continuous habitation of the space station which began in February 1987, with the arrival of the crew of Mir EO-2.

Background

The previous long-duration expedition to Mir, EO-3, was intended to break the record for spaceflight duration of 326 days set by Yuri Romanenko during Mir EO-2. The physician Valeri Polyakov was sent to the station part way through EO-3 so that he could observe the cosmonauts at the end of their record duration flight. Polyakov then stayed aboard Mir to observe the EO-4 crew.

Crew

Mir EO-4NameSpaceflightLaunchLandingDurationNotes
Commander Flag of the Soviet Union.svg   Alexander Volkov Second26 November 1988
Soyuz TM-7 		27 April 1989
Soyuz TM-7 		151 daysMir was left unmanned
when the crew undocked
Flight Engineer Flag of the Soviet Union.svg   Sergei Krikalev First
Research Doctor Flag of the Soviet Union.svg   Valeri Polyakov First29 August 1988
Soyuz TM-6 		241 daysTransferred from Mir EO-3

Volkov, the only crew member who had been to space before, had one previous spaceflight. It was a two-month mission in 1985 to the space station Salyut 7, launched by the spacecraft Soyuz T-14. This expedition, Salyut 7 EO-4, was intended to be 6 months long, but the Commander Vladimir Vasyutin became ill, and the mission was shortened, forcing the cosmonauts to leave the station unmanned. [2] Volkov became father of the first ever second-generation cosmonaut, when his son Sergey Volkov became Commander of the International Space Station's Expedition 17 in 2008.

This was Krikalev's first spaceflight, and he went on to have a further five missions to space. As of 2010 he holds the record for the longest cumulative time spent in space, at 803 days. His most recent spaceflight was in 2005, as Commander of the International Space Station's Expedition 11.

Polyakov, a physician, arrived at the station part way through the previous expedition, Mir EO-3. He had never been in space before, but would later have one more spaceflight, which would span three Mir expeditions: EO-15, EO-16, and EO-17. His second spaceflight, launched on Soyuz TM-18 in January 1994, would last 437 days, and as of 2010, still holds the record for the longest ever spaceflight.

Backup Crew

Mission highlights

During this mission experiments in 16 different fields were performed as topografic and spectrografic research of the Earth surface, biological and medical research (including blood and heart-tests). [3]

Launch

The French president at the time, François Mitterrand, insisted on attending the launch of the Soyuz TM-7, of which Frenchman Chrétien was a crew member. [4] This caused the launch to be delayed by four days, and hence reducing Chrétien's time in space. [4] Mitterrand flew to the launch site in Baikonur in a Concorde. [4]

On November 28, two days after launch, the Soyuz TM-7 spacecraft docked to Mir, and for the first time six cosmonauts were simultaneously aboard the complex.

Mir Aragatz

Soyuz TM-7 insignia Soyuz TM-7 patch.png
Soyuz TM-7 insignia

From November 28 to December 21, 1988, there were six people aboard the station: the three crew members of EO-4, Titov and Manarov who were finishing EO-3, and the visiting French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chrétien who had launched aboard Soyuz TM-7 on 26 November. [5] Chrétien's flight was referred to as the French Aragatz mission. [1] This was Chrétien's second spaceflight, his first was a short mission to Salyut 7, which was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz T-6, and lasted for about a week. [6] After 24.8 days aboard the station, Chrétien returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-6 on 21 December. [5]

Mir AragatzNameSpaceflightLaunchLandingDuration
Crew member Flag of France.svg   Jean-Loup Chrétien Second26 November 1988
Soyuz TM-7 		21 December 1988
Soyuz TM-6 		24.8 days [5]

A highlight of the Aragatz mission was the spacewalk which was performed by Volkov and Chrétien on 9 December 1988, and lasted for 5 hours and 57 minutes. [4] It was the first spacewalk conducted by someone not from the Soviet or U.S. space programs. [1] Its purpose was to install the 240 kg French experimental deployable structure, known as ERA, and a panel of material samples. [1]

Return of Soyuz TM-6

On December 15, 1988, Titov and Manarov's 359th day in space, the EO-3 crew officially broke the spaceflight duration record by the required 10%; [1] [7] the record had previously been set by Yuri Romanenko, who had a 326-day spaceflight aboard Mir during EO-2. Both the French mission and EO-3 ended when Chrétien, Titov, and Manarov landed in the spacecraft Soyuz TM-6 on December 21, which occurred six hours after undocking from Mir.

Progress 39

A drawing of a Progress 7K-TG spacecraft. Progress drawing.svg
A drawing of a Progress 7K-TG spacecraft.

On December 27, shortly after Soyuz TM-6 departed, the expedition's first Progress resupply spacecraft docked with the station, two days after its launch. [7] This model of resupply spacecraft, Progress 7K-TG, had been used for resupply missions to Soviet space stations since 1978. Progress 39 delivered 1,300 kg of supplies to the EO-4 crew, and remained docked to the station for 42 days. [7]

During this time, Progress 39 was used to boost the orbit of the space station. This was necessary due to the greater than normal atmospheric drag. [1] The extra drag was caused by atmospheric expansion, which in turn was caused by the solar maximum occurring at the time, during solar cycle 22. [1] The boost changed the Perigee and Apogee of the station from 325 km and 353 km AMSL to 340 km and 376 km, respectively. [1] After the boost, Krikalev reported that he was unable to visually detect the change in altitude. [1]

The EO-4 crew filled Progress 39 with waste and excess equipment used during the Aragatz mission, and then the spacecraft undocked on February 7, and was intentionally destroyed during atmospheric reentry later that day. [7]

Progress 40

On February 10, the next resupply spacecraft, Progress 40 was launched, and it docked with Mir two days later. It remained docked to Mir for 18 days. During this time, it was announced that due to delays in the production of the Kristall module, the launch of the next Mir module, Kvant-2, would also be delayed. [1] It was also announced that as a result, Mir would be left unmanned following EO-4. [1]

Progress 41

The final Progress resupply spacecraft of the expedition docked with the station on March 19, and remained docked for 33 days. [7] Progress 41 was the second last Progress spacecraft to use the original design (the last being Progress 42, which resupplied Mir EO-6 in 1990). The updated design would be called Progress-M, and its first flight would be Progress M-1 in August 1989, just prior to the arrival of the Mir EO-5 crew in September. [8]

Leaving Mir unmanned

All three crew members left Mir on board Soyuz TM-7 on 27 April 1989, bringing EO-4 to an end. For Volkov and Krikalev the mission lasted for 151d 11h 08m and for Polyakov 240d 22h 34m. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mir</i> Soviet/Russian space station (1986–2001)

Mir was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by the Russian Federation. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft. At the time it was the largest artificial satellite in orbit, succeeded by the International Space Station (ISS) after Mir's orbit decayed. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salyut 6</span> Soviet space station (1977–1982)

Salyut 6, DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receive large numbers of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft for human habitation, crew transfer, international participation and resupply, establishing precedents for station life and operations which were enhanced on Mir and the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TM-19</span> 1994 Russian crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-19 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. It launched on 1 July 1994, at 12:24:50 UTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuri Gidzenko</span> Russian cosmonaut (born 1962)

Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was a test cosmonaut of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (TsPK). Gidzenko has flown into space three times and has lived on board the Mir and the International Space Station. He has also conducted two career spacewalks. Although he retired on July 15, 2001, he continued his employment by a special contract until Soyuz TM-34 concluded. Since 2004 to May 2009, Gidzenko was the Director of the 3rd department within the TsPK. Since May 2009 he serves as the Deputy Chief of Cosmonaut Training Center TsPK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergei Krikalev</span> Soviet and Russian cosmonaut (born 1958)

Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev is a Russian mechanical engineer, former cosmonaut and former head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir Titov (cosmonaut)</span> Soviet-Russian pilot and cosmonaut (born 1947)

Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov is a retired Russian Air Force Colonel and former cosmonaut. He has participated in four spaceflight missions. The catastrophic explosion of a Soyuz rocket in 1983 led to him being one of only four people to use a launch escape system. He is married to Alexandra Kozlova, they have two children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TM-4</span> 1987 Soviet crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-4 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. It was launched on 21 December 1987, and carried the first two crew members of the third long duration expedition, Mir EO-3. These crew members, Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, would stay in space for just under 366 days, setting a new spaceflight record. The third astronaut launched by Soyuz TM-4 was Anatoli Levchenko, who returned to Earth about a week later with the remaining crew of Mir EO-2. Levchenko was a prospective pilot for the Soviet Space shuttle Buran. The purpose of his mission, named Mir LII-1, was to familiarize him with spaceflight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TM-6</span> 1988 Soviet crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-6 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. It was launched on 29 August 1988, at 04:23:11 UTC, for the station's third long-duration expedition, Mir EO-3. The three-person crew that was launched consisted of Research Doctor Valeri Polyakov, who became part of the EO-3 crew, as well as the two crew members of the week-long mission Mir EP-3, which included the first ever Afghan cosmonaut, Abdul Ahad Mohmand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TM-7</span> 1988 Soviet crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-7 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TM-11</span> 1990 Soviet crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-11 was the eleventh expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir, using a Soyuz-TM crew transport vessel. The mission notably carried a Japanese television reporter from Tokyo Broadcasting System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz TM-30</span> Final crewed spaceflight to Mir

Soyuz TM-30, also known as Mir EO-28, was a Soyuz mission, the 39th and final human spaceflight to the Mir space station. The crew of the mission was sent by MirCorp, a privately funded company, to reactivate and repair the station. The crew also resupplied the station and boosted the station to an orbit with a low point (perigee) of 360 and a high point (apogee) of 378 kilometers ; the boost in the station's orbit was done by utilizing the engines of the Progress M1-1 and M1-2 spacecraft. At that time a transit between Mir and the International Space Station was already impossible - such a transfer was deemed undesired by NASA - and the orbital plane of ISS had been chosen some time before to be around 120 degrees away from that of Mir. The mission was the first privately funded mission to a space station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progress 1</span> Soviet cargo spacecraft

Progress 1, was a Soviet unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1978 to resupply the Salyut 6 space station. It was the maiden flight of the Progress spacecraft, and used the Progress 7K-TG configuration. It carried supplies for the EO-1 crew aboard Salyut 6, which consisted of Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Georgy Grechko. The cargo carried by Progress 1 also included equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

Mir EO-3 was an expedition to the space station Mir. The crew consisted of 3 people, Musa Manarov (Commander), Vladimir Titov and Valeri Polyakov. Manarov and Titov arrived at the station in December 1987 on Soyuz TM-4, while Polyakov arrived much later, in August 1988 on Soyuz TM-6. After the arrival of Polyakov, medical experiments became more intensive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir EO-2</span> Second expedition to Mir space station

Mir EO-2 was the second long duration expedition to the Soviet space station Mir, and it lasted from February to December 1987. The mission was divided into two parts, the division occurring when one of the two crew members, Aleksandr Laveykin, was replaced part way through the mission by Aleksandr Aleksandrov. Laveykin was replaced because ground-based doctors had diagnosed him with minor heart problems.

Mir EP-3 was a week-long crewed spaceflight to the Soviet space station Mir, during the long-duration expedition Mir EO-3. It was the sixth crewed spaceflight to Mir, and was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-6. This spacecraft also carried Valeri Polyakov, who would stay aboard Mir after the crew of EP-3 returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-5. The crew of EP-3, also known as the Soyuz TM-6 crew, consisted of Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov as commander, and the first Afghan to visit space, Abdul Ahad Mohmand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir EP-2</span> Short-term expedition to Mir space station

Mir EP-2 was a visiting expedition to the Mir space station conducted in June 1988 by cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev, Viktor Savinykh and Aleksandr Aleksandrov. Launched aboard the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft, the crew spent ten days in space before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-4. The mission occurred while the EO-3 crew were aboard Mir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir EO-19</span> Nineteenth expedition to Mir space station

Mir EO-19 was the nineteenth crewed expedition to the space station Mir, lasting from June to September 1995. The crew, consisting of Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and Nikolai Budarin, launched on June 27, 1995 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-71 mission. After remaining aboard Mir for approximately 75 days, Solovyev and Budarin returned aboard the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft on September 11, 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Loup Chrétien</span> French astronaut (born 1938)

Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien is a French retired Général de Brigade in the Armée de l'Air, and a former CNES spationaut. He flew on two Franco-Soviet space missions and a NASA Space Shuttle mission. Chrétien was the first Frenchman and the first western European in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progress 3</span> Soviet unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft

Progress 3 was an unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union in 1978 to resupply the Salyut 6 space station. It used the Progress 7K-TG configuration, and was the third Progress mission to Salyut 6. It carried supplies for the EO-2 crew aboard Salyut 6, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir EO-8</span> Eighth expedition to Mir space station

Mir EO-8 was the eighth crewed expedition to the space station Mir, lasting from December 1990 to May 1991. The crew, consisting of Russian cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Musa Manarov, launched along with space journalist Toyohiro Akiyama on December 2, 1990 aboard Soyuz TM-11. Akiyama returned aboard Soyuz TM-10 with the outgoing Mir EO-7 crew on December 10. Afanasyev and Manarov returned aboard Soyuz TM-11 on May 26, 1991.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 D.S.F. Portree. "Mir Hardware Heritage" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Rex Hall; David Shayler (2003). Soyuz: A universal spacecraft. Springer Praxis. p. 459. ISBN   1-85233-657-9.
  3. 1 2 "Mir:Expedition 4". spacefacts.de. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Tim Furniss; David Shayler; Michael Derek Shayler (2007). Manned spaceflight log: 1961-2006. Springer Praxis. p. 836. ISBN   978-0-387-34175-0.
  5. 1 2 3 "Mir Aragatz". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  6. ↑ "Salyut 7 EP-1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mir EO-4". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Mir EO-5". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.